AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The food was amazing. I loved that he could cook and asked him where he learned it.
“Food Network,” he replied as he pushed his plate away.
“Really?” I said around a mouthful of my second fajita.
“No,” he said with a grin and turned to me. “Who exactly are you, Nina? Because from what I can tell, you haven’t been honest with me much at all.”
I froze mid-bite, no longer hungry.
“Pardon?” I said, wiping my mouth and fidgeting with my beer.
“The first time I saw you, you were on the beach in a dress worth thousands, then you show up to my bar wanting to be ‘someone else’ dressed for a Grateful Dead concert. Last night you came to our date in a fuck me dress fit for a high-class call girl, and today you show up in a limo dressed like Ivana Trump. It’s obvious you don’t cater to the wealthy. You are wealthy. I guess my question is, why are you trying to hide it?”
I sat stunned and completely…busted.
“Aiden, I—”
“Before you say a word, I want you to think about it, okay? Just think about it. You don’t have to answer me tonight,” he said, gathering our plates and walking them to the sink.
I remained seated, feeling like I had just been lectured by my father. I couldn’t believe he had just done that to me. I picked up my beer, grabbed another, and then headed out to his porch. I had no idea how long I sat out there thinking.
Damn it! All I wanted was a distraction! I had no idea why I hadn’t left his house yet. A simple text to Carson would clear me of having to explain myself, or having to explain the woman I’d become and why I was running. I didn’t know how Aiden would look at me if I told him the truth. The fact that I cared what he thought was even more disturbing. When I finished my second beer, I headed inside to find him and wish him a good night.
After a few minutes of searching, I found him in his garage waxing his surfboard. The mere sight of him had me reneging on my decision.
“Running?” he asked as he stroked his board.
“Not yet,” I said, making my decision in the moment.
“Good,” he said, lifting the board. “Nina, I want to know you. It’s not a crime.”
“I just can’t figure out why.”
He shrugged, coming toward me and taking my hand.
Always taking my hand.
“We are waking up early. Let’s go to bed,” he said, leading us up his stairs to his bedroom. His bed was huge, and he seemed to take his comfort seriously. It sat in a large, tastefully and simply decorated room with an adjacent balcony. He opened the door, and I could hear the faint crash of the waves. I stood, stunned, loving that his routine was eerily similar to mine. “Extra toothbrush in the medicine cabinet,” he said, taking leave of the room. I walked into the bathroom, taking a few minutes to clear my head. He had questions? Well, I had some of my own. Like what the hell did he want with me? Why the hell was he so guarded himself? I thought about his kiss in the kitchen and took a deep breath. The man kissed me like he was desperate for more, yet he’d backed away so easily from going any further. I felt the ache growing inside of me and did my best to temper it before I opened the door. Aiden was laying there, his perfect bare chest peeking out beneath the sheets. He eyed me with a smile and lifted the covers on the opposite side of the bed. I slipped in
next to him, and he turned his body toward me so we were facing each other.
“Thank you for dinner,” I said softly.
He reached out to stroke my face, and his fingers trailed across my lips. I kissed them lightly as I got lost in the fire in his eyes and he pulled me closer to him.
“I don’t think I can hang on much longer,” he said, stroking my collar with his thumb.
“Why are you?” I whispered.
“You need me to,” he said softly.
“Why is that?” I asked, my pulse kicking as his hands caressed me.
“You told me so,” he said, taking my face in his hands and leaning in to kiss me. The kiss was gentle and reassuring. He wanted me as much as I wanted him, that I was sure of.
When he pulled away, he whispered “Goodnight” then turned off the light next to him. I spent an hour staring at the dimly lit ceiling before the waves’ melody lulled me to sleep. I woke up hours later in Aiden’s tender grip. I held his arms firmly around me and stroked them with my fingertips. I hadn’t been held like that since I was married. It was the most comfortable I’d felt in years. I’d damn near forgotten what intimacy was like. Devin had never spent more than a few hours with me, and it was never overnight. Did I really think that bastard had treated me well? This man had let me into his home and his bed and was somehow trying to be virtuous. I couldn’t help the tears that escaped me. I cried softly, mortified of waking Aiden.
You are seriously fucked up, Nina.
