Page 8 of His Bride Bargain

Anyway, that’s why my presentation has to be the best.

But I’m tired and my eyes hurt and I’m not making any progress fast. Maybe I should cut my losses and go home. It is almost nine p.m. One more hour, and if I’m still not getting anywhere, I’ll admit defeat.

I crack my knuckles and roll my neck, wincing at the way my body crunches and aches. I need to start doing yoga in the mornings again. When I get the job, I’ll do yoga and eat a salad every day. Healthy Candice begins with employed, no-longer-a-student Candice.

Just as I’m trying to force myself to get something done, the door swings open.

I jump to my feet. “Look, I can explain—” I start, until the intruder grins at me.

“Hey,” says Aiden, leaning against the doorframe like he owns the place. “How’s it going?”

Relief, exhaustion, and a hundred other emotions surge through me as I drop back into the chair, slumping. “Aiden…” is all I manage.

“Bingo,” he says, striding over and slinging himself into the seat next to mine. “Long day?”

“You wouldn’t believe,” I sigh. “I feel like I’ve been here forever.”

“Presentation?” he asks, and I nod.

He leans in as if to look at my screen, his arm getting so close to mine that a static charge prickles between us, making the hairs stand on end. I turn off the monitor before he can read anything. I don’t believe he’d copy, but I’m not taking any chances. Too harshly, I snap, “Aiden, what the hell are you doing here? I don’t need your help with this.”

Like he’s been stung, he reels back. “Sorry. I didn’t realize I was interrupting. I… I wanted to come and see you.”

“Why?” I ask, incredulous, even though my racing heart is betraying the cool exterior I’m showing.

Surely there’s only one reason you’d come and find someone after hours just to “see them,” and it doesn’t have a whole lot to do with working.

“I like spending time with you,” he says, a blush rising under his sharp cheekbones. He shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels. I’ve never seen him so flustered. “I can go if you want.”

He stands up, taking a step back towards the door. “Wait, no,” I say, rising to my feet.

It goes against everything I think I stand for to do this, but I’ve been working so hard, and he truly seems tolikeme — and I just want a little distraction. A little relief from all the fighting. Just to believe, for one night, that someone might actually want me for who I am and not some watered-down version they think they want.

Aiden freezes, planting a palm on the desk as if to steady himself. I step towards him, closing the space until we’re close enough for me to see the scattering of freckles over his nose, his pulse throbbing in his neck. God, he’s cute. And hot. And sweet.

I’ve got it bad.

I’d better not be making a mistake.

Slowly, I lean in, my eyes flicking between his own and his lips. “You wanted me?” I ask breathily.

“Yes,” he whispers, licking his lips. “Since the moment we met.”

I don’t ask any other questions because our bodies are giving us all the answers we could ever need. As our lips touch, a warm rush of joy crashes over me like waves because this is so, so right. His hands rest on my hips and pull me in, my own hands roaming his face, his chest, his arms, and they all feel so good. It’s like learning a language and having a conversation in it for the first time and truly understanding every word.

It’s like our bodies have been waiting for this moment.

His hands tighten on me and before I realize what’s happening, he rotates us to push me against the desk, the edge digging into my spine as the kiss deepens, lengthens, pulls time to a halt everywhere except for the moment we’re bubbled inside. I don’t resist it at all, instead delighting in the way I’m messing up his perfect hair, kissing his perfect lips that taste ever so slightly of creamy coffee.

Despite the fact that the AC is blasting, I’m suddenly so hot I’m sweating, so I break away for a second to wrestle my cardigan from my shoulders. Aiden helps me wiggle free but then his hands go for the top button of my shirt and I flinch away.

It’s only when he steps back that I realize how nice the pressure of his thigh between my legs was. How much I have been aching for someone to touch me. How much I want it to be him.

“You okay?” he asks.

I nod, breathless, wiping my mouth before looping my hands around his neck. “Very. I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.”

He cocks a surprised eyebrow at me. “A long time?”

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