Shuttered Affections (Cornerstone #1) (24 page)

“I got caught red-handed lusting for the twins that would
surely haunt my daydreams from here on out.”

Aiden swiftly navigated through the back roads as the words
of Blue October filled the car. I enjoyed how his taste in music was a little
contemporary and old school like mine.

Just as I was getting into the song, he pressed a series of
buttons on his steering wheel, effectively stopping the music and answering his
phone through the in-car Bluetooth.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Aiden, love. Your brother has been gossiping about you and
I had to get the juicy details from the source. Is it true you’ve met someone?”
a voice sounding sweeter than honey purred through the car speakers.

“Hell, you guys. You both are like a pair of loose-lipped
old ladies!” he exclaimed with a hearty laugh.

“That wasn’t an answer, Aiden!” she scolded. “Now, tell me
about her. I want to know everything,” she added a little more excitedly.

“Would you rather meet her, Mother?” he asked with a wink in
my direction.

My heart leapt into my throat. Was he serious? We had known
each other for less than a week and he already wanted me to meet his family?

Suddenly, a loud squeal came through the speakers, causing
me to cringe at the sound.

“Oh. My. God. Aiden! Your dad would be rolling over in his
grave. Aiden Stone bringing a girl home? I think I’m speechless.”

“I don’t think that’s possible. You always have something to
say,” he chided and rolled his eyes.

“Oh, hush, boy! Now, please, tell me more. I want to know
everything,” she begged.

I smiled at him. The banter between mother and son was so
lighthearted and playful. I tried to push away the pang of jealousy at the
healthy relationships he obviously had with his family.

“She’s perfect. You’d love her,” he said with a dazzling
grin in my direction. “Her name is Juliana.”

“What a gorgeous name. What is it about her that has you all
tied in knots, son?” she asked with a little more concern lacing her voice.

“I’d love to talk about her all day long, but since she is
here with me right now, I think it would be a bit rude to stay on the phone.”

“Shit, Aiden. Don’t tell me you’ve had me on the speakers
all this time,” she exclaimed. I didn’t blame her. I would probably be pissed
if I had just unknowingly spilled over the speakers.

I giggled just a little too loudly as Aiden let out a
strangled laugh, filling the entire car with amusement. My God, he was so
beautiful when he smiled.

“Christ, Aiden. You’re worse than Coda!”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to be so vibrant with your
words. I also didn’t expect Coda to rat me out so soon,” he admitted. Then he
turned to me and said, “Remind me to kick his ass later.”

“You will do no such thing, Aiden James. If it weren’t for
Coda, I’d be left out in the cold about your life,” she admonished.

“Where the hell does he find the time to blather with you so
much? He always tells me how busy he is, yet he seems to have plenty of time to
tattle on me.”

“Go easy on your brother, Aiden. He misses me more than he
likes to admit. While it makes me feel good to be missed, I hate to see him so
lonely all the time. Why do you think I’m so pleased to hear you’ve met
someone?” she asked unreservedly.

Coda? Lonely? He was so drop-dead gorgeous when I met him,
he could probably land a nice girl without even trying.

“I know. I love him and I’m thankful for him dragging me
down here—although, I miss you terribly, too, Mom. You know that, right?”
he said with just a little bit of regret and sadness.

“I know, sweetheart. Things have been rather lonely without
my double-trouble around here. But, nothing has turned up broken in the shoppe
since you left. So, I guess some good comes from you boys being out of my
hair,” she said with a laugh.

I chuckled loudly again at the woman’s humor and this time
she must have heard me.

“Oh, dear. Since Aiden is neglecting to introduce us and
clearly still has me on speakerphone, then I will take it upon myself. Juliana,
my name is Ann and I can’t wait to meet you,” she said in a warm and honest
nature.

I smiled as I responded, “Thank you, Ann. And, please, call
me Julia. It’s so nice to see the smile you put on Aiden’s face. I can’t wait
to meet you too.”

“Oh, my. You’re such a sweetheart. I like you already! You
must promise me you’ll bring my boy up to see me soon,” she pleaded.

She seemed so nice and it was refreshing to see they didn’t
withhold their feelings from each other like most families did—like my
family did.

“Of course, I promise,” I said with a grin.

“Okay, Mom. We have to get going now. But, I will call
later. I promise,” Aiden interjected. I noticed then we were pulling into the
driveway of his house and noted Tanya’s car was still not in the driveway.

“Of course, Aiden. Give Tanya my love. I’ll talk to you
later,” she said and hung up before waiting for a response.

A puzzled look crossed my face as I thought about his mom
and her knowledge about Tanya.

“What’s the matter, Angel?” he asked with concern in his
voice.

“Um, nothing. Well, first, I love your mother. She seems so
genuine and fun. But, I’m curious how your mom handled your agreement with
Tanya,” I explained.

“You’re right, she is a genuinely fun person, and I can’t
wait for you to meet her. Initially, I didn’t tell my mom about my marriage
arrangement with Tanya. I was a little worried about her judgment with the
whole situation. Plus, Tanya and I grew up together and she knows my mom. At
first, she didn’t feel comfortable letting my mom know of her troubles. So, we kept
cool about it. However, the cat was out of the bag when Tanya moved down here
with Coda and me…” he trailed off, looked up at the house, and then back to me
before he continued.

“Let’s go inside and I’ll tell you all about it.”

I just nodded and watched as he smiled and climbed out of
the car.

Upstairs, Aiden quickly started running a bath in his huge
Jacuzzi tub. I stood in the doorway watching as he ran his fingers under the water
to check the temperature.

Leisurely and seductively, he made his way toward me and,
grabbing my hands, he led me further into the bathroom. He peeled each article
of clothing from my skin, one by one, until I stood before him completely naked
again.

“I feel so fortunate to view beauty such as yours, Angel
mine,” he praised as he assessed my bare skin.

Gently gripping my hand, he helped me into the tub. After
settling my sore muscles into the warm water, I watched as Aiden quickly
disrobed and climbed in behind me.

As he settled me between his legs and began running a cloth
over my skin, he continued his story as promised.

“Tanya’s dad was good friends with my dad. They died
together in a plane crash a little over a year ago. It was a small plane her dad
owned. They were headed to their hunting lodge in Georgia when, for all we
know, they had some issues with the instrumentation. So, my mom knows Tanya
well. Her mom took off when she was young and she was an only child, so her dad
was all she had. Both of our families were wealthy, hers more so than mine by a
long shot, but we never wanted for anything. Several months after our fathers’
deaths, all three of us decided we needed new scenery. Coda had just finished
law school and I had finished school in Savannah almost a year prior. So, we
all moved here, mostly following Coda since he managed to land a job at a
decent law firm here in town. Tanya doesn’t need to work and chooses to
volunteer her time mostly. In all honesty, I don’t need to work either, but I
choose to because I love it,” he said, pausing as if he ran out of things to
say.

“Where did you move from?” I asked, attempting to lift the
subject slightly.

“Hendersonville, North Carolina. It’s a cute little town
near Asheville. I own a tiny cabin up on a mountain with a lake in the valley
below. You’d love it. It’s so beautiful and peaceful up there.”

I turned slightly so I could look into his eyes and said,
“I’d love to go visit sometime, Aiden. It sounds so nice.”

He leaned in to kiss me before he spoke and said, “Of
course, Angel. Anything you want. Maybe we’ll go for spring break next week. I
know spending spring break up in the mountains may not be the ideal spring
vacation, but…”

I cut him off with a finger to his mouth and assured him, “I
would love that, Aiden. I’m not sure I can ask for a full week off work, but I
would love nothing more than to spend a week in the mountains with you.”

We kissed. God, could he kiss. I can’t be certain how long
we sat in the tub and just cuddled. The next thing I knew, the water began to
get cold and I was all pruny.

“Would you like me to turn the Jacuzzi heater on or are you
ready to get out?” he asked.

“What time is it?”

“Ahh, shit. I don’t know. But, you’re right. You have to get
to work. I guess we better get ourselves out of here. I would like to take you
to dinner before dropping you off,” he explained as he pulled the plug and
began draining the water.

After a quick rinse in the shower, I padded across Aiden’s
room to look at the clock next to the bed. It was now four in the afternoon,
perfect timing to grab some dinner and get me to work on time.

“Is it okay if Coda and I hang at the club again tonight?”
Aiden asked from his closet doorway across the room. “I don’t want to make you
feel uncomfortable while you’re at work, but he enjoyed himself last time and
he is looking for something to do.”

“Of course. I’d love for you guys to hang out with me while
I work. Just don’t try to pull some switch on me. You two look nearly
identical. If it weren’t for your tattoo and the possessive look you give me, I
may not be able to tell the difference,” I said with a chuckle and a roll of my
eyes.

“Ahh, I guess you didn’t notice he has the same tattoo as
me, huh?”

I just stared at him with a deer-in-the-headlights look on
my face. He began to laugh as I stuttered for some sort of response to his
admission.

“Don’t worry, love. His is on the left, mine is on the
right,” he said with humor still in his eyes.

I playfully swatted him on the chest and scolded, “That only
helps me if you are naked.”

Then the thought of two naked Stone brothers got me all
kinds of hot and bothered again. He just laughed at me and shook his head,
clearly knowing where my thoughts took me.

“Damn it,” was all I muttered, knowing full well I got caught
red-handed lusting for the twins that would surely haunt my daydreams from here
on out.

Aiden looked down at his phone as I laid out my clothes on
the bed.

“He says he wants to grab dinner first. Do you want it to be
just you and me for dinner?” he asked. “It won’t hurt his feelings if we tell
him no. But, then we’d have to take separate vehicles.”

“What do you mean, separate vehicles? Were we planning on
picking him up?” I asked in confusion.

“Oh, crap. I can’t believe I didn’t tell you. He lives here,
in the house. The Jeep is actually his, although, honestly, we share our
vehicles. We pretty much share everything. It’s just always been that way,” he
said with a shrug. “I can’t believe I forgot to tell you that…”

I interrupted him and attempted to sound nonchalant as I
said, “Aiden. It’s okay. I would be surprised if you two didn’t share so much.”

“I’m sorry. We just don’t usually date very many people who
understand or are cool with the bond we have. It’s been hard, especially for
me, to find someone who accepts us as a package,” Aiden explained with a
distant look in his eyes.

“Aiden, look at me,” I commanded as I stepped closer to him.
I was still wrapped in my towel, but my desire to hold him overpowered me. Clearly
not being bashful in his presence, I let go of the towel, causing it to pool to
the floor. Grabbing his face with both of my hands, I stared into his eyes.

“I think the relationship you have with your family is so
wonderful. I can’t even put into words how jealous I am of you and the bond you
share with your brother, your mother…” I trailed off as tears began to prick my
eyelids. “I would give anything to have my brother back. Anything. And I would
like to have a relationship with my parents. The fact you already have that is
so special to me. I would never dream of belittling what you are so fortunate
to possess.”

He just looked at me with bewilderment in his eyes. Like he
wasn’t sure the words I just spoke were actually true. Did he really have women
who didn’t realize how special he was? I was still confident he was too good to
be true.

After a few tense moments, he finally reached up and held my
face in return, mimicking the way I held him. Our lips met in a tender, spicy
mix of feverish kisses before we ultimately grabbed ahold of each other into a
passionate embrace.

He pulled away and looked at me with amusement in his eyes
as he cocked an eyebrow and said, “You’re naked, Julia. If you don’t get
dressed, we may never get out of here.”

“Yes, sir,” I said firmly as I turned and sauntered back
toward the bed where my clothes awaited me.

Before I made it, Aiden bolted toward me and pushed me onto
the bed, trapping me beneath his strong body. He held my hands above my head,
but this time I felt no fear, no hesitation, as he held me down.

“Fuck, Julia. Now we’re never getting out of here,” he
growled as he fumbled for the fly of the pants he just put on moments before.

“Why? Because I said,
Yes,
sir
?” I asked with a pseudo innocent look in my eye.

“God, yes. You submitting to me
is probably the hottest thing…”

Just as he was getting my insides all wrapped up in a tizzy,
a knock sounded at the door, cutting off his lustful confession.