Cautious (3 page)

He chuckled. "We won't be alone. I have a full staff on hand."

"Oh, even better, a staff full of people on your payroll. Sounds wicked safe," she said sarcastically.

Aaron reached over and took her hand. He brought it to his lips and gave her knuckles a firm kiss. "Relax, Misty. If I wanted any harm to come to you I never would'
ve pulled you out of your car." Misty smiled and his heart skipped a beat. "I simply want to have some uninterrupted time to get to know you. Is that all right?"

"That's more than all right," she said.

"Good because we're here." He parked the SUV, got out and went around to her side. Taking her hand he helped her out.

"That's your boat?" she asked.

"Sure is." He smiled proudly as he led her toward the dock. He'd never brought a woman to his boat before. It was his safe place, a place he could be alone and hide away from his job and the nastiness of the world. His boat was his home. Sure, he had an apartment, but that place had never truly felt like home. There was nothing quite like the feel of the water rocking the hull and the smell of the ocean breeze. "Dinner will be ready soon. Would you like to eat on the upper deck or in the cabin below?"

"The upper deck is fine."

Aaron took her hand, lacing their fingers, and led her down below. "While we're waiting I'll give you the grand tour. The cabin is where I spend most of my time when I'm on board. It's just like home."

Misty stopped and looked around, her gaze lingering on the faux fireplace before moving onto the U-shaped bar.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked.

"Some ice water would be great. Thank you."

"Are you sure you only want water? I've got a fully stocked bar. You name it and I probably have it."

She laughed and his heart soared. "I took some pain medication last night and I can't drink alcohol, but thanks for offering."

"Right, the accident, I forgot." Aaron went around behind the bar and got out two glasses. He filled them with ice and then water. He hadn't realized until right now just how relieved he was that she was okay.

"You don't have to refrain on my account," she said taking the glass from him.

"Nonsense. I don't need alcohol to enjoy myself," he said with a wink. "That's what I have you for." Aaron watched the pinkish hue color in her cheeks and his desire to strip her naked and fuck her right here on the floor was overwhelming. If his words had that effect on her then he had no doubt his touch could do so much more.

Misty sipped her water, a faint smile played on her lips. Damn she was gorgeous. "So tell me, Aaron, do you go all out like this for all the girls?"

He laughed. "No, just for the ones I really like."

She raised a brow and grinned. "And what is it about me that you like so much?"

"Everything." Aaron took the glass from her hand and set it on the bar along with his, then took a step toward her, closing the gap between them. He framed her face with his hands and brushed his lips over hers, his tongue licking over her bottom lip, coaxing them to open for him. They did and he groaned as his tongue dipped inside her warm mouth, exploring, tasting, and probing. He felt her hands snake around his neck and her fingers splay into his hair. Letting go of her face he put his arms around her waist and yanked her tight against his body, his hands coursing down her back and landing on her scrumptious little ass. She was so pliant against him, her moans of approval swallowed by his eager kiss, and his cock jerked in response.

"Aaron," she whispered.

He nipped at her bottom lip before engaging her in another long, erotic dance of their tongues and lips. His cock ached with the need to be buried inside of her. Christ, what was she doing to him? He'd never been this out of control with a woman before. Aaron Price was a man who was always in control and one touch of her lips to his and he was like a horny teenager fumbling to get laid. "God I want you so much, Misty," he murmured against her lips, loathe to leave them even for a second.

"Please, Aaron," she said putting her hands flat on his chest and taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but slow down. Please."

Slow down? He was having trouble refraining from ripping that dress from her body and she wanted to slow down? Suppressing a groan he reluctantly pulled his mouth from hers and ran the pad of his thumb across her kiss swollen lips. "Do you have any idea what you do to me?" he asked, dropping his forehead to hers and smiling.

"I have a pretty good idea." Misty glanced down and Aaron followed her gaze. His crotch bulged with his erection. "It's just," she licked her lips "I just got out of a long term relationship and I’m not quite ready to jump into anything right now."

He had an overwhelming urge to beat the bastard who'd broken her heart and made her hesitant to get involved with him. "Okay," he said after a moment. "I'll give you some time, but mark my words, Misty. I will have you."

She took a breath and he heard it catch in her throat. There was no denying it. Misty wanted him just as badly as he wanted her and he'd be damned if he was going to let her slip through his fingers because of
a bad break-up. "Let's go eat shall we?" he said once again taking her hand and lacing their fingers together. They walked silently to the upper deck where a table for two sat. He pulled out her chair and waited for her to be comfortably seated before taking his own seat.

"Mmm," she hummed and inhaled deeply. "It smells delicious."

Aaron smiled. He thrived on the knowledge that she appreciated what he'd done for her. "So, how long have you lived in Enbridge Falls?" he asked placing his napkin in his lap.

"About three and a half weeks. I moved here after the break-up. I needed a new city, new faces, a fresh start," she said putting a forkful of pasta in her mouth.

"Where did you live before?"

"Arizona."

He watched intently as she ate, fascinated by the way her delicate jaw worked in a rhythmic motion to chew and swallow her food. Cutting a piece of chicken he popped it into his mouth and savored the taste of the Monterey flavoring over his tongue. "And what do you do for a living?"

"Right now? Nothing. I'm in
-between jobs, but before I left Arizona I was a teacher for kids with special needs."

"Are you hoping to continue in that field?"

Misty took a sip of water and shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I liked my job and I adored the children I worked with, but it's very emotionally draining. And God knows I've had enough emotional turmoil to last me a lifetime." She took another drink. "Enough about me. What about you, Aaron?"

"What about me?" he asked with a laugh. "I've always wanted to help people but didn’t have the patience for college so I joined the fire department."

She glanced around at the boat. "They must pay you well."

He grinned. "It's a volunteer fire department."

"Oh." A slight grimace contorted her beautiful face.

"My biological father was very wealthy and he left me everything when he died. I never have to work a day in my life if I don't want to."

"Lucky you."

They ate in companionable silence for a while. Aaron was dying to know about her break-up. What could've happened to cause her to move to a different state? What was she hiding? Or, better yet, who was she hiding from?
He'd get it out of her in time. Right now he was just going to enjoy her company and if he got lucky, maybe he'd get to enjoy another kiss or two.

Despite her reservations, Misty was having a great time. She didn't think it was possible to have fun after the hell Richard had put her through, but Aaron was nothing like Richard. Aaron was kind and funny, sexy as hell and he knew how to treat a woman. Most importantly, he understood boundaries. She'd told him to stop earlier and he had. In her eyes, that had won him a lot of points. They were now down in the cabin, sitting on the plush, microfiber sectional couch, drinking coffee and gazing at the fire. Misty couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so relaxed.

"So, I've met your sister. Do you have any other siblings?" Aaron asked draping his arm across the back of the couch.

"I have a younger brother. He's only nineteen. Mom calls him her mid-life crisis baby."

Aaron laughed. "Most people buy a sports car or have an affair."

She frowned. There was that nasty A-word she hated so much. "What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

"I have a step-sister. We never got along very well. She always thought I was an interloper for her father's attention. She moved to New York after high school and only comes back for holidays."

"Mr. Terrell is her biological father?"

He nodded. "James. Yes. My mother married him shortly after my father died. I was just seven."

"What happened to your father?"

Aaron set his cup of coffee on the small oak table at the end of the couch then took hers and set it beside his. He took both of her hands into his and looked at her pointedly. "He died in an apartment fire."

"Oh." Her face flushed with embarrassment. What had possessed her to ask such a personal question?

He smiled weakly. "He was with his mistress when it happened. In a matter of hours my mother learned that her husband wasn't just dead, but that he'd died in the arms of another woman."

"I'm so sorry, Aaron."

Taking her face into his hands he leaned closer and Misty felt that fuzzy tingling in her stomach. This man had a strange effect on her. "Don't be. Even though I was only seven when it happened, it was a defining moment in my life."

Misty swallowed tight and licked her lips. "It's good that you can find the positive in such a bleak situation."

"Enough talking," he said slanting his mouth over hers and slipping his tongue into her mouth. Her eyes fluttered closed and she was instantly lost in him and his kiss. A low appreciative moan
escaped from her throat. His lips were soft yet firm against hers. It was evident that Aaron was a man who knew what he wanted and he wasn't afraid to go after it.

Misty's mind raced and swirled with the realization that it was her he wanted, her who he was so adamantly pursuing. She should be afraid. She should put an end to this right here, right now, before it got out of hand. But it was just too good. The feel of a man kissing her like she was the only woman in the world; the feel of his unbridled desire for her and her alone—it was something she'd so desperately wanted to feel from Richard and something he'd never felt she was worthy of. But Aaron did. She needed to turn off her mind and just enjoy the feelings Aaron invoked in her. Yet, she was having trouble doing that. Her fears were too great, her emotional wounds too deep.

Aaron kept their mouths engaged as he gently guided her back onto the couch. The feel of his body weight on top of her had her wiggling beneath him in a feeble attempt to get closer. He wedged his massive thigh between her legs and pushed against her pulsing sex. She clutched his head; his hair entwined through her fingers, and groaned her approval. Aaron left her mouth and trailed kisses along her jaw and down her neck, across her throat and up to her ear. His teeth tugged on her earlobe before he licked and kissed the soft curve behind it. Misty arched her body into him, desperate for more of his touch.

"Yes," she breathed when his hand cupped her breast, kneading it tenderly.

"I. Want. You." He punctuated each word with a kiss as his hand coursed down the length of her body until he reached the hem of her dress, then he made his way back up, taking her dress and bunching it around her waist. "I have never wanted any woman as much as I want you." His hand slipped into the waistband of her panties, his finger deftly spreading her folds and sinking into her throbbing pussy.

Misty dug her nails into his biceps as his ministrations intensified, sending hot, rasping flares of pleasure outward from her core until her fingers and toes began to go numb. It had been over a year since she'd been intimate with a man—which is no doubt the reason she was having such an intense reaction to his touch. It had to be. There was no other explanation. No man could possess that kind of power over her body. It just wasn't possible.

"You're so wet," he groaned and circled her clit with his thumb. "Makes me want you even more," he said right before reclaiming her lips in a hard dominant kiss.

She could hear how wet she was. She could hear the distinct squishy sound of his fingers plunging deep into her then slowly withdrawing only to be plunged in again, harder and deeper. That awareness would normally creep her out, but right now, with Aaron, it only served to make her wetter, needier for his touch. Her pussy began to tighten and her stomach clenched with her impending release.

"Yeah, that's it," Aaron crooned at her ear, gently tugging on her lobe again.

"Oh. God," she panted her breathing coming in short ragged bursts as her vision blurred and her body bucked uncontrollably beneath Aaron's strong frame. It was so intense she wasn't sure she'd survive it without passing out. Residual tremors shook her body as Aaron clung to her, keeping her tight against him, holding her until her orgasm had subsided. Then he kissed her again. It was hard, deep, and passionate and laced with so much wanted desire it scared the living daylights out of her.