Terms of Agreement

48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Charlotte

H eart racing, I sat up in my seat, ready to run out the door. But my gaze caught on my friends scattered around me and a fog of guilt settled over my excitement like a wet blanket.

What? Becky mouthed from her spot on the sofa.

Aiden wants me to go over. I mouthed back.

What? Becky mouthed, her brow furrowed in confusion.

I rolled my eyes and extended my arm, showing Becky the open text thread. Her eyes widened as she read and when those eyes lifted to meet mine, there was a barely concealed and entirely wicked gleam swirling in their depths.

‘What are you still doing here?’ Becky whispered, casting an eye over to the television as Jane’s carriage bustled along the screen.

‘I can’t go.’

‘Why the fuck not?’ Becky said aloud, and I jolted forward, clapping a hand over her mouth and quietening her indignation.

‘I’m the host,’ I breathed, jerking my head in Claire’s and Louise’s direction.

Becky rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. She made to reply, but my hand was still pressed over her mouth, and before I could think to remove it, something warm and wet brush across my palm.

‘Ew!’ I recoiled, wiping my now damp hand on Becky’s shoulder.

‘Do you want to go?’ Becky whispered, ignoring my disgust.

I looked down at my phone, the screen now locked and dark, but the message shone brightly in my mind. I nodded.

‘Then go,’ Becky whispered. ‘I’ll take care of this.’ She gestured towards the carnage of carbs that littered the table and our two sleeping friends.

‘Are you sure?’ I hesitated.

She didn’t answer, just gave my shoulder a playful shove and jerked her head towards the door.

With a sheepish smile and excitement fluttering in my stomach, I rose to my feet, standing gingerly as all of the blood rushed to my toes. Grimacing, I tip-toed through the pins and needles in my calves as I made my way towards the kitchen, where I loaded up a piece of paper-towel with several of the larger, more chocolatey cookies.

It was only when the elevator doors slid shut and I caught sight of my reflection that I remembered what I was wearing. Plaid pyjama bottoms tucked into thick woollen socks, my favourite lumpy cardigan, and the scruffy trainers that I’d shucked my feet into as I’d raced out the door. I was dressed for girls’ night, for movies and snacks and comfort. I was not dressed for a late-night rendezvous. I cringed. Bracing an elbow on the elevator wall, I hastily tucked the loose threads of my untied laces into my shoes. I couldn’t make out much of what was going on with my hair, but I scrambled to neaten it all the same, tucking away the strands of hair that had escaped the hold of my braid.

The elevator came to a stop, the light that illuminated the button for the second floor turning off automatically as the doors slid open. I wished I’d changed, thrown on something a little sexier than pyjama bottoms—combed my hair at the very least. I pushed my glasses up my nose and my whirring thoughts skittered to a stop. Crap.

Forcing my hand to my side and my mind away from the knife’s edge that it wobbled along, I took a step forward. It was no big deal. Aiden had seen me in glasses before. But years’ worth of insecurities rose from the pit of anxiety that had made its home in my gut. The floor’s motion sensitive lights flickered off as I shifted from one foot to the other. It was as they had been blown in on a breeze, chilling the warmth of my excitement until it curdled into tepid dread. Tilting my head back, I focused on a random spot on the ceiling. I couldn’t do this. My shoulders sagged in a mixture of relief and disappointment.

‘Leaving before you’ve even arrived? You’re doing wonders for my ego,’ a dry drawl called into the darkness.

I startled and the hall lights flickered on, illuminating Aiden in his relaxed pose against the doorframe. Arms folded, legs crossed at the ankle, brow quirked in amusement, and his perceptive gaze locked on me.

‘Hi,’ I squeaked, offering him a small wave. My cardigan sleeves swallowed my hand, so it was more of an awkward flap of fabric than a wave.

Aiden chuckled, the quiet sound echoing too loudly down the sleepy corridor.

‘You coming in?’ he asked. His voice was teasing but there was a hint of something in his tone that I couldn’t quite decipher. It was that hint of something, the lack of surety, that had me nodding my head slowly in his direction. ‘Well, come on then.’ An easy smile spread across his face, and he visibly relaxed.

I nodded again, more to myself than to Aiden, and began my slow approach. I’d taken only a few steps when, pushing himself away from the doorframe, Aiden strode towards me, his long strides eating up the distance between us. And before I had time to process what was happening, he was crouching before me and scooping me up. I let out a squeak of surprise, my legs wrapping around his waist instinctively as one of his large hands came to rest under my ass.

‘You were taking too long,’ he explained. ‘And I’m in the mood for dessert.’

‘Oh, sorry,’ I leaned away from him, patting my cardigan before slipping my hand into the pocket and extracting the cookies. ‘Here.’

‘Tempting,’ Aiden said in a low voice that had my thighs clenching. ‘But I had something else in mind.’

‘Y-you did?’

‘Mm-hmm,’ he leaned in, brushing a whisper of a kiss across my collarbone.

‘Like what?’ I asked, closing my eyes as my head fell back to expose the column of my neck.

‘You’ll see,’ he said, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. I might have been annoyed by it, if I couldn’t feel the evidence of his desire pressing against my stomach.

I swallowed and Aiden turned, walking back toward his apartment.

‘Shoes,’ Aiden instructed, shutting the door with his heel. I bit my lip and toed off my trainers, wincing as they thudded against the carpet. ‘Good.’ He nodded as one of the trainers bounced off to the side.

He leaned in, using the hand splayed across my lower back to pull me closer as he pressed his lips to my sternum. He kissed a trail all the way up my neck, and when I tucked my chin, he kissed my lips.

‘So fucking sweet,’ he murmured before pressing his mouth to mine once more. I hummed against his lips as he deepened the kiss and my cookie-free hand moved to tangle itself in the curls at the base of his neck. There was something about this kiss that was different. Maybe it was the look in his eyes as he brought his lips to mine, or the leisurely pace he set as his mouth moved against mine. He brushed his tongue over the seam of my lips, gently coaxing my mouth open and slipping inside. I could feel the curve of Aiden’s smile as my tongue stroked his. He curled his fingers around the base of my neck as he walked through the darkened apartment and towards his bedroom.

‘Wait,’ I panted. ‘What about the cookies?’

‘I told you, Cupcake,’ Aiden said, his eyes flicked to mine, mischief simmering in their chocolatey depths. ‘I have something else in mind.’ And with that, Aiden tossed me in the general direction of the bed.

‘Hey!’ I yelped as I landed in a heap of bedding. My heart was racing, whether from the residual heat of our kiss or from the bottoming-out feeling of being tossed in the air like a sack of potatoes I wasn’t sure, but when I scowled up at him my heart stilled at the sight of the wide grin that was splashed across his face.

With slow, measured steps, Aiden moved towards me—the brightness of his smile dimming, but never fading, as he reached back, took hold of his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. This close, I could see the flicker of desire in his eyes and I shifted awkwardly in the heat of his gaze.

‘Cupcake,’ he murmured as he reached for me. All traces of teasing gone from his voice as he encircled my ankles with his hands.

‘Yes?’ I squeaked.

‘Do you have any idea,’ he rasped as his thumb slipped up under the cuff of my pyjama bottoms, brushing over the bare skin, ‘how fucking delectable you are?’

I snorted. I couldn’t help it. Delectable? I was in Christmas pyjamas. Which, unless you had an appetite for flannel, wasn’t exactly sexy.

‘I guess not,’ Aiden said, his thumb tracing a lazy pattern against my ankle. My skin pebbled under the heat of his touch and I sucked in a breath. My gaze travelled from his hands and up his torso, where it lingered on his mouth, on his plump lower lip that he held between his teeth, and to his darkened gaze.

I froze, locked in his gaze, unable to move, save for the steady rise and fall of my chest. His eyes were locked on my face as his thumb continued its lazy perusal of my ankle. The Victorians were right—ankle-play was hot. His thumb was unrelenting as it traced slow, concentric circles against my skin, sending tiny bursts of electricity up my legs. Aiden tucked his chin, his gaze falling to his own hands as he leaned forward and traced a burning path up my leg, bunching the leg of my pyjama bottoms as he palmed my calves. I sucked in a breath and Aiden’s hooded eyes flashed to mine.

‘I’ll just have to show you then,’ he breathed, sliding his hands up my thighs and hooking his thumbs beneath the waistband of both my pyjama bottoms and my panties.

Wordlessly, I lifted my hips, and Aiden tugged my pyjamas down my legs, leaving me bare from the waist down. His eyes travelled languidly up my legs, as if he were luxuriating in the sight of every inch of naked skin, and when they returned to mine, the blacks of his pupils were blown wide with desire, leaving only the faintest ring of brown exposed. He eased my cardigan off my shoulders, his eyes only leaving mine when his fingertips moved to curl beneath my tank top. Lifting it over my head, the soft whisper of the fabric and his fingertips sent pinpricks of desire across my body. Warm hands slid up my calves, hooking behind my knees and raising them until the soles of my feet were flat against the mattress.

‘Look at you,’ Aiden murmured appreciatively, spreading my knees apart to reveal my already wet centre. My cheeks flushed as I shifted before him, squirming in anticipation. I had an idea of what was coming, and the thought of it sent a pulse of desire straight to my clit.

Aiden lowered himself to the bed, using his shoulders to hold my thighs apart, as he slipped a hand between my legs, languidly sliding two fingers through my slit and coating them in my arousal. My breathing quickened, and I braced myself on my elbows, curiosity overcoming any shyness as I tried to get a look at what he was doing. But he was bent over me, his dark head of hair bowed with reverence and blocking his movements from view. Raising his chin, Aiden looked up at me, a wicked smile tilting the corner of his mouth as he lifted his fingers to his lips.

I whimpered, my core clenching as he sucked them clean, groaning at the taste.

‘Aiden,’ I moaned, fisting the duvet at my sides.

‘I don’t know about you,’ Aiden started, leaning over me, his warm breath brushing against the sensitive skin of my neck. ‘But when it comes to sweet things,’ he said, dipping his chin and pressing a kiss between my breasts, ‘I like to take my time.’

His lips ghosted across my breast, his tongue slipping from between his lips to circle my hardened nipple. ‘Really savour it.’ My breath caught as his lips closed around my nipple, pulling it into his mouth as his hand slid between my thighs, his finger dipping into my molten heat.

I gasped, back arching off the bed, and he pulled back, letting go of my nipple with a soft pop.

‘What do you say, Cupcake?’ Aiden asked, watching me with heated eyes as he slid his finger inside me. ‘Can I savour you?’

‘Yes,’ I rasped, the word ending in a hiss as my inner walls fluttered around his finger.

With a smirk of satisfaction, Aiden shifted his body. And when my thighs bracketed his shoulders once more, he bent forward and devoured me.