30. Aiden
AIDEN
The shower woke Aiden from a deep sleep, and he rolled onto his back, blinking in the darkness of the bedroom. A faint flow of light around the edges of the black-out curtains told him it was morning but a glance at his watch confirmed it. Already six.
Call time was at seven for Isla—no wonder she was up.
But the fact that she’d been able to get out of bed without waking him surprised him.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept so soundly that the slightest movement didn’t rouse him. Not since leaving the military, that was for certain.
Then again, they’d been up several times during the night.
Up. Down. Sideways.
He smiled to himself, stretching a hand over the tangled sheets, which still smelled like her. Gorgeous, delicious Isla. He’d promised to kiss every square inch of her beautiful body, and he probably had.
No way out of this now. No parachute or back-out plan or excuses.
His friendship with Callum would be changed forever.
Yet ...the more he thought of the idea, the more comfortable he became with it. After all, why not? Why couldn’t he be the man in Isla’s life? Callum would have to accept someone in that role, so why not Aiden?
Yes, maybe when he was younger his reputation hadn’t been stellar, but so much of that had been blown out of proportion compared to his stiffer, more reserved brothers.
They’d all thought he was a reckless rebel.
Daring to blow off Oxford and his father’s carefully constructed plan for the military.
When he’d shown up with his first tattoo—the family crest on the back of one calf—and his father had seen it on holiday, he’d never seen his father so enraged.
Of course, Father hadn’t said a word when Quinn tattooed an “L” on his skin as a symbol of his wife.
Yes, maybe he’d dated more women than his brothers—who seemed to only go from one serious relationship to another—but he hadn’t been a playboy or cruel to women, either.
And that was when he’d been younger, anyway.
Callum knew that. He knew that Aiden’s relationship with Lola had ended over her behavior, not because of something sordid.
But it was one thing to tell Callum he’d decided to date Isla. Quite another to tell him they’d also gotten married, and now the annulment they’d discussed hadn’t come back up again.
Were they tabling that for now? Neither of them had really mentioned staying married, but last night, they called each other husband and wife.
And that felt so . . . unexpectedly right.
Because he wanted to keep her.
The thought of her being with anyone else was unacceptable.
Aiden pushed the memory away and climbed out of bed. Straightening, he went toward the bathroom and cracked a door.
Steam streamed out, and he smiled, pushing the door open a bit wider at the sight of Isla on the other side of the see-through glass enclosure of the shower. She was covered in suds, hands kneading into her hair, eyes closed as she leaned back into the stream of water.
Fuck me. As if he didn’t already have one too many memories of her beautiful naked body seared into his mind. He wanted to capture the image and tuck it somewhere he could pull out and admire whenever he wanted.
Already naked, he crossed toward the door and pulled it open. “Morning, beautiful.” Stepping inside the shower with her, he came up behind her, tugging her back against his chest.
Why is being with her the easiest, most natural thing in the world?
She sank back against him, the suds of her shampoo running down his chest. “Hi, sleepy.” Her voice was roughened by sleep, and she shivered against his chest. “You’re cold.”
“Compared to this scalding water you have on, lava would be cold.”
She laughed, shrugging. “My shower, my rules.”
Aiden’s forearm crossed over her fucking amazing tits, one hand settling on her shoulder. The other hand slid around her waist, then slipped down between her legs. “Technically, it’s my shower.” His fingertip traced a slow circle around her clit, then traced lower still. “So my rules.”
She released a throaty moan. “I have to be at call?—”
“In an hour. We have plenty of time for at least one or two rounds together.” Aiden pushed her gently toward the tiled wall, then turned her to face him so her back rested against it.
Gliding his hands down her, he knelt on the hard floor, hands grazing her hips. The water splashed softly against them from here, misting them both with warmth. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss at her belly, just below her navel, watching her thighs quiver with anticipation.
“I’ll need time for breakfast,” she breathed, her hands dropping back against the wall as she steadied herself.
“You need some unscheduled moments, darling. To relax and be taken care of.” His lips grazed lower.
“I know, but?—”
He lifted one leg carefully, setting her thigh on his shoulder. Slowly, he traced slow nips and kisses to the inside of her thigh. “When was the last time you just let go and did something that didn’t fit with the day’s agenda? You need this. Let me give it to you.”
Her fingers tangled into his hair as he parted her better for his view. Glistening, slick pussy, swollen clit that begged to be kissed. “You taste fucking delicious,” he said, sinking his lips against her.
“God, Aiden,” she whispered as his tongue traced around her clit. His fingers slipped inside her tight pussy, stroking her as her body relaxed against him.
The water striking against the hard surface of the tile filled the air, broken only by the soft groans of pleasure that curled from her throat, her thighs beginning to clench around his head. Her hands tightened against his hair, and he increased the pressure of his kisses.
Her breath came in short, shallow pants now. “Oh ...yes.”
Then her thighs clenched tight, her body beginning to peak. He held her hips as she tilted them against him, rocking with a steady rhythm that matched his strokes. Then she gave a strangled gasp, and she cried out, her pussy clenching around his fingers.
He waited until she’d stilled, then gave one last kiss and stood. “Good?” he asked, looking down at her.
She gave him a heavy-lidded gaze and nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
“Good. Now turn around. Hands on the wall and spread your legs for me, sweetheart.”
With a sumptuous, flirty grin, she did as he said. His cock, hard and ready for her, found her slick entrance immediately, then he pushed inside her. “God, I love fucking you.”
“I love it, Aiden,” she whispered in a throaty moan. “I love you.”
He almost stilled. Almost stumbled.
As though realizing her mistake, Isla turned her face, eyes widening.
His heart squeezed, cutting him off from oxygen, then he leaned over and caught her lips in a kiss. “I love you, too.”
And he meant it. Dammit, but he meant it.
Did it matter that they’d only been fooling around for a few weeks?
No.
This wasn’t just some girl he’d met in Vegas.
It was Isla.
Maybe he’d been half in love with her all along and hadn’t realized it.
Or perhaps it had just taken him this long to see that she was everything he’d ever wanted.
Either way, when it was someone like this, who he knew , who he only wanted to protect and be there for, who he was willing to risk everything for. ..it wasn’t hard to fall in love.
And I know with absolute certainty that I’ve never felt this before.
His movements increased as he pounded into her, every ounce the emotion speeding through him.
God, I love this woman.
Then he came, pouring inside her, her body quivering against his.
With a ragged breath, he kissed her, heart slamming into his ribs.
He pulled out, and she turned, slipping into his arms.
For a few minutes, they stood there in the stream of the water, saying nothing. Nothing more needed to be said right now, really. This impossible love had taken them both by surprise, but that didn’t make it any less real.
At last, he kissed the top of her head. “I’m going to wash up quickly, then leave you to finish.”
She nodded, though still unable to speak.
He washed quickly, then grabbed a towel and left the bathroom.
Wrapping the towel around his waist, he heard his mobile ringing at the bedside table. Going over to it, he saw Callum’s name flash across the screen.
Aiden ran a hand through his wet scalp, staring at the screen.
You fucking coward.
He should answer.
He needed to answer.
But Isla and I agreed to do this together.
Callum didn’t usually call. He texted. He might actually need something.
The call was about to go to voicemail.
Aiden swiped the call to answer and lifted the mobile. “Callum,” he said with a friendly tone.
“Hey mate, you doing all right? I called a couple of times.”
Aiden cleared his throat, moving to his suitcase to look for a fresh change of clothes. “Yeah. Good. Bit full up at the moment. Just got out of the shower.”
“Right, I know—the acquisition. Listen, I won’t keep you, but you haven’t heard from Isla, have you? I’ve been trying to get in touch with her for days, and she won’t return my calls or messages.”
Aiden froze, his gaze flicking toward the bathroom door, which remained shut. “Isla?”
“I was hoping since you’ve been a part of that production, you might know what she’s up to. I’m starting to worry she’s angry enough that she’s skipping the party this weekend. She hasn’t really responded too much to Liddy, either, which is unusual. They get on pretty well.”
“I told you, Callum. You should just fly over wherever she’s shooting and beg for forgiveness,” Liddy said from the background, her voice distant. “You go to the airport right now, and you could still probably catch a flight out there today.”
Bollocks. No, absolutely not. “Hi, Liddy,” Aiden said as casually as possible.
“She made me turn the speaker on,” Callum explained.
That wasn’t a bad idea—he needed to get dressed. Aiden turned his own mobile on speaker.