No Regrets

by Susannah Gautier

  She listened to the hurricane’s ominous approach as debris hurdled against the shutters. Aidan was outside unprotected in the storm saving her puppy.

  “Please come back safe,” she whispered. She looked wistfully around the cozy comfort of the room. She needed something to keep her busy.

  She found the kitchen and searched through the cabinets for a dishrag to dry off the rain. The drawers contained an array of puzzling objects. Rubber dinosaurs, plastic blocks and a well-worn nerf ball were strange objects to find in the home of a cynical, jaded bachelor. The man was definitely full of surprises. He must have friends who have children. It amused her to think of the almighty Aidan in the company of children. He certainly didn't strike her as paternal.

  Not that was she was thinking about kids or family or anything remotely domestic with Aidan Brice. She hadn't forgotten he was planning to tear down her beloved childhood house and replace it with god knows what. Condos? The very idea made her ill.

  After this inconvenient hurricane passed she was going to blow the legal whistle on his boys down at the bank who had kept her from making a counter bid on Villa Milagros. No amount of male bonding was going to keep her from the one thing that had been her driving force all these years.

  In her mother’s honor, she would restore the house to the breathtaking Spanish villa it once had been. Aidan was the best historic restorer in the state. What a shame. She'd have to find another architect to bring her home back to its former beauty.

  Back in the foyer, she opened the front door. A wet, ragged gust swirled around her. Her damp hair whipped at her face. She slammed the door shut, shivering. The sudden stillness of the room was deafening. She found the television and tuned in to watch the hurricane reports from the weather station.

  She would have faced a hurricane a thousand times over in the wide open center of the ocean rather than face a night with the solemn, uncompromising man who unsettled her very soul. The man who had gone out into the thralls of a hurricane to rescue her dog only a block away and who had now been gone for nearly an hour.

  ˜

  It took Aidan almost a half an hour to walk the customary ten-minute walk to Jamie’s house. The fierce winds and gouging rain had been nothing compared to the flying debris he had barely managed to dodge so far. When he reached the house, he secured the windows and doors and set out to search for Thorn. Soft whimpering finally led him to the fur ball hiding beneath the bed.

  “It’s okay, boy.” He pulled Thorn through the yards of fabric that surrounded Jamie’s bed. “We’re going to my place.”

  Thorn’s normally perky personality had metamorphosed into a shivering lump of fuzz. Aidan scooped the pup up, grabbed a towel from the bathroom, and wrapped him up like a burrito. He fit Thorn easily underneath his shirt and tucked it in so the pup was securely strapped in. Thorn didn’t voice any complaints.

  “Hold on, mutt.” He threw open the front door, bracing himself. The steely gusts nearly knocked them over.

  He pushed against the wind, struggling to stay upright. Tree limbs, garbage, and other debris covered the roads and sidewalks now. Patio chairs, broken bowls, children’s toys, anything exposed to the elements by careless owners were now tossed around by the storm like an angry juggler. Aidan ducked as a large branch headed toward him like a canon fired at the enemy. Another quickly followed in its path and barely missed him.

  “Damn!” he muttered as the tail of the branch’s jagged end caught his shoulder. He winced as he hugged Thorn closer. A sharp, radiating pain throbbed where he’d been hit. He braced himself against the wind, as heavier debris flew dangerously close to him.

  Aidan dipped to his knees. Instincts caused him to thrust his hands out before him, saving Thorn from the crushing weight of his body. The pup whimpered fearfully. Aidan looked at the sky. Dangerous airborne objects flew overhead convincing him to stay low. He crawled for the remaining half block to his home, so he and Thorn would make it back in one piece.

  He felt the wound pulsating from his shoulder and the warm blood seeping through his sodden shirt. He thought of the willowy Jamie waiting for him in his living room, warm and soft and feminine. He focused on that image as he moved painstakingly forward and continued to crawl inch by inch to the promise of her warm embrace.

  ~

  Jamie was pacing the living room. When she finally heard the thunderous blow through the foyer, she wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. They looked like a pitiful pair, and she would have found humor in their disheveled appearance if she hadn’t noticed the bloodstains on Aidan’s shirt.

  “What happened?!” She rushed them to the couch. She pulled at Aidan’s shirt to free Thorn. He was wet and shivering, and he began to whine as she clutched him to her chest and soothed him with soft strokes until he'd stopped shaking.

  She put Thorn down and sat next to Aidan. “You’d better take off your shirt.” She helped him unbutton the shirt, partially sliding it across his broad shoulders.

  “Looks like you finally have an excuse to get me undressed,” he said wryly. His grin faded quickly as Jamie tugged the shirt down across his freshly bleeding wound. “I know you’re anxious to get my clothes off, but I could really use a towel.”

  She bit back a sarcastic comeback, too concerned about the oozing blood on Aidan’s arm to let her temper get the best of her. “Where’s the bathroom?” she asked.

  “Down the hall. First door on the right.”

  She found what she needed quickly and returned with bandages, medicines, clean water and a couple of towels. She took a fresh towel and wrapped up Thorn, discarding the dirty wet one. The second one she gave to Aidan whose clothes and hair were rain soaked and caked with dirt. As she helped him dry off, her fingertips skimmed against his moist skin. She tried desperately to divert her attention from his beautiful, bare skin.

  “What happened?”

  “I had to crawl back. There’s a lot of flying debris out there. The gusts must be up to 100 miles per hour already.”

  “Oh my God!” she said as she dabbed at the deep gash on his shoulder.

  "Yeah," he said glancing at his shoulder. "Caught the end of a branch."

  Jamie cleaned the wound with clean water, smoothed some anti-biotic ointment over it, and pressed a large piece of gauze over it to stop the bleeding. “You really need stitches. We should get you to a hospital” she said.

  Aidan laughed. “It’s just a scratch. We need to get out of here before the winds get any stronger. Have you been listening to the bulletins?”

  “The roads are blocked from fallen debris and downed power lines. A curfew is in effect.” She applied a new gauze pad over Aidan’s wound and began to tape it tightly around his arm.

  She averted his eyes. “I guess we have to stay here. They still don’t know where it will make landfall. Maybe we will be spared.”

  Jamie felt guilty. They were now stuck in Aidan’s home less than a mile from the coast line during a category four hurricane. She had been so angry with him over Villa Milagros she didn’t really consider how dangerous it would be for her to stay. He had come back for her and even risked his own safety to save Thorn.

  She leaned back against the cushions and peered over at Aidan’s face. Exhaustion lined his face. She wanted to reach out and kiss away his tiredness, his worry, his memories of a faithless wife. Instead, she simply began to put the first-aid supplies back in their box.

  “I’m afraid I’m not much of a nurse. I’ve never been able to stand the sight of blood,” she said.

  Aidan examined the bandage on his shoulder and looked over at Jamie. He smiled warmly. “You did a great job,” he said.

  Just when Aidan thought he had Jamie Connolly all figured out, she pulled the rug out from under him. He had never expected her to be so nurturing, so protective. So maternal. He should have noticed it before. He watched her with Thorn, stroking the critter’s head to comfort him. She was fiercely protective, fiercely devoted to her stray mutt. He wondered briefly
if she could extend those emotions elsewhere. A motherless child, perhaps?

  “You never had any pets before?” he asked. He wanted to know her now, know her in a way that wasn’t sexual or business oriented. He was beginning to realize he knew next to nothing about Jamie’s life, and his judgments of her had been pretty harsh. She couldn’t have completely changed since high school. He could still recognize the sweetness of the old Jamie, despite her unexpected temper and mistrust.

  “I never had a pet before Thorn. My mother had allergies so we couldn’t keep any animals around. I always wanted a dog when I was a little girl. I was an only child of a single parent and it can be quite lonely sometimes.”

  He thought of his son, also an only child of a single parent. He regretted not getting Ross a dog sooner. He had been lucky enough to have a brother and a complete set of parents while he was growing up.

  “I can imagine it was lonely,” he said quietly.

  “I always dreamed of having a great big family with brothers and sisters. I imagined having terrific barbecues and picnics and a full house during the holidays…” she stopped. Her eyes were wary.

  “Is that why you wanted to buy Villa Milagros? To raise a big family there?”

  Her steely gaze told him he would not find out tonight. It had been a pleasant moment, but he ruined it by opening up the dam and letting the warfare flow between them. He watched her closing up. Her mouth clenched in a frown and her body tensed. He liked her better relaxed.

  “I'm curious." He was burning to know the answer. He needed to know what she planned to do with Villa Milagros.

  She studied him with a doubtful expression. He didn’t need to think about family and Jamie Connolly in the same sentence anyway. He didn’t need to think about those wary blue eyes, her soft skin and those long, silky legs.

  “What we want and what we get are often different things when it comes to family life,” she said.

  Now he was intrigued. “Only family life?”

  “Let’s say, you can control some of your life some of the time, but you can’t control all of your life all of the time.”

  “You’re talking in riddles. It was a simple question and you haven’t answered me plainly because you don’t want me to know who you really are.”

  He leaned toward her, watching her reaction with taunting curiosity. “Are you an ambitious cut-throat, career woman or a nurturing, caring, earth mother? It’s difficult to be both.”

  She shifted nervously. “I’m neither.”

  “Oh? Then are you an uptight, suit wearing, conservative business person or a warm, sultry woman who is interested in exploring the more passionate possibilities of life?”

  “I’m… not going to answer that.” She inched away from the invasion of his approaching body.

  “Jamie,” he said in a low whisper, “There is no reason to be afraid of me.”

  “I’m not afraid of you.” She scooted barely short of sitting on Thorn who had curled up at the end of the couch.

  He relaxed against the cushy pillows of the couch and pat the space next him as he watched at her. “Then come here,” he said. She shook her head, refusing.

  He saw the hunger in her eyes, the way her gaze couldn’t keep from resting on his bare chest and the shimmer of excitement that danced in her eyes. He reached across the space between them and caught her hands in his.

  “Come here.” His voice was barely a whisper.

  She didn’t move. “Why?”

  “Because you choose to,” he said softly.

  And she came to him.

  Chapter Seven

  The feel of her willing lips against his was delicious. He felt his body come alive at her touch, he felt himself harden in anticipation, felt tenderness and life and triumph all in one. Her tongue nudged the inside of his mouth unhurried, exploring him, tasting him. He had the distinct impression she was as hungry as he was and needed him, needed his warmth, his nearness as much as he needed hers.

  He dragged her into his lap as she kissed him. She sank against him, wrapping her legs around his hips, straddling him. He slipped her dress up to her thighs and ran his hands along her smooth, silky skin, along her hips and the sensuous curve of her waist. He cupped her breasts in his hands, and her nipples rose, alert underneath his fingertips. She kissed him again while she nestled herself against his hardness. A whisper of silk panties and hard denim stood between the culmination of their desire.

  The storm was reveling in its glory outside, like an angry ghost haunting the living. It raged and moaned as if flaunting Mother Nature herself. Aidan wondered if he would be able to contain his own raging desires any longer or if he too would surrender to the glories of nature. The allure of Jamie, her sweet body gloriously and painstakingly entangled around him was pushing his willpower to the limit.

  He heard a crashing sound outside of the front door and remembered they were in the midst of a dangerous hurricane. He pulled away from Jamie with regret. He watched her face as he rose from the couch, watched her blue eyes flutter open and watched her dress fall back into place across her thighs. He saw the curtain of defense once again fall in its place across her beautiful face.

  “I’d better go check outside” he said.

  She looked at him blankly.

  “We should listen for the latest storm update.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “The hurricane, remember?” He slid stiffly back into his shirt.

  “Yes, the hurricane” she repeated. He reached for the front door.

  “Be careful’ she said softly.

  Aidan braced himself as he opened the door. A chilling wind whipped through his body only slightly diffusing the heat of Jamie's kisses. The rain felt like needles piercing him, and his shoulder ached as the drops bore down on him. He knew a shutter had come loose. He had to repair it right away. He grabbed some tools from his truck and silently reminded himself to move his truck into the carport when he was done.

  His lips burned despite the cool wind. He had never behaved so irresponsibly before, had never been so controlled by his desire for a woman. He wondered if he should be feeling some sense of doom pervading his life.

  But he didn’t feel a sense of doom. He felt alive, more alive than he had in years. Jamie intrigued him, invigorated him on so many levels. It wasn’t just nostalgia, nor the sexual attraction between them, or her sharp wit and intelligence. It was the allure of a woman who was everything he had ever wanted in a woman. And all the things he hadn’t wanted. She was a self-made career woman, successful, independent but giving, nurturing, down to earth.

  And downright sexy.

  And damn temperamental.

  Yet there was something deeper, something more significant than a mere attraction. When he was with her, he felt alive. He hadn’t felt that way in a long, long time.

  He thought of her with Ross and found that he liked that image. He wanted to tell her Ross was his son, but he wouldn’t dare risk Ross meeting her. To his knowledge, with all her digging into his professional references, Jamie knew surprisingly little about his personal life. It was obvious that she didn’t know about his son or the awful circumstances of his ex wife’s death and that was a major stumbling block for him. How could he explain it to her when he couldn’t explain it to Ross?

  He didn’t want any woman he was getting involved with getting close to Ross unless they were going to be around for a long, long time. As much as Jamie intrigued him, as much as he was drawn to her, the fact remained she wasn’t staying around permanently. She would quickly tire of Seabrook and her time here would turn to monthly visits and then to yearly visits until finally she would disappear forever.

  Best to think of her in temporary terms. Albeit wonderfully pleasurable temporary terms. He would sample the carnal delights she was so willing to share, buy Villa Milagros, which wouldn’t matter to her five years from now, and then let her go without a second thought. He could do that, couldn’t he?

  He repaired
the shutter, almost oblivious now to the elements that battered his body and his wounded shoulder. After moving his truck under the carport he went into the house a much cooler, a much more subdued man than when he left.

  Jamie was fiddling with the radio when she heard him slam the side door into the kitchen. Thorn’s quick legs beat her to Aidan, and he was the first and only one to receive a warm greeting. Aidan Brice had changed his demeanor it seemed. He was back to his contrary self. Distant, aloof. Stoic.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “A shutter came loose.”

  “Were you able to fix it?”

  “Yeah. I also moved my truck under the carport.”

  “My car! It’s going to get pulverized!” she said.

  “Don’t worry, I moved it under the carport when I went to get Thorn. It should be somewhat protected.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  In a space of fifteen minutes, Aidan had gone from hot and lusty to cool and collected. How could he do that? She couldn’t. She couldn’t feel his heat, his hardness against her, taste his warm, sultry lips, and then turn it off. She wanted to scream at him but instead picked up Thorn and cuddled him in her arms. She watched Aidan warily and let the emotion build up inside her.

  “What’s the latest bulletin about the hurricane? It’s already eleven, it should be hitting in a few hours if-“

  “Shut up, will you?” Please stop it!” Jamie squeezed Thorn so tightly he wiggled uncomfortably in her grasp.

  She let Thorn tumble out of her arms. “What games are you playing with me? You lure me here to your house like you lured me to the beach. You kiss me and fondle me until I’m willing to drop my clothes at your command and then you turn into the ice man two seconds later!"

  She was shaking with anger while he was standing there so calmly, simply staring at her through those cool, gray eyes.

  “You were going to drop your clothes at my command?”

  She felt her cheeks burning. “What happened to you, Aidan?”