Silvia Day (14 page)

Aidan bent and slipped his hand though the handle of the cat cage at their feet. “It would be my pleasure.”

“You should keep this one around,” the woman said to Stacey.

“Yeah? Tell him that,” Stacey retorted. Then she smiled warmly. “I’ll be calling you Monday morning, Mrs. Laughin, to see how you and Mathilda are doing.”

“Talk to you then, honey.”

Aidan held the glass front door to the clinic open and gestured for Mrs. Laughin to precede him out, but once they stepped outside, she urged him ahead of her.

“Don’t wait for me,” she said. “I’m so slow it’ll cramp those long legs of yours. That’s my car over there, the yellow Hummer.” The horn sounded once and the taillights flashed as she disengaged the alarm. “You can just set her on the floor.”

Following instructions, he had Mathilda settled securely on the passenger floorboard in no time, then he returned to Mrs. Laughin and offered his arm.

“Dr. Bates is a pretty thing, isn’t she?” she asked, shooting him a not-so-innocent sidelong glance.

“Yes, she is.”

“I think she’s single. Hardworking. Smart. Got great taste in decorating, too. Best-looking vet clinic in town. And Mathilda loves her.”

Aidan’s grin widened. “Mathilda has great taste.”

“Yes, she does. I can always tell when a solicitor is at the door, because she piddles on the entryway tile.”

Choking back a laugh, he opened the driver’s side door
and watched as a custom step lowered from the undercarriage, enabling her to get up into the vehicle without his help. She surprised him by holding out a hundred-dollar bill.

“I don’t want that,” he said.

“Take it. I got plenty. My dear Charles, bless his heart, made us rich.”

“I still don’t want it.”

“I ogled your ass.” She shook the bill at him. “Take the damn money or I’ll feel guilty for doing it. You don’t want to make an old woman feel guilty, do you?”

Laughing, Aidan took the money, determined to give it to Stacey as a credit to Mrs. Laughin’s account.

“Dr. Bates has a nice heinie, too,” she said.

“Yes, she does,” he agreed.

She beamed at him as she pushed sunglasses onto her face. “I knew I liked you. Now, go buy yourself something nice or something for Dr. Bates. Women like gifts. It was money well spent for me. Haven’t seen an ass as fine as yours in a very long time.”

“Thank you.” He waved as she pulled out of the parking lot, then turned in a circle, carrying the ridiculous hope that he would spot a library nearby. He didn’t, of course, but he did spot a mass transit bus roll by with a Discovery Channel advertisement emblazoned on the side.

He was willing to bet he could purchase the items he wanted, rather than borrow them. After all, he knew where the stores were, which was more than he could say for the library. Whatever his next move, he needed to make it quickly. Everything seemed to be working against him today, but he wasn’t giving up without a fight. He’d be
damned if the night came and he had nothing to show for his efforts.

Returning to the clinic, he stopped by the desk. “Where’s Lyssa?”

“With a patient.”

He set his elbows on the counter. “Can you give me an inch? Please.”

She stared at him for a long moment, then sighed. “Exam One.”

“Thank you.”

Reaching the paneled door with a gilt-framed sign that said “Exam One” attached to it, Aidan knocked lightly and waited.

It swung open a moment later, and just like the first time he’d seen Lyssa sprawled upon golden sand beneath him, he felt as if he had been sucker punched in the stomach. Blond, curvy perfection with dark eyes that went from professional coolness to melted desire just from the sight of him. He caught the door frame for balance and breathed in harshly.

“Oh shit,” she hissed, her fingers white where she gripped the knob. She stepped out into the hall to afford them some privacy. “You should have warned me it was you before I opened the door.”

“I knew it was you and it didn’t help.”

She stared up at him with liquid, seductive eyes. He didn’t have to read her thoughts to know she was thinking the same things he was—hot sex, naked sweaty bodies straining together, the fierce, aching pleasure that was almost too much to handle. It had been this way from the
beginning, the depth of desire between them that wiped out every other thought but the need to be as close as possible.

Unable to stop himself, Aidan reached out and cupped her breast beneath the open flap of her lab coat, his thumb stroking across her nipple and finding it already peaked hard.

Lyssa smacked his hand away. “Stop that. I need my brain cells.”

His jaw clenched against the urges it wasn’t time to indulge in. Focus. On. The. Books. “I need to borrow your car again. Do you mind?”

“No, go ahead.” Her pause was nearly imperceptible, but he caught it. “I’ll be done in an hour, though.”

“I’ll be back long before then.” He dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers, physically crossing the distance he sensed growing between them. Two steps forward and one back. “I won’t delay our talk for even a minute.”

She sighed. “My brain is fried now.”

When she turned away from him, he reached out and pinched her ass, making her jump and glare at him. He made a kissing gesture with his lips and then went back to her office.

When Stacey had gone out with him earlier, she’d taken him to a large mall complex that housed a couple of bookstores as well as clothing and other merchants. That’s where he intended to go in search of information about Stonehenge’s relationship to astronomy. He suspected a connection between the purpose of the stone alignment and the world his people had abandoned when the Night
mares had taken over. If he eventually linked fissure creation to the ancient monument in England, he wanted to make sure he understood as much as possible.

He hoped like hell he was on the right track. A dead end could cost Lyssa her life.

“So you’re keeping Chad on a leash while you figure out what’s up with your hunk delivery?”

Lyssa glared. “No, Stace. I’m not keeping Chad on a leash. We’ve just agreed to stay in touch, as friends.”

“And you still can’t remember meeting Aidan, only shagging him.” Stacey leaned back in one of the little settees that graced the waiting room and shook her head. “Maybe he slipped you a roofie or something.”

“Stacey! Christ. Look at him! He doesn’t need to drug women to get them in bed.”

Setting her forearms on her knees, Lyssa closed her eyes. “You know, I opened the door to Exam One and saw him standing there, and my toes curled? The only time my fucking toes curl is when I’m having an orgasm.”

“You had an orgasm just looking at him?”

“Damn near.” Even now, the memory of him leaning against the doorjamb in loose-legged jeans and white
T-shirt made her breasts ache. Aidan Cross looked, smelled, walked, talked sex. Period.

“Wish I had a hair trigger like that.” Stacey snorted. “’Kay, here are my thoughts. Maybe this is one of those deals like when a juror marries a serial murderer after the trial. The whole dangerous-bad boy-I’m-gonna-tame-him thing.”

Lyssa stared.

“I’m just saying,” Stacey said, holding up both hands defensively.

“Aidan is not a serial murderer.”

“He might be if he’s Special Forces.”

“That would be different!”

“Yeah.” Stacey slumped back into the chair. “I guess so. Maybe you’re just crazy, or maybe he is. I hope it all works out and you’re happy, but man, I have my doubts. There’s something weird going on here.”

Lyssa sighed loudly. “I think so, too.”

“Here, take this.” Stacey dug into her purse next to her and pulled out a pen. Then she tugged off the top and revealed an atomizer top.

“What is that? Mace?”

“Pepper spray. This shit’s nasty stuff. Justin messed with a tube once and damn near killed us both. Your eyes water, your nose runs, and your skin burns like hell.”

Staring down at the innocuous-looking tube, Lyssa felt like crying. Could she be more scattered and confused? “You think I might have to use this?”

“Better safe than sorry. This guy is a stranger to you. Who knows what his deal is? No clothes, no money. It’s just bizarre. If he starts talking about religious sacrifices or
says he’s an alien, you’ll be grateful for that spray.”

“Fuck.”

Stacey leaned over and squeezed her wrist. “Call me often over the weekend, or else I’m sending the cops over. And bring him to dinner at my place tomorrow. I want to see you in person.”

“You’re freaking me out.” Lyssa stood and began to pace. When she was with Aidan, she felt safe. Cherished. But when they were apart she was flooded with doubts.

“Put Aidan up in a hotel until everything is worked out and explained.”

“Fine.”

“Fine, you’ll do it? Or fine, shut the hell up?”

“Fine, I’ll find him a hotel.”

When the rear door to the clinic slammed shut, they both turned their heads. Aidan appeared a moment later, his hair windblown and tousled in a super-sexy way, a bookstore bag in his hand. He’d bought sunglasses, which he pushed up as he approached, revealing blue eyes filled with pleasure and lust at the sight of her. He was walking his signature walk, the one that screamed,
Hot sex
. Beneath the thin cotton of his shirt, she could just make out the shape of his washboard abs and strong chest.

Her toes curled.

“Ready to go?” he asked in that deep voice with its luscious accent. That tone struck a chord deep inside her, once again creating a sense of familiarity that was soul deep.

Clutching the pepper pen tightly, she nodded. “Yes. I’m ready.”

Lyssa wasn’t sure how they ended up at her house. Her thoughts were on Chad and Stacey’s valid concerns, and her driving had been on autopilot. Still, as she pulled to a stop in her garage, she didn’t feel panic that she hadn’t dropped Aidan off at a hotel. In fact, as the garage door lowered, she felt relief.

Holding the steering wheel with both hands, she stared straight ahead and blew out her breath.

“You want to tell me what’s on your mind?” Aidan asked, his left hand sliding over to rest on her thigh. “You haven’t said a word since we left the clinic.”

Beneath his palm, her skin burned. The heat spread, warming her blood, making her shift in her seat. He stroked softly, slowly, and her body responded by melting for him. Her knuckles went white.

A rough sound rumbled in his chest.

“If you’d like a bed beneath your back when I fuck you again,” he murmured darkly, “you better get out of the car.”

She scrambled out and slammed the door. He rounded the trunk so swiftly, they reached the kitchen entry at the same time. His hand curved around hers where it gripped the knob, his chest pressed against her back, his thighs touching hers. The hard length of his erection was an unmistakable shape against the upper curve of her buttocks. He dipped his knees and stroked it against her.

Closing her eyes, Lyssa pressed her hot forehead against the cool door and moaned softly. Aidan’s lips touched the side of her neck, and his tongue stroked leisurely over her rapidly beating pulse.

She heard a thud, but it wasn’t until his left hand cupped
her hip that she realized he’d dropped the bag of books.

“What are you doing?” she breathed, so in lust with him, her lungs were tight.

“You’re tense. I’m relaxing you.”

Aidan’s accent was divine when he was plain speaking. When he was aroused, it was pure seduction.

She reached back and cupped his ass, mimicking his movements, stroking the length of his cock with her body. He growled and bit into the tender spot between her neck and shoulder. It pinned her in place, subduing her writhing, telling her without words that she was at his mercy.

“No fair.” She pouted.

He licked his teeth marks in her skin. “Is that a complaint?” His large hand slid lower, between her legs. “Can’t have that.”

Her breath hissed out as he rubbed her lightly through her trousers, the barely-there pressure enough to make her wet, but not enough to satisfy. “Oh, Aidan…”

His grip became fierce, pulling her body taut against his, as if the sound of his name impassioned him.

“Next time,” he muttered.

His fingers freed the button at her waist, lowered her zipper, and then he shoved her pants down roughly.

“Wh-what…?”

“The bed. We won’t make it.”

He thrust his hand into the juncture between her legs.

“Oh shit.” She clung to the knob for balance.

Aidan crowded her, his fingers parting her and then thrusting into her. His mouth to her ear, he whispered, “I’m going to take you, Lyssa. Right here. No holds barred.”

Her knees buckled. If not for his fingers deep inside
her, she would have sunk to the floor. “Do it.”

She leaned heavily into the door as he began to fuck her with his fingers, fast and hard and not deep enough. His desire goaded hers, making it wild and out of control.

And he knew it.

“Spread your legs.” His rough command made her shiver with anticipation, and when his hand left hers on the knob and rose to pinch her nipple through her shirt and bra, her moan was loud and pleading.

Bending her knee, she kicked free of one pants leg and set her foot on the threshold, which was raised a few inches higher than the garage floor. She spread herself shamelessly.

“Yes.” She shivered violently when his two fingers withdrew and then he returned with three woven tightly together. He was fervent, but beneath that impatience was underlying reverence. All her doubts faded to insignificance. No man could touch a woman like this without caring for her, without
knowing
her and wanting to please her. The driving force was lust and base craving, but there was also desperation and neediness that came from a far more intimate place.

She could hear cars driving past her garage and distant voices—her neighbors talking, parents yelling, children playing. The active community she lived in was just a few feet away. She didn’t care. She just wanted Aidan.
Needed
him.

“You’re melting in my hand.” His words were spoken against her skin, his lips nuzzling into her neck.

“I…” She nuzzled back. “Hurry.”

Before she understood what was happening, he stepped
back and spun her to face him. He stared down at her, blue eyes intensely searching. Then he caught her face in his hands and kissed her passionately.

No holds barred.

She was startled by this new side of him, unable to shake the feeling that Aidan did everything with iron-fisted control, even sex. But his actions now were far from controlled. He was ready to ride her to the finish, she could tell. And she wanted him to. Wanted him to lose himself in her.

Then he surprised her again by dropping to his knees.

Hooking her leg over his shoulder with shaking hands, he bared her to his gaze.

“So pretty,” he said, his thumbs parting her. She knew what was coming before he licked her, but it still rocked her world.

“Oh!” She thrust her fingers through the dark silk of his hair and held on as his warm lips surrounded her clit. The rough pad of his tongue stroked back and forth across the sensitive bundle of nerves. His mouth was hot, the texture perfect, his skill evident. When he groaned against her and increased his rhythm, she bit her lower lip to keep silent. Then he tilted his head and thrust his tongue into her, and she gave up and cried out.

Aidan hummed his encouragement.

Lost to the pleasure, she rode his mouth, her hips undulating into the gentle, shallow stroking inside her that was driving her crazy. “Please,” she begged, her hands dropping to his shoulders.

His every exhale burned her skin, the kneading of his fingertips on her hips made her tingle all over, the steady fucking of his tongue into her pussy made her mindless.
Clutching his arm for support, she moaned, “Please…”

He kissed upward to her clit, and her muscles tensed, preparing for the coming orgasm she wanted more than her next breath. When it came, the force of her climax nearly took her to her knees, but Aidan held her upright, his shoulders bulging beneath her palms, supporting her, not just physically but deep inside, his attention to her needs both reassuring and welcome.

When she slumped backward, Aidan stood and lifted her with amazing ease. She wrapped her legs around his hips and then shivered as their gazes locked together. There was no satisfied smile in his eyes or on his lips. There was only desire and a deep intensity, as if he was looking for something within her features.

“Take me,” she whispered.

Holding her effortlessly with one hand beneath her buttocks, Aidan yanked his button fly free and shoved his garments low on his hips.

He gritted his teeth and pulled her down at the same time he surged upward. She twisted in his arms, the slick, swollen tissues inside her aching with the penetration. He was hard as a rock, thick and long.

His nostrils flared as he slid slowly from her in a heavy glide, only to thrust into her harshly, pinning her to the door.

Her toes curled. “Ah god, your cock…”

Wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders, she felt the dampness of the cotton that separated his steamy skin from hers. Beneath her fingertips, the muscles of his upper back were trembling. His knees bent again on a torturous
withdrawal, then his ass clenched beneath her calves as he pumped back into her, filling her so full she gasped for breath.

She held on with what strength she had left. Aidan took her like a man possessed, riding her high and hard and deep. He growled on every plunge, his breath hissed on every retreat. Her lower back banged repeatedly into the door, the rhythmic sound unmistakable.
Hard sex.
She loved it, craved it, craved
him
. Just as he claimed to crave her.

Blood roared through her veins, muting her hearing, but gradually she recognized his voice, though the words were foreign and breathless. It was hot in the garage. Airless. Creating a sauna effect that heightened her arousal. She felt drugged, languid, though every cell in her body was finely attuned to the man who fucked her so well.

“Aidan.” Her lips pressed his name against the sweat-slick skin of his neck, her fingertips slipping through the wet strands of his hair.

In response, he hugged her tightly, the tender embrace so at odds with his lower body, which battered her hips with the force of his lust, his cock shafting her cunt over and over again.

“Can’t…I’m sorry,” he bit out, just before he pressed her into the door and shuddered in orgasm, his thighs quaking beneath hers, his cock jerking inside her, his cum scalding with its heat.

Lyssa ground downward onto him, rubbing her clit against his pelvic bone, pushing herself into climax with him. They clung together, shuddered together, her nose
pressed to his skin, breathing in the scent that was uniquely Aidan.

His heart pounded against her breast, his chest rose and fell as laboriously as hers, the sweat on his forehead mingled with hers.

Connected.

Aidan stepped out of the downstairs shower stall before Lyssa finished in the bath upstairs. He wrapped a towel around his waist and swiped a hand across the foggy mirror. The man who looked back at him—with a touch of fear in his eyes to go along with the determined set of his jaw—was not someone he knew.

He heaved out his breath and stepped into the hall. Tossing the towel in the laundry basket, Aidan tugged on the pajama bottoms he’d bought and then went to the kitchen to search for something to feed his Dreamer.

He’d discovered last night that Lyssa had the shopping sense of a bachelor. Beer, soda, leftovers, and sandwich stuff were the extent of her refrigerated stores. Iced rum, boxed meals, and ice cream made up her frozen items. Knowing better than to look in the fridge, he went straight to the pantry, where he knew pasta and various canned goods waited.

He was momentarily tempted to make SpaghettiOs again, but then decided to try his hand at something different. He pulled out a few things and set to work.