Nicole laughed and glanced at Felicia. “Aaron always had this gift for understatement,” she told the physical therapist affectionately. “All right, you two, I suggest you get started. The weather is practically perfect and, for all intents and purposes, accommodating right now, but it’s as unpredictable as a fickle woman with her first taste of freedom. Which means that it’s liable to change without warning.”
The woman was really trying to get them to go out the door, Felicia thought. “That’s a little simplistic and stereotypical, don’t you think?” she asked Nicole.
“Possibly,” Nicole admitted. “You two better get going.”
Aaron lingered for a moment longer. “I asked Damon to look in on you later,” he told his mother.
His words were not met with the reaction he had expected. His mother was frowning and didn’t look at all pleased by his actions. “Aaron, I told you, I’m fine. I certainly don’t need a keeper.”
“Not a keeper, Mom,” he protested. “Think of it as a drive-by.”
She didn’t follow that at all. “That sounds more like a shooting,” she told her son. “In any event, call your brother off, dear. If I find I need someone for any reason, I can call your aunt Vita and she can come over. She likes the excuse.”
Aaron gave his mother a skeptical look and then laughed at the scenario she was attempting to sell to him. “Like I really believe that.”
Nicole glared at her son impatiently. “Look, are you going to take this lovely creature out for her first picnic, or are you going to stand here and waste your time arguing with me?”
He sighed. “Okay, you win—as usual.”
Nicole smiled. “That’s what makes me the mom and you the kid. Now go!” she ordered. “I outdid myself with the lunch I prepared for the two of you. Don’t let it go to waste.” She looked at Felicia. “Help me out here, Fee.”
Felicia glanced at Aaron. “She’s right, you know. We should get going before we run out of daylight and it’s suddenly time to get back to our regular lives.”
“Hear that? She’s making sense. See if she can get some of that to rub off on you,” Nicole said, walking them to the door.
“You know, for a little thing,” he told his mother, “you certainly are bossy.”
“I have to be,” Nicole informed him, humor curving her mouth. “My sons don’t listen to me the first half a dozen times I say something.” Placing her hands against Aaron’s back, she all but pushed him out the door. “Now go and have fun. That’s a command.”
And with that, Nicole closed the door on both of them.
“I do still have a key, Mom,” Aaron called out, raising his voice to goad her.
“And you know better than to use it,” Nicole countered.
His mother had made her point. Aaron looked at Felicia. “I guess that’s our cue to go.”
She laughed. “Short of both of us getting the bum’s rush, I would say that you are right.”
“Bum’s rush?” Aaron repeated. He hadn’t heard the expression in years. “Just how old are you, Felicia?” he asked her with a laugh.
“I’ve never heard anyone ever actually use that expression,” she told him. “I just read a lot—and watch old movies.”
Well, that certainly sounded like a well-rounded, if somewhat vicarious, life, Aaron thought. “And yet you’ve never been on a picnic,” he marveled.
“I said I read a lot. I didn’t say that I experienced a lot of things,” she pointed out.
Aaron nodded, opening the passenger door for her. “No, you did not,” he agreed. As she got into the car, his eyes skimmed over her shorts, which hugged her body and drew attention to her legs. Definitely arousing, he thought before he shut down his reaction.
“All right,” he declared, “let your education begin.” With that, he slid in behind the wheel and started up the engine. The car purred to life.
“You make it sound so pragmatic,” Felicia said, referring to what he had just said to her.
“Don’t worry, Felicia. I promise you that you’ll have fun. My mother would have my head if she thought you weren’t enjoying yourself immensely. You know, I’ve never seen her take to anyone as quickly as she has taken to you.”
Felicia smiled broadly. “That goes both ways,” she told him. “I’ve never enjoyed my work as much as I have in these last few weeks. Don’t get me wrong, the people I’ve dealt with were all very nice.” She didn’t want Aaron to think she was attempting to slant this. “But your mother, well, she’s in a class all by herself.”
Aaron laughed softly. “She is that.”
Because he hadn’t opened up a car window yet, the aroma coming from the picnic basket swiftly wafted around them, filling up the inside of the vehicle with warm, delicious smells.
“Mmm...” He inhaled appreciatively. “Just what did my mother prepare?”
“A feast fit for the gods, from what I gather. How long has she had her catering company?” Felicia asked. “And what made her get into that field in the first place?”
That was actually simple enough to answer, he thought as he began to drive to the park he hadn’t been to in years.
“Mom always had a knack for whipping up really fantastic meals, practically out of nothing. Money started being a problem—my father wasn’t exactly timely with his payments,” he confided matter-of-factly. “He was juggling two families at the time and doing a really poor job of it. Mom decided it might be time to try to supplement her income. She gave it a shot and it turned out to be successful. That was when it occurred to her that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to just do catering for a living, feeling she could depend on herself far more than she could depend on my father to make those regular alimony payments.
“Over time she turned it into a business. Word of mouth naturally spread like wildfire because she’s such a great cook. Pretty soon she had as much business as she could handle,” he told Felicia proudly. He took in a deep breath, glancing at the picnic basket on the floor between them. “That smells like my mother’s Southern fried chicken,” he said, “and her deep-dish apple pie—with cinnamon.”
“If your days training fighters ever dry up, you can always make a living substituting as a bloodhound,” she told him with a wide grin.
“I can just see the business cards,” he commented, laughing.
She looked at him and suddenly envisioned him as a lovable, sexy-looking bloodhound. Felicia started to laugh. The image struck her as being so funny, she couldn’t stop laughing.
The sound was infectious and Aaron found himself joining in, even if he wasn’t 100 percent sure as to why he was laughing so hard.
Taking a deep, cleansing breath to get a hold of himself, Aaron brought his vehicle up to a welcoming, semishady area. They had driven into a public park that also doubled as a picnic area. It was a perfect place for people to spend some private time away from what some could call “a madding crowd.”
“We’re here,” Aaron needlessly announced, pulling his vehicle into a small parking area. There were trees lining three sides of it, creating a very peaceful oasis.
“This is really nice,” she said as she got out on her side. Closing the door, she looked at Aaron. “Do you come here often?”
“I did when I was a kid,” he answered. “But not for a long time lately. I’ve forgotten how pretty it was.”
Seeing that she was reaching in for the picnic basket, Aaron gently moved her aside and reached into the vehicle to take out the basket. “Let me show you my favorite spot,” he told her.
“I’d like that,” Felicia said. She went with him happily, feeling as if she was about to get a glimpse into his childhood.
Chapter 18
Felicia had no idea how the afternoon managed to get away from her, but it did. One moment, she and Aaron were spreading out the tablecloth on the grass, and the next, they were finish
ing up the last of the feast that his mother had packed for them, no small feat in its own right.
It struck her that for the first time in a very long time, she had enjoyed an afternoon that was totally devoid of responsibility. Not just that, but it was an afternoon devoted to enjoying the weather, the spectacular meal and being with such an attractive man. There was a rapport between them that went beyond words. That brought with it its own form of contentment and communication.
Considering how nice the weather was, Felicia noticed that there weren’t really very many people in the entire park.
There was one family who had come to the park apparently with the same intentions they had—to just enjoy a day outside. The young, somewhat harried parents had come with a boy and a girl, who looked to be approximately four and five years old.
Felicia couldn’t help noticing that the kids behaved as if they were a living, breathing advertisement for an energy drink, one that their parents should have definitely consumed, as well.
She found herself fascinated with the two little people, mesmerized as they went whizzing around nonstop through that section of the park.
“If you ask me, I think that those kids’ parents are going to be worn out long before the kids are,” she commented to Aaron.
Aaron had been busy observing Felicia watching the children. She looked almost enthralled. He threw back his head and laughed now at her comment.
“I think you’re probably right,” he agreed. An amused glint entered his eyes. “Think there’s any chance that those kids are battery powered?”
“At this point, I’d think just about anything was possible.” She didn’t think either had paused for more than a moment before flying around again.
Aaron turned to look at her just as the little girl went sailing by their tablecloth, narrowly avoiding leaving her footprint where one of their dishes had been. To his credit and her surprise, Aaron looked unfazed.
“Have you ever thought about having kids?” he asked her.
Felicia nodded. “I did,” she admitted just as the little girl’s brother raced after her. “Once.”
Aaron thought he detected an odd note in her voice. “Once,” he repeated. “What happened?” he asked, curious.
That was when she’d just married Greg, Felicia recalled. Back then, wildly in love, she had envisioned the perfect future for him and herself. At that time, she had planned to work for a little while, get accustomed to the idea of being a married lady before she went on to the next logical step, trying to have a baby.
But by then Greg had begun to show his true colors. Scaring her. So much so that she’d been really relieved she hadn’t gotten pregnant.
The more time that went by, the more convinced she became that Greg’s temper made him a terrible candidate for fatherhood. He had put a stranglehold on her bank account, doling out a tiny allowance for her so she could buy her lunch and pay for her parking. And even that she had to beg for. No, having a child with this man would have been a terrible idea.
Out loud Felicia simply replied, “The timing just wasn’t right.”
Her reply raised more questions in Aaron’s mind than it answered. He found himself wanting to know more about this sweet, competent woman, but he didn’t want her feeling that he was attempting to invade her privacy, or worse, interrogate her.
But there was something there. He could sense it. Something that kept her from sharing, from opening up. Aaron really wanted to be able to find out what that was. In short, he wanted her to be honest with him. For that to happen, Felicia had to be able to trust him.
One small step at a time. That was all he could do, Aaron thought philosophically. He had resigned himself to playing the waiting game.
“Maybe you just hadn’t found the right man at the time,” Aaron said.
The family with the two overactive children was packing up their leftovers. Looking at them, Felicia decided that the adults appeared to be even more wiped out than the kids. But frankly, it was pretty close. As she looked on, she still couldn’t help envying the parents.
Felicia suddenly realized that Aaron had said something to her that needed a response. Turning toward him, she found his eyes skimming over her, making her feel warm and alive in a very intimate way.
She looked up, her eyes meeting his. Taking a breath, she replied, “Maybe.”
Her pulse began to race. No amount of deep breaths she took managed to steady it. She had never felt like this. Not even with Greg. She needed to get control over herself.
“Are you all right?” he asked her in a whisper that only managed to further unsettle her.
“I’m not sure,” she answered honestly, watching his mouth and growing progressively more enticed by the man.
Rather than press her to elaborate, he made a simple observation. “Looks like everyone’s left.” He looked at her, letting her call the shots. “Do you want me to take you home?”
Felicia didn’t want the day to end, not yet. She raised her eyes to his. “No.”
Her voice was low, sultry, sounding almost like a siren’s song. He couldn’t help being incredibly drawn to her. He leaned in, and his lips found hers. And when he kissed her, he discovered that somehow, without meaning to, they had managed to rise up to a whole new level.
The sweet, gentle kiss they had just shared ignited, and suddenly there was fire erupting between them. Aaron closed his arms around her, enveloping Felicia as he drew her even closer to him than before.
It was almost as if their very souls were touching.
The more he kissed her, the more he wanted of her, and he knew that if he didn’t attempt to put a stop to this right now, they would wind up going a great deal further than either one of them had counted on when this “harmless” picnic had begun.
His heart slamming against his rib cage, Aaron forced himself to draw back. It was the hardest thing he had ever done.
“I’d better take you home,” he told her in a low voice.
It took her a moment to catch her breath. When she did, she asked, “Your place?”
Aaron realized that he wanted that with a passion that took him completely by surprise. But he wasn’t about to impose his needs and desires on her no matter how much he found himself wanting her.
Taking a breath to steady himself, Aaron asked, “Is that what you want?”
Felicia knew she should say no, but because Aaron wasn’t attempting to push himself on her, because he was giving her a chance to say no, she wanted Aaron Colton more than she would have ever thought was humanly possible.
“Yes,” she whispered without hesitation.
Aaron wasn’t able to resist her any longer. He kissed her then, long and hard, with enough passion to ignite his soul. And it was extremely hard for him to pull back at this point, but somehow, he did.
Taking her hand, he looked into Felicia’s eyes as longing filled him. “All right, if you’re sure,” he said, giving her one final opportunity to draw back. But, to Aaron’s relief, she didn’t. “Then let’s put the leftovers and the tablecloth back into the basket and go,” he told her, already feeling anticipation flooding his veins.
Part of Felicia wished he would take her right here, where they had had their picnic. It appeared that everyone had already cleared out and gone home. But he didn’t.
Aaron refused to press his advantage. He was determined that the first time between them was going to be special. But he did help her put everything into the basket in what seemed like record time.
Taking her back to his car, Aaron drove them to the gym. Felicia had been there before, of course, when he’d brought her to show her some self-defense moves, which she still practiced. But everything looked different to her as night enveloped the area.
Or maybe it looked different because anticipation had wrapped itself around her, whispering in her ear and promising wonderfu
l things.
When he parked his vehicle to the rear of the gym and used the back entrance to go into the building, Felicia could literally feel her pulse speeding up.
Taking her hand, he went up to his loft and unlocked the door. The whole building sounded almost eerily quiet to her.
“I guess the gym’s closed now,” she commented, hoping he would confirm that. The last thing she wanted now was for someone to interrupt them.
“It’s the middle of the week. Unless other arrangements have been made, I usually make sure the doors are closed by seven,” he told her. It was a little past that now. “For all intents and purposes, we’re alone,” Aaron told her. “That doesn’t bother you, does it?” he asked.
She couldn’t believe that Aaron was concerned about her state of mind. This was why she was so attracted to him.
“I think if I could make out the sounds of someone punching a boxing bag, that might bother me right now,” she admitted. “But you said the gym was all closed up.”
“It is.” Walking into the loft, Aaron turned on the light and closed the door behind him. “Can I get you anything?” he offered.
Her eyes washed over him. “Just you,” she heard herself saying.
The smile that touched Aaron’s lips began in his eyes.
“That I can do,” he told her as he drew her into his arms again. It felt so right having Felicia there.
The fireworks began the second his lips touched hers. It was as if the flames ignited themselves immediately. At the same time, her breath totally vanished. Although she hadn’t realized it, her whole body had been waiting for this very moment.
She could feel herself trembling as his mouth touched her everywhere, setting off fireworks in every part of her body, making her crave him even more.
Felicia kissed him over and over again, each time with increasing passion.
Part of Aaron had thought he knew what to expect. His anticipation of that was what had initially driven him.
Colton 911: Secret Defender Page 16
