Tormented (Evolution Series Book 2) (11 page)

“Do you mind if we hold onto the photo for a bit?” Anna asked, putting down her knife. “We were thinking we could show it to Kai to see if he can come up with any info on who these people are.”

When I scrunched up my face, wondering how Kai could find out anything, Dave said, “He’s a computer geek. You’d be surprised just what he can do.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” I took one last look at the two people in the photo,
then
passed it to Dave.

“Don’t worry, you’ll have it back by the end of the day,” Dave assured me.

“In the meantime, why don’t you two do something fun for a change?” Anna suggested. She turned to Aiden. “You know, Lucas was around here last night looking for you. Maybe you can do something with him?”

“Yeah, maybe,” Aiden said non-committedly.

“Well, he was really keen to catch up with you. You guys have barely hung out since you moved to Australia,” Anna said, placing the photo on the table beside her empty plate. “Maybe you could watch a movie together. Jade said she wanted to see the cinema in action.”

“Yeah, I do. But who’s Lucas?” I asked.

Aiden tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. “Lucas is Georgia’s twin brother.”

“Oh.” Something about Georgia really bothered me, and I had no idea why. At first, I thought it was probably just the way she was trying to stick her boobs in Aiden’s face when I first saw her, but the more I thought about her, the more I felt that there was more to it.

“Don’t worry. Lucas is nothing like his sister,” Aiden said.

“You got that right,” Dave agreed.

“You two should give Georgia a break. She’s really not that bad once you get to know her,” Anna said.

“Anyway,” Aiden said, ignoring his mother’s comment. “I’ll give him a call. Okay?”

Anna smiled sweetly. “Good.”

Aiden put his hand on my hip. “Do you want anything to eat?”

“Nah, I’m okay.” My appetite had gone to almost non-existent since watching the footage of my mother being murdered.

He turned to his parents. “Make sure you let us know if Kai finds out anything.”

“Of course, sweetie,” Anna replied. “Did you bring any of your clothes back with you?” Anna asked, looking at my attire, which I had been wearing for the last couple of days.

I bit my lip, thinking about having to go back to my house again.

“How about I take you shopping? We can have a girls’ morning, just the two of us,” she suggested.

I hadn’t exactly hung out with Anna since I had found out she was Aiden's mother, and the thought of spending the morning alone with her made me a little uncomfortable.

“Will you stop thinking of me that way? I keep telling you, I’m the same person you have known for the last couple of years.”

“Just a bit older,” Dave said under his breath, which earned him a whack on the arm from Anna.

“So how about it?” Anna asked enthusiastically.

I turned to Aiden to see if he had any plans for us that I’d be ruining if I went shopping with Anna.

“Go for it. Enjoy yourself,” he said.

“Okay. But first, I want a shower.” My clothes were way dirty, but I at least wanted to be clean underneath.

“Don’t worry about your clothes, honey. I’ll lend you something of mine to go out in today,” Anna offered.

“Thanks,” I said with a smile. I really didn’t want to go out anywhere in what I was wearing. It wasn’t because my clothes were dirty, which they kind of were, but because I was still dressed to the Australian summer climate in a singlet, shorts, and a pair of flip-flops. Even though Dave had just explained how our bodies could
acclimatise
to any temperature, I still didn’t feel comfortable enough to try it. Besides, I would’ve attracted too much attention. People would wonder why I was the only one not dressed for the weather.

Without any warning, Aiden bounced us out of the room. We ended up in his bedroom in a matter of seconds.

“Some warning might be nice,” I said with a laugh, once I got my bearings.

“You know I like to keep you on your feet,” he joked.

“So, what are you going to do while I’m out?” I asked as I headed for the shower.

“I suppose I should give Lucas a call.” He didn’t sound too enthused by the idea.

I quickly got undressed and jumped into a steaming shower. Aiden walked into the bathroom and sat down on the sofa.

“Is he as bad as his sister?” I asked, thinking that was why he was having reservations about seeing his old friend.

“Nah, he’s nothing like her.”

“Then why the reservations?”

Aiden didn’t answer. Instead, he lifted his shirt over his head and threw it on the seat beside him. The next thing I knew, he was no longer sitting there watching me take a shower, but was in there with me—completely naked. How he had managed to get his pants off in a blink of an eye, I didn’t know.

“Actually you do,” Aiden said, slowly moving towards me. “Remember how you were able to slow time back in Thailand?” The water ran down his body, accentuating every muscle and every curve.

I gulped. “Yep.”

He pulled me closer until my body pressed against his, and all his glory. I stood on the balls of my feet and brushed my lips across his. He kissed me softly,
then
moved down my neck. With each kiss, he sent a surge of endorphins running through my body. I gasped in a mixture of shock and pleasure. It wasn’t his normal feel-good calming thingy he usually did. He sent pleasure endorphins pulsating through me.

Aiden gave me one of his devilish grins. “You like?”

“Like, no. Love is more like it.”
I had previously thought he made me feel things that no one had ever made me feel, but he was taking it to a whole other level.

He pressed his lips against mine, pushing my back up against the wall, and showed me exactly what he could do.

***

After we finished showering, I wrapped a towel around myself and made my way out into the bedroom. I looked over at the bed, and
realised
that Anna had been there. She had laid a pair of jeans, a white long-sleeved shirt, and a red coat on the bed. A pair of black boots rested on the floor.

“
Ahh
, crap.” With my luck, she hadn’t popped by when I was in there by myself. The whole shopping trip was just getting worse.

“You’ll be right,” Aiden said, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. He leaned down and nuzzled my neck.

I shook him off, not wanting to end up in another shower scene. “That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have to spend the next couple of hours with her.”

He laughed. “You know, they see things differently. When you get to hear everyone’s thoughts for years on end, you come to
realise
that everyone is thinking it, and most of the time, what they do is far less than what they wish they could do. So what I’m trying to say is that you kind of become immune to the whole sex being so taboo. It’s human nature.”

Thinking back over everyone’s thoughts I had heard, I
realised
he was right. Most people’s thoughts revolved around sex, money, and fear. He was probably right in saying that the more we
heard,
the more we became immune to such subjects.

I turned around in his arms so I could face him. “I hope you’re right.”

A smile spread across his gorgeous face. “When am I ever wrong?”

CHAPTER 12

After getting dressed, I met Anna in the main sitting room.

“You ready?” she asked, getting up from the couch.

“Yeah, and thanks for the clothes.” They were a perfect fit.

She walked over and held out her hand. “Let’s go.”

I placed my hand in hers, and instantly, we were on our way. When my feet were once again planted firmly on the earth, we were…

“Oxford Street,” Anna said.

“Wow,” was all I could say. I hadn’t really been anywhere in the world other than Australia and Thailand.

“Come on,” Anna said, dragging me by the hand. “Now, you’re going to need a whole new wardrobe, so go nuts. But whatever you do, do not look at the price tags.”

“Um, okay.” I
straight away
felt guilty for what I was about to do. If she had to tell me not to look at the prices, then my guess was that I would’ve probably had a heart attack over them.

“It’s only money,” she said, dismissing my concern with a wave of her hand.

She started inspecting the various clothing items on display. Within five minutes, she had me in the dressing room, trying on the numerous outfits she had selected, because I wouldn’t pick up a thing after I accidentally-on-purpose saw the price tag on a pair of jeans.

Thirty minutes later, we were walking out of the shop. “Thanks for these,” I said, referring to the seven bags of clothing we were holding between us.

“My pleasure.” She smiled. “But we haven’t finished yet.” Anna was a shopaholic, and luckily, she could afford it.

“In here,” she said, nudging me towards a lingerie shop to my right.

Aw, crap.
Just what I needed after that morning, to have to go shopping for underwear with my boyfriend’s mother.

Anna rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I wish Aiden never told you that we’re his parents. We used to be able to talk about anything, and I would really like it to go back to how it used to be.”

“Sorry.
It’s
just so weird finding out you’re his mother and not his sister.” Sometimes, I wished he’d never told me either. “I’ll try,” I said when I saw how sad she looked.

“That’s all I ask,” she said with a smile. “Now let’s get you some underwear, and while we are in here, please don’t think of me as his mother. Think of me as your friend.”

“I’ll try,” I repeated.

Once inside the store, I immediately went over to the boring section. Apparently, it was harder to think of her as a friend than I had hoped.

“So what is Aiden up to this morning?” Anna asked, while trying to coax me over to the nicer-looking bras.

I stayed put. “He said he was going to give Lucas a call,” I said, searching through the rack for my size. “You don’t know why Aiden was acting strange about seeing Lucas, do you?”

“I’m guessing it’s because he’s a little worried what you might think.”

“How so?”

“You know, Lucas being Georgia’s twin brother and all. Aiden probably just thinks it might be a bit hard on you because of his history with Georgia.”

My heart skipped a beat.