Chapter Nineteen
One Week Later
Aiden watched the sunrise from the wall of windows in his bedroom. There was a mist hovering over the pastures, and the sky was a smear of a lot of different colors. Despite what had happened with Brady and the attacks, everything felt peaceful and beautiful.
That included the sleeping woman next to him in bed.
Lexa had her head on his shoulder, her hand on his chest, and her right leg slung over his stomach. Since both of them were naked, that peacefulness would likely soon be replaced with a hefty amount of lust. Then again, any time he was around Lexa, there was lust.
And more.
So much more.
Aiden wasn’t sure when or how it’d happened, but he’d fallen head over heels in love with her. His feelings for Lexa had zoomed right past the fierce attraction stage and taken what he considered the ultimate leap. It terrified him and gave him a weird sense of contentment all at the same time. It was as if he’d finally found a missing piece of himself. A piece he hadn’t known was missing.
Now, the question was—what was he going to do about it?
Lexa and he had spent a lot of time together since Brady’s death. In fact, they’d spent nearly every second together. First, with the aftermath of the investigation and dealing with Brady’s death.
What a gut-punch nightmare that had been.
They’d both grieved but not for Brady’s death. There had been no choice but to stop him, and that had meant killing him. But the grief had been for not knowing the man, the friend, they thought they had known. For not realizing his plan sooner so they could stop him before so much damage had been done.
Aiden figured Lexa and he would be dealing with that aftermath for the rest of their lives. But at least they were alive. And hopefully they’d get past what’d happened.
Owen had helped with the “getting past” stuff by insisting Lexa and he take some downtime. They had snapped up that offer since it was downtime very much needed. Lexa hadn’t actually moved in, but she’d been right here at his place for the entire time.
They’d gotten so damn lucky. Brady could have, and nearly had, killed both of them. He’d nearly succeeded, too, in murdering Gillian, but she’d had some of that luck as well and was expected to make a full recovery.
Physically anyway.
The trauma would no doubt stay with her for the rest of her life. It was the same for Wylie and Hudson. One had lost a son and the other a sister, and there was absolutely no proof that either of them had helped Chloe or Brady in any way.
No, all the blame for this fell on Chloe for trying to set up Brady and on Brady for trying to punish her for that. The punishment had led to a coverup that had put a lot of innocent people in danger.
The town had also gotten lucky. The bomb squad had managed to locate and disarm all the IEDs that Brady had set. So, Brady hadn’t managed to claim any lives with that twisted ploy, but the attempt had led Owen to put some new security measures in place. There were now cameras being installed at all the traffic lights and around the entire perimeter of the police station.
At the thought of Owen and the police station, Aiden glanced over at the nightstand where he’d put his holster and badge. Some of that sunlight glinted off the metal as if spotlighting it. No need for that though. Along with Lexa and Brady, the badge had been on Aiden’s mind. Soon, he would need to make a decision as to whether or not to turn it in and resume his job at Strike Force.
Or keep it.
Lexa stirred, making a soft moaning sound, and he looked down at her as she opened those amazing blue eyes. Of course, as far as he was concerned, everything about her fell into that amazing category.
She smiled, took hold of his jaw and tugged him down for a kiss. Not that she had to tug too hard. He was heading there. Along with his feelings for her, Aiden had discovered he looked forward to that first kiss each morning.
And the second one wasn’t too shabby either.
It was slow and easy, but it still packed a punch and sent his blood and body revving.
“I want to keep you,” he murmured. Shit . That came out wrong. “Not in as possessive, creepy kind of way,” he added.
She laughed. Kissed him again. And while he loved that kiss, he didn’t want her to think of this as a joke. He sank into the kiss for several moments. Then, went with a third kiss before he spoke again.
“When you look at me, do you see the past? The nightmares?” Aiden had to ask.
She kept her gaze locked with his and shook her head. “No, just no. When I look at you, I see a really hot guy. One with an amazing body. I’m talking about a body that could be June or July in one of those hot guy calendars.”
Now, he smiled and was glad that she liked what she saw. “Why those months?” he wanted to know.
“Too hot for clothes so a lot of skin showing.”
She chuckled and went in for kiss number four. That was longer than some of their foreplays lasted. With Lexa and him, they usually went from a kiss or two—or hell even a look—to full-throttle sex.
“I don’t want to give you up,” he tried again. In hindsight, he should have rehearsed this.
Another smile. Another kiss. “I’m right here,” she assured him.
“I want more,” Aiden risked saying. And it was indeed a risk. If Lexa wasn’t ready to hear this, then she might slip away from him.
Her right eyebrow winged up. “Are you talking this?” She ran her hand over his dick.
Once he got his eyes uncrossed, he nodded. “That, yes. But more.” And he hoped that brainless erection of his held off while he finished telling Lexa what he needed to say.
“More?” she questioned, still playing around with his dick. Feathery light brushes with her very clever fingers.
Somehow, he managed to tip his head to the badge. “For starters, I want to stay a cop. Are you all right with that?”
Her eyes went bright. Her smile deepened. “Absolutely. And I think Owen will be pleased, too.”
Owen would be. Aiden had already run the possibility of it past his boss, and while Owen didn’t intend to remain sheriff, he was glad that some of his Strike Force operatives were making their temporary positions permanent. Like most people in Outlaw Ridge, Owen only wanted the best for the police department.
“I also want you,” he added, but then quickly amended that. Or rather he tried, but Lexa pressed a kiss to his mouth.
“Good,” she said when she eased back. “Because, Aiden, I’m head over heels in love with you. I don’t want to go anywhere else. I don’t want to be with anyone else. I only want you to love me in return. And if it’s too soon, I’ll back off—”
He kissed her before she could finish that, and because he was suddenly feeling a mountain of relief, and arousal, Aiden rolled over on top of her.
“No backing off,” he assured her. “In fact, I want you to say it again. The I love you part,” he clarified.
Her smile lit up her face even more. “I will if you will,” she said like a challenge.
But it was no challenge for him. Apparently, not for Lexa either. Because they said it together.
“I love you.”
There it was. The words he’d never grow tired of hearing.
“Know what will make this even more perfect?” he asked.
She smiled, fumbled around the nightstand drawer and managed to take out a condom. “Sex,” she murmured, putting the condom on him. “Then, tacos followed by more sex.”
Aiden couldn’t help it. He laughed. Yeah, Lexa got him all right, and it was just the beginning. The beginning of those words. And everything else that Lexa and he had started together.