Chapter Twenty-One
Aidan
Finally, my laughter dies to a low chuckle. I push up on my arms to keep from squishing Maeve with my weight.
“That was…”
“It was…?”
“It was fucking fantastic.” I roll onto my back, remove the condom, and tie it before I drop it to the floor. “I’d even go so far as saying phenomenal.”
I turn my head and feel like a fist punches my gut at the sight of her.
Rosy, flushed cheeks, her red hair tousled, some of it sticking to her temples, the rest still in that messy bun on top of her head, and her eyes…
Fuck, the spark in her eyes as they look into mine would make any man fall to his knees, begging to worship her.
I flash her a smile.
“You don’t agree?”
She rolls her eyes. “I do, but…”
“But what?”
Her gaze shifts to mine, then away again. I get the feeling that she’s testing each word before letting it out. She raises her eyes to meet mine again, opens her mouth, pauses, then tries again.
“This is going to sound stupid.”
“Impossible,” I growl.
She taps her finger on my lips, silencing me.
“Hush. What I was going to say is that I don’t think I’ve ever lost control like that before. I’ve never allowed myself to let my partner take over, but I felt safe with you, so…” She lifts her shoulder in a little shrug. “It surprised me that you could do that. That’s all.”
I let her words sink in. “So,” I raise my eyes to hers, “what you’re saying is that you admit that I’m a sex god?”
She punches my shoulder until I lie on my back and rolls up on top of me, straddling me.
“You’re impossible.” She laughs, wiggling her arse on my cock.
I rest my arms lightly on her back, tugging her down for a deep kiss. I only let the tip of my tongue touch hers once lightly before I pull away.
“Careful, Mae. You’ll make me hungry again.”
She frowns down at me. “Again? Already?”
I lean up, unable to resist those full lips. I catch her lower lip and tug lightly, scraping my teeth on her soft flesh before letting go. “I could eat your sweet pussy all night. Just the thought of it makes me get hard again. Can’t you feel it?”
I push against her crotch, and her eyes widen in understanding.
“Oh,” she breathes.
“Exactly. Unfortunately, I can’t do that. I have to go.”
She pulls away and sits back, revealing herself to me. I hiss at the sight of her heavy breasts. “Of course. I didn’t expect you to stay the night.”
I let my arms fall, releasing her to climb off my lap. She reaches a hand down and pushes my glasses up my nose. “Since we’re already talking about the sex god part…”
I raise my eyes, waiting patiently for her to carry on. “Yes?”
Maybe not that patiently, after all.
“I loved that you fucked me still wearing your glasses.”
I sit up straighter, my lips stretching in a wide smile. “Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, I won’t ever take them off when I’m with you.”
She tilts her head to the side and smiles slowly. “Good.”
My eyes fall on the puckered scar just below her belly button, and I narrow my eyes. Now’s not the time to question her, but I don’t want to pretend that I haven’t seen it.
Or that I don’t want to know what it means.
Despite the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, there’s an even darker need to know if my suspicions are correct. I get up from the bed and take a careful hold of her chin.
“One day soon, I’m going to ask you to tell me what that scar means.”
She stiffens, her fingers brushing the edge of the scar before she drops her hand again. I can practically see the shutters slam down behind her eyes.
I hold her gaze. “I mean it, Maeve.”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“I beg to differ.”
She takes a step closer towards me. For a moment, something flickers in her eyes, then it’s gone, her expression settling back into calm.
“You don’t get to decide how much of myself I share with you, Aidan. I do.”
“I respect that. But we’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Yes, but…”
“That means we share things.” I take a step closer to her and frame her face. “Even things that hurt to talk about.” I kiss her softly. “But don’t worry. I’m not asking for more than you can handle.”
“You sound very sure of yourself.”
“That’s because I know you can take it. I can feel it. You’re strong, Mae. Probably a whole lot stronger than most people. Whatever you think you have to keep from me? You don’t.”
Her nostrils flare. “This is not….We’re not…”
“We’re not what?”
She settles her hands on my chest. “We’re not together, Aidan. This isn’t a relationship, remember? You’re not supposed to care about me in that way, and the same goes for me. You know what? We need a proper set of rules for this. Where’s my phone? I need to write this down.”
I put my hands on her hips, drawing her attention back to me as I dig in my fingers. “We’re on the same page here, Mae. I’m not…” I purse my lips, grasping for the right words to say. “I’m not worried that you’ll break my heart because…”
“Because?”
My stomach churns with nerves, but now that I’ve lifted the veil of my past, I have to see it through. I owe it to her.
“I’ve already been lucky enough to have my one great love.
I loved Tierney with everything I had. I gave her all of me, and I was blissfully happy for a time.
When she was gone, and I had a wee child to take care of, I knew I wouldn’t find that again.
I thought, ‘This is it. Your life isn’t yours anymore.
It belongs to Katie now.’ And I’ve been content with it, and will continue making her my primary focus, because that kind of heartbreak is not something I can live through again. ” I rub my knuckles over my heart.
She puts her palm on my cheek, her eyes swimming with compassion. Every single cell in my body whispers at me to let go, to give in and lean into her touch, but my head fights back.
So, I don’t.
I can’t.
“This is going to be the strangest friends-with-benefits arrangement in all of Ireland,” she whispers.
I smile down at her. I know I’ve won this round.
I rub my thumb on her cheek.
“If you need rules, I’m fine with it. Text me a list. If it’ll give you peace of mind, I’ll happily set your mind at ease. But right now, I have to go. Katie’ll be home soon.”
She claps a hand over her mouth. “Oh, my gosh, I’m so sorry!”
I frown down at her. “Why are you sorry?”
She shakes her head. “I completely forgot to ask how you were able to come over tonight. It’s a school night, isn’t it?” She gulps. “Please tell me you didn’t lie to her.”
I try not to let her concern for my daughter settle over me, but it’s hard to resist the cloak of warmth when it wraps me up in a cocoon like that.
“I never lie to my daughter.” I step aside to get my boxers and quickly put them on. “But she’s at the riding school. She gets a lift home from the riding school with her friend’s mother every Tuesday. We take turns, and I pick them up on Thursdays.”
“I see.”
I flash her a grin when I catch her eyeing my crotch.
I’d be lying if I said her direct stare meant nothing to me.
The sound of my belt clings loudly in the silent room, and it’s with a note of regret that I get dressed.
All I have eyes on is the woman standing in front of me, fully naked, hip leaning on the bedpost, her arms over her chest, pushing her gorgeous breasts up.
She’s so comfortable in her own skin, standing in front of me.
It turns me on like nothing else.
“So…” I push my arms through the sleeves of my flannel shirt and take a step closer to her, wrapping my arms around her back. “Will Tuesdays work for you?”
She places her hands on my arms and tilts her head. “Tuesdays?”
“Yes. I can come here every Tuesday around the same time.”
Understanding dawns in her eyes. “Oh. Yes, I think so. I get off work early every Tuesday, so that should be fine.” She taps her chin, smiling up at me. “Our Tuesday Fling has officially commenced, then.”
I groan.
“That sounds like the title of a bad romance novel.”
“Hey, don’t you dare mock my favourite pastime, Aidan.” She starts buttoning up my shirt, her eyes shining with laughter. “They’re the reason I even learned there’s a thing such as orgasms.”
Shaking my head, I rest my forehead against hers. “Don’t tell me.”
She tucks her chin, but not quickly enough that she can hide her grin. “Fine. I won’t.”
“Now it’s all I’m going to think about tonight.” I suck in a breath. “You wicked woman.”
“Mmm.”
I lean down and kiss her, unable to resist having another taste of her sweetness before I leave. My heart thumps in my chest when she goes pliant in my arms, her body growing soft underneath me, her lips fused to mine. My head screams at me to pull away.
We’re moving into dangerous waters too quickly.
Her low moan sends a shockwave of lust straight down between my legs. I dig my fingers into her buttocks, moulding the soft flesh, before I wrench my mouth away.
“If I don’t leave now, I’ll fuck you again, Mae.”
“As much as I’d love that, I won’t keep you.” She tugs my lower lip with her teeth, and I hiss at the shot of lust that settles in my cock.
I kiss her once, twice, three times before I force myself away. Her cheeks flush a beautiful shade of pink, and her swollen lips beg for more.
“Get dressed.” I ignore the scrape of my voice. “Don’t you dare touch your pussy until I see you again.” The blood whooshes in my ears, and I realise what I’m asking of her is so much more than a simple friends-with-benefits deal.
But I can’t take the words back.
She juts her chin out.
“I don’t take orders from anyone, or have you already forgotten that?”
I ball my hands at my sides. I’m strung so tight I’m worried I’ll snap if I don’t keep my distance.
I lower my voice.
“Trust me. As long as you’re with me, I’ll take care of you.”
I wet my lips, never once dropping my gaze from hers as I wait for her answer. I haven’t been a possessive man in years. She brings out a side of me that I haven’t seen for so long. One I thought I’d buried a long time ago, only now I realise it was never buried that deep.
It was lying in wait for someone.
Waiting for her.
“See you next week, Aidan.”
It’s not the answer I want, but it’ll have to do for now. My eyes linger on hers for one more moment before I force myself to turn away.
“See you then, Wildfire.”
My phone vibrates on my bedside table. I pick it up, and when I see it’s the woman I can’t stop thinking about, I swipe the screen.
WILDFIRE: The Friendship Fling Rule Book
I bark out a laugh, shaking my head.
This woman.
ME:There’s an entire rule book now?
WILDFIRE: It’s not a thick book. It just has a few key elements that I feel are important.
ME: Let me have them.
I settle back on the pillows, eager to find out what she’s come up with. Little Miss is settled in my bed, curled up near my feet, and opens her eyes once, blinks at me, and then shuts them again.
WILDFIRE: #1: We don’t meet for lunch or drinks at the pub. Nothing that could look like a date.
ME: Got it. What’s next?
WILDFIRE: #2: You mustn’t cook for me.
ME: Why not? I like to cook.
WILDFIRE: It’s too intimate. Too much like something a boyfriend would do.
I drop the phone on my abs, taking time to mull over her words. I never thought that cooking could be considered an intimate act between people, but the more I reflect on it, the more I see Maeve’s point of view.
I pick up the phone and quickly type my answer.
ME: Done. Do you have more rules?
WILDFIRE: Just one more. That’s the most important, I think.
I watch the dots dance on the screen. They stop every few seconds, then pick up again, and each time they do, my pulse beats louder. I don’t know what that has me so worked up, but my best guess is that it’s because I’m out of my depth.
But now I’ve had Maeve, I’m far from having my fill of her yet.
I need to see this through for however long it takes to get her out of my system.
ME: Still waiting, Mae.
WILDFIRE: #3: If either of us starts to catch feelings for each other, we end this thing between us. Promise me, Aidan.
I grip the phone tighter in my hand and close my eyes briefly.
Then I type the only words I can give her that won’t hurt her.
ME: I promise that won’t happen. You’ll make some man very happy one day, but that man won’t be me.