Passing His Guard

She smiled at his winced apology.

“I’m ru

She shook her head. “No, I’m good,” she called through the glass.

“Be right back.”

She nodded.

He hurried into the station, grabbing a grape Powerade and vanilla Frappuccino. After settling up with the clerk, he tucked the bottles under his arm and headed back to the SUV. Aiden was pulling the nozzle free from the tank when he glanced up just as a silver Escape passed by. It was coming from the opposite direction this time. Mother. Fuck. Was that the same vehicle? Those things were a dime a dozen and hard as hell to tell apart. Unless you were specifically looking for one, you’d never notice them, they blended in so well.

He stalled another minute, washing the rear window and giving the vehicle some time to pass. When no more silver Escapes made an appearance, he got back into the Yukon. “Here you go.” He handed Katie the Frappuccino.

“What’s this for?” She took the bottle from him and gri

Aiden shrugged. “You were drinking them in the hospital. I thought you might change your mind.”

“Thank you. I was just thinking about how tired I was. I haven’t rested well these past few days. This will help give me a boost.” She held up the bottle and shook it before popping the cap.

After taking a healthy swig of his Powerade, he refastened the cap and tossed it into the cup holder. As he pulled forward, heading back to the road, Aiden glanced left, then right, and discovered Katie watching him with a thoughtful expression on her beautiful face.

“What?”

“I don’t get it.” She shook her head as if in disbelief.

His top lip curled in a lopsided grin. “Don’t get what?”

“I don’t understand why a guy like you doesn’t have a woman. I mean, beneath all that Disco bullshit, you’re a really good guy.”

“ ‘Disco bullshit’?” he laughed. See, now this was the problem with having women for friends—they meddled in your shit. “What are you talking about? I have women—lots of them—sometimes two or three at a time.”

Katie gasped in shock, reaching over and slapping him in the chest.

“Oww . . .” he complained, leaning away from her assault and laughing. “What’d you do that for?”

“You are hopeless, you know that? Mark my words, Disco Stick, someday you’re going to meet a woman that’s going to rock your world, and that player guise you hide behind ain’t going to hold up for shit.”

He chuckled. “You think you know me so well, do you, Katie Bug?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” she said, folding her arms across her chest and giving him a look of cool confidence. “Because you and Cole are a lot alike.”

“Is that so?” he grunted, not sure he liked where this conversation was going. Casting Katie a raised-brow glance, he turned his attention back to the road. That she thought he and Easton were alike proved just how much this woman didn’t know him. Cole was disciplined, rigid and tough as nails, while Aiden was . . . well, not. If there was a party going on, he was there—booze to drink, he was your guy—ass to tap, he was on it. Wild, unruly, and undisciplined had been Coach’s specific words, if he recalled his last ass chewing correctly.

“Yep, all it’s going to take is the right woman to come along and you’re going to be putty in her hands.”

“But you’re already taken, sweetheart.”

She blushed and gave his shoulder a playful shove. “You’re such a flirt,” she laughed. “And your smooth-talking distractions will not work on me. Besides, you wouldn’t want me, I’m a mess. For some crazy reason, I’ve yet to scare Cole off. I figure if taking a bullet for me didn’t do it, nothing will.”

“Yeah, I’m afraid you’re stuck with him,” he teased, giving her a playful wink. “Just so you know, he was a wreck when you left him. Don’t ever do that again.”

The smile fell from her face and was replaced by a concerned frown. “That’s what Uncle Marcus said.”

“Yeah, well, Coach is a smart man.”

Her smile returned, but this time it held a touch of nostalgia. “That he is, Aiden.”

CHAPTER

8

It was nearly midnight by the time Aiden reached the Embassy Suites near the MSP airport and checked in for the night. Before heading to his room, he took a detour to the Corner Bar, not yet ready to abandon his plan of getting shit-faced and laid—not necessarily in that order. On his way to an empty table, he stopped at the bar and ordered a tequila shot with a beer chaser. As he waited for the bartender to load him up, a redhead two stools down shot him a flirty grin.

“Do I know you?” she asked over the music. It was a classic pick-up line, but in his case, most people who asked genuinely meant it. Sports bars usually televised MMA fights, and a lot of the people who frequented these places were fans.

“Sorry, sweetheart, this is my first night in Mi

“Oh . . .”

Her duck-lipped pout accentuated the fullness of a mouth that instantly sent his mind to other places he’d like to have those lips right about now. She was a beautiful woman. Not as gorgeous as another redhead he’d been finger deep in a few nights ago, but she was totally fuckable, and he was all for getting Rya

“Now, don’t look so disappointed, baby girl. I’m not leaving until tomorrow morning. I’ve got all night.”

At his open invitation, she smiled like she’d won the lottery. And by the time he was done with her, she’d be believing it, too. The bartender came back over with Aiden’s drinks. “Thanks. Can you get her another of whatever she’s having?” He nodded toward the woman.

“Cosmopolitan,” she told the bartender, handing him her empty glass.

The man refilled her drink and she slid off the stool, sauntering up to him. That’s when he noticed how petite she was—a few inches shorter than Rya

He turned to find an empty table, and the woman followed him as he weaved through the crowd. Finding a quiet spot in the corner, he slipped into a chair and she sat across from him.

“My name is Mandy.”

“Aiden.”

She reached across the table and offered her hand. “Are you sure we’ve never met?” He took her outstretched hand and shook it. She beamed at him with a flirtatious grin. “I swear . . . you look so familiar.”

“Are you a fan of MMA?”

“Are you kidding? I love MMA! There’s nothing sexier than watching two hot men get into a ring and beat the shit out of each other. Did you see the last CFA fight? I—”

Ding, ding, ding. There . . . now she got it. A little slow on the uptake, but his dick wasn’t too picky about IQ scores.

“Nooo . . . seriously?”

His top lip curled in a crooked grin and he tipped back his tequila while he waited for all her synapses to start firing.

“Oh, my gosh! It is you! Disco Stick Kruze! Oh, man, I gotta tell you, you’re way hotter in person. Not that you aren’t hot on TV but . . . Wow . . . You’re like a freaking celebrity!”

And there it was, signed, sealed, and delivered in one neat little take-me-home-and-fuck-my-brains-out package. It was too easy, really. And for the first time since Aiden could remember, he found the simplicity of it—dull. There was no thrill of the hunt, no excitement, no making him work for it. It was just there, thrown at his feet. All the pussy he could want—easy and effortless. Not like . . . No. He wouldn’t go there. This was what he wanted. It didn’t matter that Mandy hadn’t shut up since she sat down. There were many ways to occupy that yappy trap of hers. A couple more shots and he should be ready to go.