by Tina Saxon
“I’m done talking about her.” He slides his fingers down my ass, under my swimsuit. As his fingers slip between my folds, thoughts of anything other than what those glorious fingers are about to do to me leave my head.
Aiden is done talking. He lets his body tell me everything he needs to say. We fall asleep sated and naked in each other’s arms back in his bedroom. I definitely didn’t need my pajamas.
Chapter Forty-six
Aiden
I’M WOKEN UP with Addison’s beautiful mouth on my cock. “Oh, sweetheart. That feels fucking awesome,” I growl. I can see her head bobbing up and down under the sheet. She moans.
What the fuck?
I bolt up, hearing my dick pop out of her mouth as I lift the sheets. Jessie sits up smiling at me, wiping her mouth. “Where the hell is—” The bedroom door opening interrupts me. Addison walks in. My chest tightens at the look on her face. She shuffles back a couple steps as she gasps. I grab the sheet, covering myself, jumping out of bed in a panic.
“Addison, it’s not what you think,” my voice shaking as I plead. I grab her hands, but she flinches from my touch. She shakes her head, holding up a finger. This can’t be happening. She has to understand that this isn’t my fault. She goes to say something, but stops. Her lips twist. My eyes plead with hers for understanding.
“Baby, you don’t need to explain to her what we’re doing in our own room. She’s the one walking in on us!” Jessie exclaims, her voice reminding me that she’s still in the room. My jaw clenches as I grind my teeth. Addison turns to walk over to her bag. She can’t leave. I look around the floor for a pair of shorts. Finding them, I put them on quickly. I need to stop her from leaving. She has to let me explain first.
Jessie screams. I whip around to see why the she’s screaming.
Fuck! “Addison, put the gun down,” I command.
“Aiden! She’s going to shoot me!” Jessie screams, running behind me. A fleeting thought that I should just leave and let her shoot Jessie runs through my mind. Shaking that thought from my head, I look at Addison. Her eyes narrow as the gun is pointed at me now. I’m having a déjà vu moment. At least this time I’m not worried she’s going to hurt herself. Now, Jessie, I’m a little concerned for.
“Addison, she’s not worth it,” I say quietly, taking a step toward her. She’s standing stock-still as I inch my way to her. I can hear Jessie’s whimpers behind me. “Sweetheart, please don’t do this.” She looks to Jessie and then to me. I move in front of the gun, pressing it to my chest. Moving my hands slowly to the gun, never breaking eye contact, I wrap my hand around hers. “Please.” I beg her. She loosens her grasp on the gun, allowing me to take it from her. I pull her into my chest, pressing my lips to her hair repeating, “I’m so sorry.” She stands with her arms straight down, not touching me. There’s a feeling of emptiness inside me, fearing I’ve lost her. I hold her tighter willing her to touch me.
“Oh, thank God you got the gun, Aiden.” Jessie exhales quickly. “Keep a hold of her and I’ll the call the police.” I hear her fumbling for something behind me. Her voice sends a stabbing pain through me.
I spin around finding Jessie with her phone in her hand. The heat of pure hatred runs through my body. I stick the gun in my waistband so I don’t accidently use it. “Get the fuck out of my house, Jessie,” I grind the words out through gritted teeth. Her eyes widen as they gloss over.
“If you ever come into my house again, I’ll have you arrested. If you come near Addison or me, I’ll file a restraining order. Get. Out. Now,” I roar as my control slips. She jumps at the sound of my voice. She stumbles around, grabbing her clothes before running out of the room. I hear the front door slam closed. I turn back to Addison reaching for her.
“Don’t,” she says in a strangled voice as she puts her hand up. She walks out of the room. I follow her into the living room.
“Addison, please, let me explain,” I demand. “I didn’t even hear her come into the bedroom. For fuck’s sake, I thought it was you!”
She freezes and stares at me with wide eyes. Shit! Obviously that was the wrong thing to say. “Come on, Addison! She was already under the covers when I woke up. It didn’t take me long to figure it out!” I grab my hair in frustration.
“Fuuuuck!” I roar, balling my hand into a fist and slamming it into a wall. I hear a crunching noise. I’m not sure if it’s from the hole I put in the drywall or the bones in my hand.
“Aiden!” Addison runs to me as I pull my hand out from the wall. She softly holds my hand in hers, inspecting it. The simple touch of her hand has my heart beating fast. Emotions overtake me as my eyes well up with tears.
I look down, pinching the bridge of my nose, ashamed of the whole situation. “I’m so sorry, Addison,” I choke out. I hear her take a deep breath, exhaling slowly. I lift my gaze to hers meeting those beautiful blue eyes. I blink back the unshed tears, “I love you.”
A tear falls from her eye. I cup her face, wiping it away with my thumb. “Aiden, I know it wasn’t your fault. I get it, I do.” She looks away momentarily, pulling her face out of my hand. Blowing out another breath, she continues. “But walking in on a girl who’s just had her mouth on your dick is making me want to do things that I shouldn’t want to do. I just need a little space.” She looks down at her hand cradling mine. “I’ll get you some ice,” she says, turning toward the kitchen. My brows furrow.
“Can you define space?” Concern fills my voice as I follow her. “If you need to be alone for a little bit, that I can do, but if you need to take a break from us, I’ll take two steps forward,” I warn. I’ve worked hard to get her to finally admit her feelings, I will not back off now.
She comes back and places the bag of ice on my hand. “Go take a shower, I’ll make us some breakfast.” The resignation in her voice worries me. I narrow my eyes, assessing her. “I promise I’ll be here when you get out,” she responds. I reach down to kiss her but she backs away. She shakes her head. “Not yet.”
Chapter Forty-seven
I KNEW THE bitch wasn’t finished with Aiden. I can’t stop thinking about what I saw. Walking in on Aiden having his dick sucked by Jessie makes me want to scream and kill someone. My body trembles with anger. How do I move past this? Rationally I know that Aiden was tricked, but irrationally it’s destroying me that he might have enjoyed it for the couple minutes she had her mouth on him.
I take deep breaths in and out. I need to calm down. Grabbing a water, I head out to the patio. I’ll deal with breakfast later. I lie down on the lounger facing the ocean trying to focus on something else. The sounds of the waves calm me. My hand brushes over the spot where Aiden lay yesterday, where we made love. The warmth from the sun helps me relax. I’m still in my sports bra and running shorts. Aiden looked so peaceful sleeping this morning, I didn’t want to wake him up so I decided to go for a run without him. I should’ve woken him up.
“Excuse me, are you Addison?” I jump at the sound of a male voice.
“Holy shit, you scared me,” I say with my hand over my chest. I look at the man standing in front of me. The police. No she didn’t. Anger builds in my chest as I stand up. My body tenses as I bring my hands to my hips.
I should’ve shot her when I had a chance.
“What was that?” The officer asks with a raised eyebrow.
My eyes go wide. Oh, shit! Did I say that out loud?
“Nothing.” I wave my hands around. I need to pull my shit together or I’m going to end up in jail. “Officer, what can I help you with?” I say flatly. His eyes move all over my body. It catches me off guard. I clear my throat. “Eyes up here, buddy.” I don’t care who he is, he’s being unprofessional.
“Yes, Officer Gates, eyes fucking up there,” Aiden growls as he comes outside. The officer turns toward him with a wide grin. Aiden laughs and shakes his head walking in the direction of the officer. They embrace in a hug, smacking each other on their backs. “Good to see you, brother.” My body relaxes, realizin
g this is a friend of Aiden’s.
“Don’t you know how to pick up a phone and call? How long have you been back?” the officer asks.
Aiden chuckles. “A few months. I’ve been busy,” he says, looking over at me, smiling.
“So I’ve heard.” He turns his gaze onto me. Again, I feel like I’m on display. What is it about Aiden’s friends’ assessing eyes? Not in the mood to entertain today, I roll my eyes and recline on the lounger.
“Ryan, this is Addison. Addison, Ryan.” Ryan walks over and shakes my hand. Aiden sits next to me as the officer grabs a chair, straddling it backward while he rests his arms on the back. “Why do I have a feeling you’re not here for personal reasons?” Aiden leans forward with his elbows on his knees.
Ryan looks at me, twisting his lips. “So, Addison, I hear you work for NYPD’s forensic department.” He doesn’t really ask, it’s more of a statement. So I just nod wondering where he’s going with this. “Do you have a department-issued firearm?” Ah, there it is. That bitch did go to the police. I open my mouth to answer, but Aiden speaks first.
“What the hell, Ryan? Stop beating around the bush. What did Jessie say?” he says, raising his voice as he stands up.
“Aiden, what the hell am I supposed to do? Jessie comes in and reports being held at gunpoint from someone in your house. I didn’t even know you were in town, let alone have a serious girlfriend. I had to call Max and ask who the hell she was before coming here.” He pushes off the chair and paces. “I don’t want to arrest her, but fuck my hands are tied.” At those words, I jump off the lounger.
“Arrest me? How about you arrest that psycho who broke into Aiden’s house and sexually assaulted him!” I yell, throwing my hands up. “She wouldn’t leave and I felt like I was in danger because she’s psychotic.” The last part was a bit of an exaggeration, but hell if I’m going to jail for that woman.
His brows furrow, and he glances to Aiden. Aiden nods his head in agreement. He tells him what happened last night and this morning. I stare out to the ocean, trying to block out the details. It’s not working. I close my eyes and cringe when he begins to tell him about this morning. I can’t do it. I can’t listen to it. I turn around to walk into the house.
“Addison,” Aiden calls out. His voice is thick with emotion.
I stop but stay facing away from them. “I can’t listen anymore, Aiden, but continue. He needs to hear it. I’ll be inside if you have any questions, Ryan,” I say over my shoulder before walking away.
I decide to take a quick shower. Walking into Aiden’s room, I notice the entire bedding has been ripped off. I look around, but don’t see it anywhere. Hopefully he burned it. I’m a little relieved that we’re not staying here tonight.
The guys have made it inside by the time I’m done getting ready. The shower did very little to help me relax. I need to leave this place. Get as far away from Jessie as possible. My bags are packed and ready to go. I hear laughing coming from the kitchen as I walk out of the hallway. I lean against the wall, watching the two guys joke with each other. Aiden’s telling Ryan the story of how he got me to go on this weekend date. He catches me watching him and flashes a sexy half grin. I softly smile back.
“Hi,” he says in his low, sexy voice.
“Hey,” I respond quietly.
Ryan turns around looking in my direction. “Cowboys, huh?” he says with amusement on his face.
I walk over to where they are sitting at the island and lean against it, crossing my arms. “So you’re a hater, too, then?” I ask playfully.
We start talking about football and then they move on to telling stories about when they were younger. Aiden, Max, Ryan, and two other guys I’ve yet to meet were all best friends in college. Ryan fell in love with a local girl so he stayed here, became a cop, and married her.
“Yeah, she’s best friends with Je—” he stops midsentence. But I already know what he’s going to say. I just nod. “Sorry. Anyway, I talked to Jessie and told her to stay away from you both and if she comes back on the property that she’ll be charged with trespassing. I’m sorry, Addison,” he says somberly.
“Well, that settles that. Can we never talk about her again?” I quickly ask, wanting to move on. The guys both nod. Ryan changes the subject, asking me what I thought about skydiving.
“I loved it. I can see why people can get addicted to it,” I say.
“When Max told me you went up without me, I was pissed!” He punches Aiden in the arm. “But then when Max explained who you went up with, I about fell out of my chair. And then he tells me to watch this video, and I was sure you must have hit your head at some point in the last two years.” He laughs.
“Why is it so hard for all your friends to imagine you in a relationship?” I say, lifting a curious brow at Aiden. He shrugs with a smug smile. Ryan laughs again.
“We thought Aiden would be a bachelor his whole life. He’s always been focused on work; he didn’t make time for women. Well… he made time, he just didn’t want one around constantly,” Ryan jokingly says.
“I hadn’t found the right one yet,” Aiden says matter-of-factly, winking at me. His words send a jolt through my body. All my nerve endings tingle as heat spreads through me. I glance away, needing a distraction. I open the refrigerator, welcoming the cool air as I pretend to look for something.
“How did y’all meet? Through work?” Ryan questions. I close the door and glance at Aiden to answer. I know that Damon and Max know, but I’m not sure who else he told.
“Something like that,” he answers, pinning me with his intense stare. He tilts his head, cocking his eyebrow. Those beautiful emerald eyes are trying to find the answer to something, I just don’t know what it is. “Are you hungry?” he asks.
I really hadn’t thought about food, but since we skipped breakfast, I could eat. “A little.” I shrug.
“Hey, let’s go have lunch at the barn.” Ryan stands up, slapping Aiden on the back.
“The barn? Sounds fancy,” I say. They both throw their heads back, laughing.
Aiden stands up, sliding to stand by me. “It’s just a local restaurant, not really a barn. We used to go there to eat every time we came into town. They have the best chicken fried steak.” He brushes my hair behind my ears.
I bite my lip as I hesitate to answer. “I’m not sure, Aiden. I don’t know if I can handle any more surprise visits from more of your friends.” I gesture with air quotes. “And I’m not talking about that type of friend,” I say, pointing at Ryan.
“Ryan, give us a few seconds,” he says, nodding his head toward the front door. As soon as Ryan leaves, Aiden traps me with his arms on both sides of me. I can feel the cold granite at my back. The intimate space between us has my pulse quickening. “We can leave if you want,” he whispers as he lays his forehead on mine. I’m having a hard time thinking about anything but him and how close he is. I grab the granite at either side of us.
“Addison, touch me,” he pleads. “I need to feel your touch like I need air to breathe. It’s killing me inside that you’re hurt. I would do anything to take away that pain. For you to look at me the way you did yesterday. Please, Addison.”
The pain in his voice breaks me, causing all my restraint to crumple. I run my hands up his shirt, feeling his muscular chest. I close my eyes, breathing him in.
“Let me kiss you,” he whispers into my ear. I shiver from the heat of his breath and the slight touch of his lips on my ear. I nod, parting my lips. He lightly sweeps his lips across mine. “I love you,” he whispers before pressing his mouth to mine. I bring my hands up to his hair, threading my fingers through it. He moves his hands behind my back, pulling me into him. Our bodies sway to the music of our hearts. It’s a slow, sensual song, with a lot of beat.
“So are you guys going to lunch? I don’t have all day. Some of us have to work.” Ryan’s voice pulls us out of our trance.
Aiden rolls his eyes. “What is it with people always interrupting us?” He chuckles. �
��Should we go to lunch or do you want to eat on the way back home?”
“The barn is fine.” I smirk.
Lunch ends up being delicious. Ryan’s an awesome guy. His face lights up when he talks about his wife. The guys reminisce about fixing up the house and trashing it at night. A few locals stop by to say hi, excited to see Aiden is back in town. I can only imagine the trouble those boys brought to this little beach town. Although, it seems everyone has grown to love them. Some, a little bit too much.
“It was good seeing you, brother.” Aiden pulls Ryan into a hug. “You and Macie should come see us.”
“We will. Maybe we’ll come down for New Year’s.” He looks over at me. “Keep him out of trouble. And don’t go shooting anyone,” he says sarcastically. Aiden’s and my eyes go wide. I bring my hand to my mouth to stifle my laugh. “Am I missing something?” Ryan asks, narrowing his eyes at us both.
Aiden slaps him on the back. “Some things are better left unsaid.” He laughs.
We say our goodbyes and head back to the beach house to pack. On our way we make a quick stop at a hardware store. When I glance at Aiden, he says, “Seems I need to change my locks before we leave.” I sigh, nodding my head.
A few hours later with two locks changed and new security codes, we are on our way home. Our drive home isn’t as exciting as our drive here. So much has happened in these two days it feels like it’s been a week since we left. It’s a little overwhelming to even think about. My mind drifts off to the free fall from the plane. I let out a long sigh. I want that feeling back.
“What are you thinking about?” Aiden says, grabbing my hand.
“Free falling,” I whisper, looking in his direction. He squeezes my hand and nods but doesn’t say anything.
