I kissed him back, lighting on fire. He was hot, dangerous, and for the moment, all mine. I tunneled my hands through his damp hair, digging in, desire ripping through me faster than was probably healthy. He tasted a little like Scotch, and even that warmed me. Finally, my lungs protested the lack of oxygen, so I tore my mouth away. “We have to be quiet,” I panted.
“I’m not the screamer.” He rolled to the side and shoved the bedcovers out of his way in a totally cool and smooth motion.
I grinned because that was true. “Someday I’m gonna change that.”
“Not today,” he whispered, flat over me again and then rolling until I was on top of him. Quick movements had my tank top and shorts flying through the room, followed by my new cute black panties that he hadn’t even gotten a chance to see.
I pushed against his chest to a seated position, all of him warming all of me. He caressed my ribcage and up to my breasts, knowing exactly how much pressure to add. Then he added more, and I gasped.
He chuckled, manacled me around the neck, and drew me back down to kiss him.
For Aiden, this was playful. I enjoyed the moment, knowing any second he’d roll again.
Yep. He rolled again, and I was under him, enjoying all of that lean and hard muscle. His talented fingers found me, and I rocketed into orgasm so quickly it surprised us both. “Guess you missed me,” he murmured, his lips against mine.
“Guess so.” I was more than ready for him, wanting to keep reality far away for now.
“Missed you, too.” He slowly pushed inside me, the muscles in his arms bulging nicely as he kept his weight from suffocating me. “You good?” he whispered after one final push.
“Yeah,” I said, tracing his biceps with my hands, trying to stay in the moment and not worry about the future. This was here, and this was now, and we were together in every way possible. A warning clinked in the back of my brain that he would be gone again, and I hadn’t let go of his frustration over the phone line when he was reconsidering us, but I shoved that bitchy voice away. If pain was coming, I was going to take the good and ride it out.
Plus, who knew. Maybe the good would stay.
My mouth opened, but I didn’t say the words. I wasn’t ready to say the words, or maybe I was just a coward, but who cared? I dug my nails into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist.
He ducked his head, kissed my nose, and then started to move—also not saying the words.
I shut my eyes to just feel, and he took me away, changing his angle to hit all the right spots. I went over, crying out, and he kissed me fast, swallowing the sound.
Then he kept pounding.
Two climaxes later for me, one for Aiden, and we lay in the bed with his arm banded around my waist and my back to his front. It was the one place I felt truly safe these days, and I relaxed into his warmth. “Should we talk?” I asked sleepily.
“Tomorrow,” he said, his voice lazy. “So long as nobody has shot at you, let’s relax.”
Holy crap. He hadn’t heard about the shooting at the border? I winced and then planted my hand over his on my abdomen. “About that….”
Chapter 27
After arguing with Aiden over coffee, we both reached the conclusion that I just couldn’t hang out at my cottage and wait for my stalker to show up. Even though Pierce had to pull my protective detail because the flu had hit the department even harder the day before, I had to live my life and do my job.
Plus, I was armed and I knew how to shoot.
He had to go to work and figure out how Jareth Davey had followed him to Portland. It was a fact we still hadn’t really discussed, and I had to go save a couple of senior citizens from probably getting arrested.
We’d left the dog at the cottage, and Aiden promised he’d try to make it back to let him out a couple of times during the day. No promises, though.
The blizzard of the day before had mellowed to a softly falling snow, although the roads were still treacherous. I dropped Violet at her job before driving across town to the Sunnydale Retirement Home subdivision, still in Tessa’s Rogue. She said she wasn’t planning on going anywhere, but I still needed to check on the repairs to my SUV later that afternoon. I made a quick call to Bernie, sternly advising him to check into a hotel and stay low until we found out who kept trying to kill him.
He assured me that he was now packing heat and not to worry.
I needed more antacids.
Then I turned into the retirement village and looked around, trying to find the spirit of the season inside me. At least it was all around me. Christmas had definitely landed hard on the small one-story homes and duplexes, with an astounding number of lit Santas, presents, and deer all decorating front lawns and sparkling lights of all colors hanging from eves. Even during the morning hours.
I wasn’t surprised to see a cadre of green elves lit with blue lights decorating Thelma and Georgian’s half of a duplex. When I knocked on their door, I was even less surprised to find them both ready to go, both wearing trench coats, black sunglasses, and Fedoras. Thelma’s was a bright pink and Georgiana’s a muted tan.
Thelma looked me up and down, her eyes large behind her thick glasses. “That’s what you’re wearing?”
