“What?” He asks as he starts the car.
“You nearly amputated my limbs with the door. Did I do something? I told you I was fine calling an Uber.”
“I said it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” His words are clipped, and he doesn’t even look at me, despite the fact that he’s not driving yet.
“Well, you might try working on your ‘it’s fine’ face before you need to use it again. Because right now your face says ‘fuck off’ not ‘it’s fine’.” I cross my arms over my chest and huff out a breath as I lean back in my seat. “There are enough things for me to worry about already. I don’t need to add moody drummer to the list.”
Chapter 22
Aiden - Stupid. Fucking. Asshole.
“Amoody drummer? What the hell are you talking about? Just because I’m not hugging you like a hormonal pregnant woman and telling you how amazing it is to meet you, suddenly I’m moody?”
Her mouth drops open as she looks at me. I turn away and put the car in gear to start the drive to her place. I feel like I’ve stepped into an alternate reality and I need to get home and get to bed. How can she be sitting here calling me moody when all I’m doing is driving her home? I mean, I guess hearing Connor nearly tell her that my house has terrible memories has me on edge, but moody?
“No, idiot. I’m saying you’re moody because you nearly closed my leg in the car door. And because you’re acting all put out about giving me a ride, even thoughI told youI didn’t mind getting an Uber. No one is forcing you to drive me home. You could have said no.”
Did she just call me an idiot? I open and close my mouth a few times before I can get any words to come out.
“I’m only trying to drive you home. I don’t know where you’re getting all this other shit from,” I say through gritted teeth.
She makes a noise that sounds like a combination of a grunt and a growl, and if she weren’t so obviously mad at me, it would probably hit me right in the dick. Oh, who am I kidding? I’m getting hard just hearing it. This woman is under my skin. I need to get away from her.
Maybe she’s upset because my friends are trying to throw us together? She has a lot going on right now, and having all these nosy assholes trying to put us together is not something she needs to be dealing with. None of them know what it’s like to lose the only job you’ve ever wanted, so of course they don’t understand that she has more important things to think about.
“Look, I’m sorry if I closed the door too quickly. I’m distracted, and a little frustrated that my friends keep trying to push us together. They have no sense of boundaries. I was worried that they’re making you feel uncomfortable, and I guess I was the one making you uncomfortable. So I’m sorry. And I will talk to them and get them to back off.”
She responds to my apology with a nearly imperceptible nod and a slight raise of her eyebrows. If I hadn’t glanced over at exactly the right moment, I would have missed it altogether. Whatever. I’m not apologizing any more than I already have for something that she has to realize was an accident.
The rest of the ride to her place, neither of us says a word. I don’t even have music on, so the only sound is the sound of the road passing beneath my car. Once we’re back downtown, I pull up directly in front of Rhea’s building. The creepy doll store is closed, as are most of the other stores on the street, so traffic, foot and vehicle, is minimal. It’s much quieter than I would have expected a place downtown to be.
Once I’m parked, I turn off the car, and Rhea and I both sit staring out the windshield. Finally, she breaks the silence.
“You know, I don’t get you. First, you chase me around trying to get me to go out with you, and now it’s like you can’t get away from me fast enough. It’s not like I’m looking for a boyfriend or anything, but you’re going around in circles and making me dizzy, buddy.” She unbuckles her seat belt and opens the door, leaning out of the car. Before she steps out, she turns her head and looks at me. “But thanks for the ride. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.” She gets out, closes the door behind her, and turns to her building.
Follow her around? When did I follow her around? Looking for a boyfriend?
I can’t stop myself from chasing her. Before she even opens the door that leads up to her apartment, I’m out of my car and beside her. She gets the door open and I follow her into the stairwell. I reach out and grab her hand, turning her to face me.
“OK, let’s get something straight. Maybe I have been trying to get away from you for the last few days. But that’s because I can’t get you out of my fucking head. Ever since I saw you sitting on the sidewalk crying, you’re all I can think about.” I reach up and run both of my hands up into her hair, holding our foreheads together. My voice comes out in a growl. “And my dick has been at least half hard since I saw you at the club wearing that tank with me on it and those fucking tiny shorts. All I’ve wanted to do since then is kiss you, taste you, and fuck you until you forget your own name.”
Her breath hitches, and my heart pounds in my chest. I can’t bring myself to open my eyes, not wanting to see her face. If I see any amount of desire reflected at me, I don’t know that I’ll be able to control myself. As it is, my cock is hard as steel, trying to throb its way out of my pants to get to her.
“I saw you in the shower,” she whispers. “When you left the door open. I stood and watched you until you finished. It was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
My eyes fly open to see hers, lids low, pupils enormous. She slams her lips against mine, thrusting her tongue into my mouth, grabbing my shirt in her fists, and pulling me closer.
Holy fuck, she wants me too.
I return the kiss, meeting her enthusiasm with more of my own, and move her so her back is against the wall. I run my hands over the soft skin of her shoulders and down her back, stopping to squeeze her ass before grabbing the backs of her thighs and lifting her legs up and around my waist.
“Fuck, babe. I want you so fucking bad,” I whisper harshly against her mouth. “Tell me you want me too.”
I shouldn’t be fucking doing this, but I can’t make myself stop. My need for her is burning a hole in my chest.
“I want you, Aiden. You’re all I can think about.”
She wants me too. Fuck, yes.
