Passing His Guard

She arched her back, tipping her hips to put him at just the right angle. Without the latex barrier between them, everything was heightened, stripping away all physical and emotional walls. There was nothing sweet or gentle in the way he took her. And Rya

Rya

She wasn’t ready for it to end, wasn’t ready to leave his bed and pretend this hadn’t been the most amazing night of her life. Aiden had been every bit as wonderful as she’d thought he would be. He’d been attentive and patient, gentle and wooing at times, and rough and dominant at others. His style in the bedroom was as variable as the aspects of his personality. After making love throughout the night and then this morning, she felt like she knew him better than anyone. And there was no doubt how thoroughly he’d gotten to know her.

With him, she’d discovered things about herself she’d never known. How and where she liked to be touched, how she liked to be handled. She’d lost count of how many times he’d made her come, and was amazed to discover that each time was a unique mind-blowing experience. He was an attentive lover, but a demanding one, as well. His complexity and passion were unlike anything she’d ever experienced before, and something told her she never would again. She loved everything about it—everything about him. Oh, my God . . . the thought sent an eruption of butterflies battering abound inside her chest. I’m in love with Aiden Kruze.

“Oh, no . . .” she groaned, covering her face with her hands. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.” She thought she could handle it. Thought she could compartmentalize the sex and keep her emotions out of it. She thought wrong. And it wasn’t like she could very well tell him how she felt. No doubt he heard it all the time after taking a woman to his bed. Who wouldn’t fall in love with that and become a cling-on? And that was exactly what he’d think of her. He wouldn’t believe it was truly him she was professing to love. No, telling him how she felt would be a huge mistake. It’d only further complicate an already touchy relationship.

She knew from experience that Aiden wasn’t the kind of guy that wanted to be chased. He didn’t respond well to pressure. If Aiden had feelings for her, if he wanted to be with her, to see where this thing could go, he was going to have to do the pursuing. She’d already said too much the other night. Now the ball was in his court. The last thing he needed was her acting like a love-struck cage banger.

The ringing started up again, and she cursed one of Aiden’s favorite oaths. Shooting a quick glance at the bathroom door, she offered up a quick prayer of thanks that the shower would likely drown out the noise. The last thing she wanted was for Aiden to get any more involved with her problems. The poor guy had enough of his own without dealing with hers, too. Throwing back the covers, Rya

When the phone began ringing in her hand, she swiped her thumb over the screen and snarked, “What do you want?”

“Good morning, Ms. Andrews. And I think you know full well what I want.”

Goose bumps prickled up her arms, revulsion washing away any last vestiges of endorphins flowing through her veins. She feared she did know what he wanted, and decided it’d be best to ignore the i

“Ru

When she didn’t answer, he pressed, “Do you think taking a lover will keep you safe, Rya

A shiver wracked her spine, dread taking root deep in her gut. This was the first time he’d used her name, and the familiarity in the way he spoke it made her stomach threaten to revolt.

“I hope you’re not trying to run from me, Rya

“I told you, I’ve been working,” she snapped. “Earning the money to pay your boss. You can tell Mr. Moralli he’ll have his money. Stop calling me!” She heard the shower in the adjoining room cut off and quickly ended the call. She didn’t want to field any more of Aiden’s questions. Talking about it wasn’t going to change anything. Soon enough, it would all be over, which truly was a bittersweet thought, because saying good-bye to Aiden was going to be one of the toughest things she would ever do.

Tossing her phone on the bed, she grabbed a change of clothes and hurried into her shower. They had another full day of driving ahead of them, and she was already exhausted. The thought of getting home and settling in after almost two weeks on the road held surprisingly little appeal to her. What was there to look forward to?—an empty house full of painful memories that only drove home the direness of her situation. How could she feel safe knowing Moralli had someone watching her? She was behind in her other cases, having had to focus solely on Aiden these past two weeks, and the thought of all the work waiting for her when she got back was overwhelming.

Sighing, she admitted a secret part of her wished they could steal away to Aruba or some remote place where no one would ever find them. Fuck Moralli, fuck his parents, and FML.

So on that happy note, Rya

CHAPTER

25

The knot in Aiden’s gut tightened the closer they got to the city. He wasn’t sure what bothered him more: parting ways with Rya

Not a Last night was amazing or I wish it didn’t have to end. Nada. Nor had she tried to get him to talk about his feelings or press him for more of a commitment, something he’d gotten used to women doing after they slept with him, which in part was why he’d made it an unspoken rule never to hit the same hole twice. But something about Rya