Finally, she could see reason. It might have helped if he’d managed to get her to see his side a few days ago or even yesterday, but at least she was verbalizing now what he’d been hoping she would acknowledge all along.
Returning to Miami was an eventual must for her. However, he didn’t have to be a dick about it and practically shove her out of the car and peel away from the airport.
If he hadn’t been so damn bossy about her return to Miami for the last five days, she probably would have come up with it on her own. If there was one thing he’d learned about Hope, it was that she needed to gain control of her own decisions. Telling her what to do was never going to be effective.
Knowing what he knew now from Faith, he was even more worried about what Hope would face. Not just from her mother, but from Ainsley. What if he tried to lure her back under his wing? Was she strong enough to turn him down?
He realized belatedly he’d insisted she go back out of a sense of self-preservation. It had seemed easier to rip the Band-Aid off sooner rather than later to minimize the pain she would cause him when and if she realized she’d been impulsive, decided to go home, and never came back.
He was stronger than that. And he needed to trust that he’d made enough of an impression on her that she would indeed return to him.
If she didn’t, he needed to let her go. There was some risk. Everything she’d ever known was wrapped up in her identity in Miami. She was a wealthy debutante. She had disappointed a lot of people who would pressure her to return to the fold as soon as she got off the plane.
She would need to decide if she was willing to risk cutting them off if they didn’t support her. It was a gamble. But until she faced her past, she couldn’t fully move forward. Her unfinished business would always hang over her. Over them.
He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “When I spoke to your sister last night, she made me see some things a bit differently. You weren’t being immature. You were scared of losing your independence, this new strength in you. I shouldn’t have made it seem like you weren’t being a grownup. That was a stupid thing for me to say. I won’t say it again. Promise. Stubborn is a better word, but you earned the right to put your foot down on this one. I only said that because I was silently freaking out a bit. I bullied you into going back to Miami. The last thing you need is a bully. If I ever pull that shit again, call me out on it.”
Finally, she smiled and set her hand on top of his against her cheek.
Aaron had never felt so vulnerable and exposed in his life. He’d just put all his cards on the table. Now he had no choice but to let her go and hope she came back. As soon as she could stand up without the room spinning, and feeling as if she needed to vomit.
Tomorrow.
Chapter 17
One week later…
* * *
Aaron was pacing his apartment, realizing he’d done the same thing exactly one week ago for the same reason. He had no idea where Hope was, nor was she answering her phone.
She’d left him for Miami the morning after they’d talked, promising to stay in touch when she could. He’d left that ball totally in her court, waiting for her to call him when it was convenient for her. The last thing he’d wanted to do was pressure her or interrupt her. She’d needed space and time.
For the first few days, she’d called him at least once a day to talk for a few minutes. She avoided filling him in on the details of her clean-up job, and he’d respected that. Hope needed to hold the reins on this one. If she wanted to talk about it, he would listen. If she didn’t, he would keep his mouth shut.
She’d told him from the beginning that she would tell him everything. Later. When she was ready. She indicated she was exhausted from the mental stress of facing people all day, and the last thing she wanted to do when she called him was rehash. She’d needed him to be a soft place to fall for a few minutes, and he gave her that.
He also gave her amazing phone sex on two occasions. It had driven him crazy picturing her rubbing her pussy to completion at his command. One of the top items on his kinky bucket list with Hope was to have her masturbate in front of him. Soon. Really soon. If she came back to him.
The problem was she’d stopped calling three days ago, and now he was freaking out.
No. That wasn’t entirely true. He’d been freaking out the first morning she didn’t call. His freak-out had escalated to a new level when he broke down and called her, only to have his call go directly to voicemail. That same freak-out switched to a new level of hysteria about an hour ago when he’d called Faith.
He’d convinced himself he only wanted to ensure Hope was safe, knowing the best person to reassure him was her sister. Instead, he’d learned from an equally concerned Faith that Hope had left Miami three days ago.
Faith assumed Hope was with Aaron.
So, where the hell was she?
He continued to pace, trying to calm down. Maybe she’d needed more time alone to think. Maybe she’d decided to drive across the country, which would take several days alone. Maybe she’d totally changed her mind and gone in a different direction.
Like last time she disappeared, he had no rational reason to be concerned for her safety. She was a grown woman with plenty of money at her disposal. If she wanted to drive across the country or even establish herself in fucking Maine, who was he to stop her?
The reason for his pacing had nothing to do with the lie he told himself—that he just needed her to check in so he would know she was safe. He’d been lying to himself for the better part of an hour. It wasn’t just that he needed her to be safe.
Nope. He needed her to be fucking standing in his living room so he would know she was his.
He took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down and see reason. When she finally did call, it wouldn’t help his case out any for him to yell at her or give her a lecture about worrying him.
Aaron had to let her go. Do her thing. Give her time and space and freedom. He had no choice but to pray she eventually found her way back to him. He needed to be patient. He had no other options because he’d fallen hard for her, and he missed her, and he wanted her to be his.
A knock on the door made him jerk in his spot. For a moment, he thought he’d imagined it. Willed it. But then it happened again, and he rushed across the room and yanked the door open without looking through the peephole.
There she was. In the flesh. She was smiling. The tips of her fingers were in her pockets, and she was rocking back and forth on her heels. She was dressed far more casually than he’d ever seen her, in soft jeans and a beige sweater. She’d never looked so good. And then her brow furrowed and she frowned. “You look like hell.”
He grabbed her arm and hauled her into his apartment and then into his arms as he kicked the door shut. “I might have been worried.” He tipped her back so he could meet her gaze.
She smiled again. “Yeah, sorry about that. I was hoping you would just assume I was busy and not freak out on me.”
“Yeah, I failed that test. I was freaking out a little,” he admitted. He searched her face some more. Her eyes were dancing. “I missed you.”
“Good. I missed you too.” She wrapped her arms around his middle and rose up on tiptoe to plant a kiss on his lips.
“I have to admit, I was nervous that you might have decided to stay in Miami.”
Her brow furrowed, and she ran her hands up and down his back. “What made you so nervous?”
“Faith warned me how persuasive Montgomery could be and how badly he wanted you back. I couldn’t stop worrying about him.”
She kissed him again before responding. “Well, he tried, but there was no way. I’ve had the best there is now, and he was waiting for me right here in Denver. Montgomery didn’t stand a chance.”
“Thank God. Did you drive here?” he asked, still confused about her appearance. She didn’t even have luggage. Was it in her car?
She shook her head and bit into her lower lip before releasing it. �
�Nope. I hope you won’t get angry, but I have a surprise.”
He squeezed her tighter, inhaling her scent. “Baby, there is nothing you could say that would make me angry. I’m so damn glad to have you in my arms.”
“Okay, then here’s the deal. I’ve been in Denver for three days.”
His eyes went wide. “Three days? Where? Doing what?”
She beamed. “I got an apartment.”
“What? An apartment? Where?”
“Here. In your building. I had to pull a lot of strings and make a lot of calls, but there was a unit available three floors down, so I took it. I shipped my stuff before I ever left Miami, and it arrived yesterday. I still don’t have furniture though.”
He couldn’t find sentences to respond, or even words. “Why?”
She chuckled. “You didn’t think I would just move in with you and play house, did you?”
He hadn’t thought that far at all. He’d only thought about getting her back. “I don’t know what I thought.”
“Well, we don’t know each other well enough to move in together. We have chemistry. I like you. I want to spend time with you. I want to see where this thing might go between us. I want it bad enough to move to Denver and start a new life. I want it bad enough to get an apartment in your building so we don’t have to commute all over town to see each other.
“It’s perfect. Don’t you see? If for some reason the bottom falls out and we decide we aren’t compatible, at least I’ll have a place to stay, and we can avoid each other in the building until I move out.”
He smirked. “You like me?”
She giggled. “Is that the only thing you heard?”
“Mostly. I got stuck on that line.”
“Why? Don’t you like me too?” she teased, flattening her hands on his back and running them down to his ass.
“Baby, I way more than like you. I like my parents. I like my friends. I like my job. What I feel for you surpasses that.”
“Good. Then we’re on the same page.” She blew out a long breath. “Are you mad I didn’t call you for three days?”
“No. I’m relieved you’re here, though.”
“I still have to find a job and learn to be a regular working woman, but I’m here. And I can live off my trust fund while I figure things out. You okay with me moving into your building?”
“Yes. Beyond ecstatic, actually.” He gave her another squeeze. “I couldn’t have come up with a better plan if I’d had the brain function to think of it.”
“Was your brain busy?”
“Yes.”
“Worrying about me?” Her face flushed.
He shook his head and leaned closer so that their lips were an inch apart. “I wasn’t worried about your safety. I was worried about whether or not you would return to me. Please don’t leave me hanging like that again. My heart couldn’t take it.”
Another giggle. “Promise. Oh, and another thing.”
“Yeah?” He’d give her all the other things she needed for as long as she’d let him.
“Can I stay here for a few days? I don’t have any furniture.”
He closed his eyes and lifted her off the floor. Two seconds later he was in the bedroom, dropping her on the bed unceremoniously. “What were you doing for three days, woman?” he asked as he reached for the button on her jeans and then tackled the zipper.
“I was busy. I spent some time with London.” She narrowed her gaze at him. “If you make her feel bad about it, I will be pissed. She’s fragile.”
He let his fingers rest on her zipper. “I won’t say a word. I hope you two can be friends.”
“Good. Because I enjoy her company. Plus, she helped me get set up. We shopped for furniture, but even the bed couldn’t be delivered that fast. I couldn’t stand not seeing you another minute, so I gave up the idea of being totally situated, dropped everything, and raced up the stairs. I didn’t even take the elevator.”
He yanked her jeans over her hips, tugged off her shoes, and dragged the denim down her legs. She sat up and pulled her sweater over her head.
He jerked his own shirt off and removed his jeans, never taking his gaze off her. “Stay as long as you’d like,” he finally responded as he crawled up her body. “If your bed is better than mine, however, prepare to have a frequent guest.”
“Deal.”
“Now, I want to hear all about your trip to Miami, but please let me dominate you first. After I make you scream my name a few times, then I might be able to relax enough for you to talk.”
“Also a deal. I like the sound of that, Sir.”
“Do I hear sassiness in that tone?” He lifted a brow.
“If it earns me a spanking, then yes.” Her cheeks grew a deeper shade of red. He was forever going to enjoy the fact that she could not hide her arousal or her embarrassment.
He hovered above her.
She reached for him.
He grabbed her hands and stretched them over her head. “I’ll make you a third deal.”
“What’s that?”
“Hold on to the rungs of the bed while I drive you to the edge. If you can do that without letting go, I’ll flip you over and spank you until you come again from my palm alone.”
She licked her lips. “Yes, Sir.” That last word was breathy and filled with promise.
Aaron lowered his mouth to her breast and licked along the seam of her bra. He fully intended to take his time making her writhe and moan. In fact, there was no rush at all. He would show her what it felt like to be driven to the edge over and over again until she was out of her mind with the need to come.
By the time he was finished with her, she would be too exhausted to go back to her apartment. And he fully intended to ensure he wore her out like that every night.
Because she was worth it.
She trusted him.
He would not take that for granted.
Ever.
Please enjoy the first chapter from the next book in the series, Claiming London.
London smiled as she stared at the intricate bird the tattoo artist had just finished inking on her upper arm. The gorgeous script underneath it read Hope is the thing with feathers; her favorite quote by Emily Dickinson. “I love it,” she murmured as the artist gently put a bandage over the fresh tattoo.
“I’m certainly glad,” he joked. “It’s part of you now.” He handed her a pamphlet that described the care instructions he’d already verbalized several times, and ten minutes later, she was standing outside, breathing deeply for what seemed like the first time in ages.
The past three months had flown by since her ex had gotten himself killed by the police. She still struggled to feel an ounce of remorse for his death. The reality was that she was finally free to live her life without worrying all the time if he was following her or might try to convince her to return to him.
After five years of hell living under his abusive control, her newfound freedom was something she was beginning to fully embrace. Her ex, Louis, never would have permitted her to get a tattoo.
As she glanced up and down the strip mall, noticing the doughnut shop two doors down, she smiled. He wouldn’t have permitted her to eat junk food either. In fact, she could still hear his voice ringing inside her head, muttering about her fat ass.
Fuck him. Her ass was fine. If anything, she was underweight, and she knew it. Years under his thumb had done that too.
With a pep in her step, she turned toward the doughnut shop and selected a dozen different doughnuts, everything from pink sprinkles to jelly-filled. She couldn’t possibly eat them all, but she didn’t care. That wasn’t the point. Maybe she would take a bite out of each one. Who would stop her?
As soon as London started driving, her phone pinged with an incoming text. The tenth such text she’d gotten in the last day. It would be from Pierce. She wasn’t ready to talk to him yet, though she suspected he would soon hunt her down and chew her out. He was probably standing outside her apartment now.
&n
bsp; London gripped the steering wheel, trying hard to ignore the disturbing thoughts running through her head. She had mostly put aside her problems for the entire day while indulging in the new tattoo, but now they were seeping back in to torment her.
London could count all her friends on one hand without using her thumb. Her brother, Colin. His girlfriend, Rayne. Detective Pierce Titus, the officer who had been so kind to London since she’d left her ex. And Hope.
Hope was Aaron’s girlfriend, or at least she wanted to be. Aaron was Colin’s partner in opening the Denver location of Club Zodiac.
The truth was that London had been nervous and distracted for the past twenty-four hours since she had informed Aaron that Hope was hiding out at her apartment. After everything London had been through in the past five years, she hadn’t hesitated for a single second when Hope showed up at her doorstep needing a place to stay.
Hope had done more than just spend the night. She had drunk enough to pass out and spilled her guts to London. There were tears. Granted, nothing that had happened between Hope and Aaron could compare to London’s life, but nevertheless, Hope had needed a place to regroup.
Hell, Hope’s problems were the opposite of London’s past with Louis. Hope was head over heels for Aaron, who was treating her like she didn’t know her own mind. Of course, London could see Aaron’s side. Hope had fled her own wedding a week ago and made the cross-country trip with Aaron from Florida to Colorado. It wasn’t too far of a stretch for Aaron to insist she return to tie up loose ends. It didn’t mean he didn’t care about her.
Nevertheless, London had essentially harbored her new friend Hope, who was surely pissed at her now for letting that cat out of the bag. Lost friend number one. And then there was Pierce, who was a police officer and had left several messages in the past twenty-four hours. London suspected he would ream her for worrying everyone also. Lost friend number two.
Trusting Aaron: Club Zodiac, Book Five Page 17