by Tiana Cole
“No. No, not at all.” Alicia thought of how he’d knocked down her attacker, had saved her from god knows what. “You were great. You saved me. And…” This was the hardest part for her to admit, “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
“I understand.” And she could tell that he really did. He understood her on so many levels. Yes, she was a daredevil, and couldn’t say no to a challenge, but there was a vulnerable side to her too. One born from being passed around from foster home to foster home, orphanage and half way houses.
Ayden walked around the car and opened her door before helping her out, and she found the few moments without his hand holding hers almost unbearable. She hated how weak she was feeling, but it was too easy, felt too good, to lean on Ayden for a little while. To use the strength he offered until she could find her own again.
And she would, there was no doubt about that. A grim smile curved the corners of her lips as she pulled out the keys and they walked inside. She had been through worse than this, much, much worse. And she had come out the stronger for it, but she had also come out scarred. It was a side of her that she didn’t let many people see. In fact, only Charlotte truly knew that part of her. And now Ayden had seen a glimpse, as well.
Alicia turned to look at him, his dark blue eyes holding only caring and affection as they walked through the living room and into the kitchen. Quickly, she grabbed him a pillow and some blankets, putting together a makeshift bed on the couch before she headed to her own room. She was halfway through the door when she turned back towards him.
“Thank you, Ayden,” she said, her voice soft in the quiet apartment. “Good night.”
“Good night, Alicia.”
Chapter 8
Ayden sat in front of the computer screen he had been staring blankly at for the last thirty minutes, his fingers still poised over the keys as if he was actually working. He almost snorted aloud at the thought.
Working. Right. With Alicia walking around the office in that tight black and red dress that hugged her body like a second a skin? Exactly like he wanted to do himself? The images that stirred in his mind had other parts stirring as well and he shifted slightly in the chair, trying to get his wayward body back under control.
They had been seeing each other casually for the past six months and it was literally killing him. She was constantly on his mind when they weren’t together and when they were together all he could think of was seeing if her dark chocolate colored skin was really as sweet as it looked. But every time things started to go further than second base, Alicia would pull back, push him away. One time she even dumped an entire bottle of water on him. And it was damn cold water, too.
He knew it was because she still felt weird about breaking her number one rule, as she put it. Don’t mix business with pleasure. Ayden snorted out loud at the thought. If he could have a little more pleasure it would go a long way towards easing the near constant hard on he walked around with most days. It was really more like mixing business with torture. He grinned to himself at the thought. She was driving him insane, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
There was just something about her that drew him like a moth to a bright, shiny flame even though he knew he was going to just get burned. Sometimes literally. He recalled the night a few weeks ago when they had been at her place. He had offered to cook her dinner, which was a huge mistake since he could barely figure out how to boil water most days. So he did what any man would do when faced with a problem. He googled it.
Ayden had scoured the internet looking for the best recipes with the most expensive ingredients, and had come up with a world class menu. Too bad he had no idea what in the hell to do with any of it. But he had shown up, bags of food in hand and had went about pretending to know what he was doing. About halfway through trying to bake the fettuccine noodles Alicia started to realize that something was going on.
Finally, she asked him what he was doing, and he tried to keep a straight face as he told her he had no idea, but then she had cracked, bursting into laughter and he had followed with her. He had laughed so hard that tears rolled down his cheeks and it was several minutes later until either one of them had regained their composure. The moment had been so sweet that it was all he could do not to drag her close and kiss her until she was breathless and wanting him as desperately as he wanted her.
Hell, he’d taken one look at her flushed, smiling face and did just that. His arms were around her and her luscious body was pressed against his so fast, her sudden wide-eyed look was only a blur before his mouth descended onto hers.
The kiss was hot, so hot he was beginning to sweat, and then burn. It took him barely a minute to realize that the burning was coming from his back, not the sweet woman he held in his arms. He’d jumped back with a yelp, only to realize that the burner was still on on the stove top behind him and had seared a giant hole straight through the expensive Italian shirt he was wearing. After Alicia made sure he was okay, she had gone off on another bout of infectious laughter and after a moment he joined her.
It had gone on like that for the past several months and Ayden felt like he was at the bursting point. Literally. Things would start to get serious and then something would happen to leave him panting and wanting her more than anything in his entire life. He was pretty sure it was longest he had gone without have sex in his entire adult life, and he was also pretty sure it was starting to effect his concentration.
He glanced down again at the empty screen in front of him. The same few words typed half-heartedly at the top of the email that had sat there unmoving and unchanging for the last forty-five minutes now. What had gotten into him? Check that question. He already knew the answer. A fiery temptress named Alicia Banks.
But why? He had dated plenty of women before, had even fallen for one or two, but it had never been like this. So instant, the connection so deep and so real and so far beyond the sexual. Although, he would have loved it to be a hell of a lot more sexual.
With a grimace at the tightness in his slacks, he shifted again and tried to pry his thoughts away from the all too tempting Alicia to the matter at hand. It was almost time to launch his new site and he couldn’t be more thrilled with the results, or Alicia’s work. Every step of the way had its fair share of set backs and problems, though nothing like the massive data breach at the beginning, thank god.
That niggling doubt that Marcus was somehow involved crept back every time he thought of the mysterious events around the loss of all that data, but he had no way to prove it and every time he brought it up to Alicia she just denied it. She hated the idea of someone on her beloved team being responsible for jeopardizing the project. He understood. He still thought she was wrong. But for the meantime, they were back on schedule and he had a lot of work to do before the launch of the website that afternoon.
He stared at the computer screen, forcing himself to type a few more words before his thoughts drifted inevitably back to Alicia again. He would have laughed at the irony if he wasn’t in so much pain.
Here he was, launching the best, most advanced online dating site, and he couldn’t even have sex with his own girlfriend. The thought ricocheted through him. His girlfriend. He did grin that time. Alicia would hate being termed that but he couldn’t help but think of her that way.
As if the thought had conjured her, Alicia walked into his office, excitement lighting up her face, making her even more beautiful, and he wouldn’t have believed it was possible. She swept in, brightening the entire office with her shining spirit and he once again wondered at the steps Fate had taken to throw them both together.
She barely even looked at him as she stared at the laptop she was carrying over to his desk, effectively ruining any chances at real work as her scent, something light and effervescent with a hint of smoke and fire, twined through him. All he could think of was getting her naked, but as she finally glanced over at him, he could see the nervous energy pouring off her. She looked down at the computer and typed in a qu
ick succession of key strokes.
“Are you ready?” Alicia turned and grinned at him in a way that had all sorts of dirty thoughts popping into his lust-riddled brain. Oh yes. He was more than ready. She arched that damned eyebrow of hers at him, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. Ayden just smiled at her until she clicked her tongue and shook her head at him.
“Well, are you?” she finally asked again, her fingers poised over the keys, ready to launch the site. Nerves, excitement and anticipation swirled together in his gut in a maelstrom of emotion. They had worked so hard for this day. He glanced back at her before putting his finger over hers and nodding. Together, they pressed the button, publishing the new website and making his dreams for all these long months a reality.
Chapter 9
Alicia and Ayden both watched the tracker on the bottom right hand side of the laptop screen in utter shock. It was a simple add-on that Alicia had built into the new website to keep track of various aspects of the site. How many people visited, how many people signed up, how long they stayed on the site. Just then, they were looking at the count of how many people were signing up. And it kept going up and up and up.
The site had only been life for five hours and already half a million people had signed up. And the number was still growing. He looked over at Alicia and caught her own wide-eyed gaze. They both grinned at each other before Ayden let out a loud whoop of excitement, leaping up from his chair and dancing like a maniac around the office.
Alicia’s grin widened as she watched him, shaking her head at his antics. They had known it would be successful, and she was confident in her product.
The glow of pride suffused her as she watched the counter continue to grow and grow. Ayden had asked for the best website with the newest technology that would stay ahead of the competitors for years to come and that’s exactly what she delivered. She couldn’t have been happier with how things turned out.
She cast a sideways glance at Ayden. Well, a few things would have made it better but she was also proud of herself that she had stuck to her guns about dating a client, even though she had definitely bent the rules a bit. But when it came to Ayden Ross, there was no rules. There was only a deep seated desire that continued to grow no matter how much distance she tried to put between them. Granted, she hadn’t exactly tried very hard to keep them apart the past few months. He was just so easy to be around. He knew what she was thinking, what she was feeling without her having to say a word. She’d never felt that kind of connection before.
“Alicia, you are incredible.” She let out a squeal of surprise when he hoisted her up and swung her around in dizzying circles.
“Put me down, you idiot,” she said in mock censure. She would have slapped him for good measure but her arms were still locked at her sides, held tight by his grip.
“Idiot, huh?” He smiled down at her and she felt dizzy for a moment, lost in the blue of his eyes. “Who’s the idiot that hired the best programmer in the world?” Alicia snorted at that, but couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of her as Ayden finally returned her to her feet.
“Well, maybe not that big of an idiot.” She looked up at him from under a dark fringe of lashes, her dark chocolate eyes melting him on the spot. His smile slowly faded only to be replaced by another look. He looked hungry. No, ravenous. Within seconds his lips were on hers, and it was her turn to melt. There was something about him that she couldn’t resist, no matter how hard she tried. And honestly, she was tired of trying.
She kissed him back with all of the pent up lust and excitement that swirled through her; crashing into him on a wave of pure want. And he kissed her right back, passion for passion. A throat being cleared from the office doorway had them jumping apart and Alicia looked over, guilt and embarrassment tinging her cheeks a deep scarlet.
“Um, Mr. Ross?” Ayden’s new assistant, a freckled faced girl who had just graduated and was still in awe of the great Mr. Ross, stood shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, trying to look anywhere but at them.
“Yes, Kelsey?” he said, remarkably even toned despite having just been caught making out with Alicia in the middle of his office.
“Right, you have a phone call on line two. It’s Mr. Richardson, sir. He says it’s urgent.” Ayden sighed as he turned back towards her.
“Duty calls,” he said with a small, lopsided smile that twisted at her heart strings. “I’ll see you tonight at the launch party? We have to toast to the site’s success.”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” she replied, already heading towards the door, trying to still her pounding pulse, her body heavy from unmet desire. Alicia stole one more glance at him, already on the phone, wheeling and dealing or whatever it was he did when he was violently flirting with her. Or kissing her.
Memories of the kiss they just shared swirled in her mind, leaving her achy and wanting. She grinned as she thought about the party that night. She couldn’t wait.
***
Alicia stared at the incredible view of the city, an empty cocktail glass still in her hand, forgotten. Her mind whirled with the success of the day.
The last time she had checked, which had been just under an hour ago because she couldn’t wait, over a million people had signed up for Ayden’s new dating website. It was an unprecedented success, and she still couldn’t believe that she had been a part of it. She thought of the massive paycheck she had received in the mail that afternoon. She couldn’t really believe that either.
To go from a lonely, orphaned nobody to one of the most successful coders in Los Angeles. Scratch that, the most successful. It still boggled her mind. She was just thinking about going back downstairs to the crowded lounge full of people celebrating to get another drink when her phone buzzed from the depths of her rhinestone studded clutch. It matched her short cocktail dress perfectly. A little black number that fit her curves like a glove, emphasizing her figure and making her feel ultra feminine.
It took a moment for her to find it amongst the extra tube of deep, blood red lipstick and myriad of notes and scribbled on scraps of paper.
“Hello?” she answered quickly, holding it to her ear and flipping the short curls from her cheek, but she didn’t answer it in time. With a huff of annoyance, she glanced at the caller ID. Charlotte. Alicia couldn’t help but shake her head and smile. Her best friend was probably downstairs with a group of handsome guys drooling all over her and hanging on every word. Ever since she’d landed that new role, she had been getting recognized more and more. And Charlotte certainly had no problem at all being the center of attention.
Unlike Alicia. She appreciated a good party, but when Ayden had called her up in front of everybody, showering her with praises, she had gotten so flustered it was all she could do to mumble a hasty thank you and scamper upstairs to the empty balcony to catch her breath. Her friend was probably wondering where the hell she was and why the hell she wasn’t taking advantage of the opportunity to soak up all of the admiration.
Alicia just shook her head as she spun on her stiletto heels. Charlotte would never understand. She was so much happier behind the screen. Just her and her computer. Her and the wonderful, complicated language of technology. No emotions. Nothing to distract her. She thought of Ayden, working with him the past months and how far they had come, both professionally and personally. She couldn’t deny the thrill that shot through her as she pictured him, so handsome, so charming, always flirting with her.
She had tried to keep him at bay but he had persistently worn away at her defenses until it was all she could to resist him. But he’s not a client anymore, an insidious thought echoed through her champagne fuzzed brain – not for the first time that night. You don’t have to resist anymore.
With that alcohol infused thought still bubbling through her brain, she headed back downstairs to rejoin the party and the find the man who had invaded her thoughts and her heart.
It didn’t take her long to find him. He was surrounded by a bevy of women, all mode
l beautiful and she felt a moment of doubt. He saw her through the crowd, his blue eyes locked on to her brown and all the doubts and misgivings melted away and it was like they were the only two people who existed in the entire world.
His magnetic gaze pulled her ever closer to him and she barely even noticed the looks the other women sent her as she moved past them, her hand falling into Ayden’s extended one. A slow, soulful song blared through the speakers and he led her to the dance floor. They could have been completely alone, rather than in a swanky bar crowded with party goers.
“Well, you did it,” Alicia said breathlessly, smiling up at him. He raised a brow at her words.
“I did it? No, you have it all wrong. I couldn’t have done this without you, Alicia. You made my dream come true.” She thought she heard more to his words, but ignored it. She wasn’t ready to talk about them, about what had been growing between them since the first moment he’d walked into her office, so full of confidence and charm.
“Together, then. We did it together.” She grinned again as he pulled her even closer, swaying slightly to the music.
“Together,” he said, tasting the word. “I like that.”
Alicia wasn’t sure how much longer they danced, moving slowly and steadily to the music that turned bluesy and sweet. Eventually, the crowd dwindled as the party ran down and even Charlotte left with a quick goodbye, a wink, and a handsome man on her arm. Still, they danced. Their bodies moving in tandem in a way that had a syrupy heat melting through her. It was a slow burn at first, growing and growing into an inferno of desire that she could no longer deny. That she didn’t want to.
“Ayden, I–.”
“Alicia, will you come home with me?” They spoke at the same time, but his words rushed over her own, adding more fuel to the fire. She looked up at him for a long moment, letting herself get lost in the ocean of his glimmering gaze. She could see all she needed to in that look.
