She pulled away just slightly. Far enough to break the contact, but still close enough that I could feel her breath panting against my face in warm puffs.
“That was...” Her words faded away for a moment before she finished her thought. “Nice.”
“Nice?” I asked, pulling back a little farther so she could see the way my eyebrows were inching closer to my hairline, steeped with confusion and outrage.
She laughed softly, then her fingers curled around the fabric of my shirt and she pulled me back toward her, her lips angling up to meet mine again.
“Very nice,” she whispered right before our lips met.
Our second kiss wasn’t any better or worse than our first, but it was altogether different. Rose was less hesitant. More eager. Less restrained, or so it seemed.
Her lips opened against mine and the warmth of her tongue teased me, tentatively asking for access, so I gave it to her. I opened for her, in more ways than one. I would have let her kiss me forever, right there, on that beach, because the entire time I was busy falling harder for the woman who had a tight schedule, made lists for her lists, and squealed when seals splashed her with fish water.
She swept her tongue into my mouth and I had to hold back both a moan and laughter.
If anyone could ever French kiss shyly, it was Rose. She went through the motions, but all the while I could tell she was thinking too hard about it, worried she was doing it wrong, or that I wasn’t enjoying it.
So, I gave her some encouragement.
I rolled onto my back a little, pulling her with me. My hand found her waist under my flannel shirt and I slowly slid it down her back until I reached the swell of her ass. I gripped her there and she gasped against my mouth, then sank back into me, her tongue a little more adventurous.
My thoughts were confirmed.
Rose needed to be led.
My little planner, my rule follower, my happy-inside-the-box Rose, wanted something she wasn’t sure she could have—abandon. I could tell how badly she wanted this—me, us, together—but she wasn’t sure where to start or how to begin. This was a conundrum, though, because I couldn’t lead her to sex. Not the first time. Even though I wanted nothing more than to feel every part of her wrapped around me, I couldn’t be the one who initiated.
I’d never been with a virgin before, but I’d be damned if Rose was going to regret sleeping with me afterward because she felt pressured or obligated.
But I would take the opportunity to kiss her stupid. It wouldn’t lead to sex, I wouldn’t let that happen, but I’d been dying to kiss her and I wasn’t going to let the chance pass me by.
Holding her to me firmly, I took the lead with the kiss, knowing that kissing was as far as I would take it. And just like I knew she would, as soon as I took the dominant role, Rose melted against me and gave in completely. Her arms wrapped around my neck as I rolled her to her back, covering her body with mine.
I’d kissed a lot of women in my life. Hell, I was a single man in my early thirties. I’d probably kissed more women than I could even remember. But I knew to my very core I’d never tried to communicate with a woman through a kiss like I was with Rose. I wasn’t just kissing her because it was pleasant, even though it was fucking amazing. I was telling her with those kisses that she could trust me, that I wouldn’t ever hurt her, that she was safe with me—in all aspects.
Rose was precious to me. And even though the sentiment surprised me, just the idea that I felt that deeply for someone I hadn’t known for a terribly long time, but I also wasn’t surprised because it was Rose. Of course I cared about her, wanted her, felt the urge to make her mine in every way. Every man who’d ever passed her by was stupid for not seeing what I saw in her.
I kissed her softly because I wanted her to know I could be gentle. I kissed her deeply because I wanted her to know I wasn’t in a hurry. And I kissed her passionately because there wasn’t any other way to do it. I absolutely couldn’t kiss her carelessly or flippantly. There was too much there, too much need and too big of a charge between us. Everywhere we touched sizzled with chemistry I’d never experienced with anyone else.
When I finally pulled away reluctantly, we were both breathless. I gently laid my forehead against hers, smiling. “Was that still just nice?”
She laughed and her hands fell away from me. I didn’t like the feeling at all.
“Nice isn’t bad,” she teased.
“It isn’t good.”
I pulled back again, looking her in the eye, wanting her to know I was kidding.
“It was perfect.”
Her words were like a bomb going off in my chest.
It was perfect. All of it. And I was going to do everything in my power to hold onto the perfection Rose brought.
I kissed her quickly one last time, because I couldn’t help myself.
“We should probably head back to Portland,” I offered, even though the last thing I wanted to do was leave that moment behind. “Are you sure you didn’t hurt yourself jumping off that swing?”
She shook her head and bit her bottom lip.
“I’m good.”
I helped her up and we both tried to dust the sand off our bodies.
“I wish we could see the stars,” she said, gazing up at the clouded, dark sky.
“You should see the stars at my cabin,” I said, motioning for her to walk toward the stairs.
“Cabin?”
“Yeah, on the mountain. It’s my main residence.”
“You have another residence on Mt. Hood?”
“Well, I mean, it’s not a luxury mansion. It’s a modest, rustic cabin. But, yes. It’s on the mountain. I haven’t been up there in a while, though. I locked it up for the winter while I was renovating the Belmont Estate. I need to go up there soon and air it out, open it up for the year, now that most of the snow is gone.”
We reached the stairs and she waited while I laced up my boots.
“Ready?” I asked, holding out my hand to her.
“I think so,” she answered without hesitation, smiling as though she had a secret
, placing her hand in mine.
The ride back to Portland was the best hour and a half I’d ever spent in my truck. Rose was no longer sleepy, so the entire ride was spent talking. We covered a lot of ground in what seemed like such little time.
I learned more about her time in college, the friends she made there, how sad she was to have to leave them all in Arizona, along with her family.
I told her about how I met Hadley and Riley, their husbands, and our new friendship. I explained I’d been pretty solitary most of my life, especially throughout high school. No one wanted to be friends with the poor, homeless kid. It became easier to make friends the older I got, when the differences between us became less important, and the people we were came to the forefront, which was why I made a point to stay in touch with Camden, Justin, and their wives. They were good people.
And so was Rose. That much was obvious.
“One night you should come have dinner with me at my mom’s house. She’s a fantastic cook. That was one thing I made sure to focus on when I built her house. She has a cook any chef would envy.”
I was pulling into the parking lot of our building, regretfully parking, knowing it would only be a few more minutes until I had to say goodnight to Rose.
I put the truck in park and looked over at Rose to find her staring at me, a pensive look on her face.
“You built your mom a house?”
“As soon as I had enough money and time, it was the first thing I did. She’d spent my whole life making sure I had a roof over my head. I wanted to repay her.”
Her lips tipped up in a small smile, but then she reached for her door handle.
“I got it, Rose,” I said quickly before jumping out of the truck and making my way to her door, opening it for her.
“Thank you,” she said as she climbed out, her work clothes bundled up in her arms, her purse hanging from one shou
lder.
Suddenly, even though the entire drive had been relaxed and low-pressure, I was nervous and anxious. We were both quiet on the elevator ride up, even though she was standing close enough to me that our arms touched.
“That was the best meeting I’ve ever had,” she said as we approached her door. She wore a shy, nervous smile, and she fidgeted from foot to foot, her eyes cast down to the floor.
“Thanks for letting me kidnap you.” I reached up and tucked some hair behind her ear, smiling and bending down at the knee to catch her gaze. “I had a great time too.” Before I could think better of it, I captured her mouth in a kiss. I meant for it to be quick and chaste, but as soon as our lips met, a swift wave of arousal shot through me.
It must have hit her the same way because her clothes and purse dropped to the floor and her arms wrapped around my neck. Almost as if it were choreographed, my hands went to her hips, lifting as she wrapped her legs around my waist.
The kiss was no longer, nor had it ever been, chaste. It was hot and wet, the two of us finally getting to the core of the sexual chemistry between us. I’d imagined kissing her like that a million times, but none of my fantasies compared to the reality of having Rose wrapped around me. I could feel her heat pulsing between her legs, her fingers winding through my hair, the guttural moan she surrendered when I used my hips to pin her against the door of her condo.
“Please,” she rasped between kisses. “Come inside.”
Fuck, if hearing her utter that sentence didn’t almost send me over the edge.
She didn’t give me a chance to answer, just dove back in to the best kiss I’d ever been a part of, her lips moving rapidly over mine, tongue taking whatever it wanted, hips slowly but oh-so-noticeably grinding against the erection I couldn’t hide even if I’d tried.
“We can’t,” I mumbled, still kissing her.
“We can. I want to. Please.”
Groaning, I pulled away and gently put her back on her feet.
“It has to be right, Rose,” I whispered, taking her face in my hands and pressing one last kiss against her lips. She leaned into me, trying to get more from the kiss than I offered.
“It is right, Aiden. More right than it’s ever been. I promise, you’re not pressuring me. I want to.”
“It’s not right for me.”
She pulled away at my words, hurt obvious and glaring on her face.
Shit.
“Rose, don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad. I just feel a little foolish. Thanks for the fun day,” she mumbled as she turned back toward her door and then realized her purse was on the floor.
“Rose, trust me, if I were any other man or you were any other woman, I’d take you up on that offer in an instant. But then it would be meaningless. We’d fuck, we’d both get off, and it would be fucking amazing, but that would be it. And I want more for us. Don’t you?”
She stood up slowly and turned around, eyes blinking slowly.
“You’re turning me down because you don’t want a hook-up?”
One of my eyebrows arched up before I could stop it and words went with it.
“How do you know what a hook-up is?”
She rolled her eyes in a way that was totally sexy. Of course, in that moment, practically anything she did was going to be sexy. I was hard as stone.
“I’m a virgin, not stupid. I’m still a woman in my thirties. I’m not prude or sheltered. I’m just picky, I guess.” She shrugged one shoulder and then looked sad again. “And if you don’t want to hook up with me, then I have no recourse other than to accept your decision.” She stuck a hand out toward me. “I had a lovely day.”
I looked down at her outstretched hand, a little caught off guard, but then I took it, using it to pull her close to me again. She yelped in surprise and I smiled as I wrapped my free arm around her waist.
“I’m not blowing you off, Rose.” I couldn’t help but laugh a little at the thought. “I’ve never met anyone who makes me want to think ahead more than one night. I don’t want to rush this, to ruin it before we get a real chance. Does that make sense?”
Wide-eyed, she nodded up at me, eyelashes batting.
“I’m not saying never, I’m saying not tonight. And trust me, I already regret my decision.”
Luckily, that earned me a laugh.
“I’m not good at this kind of thing,” she said, still smiling, but her voice was nervous.
“We’ve already covered this. Just because you’ve never done it before doesn’t mean you’re incapable.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
“I’m going to go now, as much as it will suck to walk away from you.”
“Thanks again for a great day.”
“Anytime.”
I leaned forward and gave her a small peck, knowing if I gave in even a little and kissed her the way I really wanted to, I might not be able to resist carrying her to bed.
I stepped back and took a moment to take a mental picture of what she looked like in that moment—hair mussed, lips swollen from my kisses, wearing one of my flannel shirts, a pair of yoga pants, and flip-flops. This was the exact opposite of the woman I’d pulled into that port-o-potty the day we’d met.
I was attracted to each of them equally. I really enjoyed the laid back, relaxed Rose, but wound up, straight-laced Rose was fun, too. I couldn’t choose between them and was really glad I didn’t have to. If I played my cards right, I was going to try to get all sides of Rose.
“I’ll see you later,” I said as I stepped back and headed toward my own door. My empty condo wasn’t a home as I never intended on staying for more than a few months, but I knew it was going to feel emptier than it ever had before that night.
“Wait,” Rose called from her door. I turned back and smiled. “We never exchanged information. I don’t even have your phone number.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. Soon you won’t be able to get rid of me.”
Confusion passed over her face, but I didn’t wait for a response. I turned the corner and made my way to my empty condo.
Chapter Thirteen
Rose
“S
tephanie, you’ll never know how grateful I am for you right now. I feel like money isn’t enough payment. What can I give you?”
Stephanie laughed as she placed my quadruple Americano on my desk.
“Your eternal gratitude is payment enough. After the bill is settled, of course.”
“Yes, and I tipped you generously too, which was the very least I could do. You’ll never know how much I need this coffee.”
“Well, if it’s any consolation, I can’t tell you’re tired. You look amazing.”
Her compliment made my face heat and cheeks bunch into a smile.
“Thanks.”
She’d never know I took extra time that morning getting ready for work. Aiden’s promise of seeing me again but not telling me when had plagued me all night. How does one prepare for surprises? If I didn’t know when I’d be seeing him next, how could I make sure I was ready to see him? The answer, unfortunately, was that I had to be prepared at all times. So that morning I picked out my most flattering work outfit—a fitted, knee-length, black pencil skirt and a burgundy tank and black cardigan for the walk to work, and paired it with my best black pumps. My hair and makeup were on point.
There was a small part of me that was aggravated by my own eagerness to please Aiden. What if I put in all the work to look nice for a potential meeting and then he ghosted me?
“Whoa, why the frowny face all of a sudden? A moment ago you were all smiles and sunshine. What’s up, buttercup?”
I debated getting Stephanie’s opinion about the whole Aiden situation, feeling a strange and unnatural compulsion to tell her everything and verbally purge all the thoughts that had been pinging around in my brain for days now. But Stephanie and I weren’t really close. We were work acquaintances, not friends.
I thought for a moment about calling my friends in Arizo
na, but I hadn’t kept in good touch with them and now we only seemed to chat when big updates were announced—weddings, houses, and babies. Of course, I still considered them my friends, but I could admit it would’ve been weird to just call one of them to talk about a man. I wouldn’t even know where to start.
It suddenly hit me that I’d lost all my close, personal relationships.
“Okay, you’re worrying me, Rose. There are a million emotions all over your face. Do you want to talk about anything?”
Her voice had gone from playfully prodding to genuinely concerned, but before I could answer there was another person entering my office.
“Rose,” my receptionist, Krysta, said with a soft voice. “There’s a delivery for you. Should I bring it in?”
“Yes, please, Krysta. Thank you.”
She grinned and disappeared, and I gave Stephanie a small smile and held up a finger, trying to relay I would answer all her questions in a moment.
The next thing I saw was a huge plume of flowers floating through my door. Well, Krysta was carrying them, but you couldn’t see her behind the gorgeous flowers.
“Oh my God,” Stephanie gasped.
“What in the world...” My words trailed off as Krysta set the vase in the middle of my desk. I stood, taking in the spectacular display. There were so many different kinds of flowers in the arrangement, most I could name as an occupational hazard, but some were unfamiliar. All were beautiful, however. They were all white or different shades of light pink, purple, blue, and green. It was a soft-looking arrangement. Beautiful. Romantic.
“There’s a card,” Krysta said with a loud breath. The arrangement looked incredibly heavy.
I found the small card and opened the envelope.
Yesterday was the best meeting I’ve ever had.
Are you free for a dinner meeting tonight?
Aiden
His phone number was listed right under his name and I almost laughed. Of course he had the upper hand knowing more about me than I did about him. He knew where I worked, where I lived, he knew my employees. It had baffled me the night before when he’d walked away, but I realized then he’d had a plan all along. And it was beautiful.
Coming Up Roses Page 11
