Chapter 19
Today was the day. After two days in a medically induced coma, the doctors were going to take Lucy’s grandfather off the sedatives. Now, there was only one question.
Would Grandpa Rusty recover?
Wrapping her hands around a mug of coffee, she stood next to the window of Aiden’s third-floor apartment.
On the street, college students spilled out of other buildings.
They carried travel mugs and water bottles.
With backpacks slung over their shoulders, they waved to one another and gathered at the university bus stop across the street.
It was the first day of the new semester.
She envied the students and their uncomplicated lives.
Aiden came up behind her. “Good morning,” he said.
She glanced over her shoulder. He wore a Red Grove Fire Department T-shirt, this one in gray, and a pair of shorts. His hair was wet from his shower. His cheeks and chin were covered with fine hair. He hadn’t shaved since Friday.
“I like the beard,” she said. Her fingers itched with the need to touch him.
He rubbed his cheeks. “I don’t know if I’ll keep it. But since I don’t have to be back at work for a while, I figured I could try it out.” He nodded toward the window. “They look happy to be back in class.”
He was right. The students smiled as they waved enthusiastically to friends.
Would this have been her life if she’d gone to college and not stayed at the ranch?
Instinctively, Lucy knew what she would have studied.
Psychology. She would have gotten her certificate to be a substance abuse counselor.
Her mission would be to save other families the pain that came with losing a loved one to an overdose. “They look young,” she said.
A white bus, the University of North Dakota at Red Grove’s logo painted on the side, pulled up to the curb.
The students filed onto the bus. After a moment, it pulled back onto the road.
Lucy watched it until it turned at the corner and disappeared from view.
The street below was empty. The quiet filled her with a melancholy she didn’t understand.
With a killer on the loose, she’d been staying at Aiden’s apartment since Sunday night.
But he’d been sleeping on the sofa and Lucy had slept in the bed.
Aiden hadn’t brought up anything romantic or sexual—not since their one night of lovemaking.
She understood that he was giving her time to heal.
After all, she’d had been diagnosed with CO2 poisoning and needed hours of forced oxygen to recover. And yet, she was disappointed.
Maybe all they were going to have was the single night together. After all, she’d been dumped after a single episode of sex before. Why shouldn’t it happen again?
“My dad sent me a text,” said Aiden, oblivious to her thoughts. “He’ll be at the hospital by nine. I can take you.”
Having access to Dr. Colton was another perk of staying with Aiden. The chief of surgery was available to answer all of Lucy’s questions, even when he wasn’t at the hospital.
“You don’t have to give up your day to take care of me,” she said.
“I’m on medical leave, which is driving me batty. So really, you’d be the one doing me a favor.” He paused, “Besides, I’ll get to see my dad and everyone at the ER.”
It wasn’t just his father or future brother-in-law.
Aiden knew everyone at the hospital. “I’d love for you to come with me.
Not just because everyone likes you. But you have been my rock, the one solid and dependable thing in the middle of this whole mess.
I keep asking myself, why do you want to help me? ”
“I think that would be obvious,” he said, taking a step toward her. “I like you.”
She laughed, and coffee sloshed onto her wrist. She wiped her hand on her pajama pants.
“Why’s that funny?”
“Because I don’t get what you see in me, either.”
“You are beautiful, Lucy. But more than that, you are honest. And smart. And resourceful. I love how dedicated you are to the ranch and your grandfather.”
She didn’t know who Aiden was looking at when he saw all those things.
It certainly wasn’t her. Still, his words filled her with, well, Lucy didn’t want to examine her feelings too closely.
After all, she was just staying with Aiden temporarily.
Eventually, she’d leave, and he’d find someone who suited him better.
It was a story that had been played on repeat. Everyone in Lucy’s life left. Her brother died. Her parents moved. Maybe she was somehow so flawed that nobody wanted to stay.
“If your dad is going to be at the hospital by nine,” she said, shoving away her thoughts, “I should get ready.”
He said, “I can leave whenever you want.”
Lucy went into the bathroom. Because Aiden’s brother was the sheriff—another fortunate connection—Lucy was able to get her clothes and toiletries from her house even though it was considered a crime scene.
She turned on the shower and stripped. After stepping under the spray, she poured shampoo into her palm. She worked it into a lather, and the scent of apples swirled through the steam. She washed quickly and rinsed. Lucy turned off the water within minutes of turning it on.
A towel she’d used the day before was draped over a bar. She pulled it free and buffed her body dry. That’s when she realized that she’d forgotten to bring in a set of clean clothes.
She squeezed the water out of her hair. She could redress in her pajamas. But if she put back on dirty clothes, then what was the point of her shower?
She wrapped the towel around her body. The fabric fell to the middle of her thigh, covering her enough. She gripped the front of the towel with one hand and opened the bathroom door.
Aiden still stood by the window. Sunlight streamed in, bouncing off the wooden floor and surrounding him in golden light. He turned to look at her. His gaze traveled up and down her body before stopping on her face. It was impossible to miss the craving in his gaze.
With his eyes still on her, she felt beautiful and desirable and worth loving.
“Hey,” he said. “Everything okay?”
“I just forgot my clothes.”
He gave her that smile, the one with the dimples. “Of course.”
Her heart started pounding against her chest. She wanted to touch Aiden.
To taste him. To have him touch and taste her as well.
The memory of his hands on her arms, her shoulders, her breasts, her thighs, came to Lucy with a clarity that stole her breath.
She swallowed. “I better,” she said, nodding toward the bedroom. “You know, get dressed.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I guess you should.”
Lucy crossed the room, not bothering to look at Aiden. At the door to the bedroom, she glanced over her shoulder. He was watching her. His gaze left gooseflesh on her skin. Lucy might not understand what Aiden saw in her. But she knew what she wanted from him.
Meeting his eyes, she let the towel drop to the floor. “You can come with me, if you want.”
Aiden didn’t need another invitation. Lucy’s perfect body said it all. He crossed the room in four long strides and wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her to him. Pressing his lips to hers, he kissed Lucy hard.
She sighed, and he slipped his tongue into her mouth.
It was funny to think that they’d had amazing sex already, but because the power was out, he’d never seen her naked. “You are more beautiful than I imagined. Perfect,” he said, breathing the words into her mouth.
“Oh, Aiden,” she said, sliding a leg up his side.
He gripped her thigh, holding her to him. His dick lengthened. Aiden kissed her hard, savoring the feel of her with his tongue. Wrapping both of her legs around his waist, he grabbed her ass.
He pressed Lucy into the wall and pulled down his shorts, just enough to get free. Kissing her again, he entered her in one stroke. She was hot and wet. His balls got tight, and the back of his neck tingled.
He couldn’t come, not yet.
He moved his hips, pumping into Lucy. He kissed her cheek, her neck, her chest. She tilted her head back, opening herself to him, and he took one nipple into his mouth. She mewed with pleasure and ran her fingers through his hair, pressing him to her.
He didn’t know how much longer he could hold back his orgasm. But he had to take care of her first. He reached between their bodies. The top of her sex was already swollen. He rubbed in a circle. Her legs tightened around his middle, and she sank her teeth into his shoulder.
He didn’t mind the pain. “You like that,” he asked, whispering the words into her ear.
“Yes.” Her breath was hot on his shoulder. “Yes. Yes. Yes!”
She tightened around him, and he couldn’t hold back anymore. Instincts took over. He drove inside of Lucy harder and faster. She clung to him and mewed with every pump of his hips. It was the stuff of erotic dreams. He came and stars exploded behind his eyes.
Aiden ran his nose over Lucy’s neck, taking in the scent of her. Soap from the shower. Apples from her shampoo. Musk from their sex. The scent of freshly mowed hay, that clung to her even though she wasn’t on the ranch.
The smell was intoxicating.
He hadn’t come to her, looking for intimacy, since she’d been staying with him. He didn’t want her to feel as if she needed to trade sex for hospitality.
But now, what did this mean for them? Were they involved? Friends with benefits?
It was crazy to think, but after just a few days, he wanted more than just a few nights of passion.
Aiden searched for the right words to let her know how he felt. To tell her that he was interested in a real relationship. But something hot and wet started to slide down his legs. “Crap,” he said. “I didn’t wear a condom.”
Lucy did not want to get pregnant. She could not afford a child, in time or money. Thankfully, she’d been taking birth control pills for years.
“I’m sorry.” Aiden adjusted his shorts. “I got carried away.”
“You don’t need to apologize.” She had gotten carried away, too. “I’m on the pill.”
“Oh,” he said.