Passing His Guard

As the last pulses of Aiden’s release shuddered through his powerful body, Rya

She laughed, elbowing him in the ribs. “I came in here to shower and get dressed, you know.”

Aiden stepped back and grabbed her by his T-shirt, turning her to face him. “No you didn’t. You made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” He tugged her closer and planted a solid kiss on her mouth. “I hate to bang and bail, but I really gotta go.” He hiked up his slacks and made quick work of tucking everything back in place.

“It’s all right.” Rya

He crossed the room to the closet where he kept his overflow of clothes and grabbed a new shirt from the hanger. Shrugging it over his wide shoulders, he quickly began fastening the buttons as he walked toward her. “Do you mind moving your stuff into my room so I can put Nikko in the spare room?”

“No, not at all. I’d just started to unpack anyway. It’s not a big deal.”

“Thanks, babe.” He scooped his jacket off the floor and attempted to shake the wrinkles out before slipping it back on. As he fastened the two buttons, he bent down and gave her one last kiss. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He flashed her a sexy grin and grabbed the front of his T-shirt, giving it a playful tug. “You look good in my clothes, Rya

CHAPTER

32

Good morning, Mr. Kruze.”

“Good morning,” Aiden responded for the umpteenth time, ignoring the double takes and surprised greetings as he made his way toward his office. He walked into the firm with the same cool, determined purpose with which he’d walked out of it fourteen months ago.

In all honesty, there was a part of him that was surprised to see his name was still on the office door. Then again, his father was all about image. Heaven forbid all may not be well within the Kruze Kingdom. The man would do just about anything to save face, and scraping your kid’s name off the office door with an X-Acto knife didn’t exactly say all is well. And it was exactly that prideful arrogance Aiden was counting on to get him the clearance he needed to access his files.

His father believed it was only a matter of time before Aiden came to his senses and came crawling back home with his tail between his legs. The man had said as much the night Aiden stormed out of his parents’ mansion and said fuck it all. He stopped at his secretary’s desk as he passed by and said, “Shirley, would you mind getting IT on the phone to reactivate my security clearance?”

The woman glanced at him, did a double take, and choked on her coffee. “Right away, Mr. Kruze,” she sputtered.

Aiden was banking on his office key still working and shook his head at his father’s predictability when the metal slid home and the lock opened. It was too easy, really. And that thought lasted for a whole thirty minutes. He was on the phone with IT when his office door swung open then slammed shut. So much for not wanting to make a scene . . .

“Can I call you back?”

“Not a problem, Mr. Kruze. And what about the archived files? They require a special password clearance. Will you want me to reset that as well?”

“Yes, please. I appreciate your help.”

“Call me if you need anything else.”

Aiden hung up the phone and turned his attention to the pissed-off man towering over his desk.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.

“Hey, Dad. Missed you at the family reunion yesterday morning. Good times . . . What does it look like I’m doing? I’m coming to work. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? You and Mom practically moved heaven and earth to get me back here. Did you think I was going to sit at home and eat bonbons all day?”

His dad sat in the chair across from his desk and eyed him skeptically. “You expect me to believe that just like that you’re coming home and all is good?”

Aiden shrugged. “Mom said Cynthia Moralli broke the engagement. As long as you don’t go trying to marry me off to anyone else, why wouldn’t it be?”

“Quit lawyering me, Aiden.”

“All right, you want me to be real with you?” He pushed back from his desk and crossed his arms, facing off with the man who might as well be a stranger. Be

Be

His dad was smart—too fucking smart.

“What the hell are you pla

Something I should have done a long time ago.

Aiden’s father leaned forward, narrowed his gaze, and lowered his voice to a low warning growl. “Need I remind you of what is at stake here?—my career, my reputation, the reputation of this firm! And you, sitting there so self-righteous, are not i

At this moment, the man sitting across from him looked every bit as ruthless as Moralli, and just as formidable. Too bad the show of force was lost on him. Aiden wasn’t a man to be bullied or intimidated. When he was pushed, he pushed back harder. His father should have known that by now—he was Be

Aiden’s computer screen flashed, prompting his password reset. He wouldn’t need long to get the information he’d come here for, but it certainly would have been easier to accomplish without his father’s eyes of suspicion on him. “You think I don’t know that? Do you think I would do something that would compromise you or this firm? Do you think I’d disbar myself?”

“In a word . . . yes.” Be

“Whatcha doin’, Gingersnap?”

Rya