The Awakening: Aidan (3 page)

She turned away to head for the other side of the car, relieved to finally have some space between them.

“I accept your challenge.”

She clenched her hands. Okay. Enough was enough. Time to nip this in the bud now. She rounded on him, poking him once in the middle of the chest with her finger. “Do you truly believe I don’t have a clue what’s going on here? I’m not an ignorant human. I’m half shifter. I know what you are. I
specialize
in what you are. Don’t waste your time trying to use your shifter prowess to lure me in. I’m not fooled. ”

He wasn’t ruffled by her comments. He just leaned his hip against the trunk and crossed his arms again. “You’ve only made the challenge sweeter. I look forward to proving you wrong…Jaylin.”

She shivered at the way he said her name—a verbal caress that physically warmed her all over and lit a roaring fire low in her belly. She stared at him for a moment trying to come up with a retort. Words failed her.

“Oh!” She whirled around, rounded the back of the car, wrenched open her door, jumped inside, and slammed it closed. His chuckle followed her, causing weird zingies to ricochet inside her chest.
Damn him.

“’Til tomorrow.”

He lazily strolled back to the cabin. She couldn’t take her eyes off him in the rearview mirror until he entered and closed the door behind him. Then she stared straight ahead, biting her bottom lip. What would it be like to say his name? She couldn’t ignore the part of her that wanted to hear it fall from her lips, and here would be a much better place than slipping in front of him. She breathed deep.

“Aidan,” she said to the quiet confines of her car’s interior.

His name flowed from her tongue. Even whispered, the word dominated the silence as if she’d screamed it at the top of her lungs. Saying his name held so much power. How would it feel to have him looking at her when she spoke it aloud? Would his beast show itself in his eyes? What bestial color would dominate those green irises as the beast rose? And, God, why did she want to see it directed at her?

She hung her head. What had she done?

…

Aidan waited until Jaylin’s taillights faded into the trees before turning away from the window, wishing he could express his feelings for the doctor to his friend. Six months ago he would’ve without hesitation, but now he wasn’t sure how Liam would react.

He watched his friend suck the grease from the tips of his fingers. He’d devoured two of the pork chops while Aidan had been outside, and finished the third while he’d stood at the window. “Hungry much?”

“Starving.”

The one-word answer made Aidan run his hand over his head. It never used to be this hard to talk to Liam. Out of his two close buddies, Britton was the one he went to when he wanted to drown his sorrows, and Liam was the one he went to when he wanted to talk about his sorrows. Man, times had changed.

Aidan walked around the couch and sat down. “Liam.”

He hated the guarded expression that closed over his friend’s face.

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to talk?”

“No.”

Sighing, Aidan leaned forward and clasped his hands between his knees. “I think Dr. Avgar will be good for you.”

“You’re hot for the doc.”

He blinked at the switch in conversation. Not sure how to respond to his comment, Aidan said, “She’s a very attractive woman.”

Liam snorted and shook his head. “It’s more than attraction. I saw the look on your face. You had the need, didn’t you?”

A pang hit Aidan in the chest. For just this moment it felt as if he had Liam back. His friend. “Yeah.”

The need had started the moment he’d opened the door to find her standing there. Knock to the gut was putting it lightly—it was more like the earth had shifted under his feet. His beast had sniffed the air, then howled, and it had taken everything in him not to kiss her right there and then.

“Do yourself a favor. Don’t give in to it.” Liam slapped his hands on his thighs and stood. “If you do, you’ll be fucked up for the rest of your life. Look at me.”

The bittersweet moment shattered as the stranger who was now Liam left the room. He’d never been negative before, had always been the glass-half-full sort of person. Then Ava had shown up and ruined him.

He knew Liam wished he’d never given in to the need and kissed Ava, which was the gateway to the
Fewshon.
Finally,
Aidan understood why his friend hadn’t been able to resist the instinct. It was so powerful and consuming that he’d been able to completely overlook the fact that Jaylin represented everything he’d left behind.

With her dark hair twisted up into an immaculate French twist, the gray suit wrinkle-free and expensive, she’d been the epitome of business-world class. Despite her aloof, detached air, he’d never found another woman so alluring, so tempting.

He’d wanted to peel the suit off her, strip her of all her armor, and leave her vulnerable, freeing the real her—just as he’d freed the real him.

And she’d let him, even if she refused to admit it.

As she pretended to be unaffected by him, her body had betrayed her. After he’d intentionally slid his hand across hers at the door, the honeyed scent of her lust had teased his nose. He’d gotten another mouthwatering whiff when he’d said her name.

She might not like it, but Dr. Jaylin Avgar wanted him.

Liam walked back into the room, breaking into Aidan’s thoughts. He stalked the cabin: living room, kitchen, living room, hallway, living room, kitchen. Agitation made his movements jerky. Tension pulsed in his clenched jaw.

“Would you sit down? You’re making me tired just watching you.” He forced a laugh, hoping Liam found the humor in his words and calmed down.

“Go to your fucking room then.”

Aidan bit down hard, keeping his retort to himself. It would only put Liam in a fouler mood, and given what had just transpired this afternoon, it was best to leave well enough alone.

Liam growled—not his beast, but Liam. “I can’t fucking do this. Tell that woman to forget it. I don’t want her help.”

Aidan stood. “She can help you, man. Give her a chance.”

The look of fury Liam shot him shut him up.

“Yeah, sure she can. That’s what women are put on this planet to do. Help the shifters.” He gave a nasty laugh. “You’re in for such a rude awakening, my friend. You need to open your eyes before a woman
helps
you.”

With that, he slammed out the front door.

Aidan didn’t go after him. He’d seen Liam in this mind frame before, and there would be no talking him out of it. He could only hope that his friend would reconsider before Jaylin showed up tomorrow.

Because there was no way in hell he was calling her to cancel.

Chapter Two

Aidan paced around the living room, straightening cushions, stacking magazines, and wiping dust away with the palms of his hands. Why couldn’t he stay still? Ever since Jaylin had left last night, he’d had this excessive energy he couldn’t explain. If Liam had been here, he could see himself talking a mile a minute to his friend.

But Liam wasn’t here.

Aidan glanced at the clock on the cable box. Ten to ten.

Jaylin was going to be pissed.

Part of him couldn’t wait to see that anger directed at him, to watch her petite frame vibrate with indignation and those deep brown eyes spark with fury—watch that icy facade slip, revealing the hot-blooded woman he sensed beneath.

The other part cursed Liam for his stupidity.

Aidan had given his friend until midnight last night to return before calling his cell phone. Of course in his current frame of mind, the ass had refused to answer until the tenth consecutive call. Then Aidan had been greeted with a welcoming, “What?”

A quick inquiry to his whereabouts had revealed that Liam was at Britton’s and he wouldn’t be coming home until after his scheduled appointment with Dr. Avgar. It’d seemed his friend didn’t trust Aidan to cancel the appointment. The lack of faith hadn’t been terribly wounding since Aidan
hadn’t
canceled the appointment—for two very good reasons.

One, he’d hoped Liam would come to his senses and, two, he needed to see Jaylin. Liam was the only connection he had to her right now, and he wasn’t above using his friend’s needs to help with his own.

Three sharp knocks on the door made him pause in fluffing the couch cushions for the fifth time. The precise, in-control raps let him know that Dr. Avgar was here. How long would it take for him to get her hot-blooded side to show? If yesterday proved anything, it wouldn’t take long…just one wrong word from his mouth.

He opened the door, his heart thumping as she came into view. Need hit him square in the chest. He tightened his hand around the doorknob, keeping himself planted when all he wanted to do was haul her to his chest and kiss her. “Dr. Avgar.”

He congratulated himself on saying her last name in a normal voice when he felt so coiled inside, especially when it wasn’t the name he wanted to utter. But using Jaylin right now would be a stupid move. He needed to at least get her inside first.

“Mr. O’Connell.” Abrupt. Professional. He hated it.

His beast shifted, rumbled. He understood why. Her aloof attitude did nothing to hide the woman standing before him, even with her hair still tightly twisted at the back of her head. The starched off-white pinstripe suit didn’t hide her figure, either. One button cinched the suit jacket tight at her waist, accentuating her hourglass figure. An enticing hint of cleavage peeked from between the lapels of a pastel blue blouse. The tight, straight skirt hit right above the knees.

His body heated in anticipation of getting a glimpse of the curvature of her ass molded to the material as she walked by. He should know. He’d not been able to rip his gaze away from the sight last night—she’d spent a lot of time walking away from him.

Her cream heels were high, much higher than the ones she’d worn yesterday, with a tiny strap that buckled around her delicate ankles. The entire ensemble gave off a “can’t touch this” vibe.

Eventually, he’d touch, and she’d enjoy every second of it.

She cleared her throat, her defiant chin jutting into the air as she threw her shoulders back. “Look your fill, Mr. O’Connell, because looking is all you’re ever going to do.”

He couldn’t help it. He grinned. He loved how she held nothing back. He stepped forward; the need to sample her lips, to taste her for the first time, was almost crippling. His beast licked his lips, urging him to surrender to years of instinct ingrained in them.

Take. Mine.

One kiss and he’d know for certain if the magnetic draw to this woman was the awakening of the
Drall
.

“I’ll look for now, Dr. Avgar, but make no mistake, I will eventually touch.”

The nervous movement of her throat belied the steely edge that stiffened her jaw. “You shifters are all the damn same. ‘Take. Mine.’ No freaking thought at all to what the woman wants.” She stepped forward until she stood mere inches from him, head tilted back as she poked him in the chest three times. “Let me make something perfectly clear. You will
never
have me. If it weren’t for Liam, I wouldn’t even be here.”

Her parroting back the two words he’d just thought only seconds before made it clear she was well-educated in their nature. Didn’t deter him though. If anything, the urge increased. His beast growled.

Kiss her. Now.

She shoved past him and into the cabin. “Where is he, anyway?”

Breathing deeply, he slowly closed the door. “He decided against therapy.”

“Why am I not surprised?” She looked around the room, then faced him. “Well. I guess this is good-bye, Mr. O’Connell. I’d say it was nice meeting you, but I’d be lying.”

He grinned again. The woman would do anything to draw a do-not-cross line. While she might think it put him in his place, all it did was make her more enticing. He stepped farther into the room. “I was hoping we could talk.”

“I can’t imagine what we could possibly have to talk about.”

“Liam.” He threw down his ace in the hole.

“I can’t talk to you about a patient.”

“Technically he’s not a patient since he’s refused therapy.” When she opened her mouth, to protest no doubt, he added, “Listen. I really need to know how I can help him.”

That, he meant. If Liam was going to refuse Jaylin’s help, Aidan needed to know more about what he was dealing with. When her shoulders relaxed from their normal ready-for-a-fight rigidity, he knew he’d won.

“Fine.” She walked farther into the room and perched on the edge of the couch. Knees pressed tightly together, purse resting on her lap, entwined fingers on top of the purse—the image of propriety.

She was such a contradiction, wanting so badly to be considered aloof, completely professional, but he’d already seen her anger, her feistiness, and he’d continue to bring it out.

He sat on the coffee table in front of her, the heat from their knees meeting. He hoped she felt the same warmth. Other than the slightest widening of her eyes, she gave no indication his choice in seat had any effect on her—until she shifted on the couch. He bit back a smile. She wanted to scoot back, distance herself, but she wouldn’t. She was too proud.

Her chin went up. “What would you like to know, Mr. O’Connell?”

His flirtiness disappeared as the seriousness of the topic hit him. “I need to understand
Dsershon
better. Until Liam, I’d only heard stories about what a rejection from a mate could do to a shifter. I don’t understand how a man who was so completely in love not six months ago, so completely happy in his life, has turned into what he is today because his mate left him. Shouldn’t he be able to get over it and move on?”

“Says a man who hasn’t
Fewsed
himself to his mate. The sad thing is you won’t grasp what Liam is going through until you’re
Fewsed
as well, then you’ll understand why he can’t” —she used finger quotes—“get over it.”

“Love isn’t supposed to ruin.”

“On the contrary.” The indulgent smile she offered ground against his nerves, as though she were explaining the reality of love to a wistful teenager with stars in his eyes. “The bond our Dea gave you with your mates is not this euphoric event that’s gushed about. Eventually, shifter love does ruin, whether it’s through
Dsershon
or from being
Wydowed
. One day, the
Fewshon
will be traumatized, and life for the shifter is destroyed.”