by Tina Saxon
So much for trying to take things slow.
She puts her hand on my chest and pushes me out of her doorway before closing and locking her door. “Not going to happen.” She laughs. “Where are you taking me?”
“I guess since it won’t be back into your apartment…” I wink “…I’m taking you to a new Italian restaurant that opened up a week ago. We can walk from here. It’s a couple blocks away.”
“Oh, is it Bella Mistero?” I nod my head. “I’ve heard great things. I’ve been meaning to try it. You know I love Italian food,” she teases. My dick might not survive tonight.
I intertwine our fingers as we walk to the restaurant. I can’t explain why, but everything about us feels right. I’ve never held hands with any other woman, but this feels as natural as breathing. Anytime a woman wanted a relationship, I immediately backed away. I’ve never had the time, patience, or need to be with a woman longer than a few hours. Until Addison dropped into my life. Literally. Now there seems to be a piece missing, and I want her to fill it.
“How’s your ass?” I chuckle, glancing back to look at her ass. A mighty fine tight ass. I resist grabbing it.
“My ass is fine,” she answers with a questioning tone, brows furrowed.
“Mighty fine,” I quip. “But I was talking about the hit you took from Tony.”
“Oh. It’s alright now… a little bruised.”
“I can always kiss it and make it better,” I say, wagging my eyebrows. She shakes her head and laughs.
Walking into the restaurant, the savory aroma of garlic and basil greets us. Addison inhales deeply, closing her eyes, moaning. I will feed her Italian everyday just to watch this reaction. I lean over and steal a quick kiss. Her eyes open wide. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” I say.
“It’s okay, it just surprised me,” she says, blushing.
As I’m telling the hostess my name I hear, “Addison, is that you?” I look at a tall guy walking up to her, proceeding to pick her up in a huge hug. Who is that? Then I hear him say, “My beautiful mystery woman.”
Who the fuck is this guy? My beautiful mystery woman?
Chapter Thirty-three
“MARCO,” I SAY as he lifts me up in a hug. When he puts me down it’s slow, and he doesn’t release me. This is a little awkward. I can already feel the atmosphere changing with Aiden right by my side. I think I hear him growl. Stepping out of Marco’s arms, I glance at Aiden.
“Beautiful, what are you doing here? Do you live in New York now?” he asks, clearly ignoring Aiden.
“Yes. I’ve been here for almost a year. Is this your place?” I look around, confused.
“It is. I’ve always wanted to come open a restaurant here in the city. And what luck I have… it’s where you live,” he boasts. Shit, that was definitely a growl coming from behind me.
“Marco, this is my friend, Aiden.” I introduce the two. Friend doesn’t seem to sit well with Aiden. He glances at me with a forced smile before returning to Marco.
Aiden puts his hand out. “It’s nice to meet you, Marco. So how do you know Addison?” They’re having a testosterone-fueled handshake battle right now. Both have their chests puffed up, staring each other down. I roll my eyes. Men!
The hostess telling us our table is ready couldn’t have come at a better time. Aiden leads me to our table with his hand on my back. He pulls my chair out for me to sit before taking his own to the side of me. I look around, fidgeting with my napkin. Between the awkward silence and the intense gaze burning a hole in me, I reluctantly look at Aiden. “We’re friends.” I sigh, feeling I have to justify Marco to him.
“Who us? Or you and Marco?” he responds. It’s not what I meant, but if he wants to be a jealous asshole about it, I can play that game.
“Well, actually, both.” I look him square in the eyes. His jaw clenches. “Marco and I are friends. It’s never been anything more than that. I met him last summer during my… travels.”
“You know that he wants you, right?” he asks. I know Marco flirted with me both times I saw him, but to say he wants me based on the five-minute interaction is a stretch. We’ve only seen each other twice, and I haven’t seen him in over a year. “He called you his beautiful mystery woman. Why?”
“He probably saw that I was with you and being a typical man, Tarzan beating his chest, laid claim. You fell for it, beat your chest back, and now you’re in a pissing match,” I say sarcastically. I don’t need to tell him about the mystery part. He can probably figure that out himself.
“This is the last thing I’m going to say about Marco because I don’t like the guy. It seems a little too coincidental that he ends up in the same place that you’re living and names his restaurant after you.” His smile is gone as he glances over to Marco, who is watching us as well.
“What are you talking about? His restaurant isn’t named Addison?” What the hell is he talking about.
“Do you know what Bella Mistero means in Italian?” I shake my head.
“It means ‘beautiful mystery,’” he replies, raising an eyebrow.
That is a coincidence. There is no way he knew I was living in New York City, but I’ll think about that later. We’ve spent too much time talking about this already.
I get ready to change the subject when two women around my age come over to our table. “You’re the guy who sang ‘You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling,’ aren’t you?” And then they look at me. Oh, boy. “Yes! And you’re the girl he was singing to. Oh, my God, that was so romantic. And obviously you said yes,” one girl squeals out. And unfortunately it’s not a quiet squeal. Everyone is watching us. Aiden can see how uncomfortable I am and throws his head back, laughing.
“Yes, girls, I’m that guy. And she did say yes.” He winks at me with a huge, sexy grin, showing off his dimples. Jealous Aiden is gone. Thank God.
“Well, if she doesn’t work out, call me,” she says as she slips him a piece of paper with her number on it.
My mouth falls open. I’m so shocked, I’m speechless. I grab his hand on the table and smile up at her.
“That won’t be necessary. You can leave now,” I say rudely, not smiling anymore when I meet her eyes. They huff and walk off saying how much of a bitch I am. Really? I’m the bitch? I take a deep breath and look back at Aiden. He has the cockiest grin on his face. Then he beats his chest and says “Ahahahaaahaaa.”
He pulls my chair toward him and whispers in my ear, “Next time my cock is balls deep in your wet pussy and you’re screaming my name, you will be mine. And I. Don’t. Share.” Hot tingles shoot straight down to my sex. I can feel the wetness in my panties as I wiggle in my chair. He looks at me with those beautiful emerald green eyes laced with lust.
“Neither do I.” I pick up the paper with the phone number and rip it into little pieces.
“Well, now that we have that out of the way, we can enjoy our dinner.” He grins.
* * *
Our dinner ends up being rather quick, unfortunately. We talk a little about our day but are continually interrupted by Marco. Very conveniently, Marco is our waiter and anytime we start a new conversation he comes over to check on us. I know it’s pissing Aiden off, so I eat fast. It goes from bad to worse when we head out the door and Marco hugs me, saying, “If you want Italian, you know where to find me,” and winks. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t referring to the food. And with Aiden growling again, I’m almost positive he got that, too.
“Okay. Where to next?” I walk out the door, tugging Aiden’s hand, trying to prevent any confrontation between the two guys currently staring each other down.
“I don’t like the guy,” he grumbles as we walk down the street.
“I got it, Tarzan. Let’s forget about Marco. Where are we going now?” I smile up at him, pulling him to a stop. With my heels I’m a few inches shy of him, so I slowly bring my lips to his and softly kiss him on his perfectly shaped, soft mouth. I can feel him relax. Marco is a beautiful man, but my feelings are so different with Aid
en. Feelings that I’m not sure I can follow through with, but right now Marco isn’t part of the equation. I pull back and smile at this gorgeous man in front of me.
“I’m sorry, Addison. You have fired up feelings in me that I have no idea how to handle.” He leans his forehead against mine and takes a deep breath. “Okay, let’s go.” He grabs my hand and we walk back toward my apartment. I hope he doesn’t want to follow through with his previous plans on coming in; I’m not sure I’m ready for that. Even if my body is screaming at me how stupid that decision is, we need to take this slow. We still don’t know anything about each other.
As I’m about to question him, we stop at a gorgeous, sleek, black BMW with dark tinted windows. He reaches for the door and guides me in. He’s at the driver’s side within seconds and slides into his seat, flashing me a devilish grin. Boys and their toys.
“Very nice,” I say, rubbing my hand across the soft black leather. “What, you’re too good for the subway?” I tease. I don’t own a car, like most people in the city. There is no room on this island for people and cars.
“Hey, I love the subway, but I love my car more.” He chuckles. “I don’t drive it often in the city, but I can’t impress you if I take you on the subway.”
I laugh. “Do you think I’m that shallow?”
He grabs my hand and glances at me. “Not at all, Addison. I do think that you’re one of the most independent, stubborn, beautiful women that I know. And I’ll do anything to make you like me.” His eyes soften.
“I do like you. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t,” I say, squeezing his hand in mine. He pulls it to his lips and kisses the top of my hand. It’s such a sweet gesture. The walls that I have firmly built up over the years are slowly coming down.
Aiden pulls over when we get to Central Park and jumps out. I always feel uncomfortable getting out of a car when I’m on a date: do they want me to wait for them to open my door or do I just get out? I decide to get out on my own.
Walking around the front of the car, Aiden stops in his tracks when he sees me getting out. He nods his head and laughs. “Figures.” He pulls a blanket out of his trunk before grabbing my hand and leading me toward the park.
* * *
The sun is setting, resulting in a beautiful sunset. Pinks and oranges paint the sky. Aiden has found a quiet spot on a hill. It looks like there is going to be a concert tonight. We’re far enough away from the crowd so it won’t be too loud. The weather is perfect. It’s the beginning of September, and I can already feel the weather changing.
“This is nice. Surprising, but nice,” I say to Aiden as he sits on the blanket. Truthfully, I’m relieved that he didn’t plan an extravagant date. I like sweet and simple.
“Surprising?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, all you went through to get the date, I’m… surprised. It’s a good surprise, though.” I smile at him. “And come to think of it, let’s talk about your newfound fame.”
He laughs out loud. “Can you believe that shit? I will never live this down. Damn YouTube.” He leans back on his elbows, straightening out his muscular legs. He is one gorgeous man. He has his typical dark jeans on that fit him oh so perfectly and a black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He should be on the cover of GQ magazine. “You should see how many marriage proposals I’ve received. Even from Australia.” He wags his brows and grins.
“Oh, I hate that I’m getting in the way of all your marriage proposals,” I say, taking off my shoes and leaning back on my side. I prop my head on my bent arm and glance at Aiden. “Maybe I should go in case one of your fans shows up here. I’d hate to cramp your style,” I tease. I have a feeling that Aiden hates this attention. In fact, I’m not sure how he expects to go undercover anytime soon with that out there. My thoughts are quickly interrupted when Aiden throws himself on me. I let out a scream. “What are you doing?”
“You aren’t going anywhere,” he whispers into my ear.
A couple passes us, but the guy stops and asks, “Are you okay, lady?” He must have heard me scream. Aiden looks up at him with a shit-eating grin and is about to reply, so I take this opportunity to push up and flip him over onto his back, now with me on top.
“Yep, I’m good,” I say, laughing. The guy laughs and turns to walk away but not before we hear him say, “You better keep her.”
“Mmm… I plan on it,” Aiden says to me. “But right now, I need to get you off of me or we’re going to be hauled in for indecent exposure.” I can already feel his hard bulge against my thigh. There’s a fire in his eyes, so I know he’s not kidding. I slide off to the side of him and lie on my side again. He turns toward me and adjusts himself. “Goddamn, woman, you’re so sexy,” he whispers as he brushes my hair behind my ear. “So, I have to ask, is this your real color or are you a natural brunette?”
“This is my real color.”
“Good, I like it better,” he says as he plays with my hair. “So tell me about you. The real you. I’m not exactly sure our little get-to-know-you card game last summer was… accurate.” He laughs.
“Um… most of it was true. But I intentionally left out things where I would have had to lie, I guess.”
“Are you from Texas?”
“That, I am. And I know now that you’re from North Carolina.” I giggle, remembering his random, one-line texts.
“Are your parents still there?”
I take a deep breath. “My mom died when I was ten,” I say as I bite on my lip.
“…and your dad?” he asks. I look down and act like I’m removing dirt from the blanket.
“He died in a car accident when I was one.” I look back up at him. He can’t know that Travis is my father, so I go with the story that I was told for more than half my life and hope he doesn’t figure out I’m lying. I hate lying. I’ve been lied to my whole life. I’ve always tried to be an honest person. His brows furrow, and I can tell that he’s thinking about what to say next. That’s usually what people do when I tell them.
“I’m sorry, Addison.” And there’s the typical response. He continues. “That had to be rough.”
“My life has definitely been a roller coaster. One hell of a ride. My aunt took me in and raised me. She’s wonderful and has done so much for me.” I fall to my back and stare at the sky. I hate seeing pity in people’s eyes when I talk about my mom.
“How did your mom die?” he quietly asks. I’ve never hidden that my mom was murdered, but I don’t think I should tell Aiden. He could easily start digging into my past and put two and two together, especially since Travis Stein was labeled a suspect in my mom’s murder at one point.
“Can we not talk about this right now. I’d hate to ruin our evening. Someday I’ll talk about it, but not today,” I say, still staring at the sky.
He puts his hand on my face and turns it to look right into his eyes. “I’m sorry. We don’t need to talk about it.” His thumb softly touches my cheeks before he leans down and kisses me. The kiss is a lot like our earlier kiss, soft and sweet. He leans his forehead against mine, and we stay silent for a minute.
I can hear the concert in the background. Darkness has surrounded us and streetlights illuminate the walkways. It’s a beautiful night, and I’m in the arms of a beautiful man. I’m not sure where we are headed, but I won’t ever regret this moment in time.
Aiden stands up. “Sweetheart, dance with me?”
He grabs my hands and pulls me up close to his body. His embrace is strong yet soft. Our bodies mold together. I wish we could stay like this forever. We sway to the music drifting through the breeze coming over the hill. Aiden hums the song. I listen to see what song is playing when he softly sings it in my ear. It’s “Die a Happy Man” by Thomas Rhett.
I glance up into those piercing, emerald green eyes and it’s just him and me. Everything else ceases to exist. We get lost in each other, and I’m not sure I want to find my way back. He slowly leans down and softly kisses the side of my lips.<
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His mouth takes mine in a heated embrace. I open for him and our tongues dance slowly. I can feel his growing hardness against my body. The heat spreads throughout my body down to my core. I sway my hips against him, my body taking over. My hands tangle in his hair, pulling him closer. One of his hands grabs my hair and yanks my head back, causing our kiss to end. I let out a silent moan at the loss of his lips. I feel him chuckle before his lips make their way down my neck and up to my ear. His other hand slides down my back as he tugs me closer to his hardness. Our bodies are still swaying. I’m not sure the music is still playing. The only thing I can hear is our heavy breathing and the beating of our hearts.
“Um… excuse me.”
“Hello there.”
I think someone is talking to us. I can’t let Aiden go, and he’s definitely not letting me go. Not right now. People, go away. Keep walking. Can’t you see we’re busy?
“Okay, you two are going to have to stop… now.”
What the hell? Who in the world. I look over to where the voice is coming from.
“Oh. Hi, Officer Marks.” I’m pretty sure I’m ten shades of red right now. I bury my face into Aiden’s chest. Aiden’s laughing but quickly adjusts himself. Seriously! I’m so embarrassed.
“Agent Roberts and Addison?” His eyes widen. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize you while you were… Anyway… Um… You guys might want to take this to a not-so-public place,” he says, lowering his voice, looking around. Now he’s blushing. This is so awkward. I can’t bring myself to lift my face and apologize. I’ve worked with Ryan on numerous occasions.
“Sorry, Ryan. We were enjoying the music and dancing. We’ll behave.” Aiden flashes a huge grin.
“No problem, guys. Just trying to keep things PG here in the park…” he laughs “…but hey, I guess I know what your answer was to Aiden asking you out, Addison.” He is still laughing as he walks away.
“I can’t believe that happened! How am I going to work with that man and not be embarrassed?” I’m shaking my head that’s still buried in Aiden’s chest.
