He lifted a shoulder. “Why would I? I can’t corroborate any of it, and it’s not like Pierce wants to help me out. Plus, I don’t like the next obvious question.”
I asked it anyway. “What kind of business were you doing with Danny?”
“None. We’re old friends from back in the day.” His gaze didn’t flicker.
“I know you were working with him to the point that you went on rides and camped out together,” I said, finishing my coffee. “Lie to me again, and we’re done.” Sometimes I could sound like such a badass. Which I ruined by yelping when Aiden hooked a finger in my shirt and yanked me toward him, his mouth taking mine.
Hard and fast and deep.
He kissed me for so long that I couldn’t think and then didn’t care about thinking. Only feeling. Man, he could kiss.
Finally, he released me to let me breathe, and I stared up into his eyes. A darker rim of blue surrounded his Iris. “I won’t lie to you again,” he rumbled.
What? Lie? Oh yeah. “Good.” I straightened my top and tried to get my body under control. We’d gone four times that morning, and I was ready for a fifth. Sometimes I wondered if Aiden was even human. “So tell me what you and Danny were really doing together that night.”
“We were going for a drink.” Aiden wiped my pink lipstick off his mouth with his thumb in a too sexy move that should be filmed. “It’s the truth. As for anything else about Danny, I’m under advice of counsel not to discuss my association with him. Protect both of us and stop asking, Angel. We don’t have attorney-client privilege.”
That was true. “I’m going to keep digging on this.”
“How about you stop digging and I promise that if Tessa gets caught up in this, I’ll confess to the murder and keep her off the hook?” Aiden turned to rinse out his mug in the sink.
I handed mine over to him. “That ruins my plan of a big wedding and five to seven kids of yours. So, no.”
He grinned and turned to face me, leaning against the sink. “It’s fun to joke about, but my life doesn’t lend itself to that ideal, and you know it.”
I lifted one eyebrow in a move I’d learned from my mother. “I figure you’re a work in progress, if you want the truth. Or maybe you’re just a phase. I don’t know yet.”
A dimple flashed in his right cheek. “You think I’m a phase you’re going through?”
I looked him up and down, truly enjoying our banter. “You’re a hot bad-boy. That’s a well-known phase for a lot of good Catholic girls.”
His chuckle warmed all of the private places he’d explored on me that morning. “You know, my Grams would’ve loved you.”
Well. Direct hit right to the heart. Yep. “I think my Nana O’Shea already loves you,” I said instead of jumping his bones and begging him to marry me. I was not even remotely ready for happily ever after, even if he was in a different situation. My body wasn’t agreeing with me right now, though. “In fact, don’t most women adore you?”
“Huh. Not touching that one.” He took my hand and started toward the door. “Considering my bike is in a bunch of trees right now, do you mind dropping me off in town on the way to work?”
“Sure. What’s your plan then?”
“To call the guys and have somebody come help me with the bike.” He waited on my front porch for me to lock my door and then took my hand again.
I paused. “Is Tessa in danger?”
He studied me for a moment. “I don’t think so. She didn’t see who killed Danny, and apparently she wasn’t in his life, so she should be fine.”
That was a relief. We wandered to the driveway where I’d left my Fiat.
A blue car idled across the road, set against a backdrop of pine trees. A long camera poked out, already snapping photographs.
Aiden shoved me behind him, and tension vibrated down his back. “What the hell?”
The driver snapped several more pictures and then sped off.
Aiden looked over his shoulder at me. “Any clue who that was?”
I slowly shook my head. “You or me?”
He shrugged, anger glimmering in his eyes. “Dunno. That wasn’t an undercover cop car, and it didn’t belong to anybody I know. The driver wore a hat and was too far away to identify.”
