Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
AVERY
Welp. I really put out a challenge to the universe when I asked that stupid question, didn’t I? I was an idiot, because it turned out the worst was not, in fact, lying next to a naked Aiden while I was equally naked, both of us getting separate massages.
Nope. The worst was being the one performing that sensual massage on his naked body and then having him reciprocate, all while I was turned on enough to power a small village.
Meanwhile, Aiden seemed to keep his cool. While he didn’t try to hide the fact that he wanted me, he was being so damn respectful about it, I wanted to scream. At first, I’d welcomed it. Appreciated that boundary he’d put in place without my asking him to.
But now? I wanted it gone. I wanted him as keyed up for me as I was for him.
I wanted him to bend me over the bed, shove up my skirt, and plant his face between my thighs.
Lick me until I was screaming his name and coming all over his face.
I wanted him to see if we could crack my record of six orgasms.
I wanted him, period. Naked and inside me, preferably.
Instead, I got a silent walk back to our room, Aiden’s hand hovering just over the small of my back and those eyes following every single move I made. Never overstepping. Never pushing. Being respectful as fuck.
It was infuriating, honestly.
I’d spent the past twenty-four hours—though, if you wanted to get technical, it was more like weeks—being turned on by him, and I was going to combust if I didn’t get some damn relief.
I glanced back at him as the door to our room shut behind us, and I allowed my gaze to travel down the length of his body. I didn’t know how this man got hotter the longer I was in his presence, but somehow he did. Either that or the aphrodisiacs we’d indulged in for hours really did work.
Of course, it also could’ve been the fact that I’d had my hands on a naked Aiden not long ago.
And forget about when he’d reciprocated.
His strong hands had rubbed out every ounce of bottled-up tension I’d been holding in my body, while simultaneously replacing it with a totally different kind. One that only he could alleviate.
And my god, this man was good with his hands.
Something I’d already known intimately. Though tonight, he’d never once strayed in a way that could be construed as inappropriate.
Didn’t slip his hand up my side toward my breasts or along my inner thighs to where I throbbed for him, though I’d silently begged for both.
Now he was looking at me with one brow raised in an unasked question. And that question was, what the fuck is going on, and why the fuck are you scowling at me? Because, yeah. Apparently when I became exceptionally horny, I turned into a grouch.
“I’m sorry Addison scheduled that and thought it would be appropriate,” he said. “I’ll handle it.”
He thought that was why I was wound so tight?
Because my bestie forced me and the man starring in my wet dreams together for what was essentially the perfect beginning to a porno?
Jesus, for someone who’d become so attuned to me in such a short period of time, he was really missing the mark with this one.
“It’s fine,” I said, sharper than I’d intended, but I was on fire.
Could I die of horniness? Because with the way my body was a live wire, every nerve ending zinging with awareness of him, it felt a little like I’d be meeting my end any second.
Aiden’s brows lifted the slightest bit at my tone, his lips twitching.
Like he found the whole thing amusing. Then he tipped his head toward the bathroom.
“Would a bath help with whatever you’ve got going on here?
” He gestured toward me in what I assumed was meant to encompass my shittastic attitude.
Would a bath help? No, a fucking bath wouldn’t help. Not even a full blast from a fire hydrant directly on my clit would. What would he say if I told him the only thing that would help me out of this was his dick?
“No,” I said firmly, leaving it at that. I glanced to the bed…to the tiny space we’d be forced into again, and there was no way I could slip under those covers without first having a minute or twenty to myself. “But I’m going to take one anyway. Do you need to get in there before I do?”
“I’m good. You relax and enjoy it.” He lifted his chin toward the other room. “I had them deliver some bubble bath while you were gone today. It should be on the vanity.”
So he’d noticed I’d nearly had an orgasm with my eyes last night when I’d seen the gorgeous tub for the first time, but he hadn’t noticed how much I needed to come right now?
If I wasn’t sure he’d enjoyed himself when we’d slept together, I’d be second-guessing whether he found me attractive and this was just his way of letting me down gently.
But this had to be some sort of ridiculous, misguided attempt to be respectful of my boundaries, even after I’d dropped a dozen hints tonight that I was done trying to stay away from him. That I wanted him, badly. But it was clear I wasn’t going to have him. Not tonight, at least.
I shut the door behind me harder than necessary and started the bath, grabbing the bottle of bubbles he’d left for me on the counter.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was doing this on purpose.
First, greeting me with that view this morning, his shirt unbuttoned and those glasses on, looking hot as hell and so fucking capable it was ridiculous.
Then giving me space to do my own thing today before meeting back together tonight.
How he hung on every word that left my lips, his gaze never leaving mine as I told him my ideas for the resort and my dreams for my life.
The low rumble of his laugh and the sparkle in his eye when he spoke about writing.
The soft, subtle touches he gave me seemingly without thought. Simply because he had to…
I stepped into the steaming hot water, sighing as I settled into the deep tub, my body melting even as parts of me were still wound up and in need of relief.
A single candle sat on a ledge, softly lighting the space, and though only a door separated Aiden and me, I had to strain to make out the sounds of him moving around in the bedroom.
Was it the same for him?
Could he hear me in here, splashing around?
More importantly…would he be able to hear if I took care of my little problem?
“Aiden…” I whispered.
And I didn’t know if I wanted him to answer me or not.
Didn’t know if I’d rather he burst into the room, eyes heated as he found me with my fingers buried inside my pussy, or if I wanted him completely unaware of what I was doing.
There was something so decadent about making myself come to thoughts of him when he was just on the other side of the door, without a clue.
After calling out his name twice more, a little louder each time, and not receiving an answer, I settled back against the tub and slipped my hands into the water.
Not stopping until they were between my thighs.
If my only options were to sleep next to him all night with my clit thrumming and begging for attention or this, I could be quiet.
I’d get myself off in silence, and he never had to know.
Aiden
Tonight hadn’t gone how I thought it would. Though, truthfully, this entire day hadn’t.
From this morning when I’d woken up to Avery’s sweet pussy grinding down against me before she’d flown out of bed. Then how I’d been struck with inspiration for a scene I’d been stuck on, letting the words pour out of me all day in a way they never had before. And then dinner…
The entire evening had been unexpected in the best kind of way. Not just the meal—one I had no doubt Beck could recreate even better—but just being with Avery. Talking with her. Really talking. About things that mattered. Things we both loved. Things I normally kept hidden from everyone.
I’d never once had that. Never once been able to be my true self—my whole self—with another person. Not even Brady, who I was closest to in my family. And it was some twist that I’d found that now with her…
My sister’s best friend.
My employee.
And the woman who was leaving to pursue her dreams in a couple short months.
A woman who’d drawn a very clear line in the sand between us.
One I could not—would not—cross without her express permission.
Not when we had this power dynamic between us.
Not only was I eight years older than her, but I was also her boss.
I’d thought that line had been fading. After everything, it had seemed the wall she’d built between us had been crumbling brick by brick. Especially when I’d shown her the parts of me no one else had ever seen.
And then we’d gotten back here following the massage—one in which I’d been hard as a fucking rock the entire time, wishing so badly I could touch her how I wanted to—and the soft warmth she’d been giving off was gone, replaced by nothing but attitude.
There were no two ways about it—she was acting like a little brat, and I wanted to know why. Wanted to know what caused the sudden shift. Wanted to know how we could get back to the connection we’d had over dinner.
A soft groan sounded from the bathroom, and I paused in unbuttoning my shirt to glance toward the door. I cocked my head to listen for anything more, but it was silent on the other side. Just when I’d written it off as a fluke, she groaned again, but this time, frustration laced the sound.
I’d heard it only a couple times before. On the night when I’d had her spread out for me. When her clit had been begging for my fingers and my tongue. When I’d made her come again and again.
She was getting herself off. Or trying to anyway. And not having much success, by the sounds of it.
I walked over and braced my hands against the doorframe. Hanging my head, I closed my eyes and just listened. A soft moan. A splash. A whimper that went straight to my cock. And then that frustrated groan again.
I curled my fingers around the frame, my entire body strung tight over the thought of her on the other side of this door. Head resting back against the tub, eyes closed, fingers playing with her pussy as she tried in vain to get herself where she needed to go.
“Aiden…”
At first, I thought it was part of the fantasy playing through my mind. Then my name fell from her lips again, louder this time and tinged with desperation, and there was no more denying it. Avery was in there, naked, failing to get herself off. And she was calling out for me in her frustration.
Because she knew I was the one who could give her exactly what she needed. I was the one who could help her.
We might not have sorted out all of our problems, and I had no doubt she didn’t fully trust me with everything yet—something that went both ways. But she trusted me with this. Trusted I could take care of her.
“Bunny.” The single word was barely more than a breath, so it was no surprise she didn’t hear me, another soft whimper her only response. Louder, I said, “Avery.”
As if I’d startled her, a loud splash sounded, and she responded with a breathy, “Yeah?”
I closed my eyes and stifled a groan, remembering her uttering that same word, in that same cadence. On that night weeks ago, her eyes had pleaded with me then when I’d asked her if she wanted me to make her come.
And we were right back there. Her desperate for release. Her cunt begging for my touch.
“Do you want my help?” I asked.
“With what?”
“You know what,” I said, the words like sandpaper in my throat, my cock so hard it hurt.
She didn’t respond, and I could picture her there, eyes half lidded as she stared at the door, full tits playing peekaboo through the bubbles, her hand disappearing between her thighs…
It all came perfectly clear then. This wasn’t something that had suddenly arisen since she’d climbed into the tub. She’d been fighting this level of arousal all night.
She could’ve said something to me at any time, and I’d have taken care of her—hell, I would’ve slipped my hand under the table and fingered her to an orgasm while David served our dark chocolate raspberry tart.
Instead, she worked herself up, made a mess in her panties, and then got mad at me for it.
With that thought in my mind, my patience officially snapped. “Stay or leave, Avery.”
“What?”
“Do you want me to stay and give you what you need or leave you alone to handle it?”
I should’ve taught her a lesson and left her to deal with it. See how long it’d take her to get herself off. But the thought of her in the other room, naked and needy, her little pussy desperate to come, made me unhinged.
There was a beat of silence. Two. Three. Then she whispered, “Stay.”