“Why me?”
Two words. Two simple syllables that raised my heart rate and sent me reeling for answers. I hadn’t given the “why” much thought. He was attractive, sweet, and had just the right amount of sass. Did he want me to list off all the qualities I admired? It sounded more complicated than him fishing for a compliment.
“Huh?” Yup, still smooth as ever.
“That night.” He propped himself up onto his elbow, narrowing his eyes to see in the dark. “Why did you knock on my door? I can’t be the only man in your phone book, so I’m curious.”
I almost chuckled. Not at the question, but that it was a masked vigilante that gave me a swift kick in the pants. If it hadn’t been for Hellcat, who knows if I would have mustered up the bravery to take the initiative? So why did I stand at the door, fist hovering, worried what might happen if I knocked?
“Before I knew your name…” I prayed I wouldn’t regret this little story time. “…you know, in those five minutes. You were the asshole. Here I was, running into danger, and you told me to turn around. Who was this punk telling me not to save people? It’s literally my job.”
Aiden continued rubbing my stomach. It was a good sign that I hadn’t horribly offended him. Yet. I wasn’t used to processing my feelings, especially not with an audience. I hoped he’d bear with me as I sifted through the rubble in my head.
“Nearly dying didn’t shock me. Let’s be honest, it’s part of the job, and the way I run my mouth, it’s bound to happen. But then this asshole reaches down and saves me.”
“You were paying back a debt?”
I rolled over so I could see his face. I didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding. My fingers wrapped around his hand, squeezing it just shy of painful.
“At first, I wanted in your pants.” I might as well be honest, even if it was embarrassing. “But that’s because I take a while to process things. The more I thought about it, I couldn’t stop thinking about this man risking his life tosave me. Then he didn’t stop. Then he put his life on the line to keep helping people.”
“Nice save.” If it wasn’t for the smirk, I worried I might be dancing on the ledge.
“I’m trained to do that. It’s my job. But that’s how I view helping people. It’s a job. I am literally paid to keep people alive. But here is this asshole?—”
“Adorable asshole,” he corrected.
“Downright gorgeous asshole,” I added, “doing it because it’s the right thing.”
“So you picked my door because of my passion for charity work?”
Feelings. They weren’t my cup of tea. I walked through life numb, and for the most part, it served me well. I might never be mushy, but as Aiden lifted my hand, kissing my knuckles, I wanted to try. “Why? I picked your door because I need somebody who reminds me to be a better person. Surprise twist, you save a man from death and he gets gooey.”
“Why do you think I hang out at disaster sites? You were my second damsel of the day.”
Xander Bennett was a force. It wasn’t my ego speaking. Others had made me abundantly aware of how I was a walking storm. There wasn’t a challenge I wouldn’t face, but?—
“While my brain tried to convince me to walk to theelevator, my heart—” My chest tightened, the words caught in my mouth. If I shed a tear, I’d have to mock myself.
“Shhh.” Saved by the tip of his finger covering my lips. He crawled on top of me, his face hovering inches away. I didn’t have words to express myself, so I let my actions speak for me. I kissed him as if it might be the last, or the first, or everything in-between. I let feelings I couldn’t describe pass from my tongue to his.
Aiden leaned back, straddling my waist. Whatever I said, it had gone from sweet and innocent to devilish. He rocked his thighs, and I realized how my cock rested along his backside.
The moon revealed the upturned lip and lust in his eyes. “If we’re not going to sleep…”
17
Aiden snucka piece of bacon off the plate while I finished the eggs. I never cooked breakfast for myself and I couldn’t recall the last time somebody spent the night. My chef skills were rusty, but any man could make bacon. It was programmed into our DNA, much like our need for sunlight.
“Scrambled eggs, okay?”
“I’m not picky.”
Good. They were supposed to be fried, but that had gone horribly wrong. Bacon I could handle, but even something as simple as eggs was a disaster from the onset. As I tried to stop them from sticking to the bottom of the pan, I wanted to know why nobody had come up with a breakfast delivery business.
“I didn’t want to ruin last night,” he said, as if the statementdidn’t make the hair on my arms stand on end. “But I have some good news of my own.”
I dished the eggs onto two plates before sitting at the table. Aiden took a mouthful of eggs before covering his mouth to speak.
