“Oh God! Yes, Aiden! Please.” She bit at her lip as he moved. With his neck bent, his forehead brushed against hers as he coaxed another moan from her lips.
“Don’t keep it in, luv. There’s no one near who can hear. I want to hear you scream. I want to hear my name on your lips.” He kissed her, taking her moan into him, and rocked.
He was right. Soft and gentle wasn’t how this should go. She needed to be taken and claimed, not pampered and treated with kid gloves. Her core clenched around him and she wrapped her legs around his hips with a ferocity which surprised her. Then his hips flexed and he drove into her, releasing the animal inside as he chased their pleasure.
Her skin drew taut. Her entire body clenched. She screamed as heat built within her, growing larger and more powerful with each excruciating thrust. She wasn’t sure how much harder he could thrust, but Aiden found a way, pounding into her while she screamed his name. He set a demanding pace, the delicious glide in and out generated the most amazing sensations, and his eyes, blown black with lust, responded with an unstoppable need.
She tried to muffle her cries, but something inside let loose. A spark flared and the inferno ignited. The whole world seemed to explode and splinter into a million pieces as her entire body detonated around his in pure ecstasy.
She floated in Aiden’s embrace, lost in the woodsy scent of him and the combined aroma of their passion, as he chased his release. With a grunt, his body jerked as he pumped inside of her, until he collapsed with a satisfied moan. With her head on the pillow, she wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled at his tender skin.
“That was amazing,” she said, laying a line of kisses from his jaw to his collarbone.
“We’re not done yet.”
“We’re not?”
“Have you reached your limit?” He touched her lips as passion flickered in his eyes. “Because, I haven’t. Not even close.”
With that, her heart fluttered and soared in infinite possibilities. She didn’t worry about what he might do. She trusted him completely, but could she take any more?
She would soon find out.
Chapter 16
Ariel
With her entire world blissfully shattered, Ariel stared into the most amazing blue eyes. That’s when she felt it.
The calm.
The absence of sound.
“Aiden?”
He leaned down and nuzzled her neck. “What hun?”
“Do you feel it? Or rather not feel it? It's so quiet.” She dragged her hand up his arm and cocked her head, listening.
He glanced up and she looked out the window and into a brilliant blue sky.
“Get up!” She slapped at his arm. “Get up! Get up! Get up!”
“Wow, I can honestly say I’ve never been pushed out of bed so fast after an epically good fuck. No round two?”
“As much as I’d love a round two, look!” She pointed. “We’re in the eye! Aiden, we’re in the eye. I want to see it. Please,” she begged, “let’s go outside.”
He rolled out of bed and shoved his feet into his trousers. Ariel followed, choosing to put on her flight suit rather than his clothes. It made more sense, even if she regretted no longer being covered in his things.
“We have to find the others.” She rushed to dress and shoved her feet into her boots. “How many people have actually been in the eye of a hurricane?”
“Give me a second, luv. I’m two steps behind you.” He zipped his heavy work boots and gestured to the door. “Let’s round up the troops.”
She bounced with excitement and headed down to sickbay. Popping her head in, she found Andrew sleeping in one of the gurneys beside his patients.
“Andrew,” she called out. “We’re in the eye.”
His lids slid open. “Really?”
“Yeah. Aiden and I are going outside.”
“We can do that?”
Aiden gave a nod. “At least until the eyewall hits.”
Randall turned over and stretched. “Actually, it’s probably a good idea. We can do a quick recon and see if there’s any damage.”
A few minutes later, Aiden, Randall, and Duncan helped Ariel and her team into brightly colored orange jumpsuits, outside gear Aiden called it, and fitted them with safety harnesses. They left Jeffery and Caleb in the sickbay after Andrew pronounced them stable. Jeffery was alert, in pain, but conscious. Caleb woke intermittently, according to Andrew, with longer periods of lucidness, which he said was a good thing.
Heading outside into the eye was a nearly spiritual event.
“Wow,” she said, barely breathing in reverence for the epic phenomenon. “I mean you read about it, but this is incredible.”
The sky was clear above them. The winds were light, practically calm. It was as if the entire world had paused to catch its breath. And there were birds.
“Aiden, look.” She pointed to a handful of seabirds circling overhead. “Do you think they’ll be okay?”
“I’ve heard of that before. The eye can be several miles across, as long as they stay in the eye, they should be fine.” He took in a deep breath. “It’s profound, and eerie how calm it is, but the eyewall will be here soon enough.” He pointed to his men. “We’re going to do a quick recon of the rig and will be back. The three of you stay put.”
“Don’t you want us with you?” She wanted to see the rig.
“We’ll be pushing it as it is, and I don’t need to be distracted by people who aren’t intimately familiar with the rig.”
She tried not to be too upset but understood his reasons.
“No problem,” Larry said. “We’ll be good little guests and just hang here. It’s stunning.”
“Good.” Aiden headed away with Randall and Duncan in tow.
Larry turned to her as she watched Aiden walk away. “Any idea how long we have?”
She didn’t like being separated from Aiden and hoped he and his men didn’t stay out too long. The rig was a big place, although the three men probably knew every nook and crevice.
“I’m not sure about Julian’s eye, but from the speed he was tracking earlier, I’d say no more than thirty minutes, probably less.”
“Wow, and then what?”
“Instant storm,” she said. “The eyewall is the fiercest part of a hurricane. We’re going to go from eerie calm to destructive winds in minutes.”
“I’m not looking forward to more of that,” Andrew said. “All night long, the groaning of the rig kept me up, and the pounding of the waves had me freaking out. I just kept thinking the rig was going to tip over.”
“No kidding.” Larry tilted his face to the sky. “Are we going to see the wall before it hits? Or does it come in gradually?”
“From what I’ve heard, it’s a literal wall. Things will kick up a bit, but then the fiercest part of the storm will hit us. It’s one massive tower of thunderstorms of epic proportions.” She braced her hands on her hips and soaked in the beauty of a once-in-a-lifetime event.
“Shame we can’t take off and fly out,” Larry said.
“No kidding, but the helicopter can’t fly that high,” he turned to her, “can it?”
“Sorry, those clouds are well above our ceiling. Not enough air that high for the blades to bite into. We’re grounded until this passes over.”
“Well, let’s hope the rig doesn’t tip over.”
“How about we not talk about the rig falling over”? She placed her hand over her eyes and peered up into a crystal blue sky. “This is amazing.” She spun in a circle, taking it all in, and her eye caught on the helideck. “Hey guys, how about we check out the helicopter?”
“Aiden said to stay put,” Andrew said with a sniff.
“He said,” she countered, “that we couldn’t wander around the rig. The helideck isn’t technically the rig, and what if the helicopter was damaged during the storm, or the stays came loose?”
“She has a point,” Larry said.
“I don’t know. What if you get caught
when that eyewall hits?” Andrew asked.
“We’re just going to go look,” she countered.
“And if there’s damage? What exactly are you going to do? It’s not like you’re going to fix anything,” Andrew argued.
“Then why did Aiden go out?” she asked.
“How the hell should I know? It’s a fucking oil rig. Maybe they can fix shit that’s broken.”
“In twenty minutes?” She nibbled at her lower lip, suddenly worried for Aiden.
Andrew had a point. If they found damage there wasn’t a lot of time to do anything about it. If they tried and lost track of time, they could get caught out on the rig without shelter.
“Maybe we should go after them?” she asked.
“We don’t even know where they are.” Larry peered out in the direction Aiden and the others had gone. “Don’t worry, Ariel, I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
“Fine?” That was a shit word, something people said right before the shit hit the proverbial fan. “I just want to check on the helicopter. Don’t make me go alone.”
Andrew and Larry exchanged looks, then agreed to check out the helicopter. She thought they were simply restless, like she was, and needed an escape from the crew facilities. That place might be built to withstand hurricanes and tropical storms, but it felt like a prison bunker inside. She didn’t know how Aiden handled it.
They moved quickly, mindful of safety protocols. One hand on a railing at all times. As they moved over the catwalk connecting them to the helideck, she took time to admire the churning of the ocean two-hundred feet below. Calm might be the operative word, but the ocean still felt the power of the storm. Then she remembered what Aiden said about giant waves and gave a shudder. What would happen if a hundred-foot wave hit the rig?
They made a quick inspection of the helicopter. All the clamps held the skids in place and the tension wires securing the blades remained tight. There was nothing loose. Everything had been buttoned down in preparation for the storm, but they made a circuit of the deck just in case.
When they returned to the crew quarters, she stopped short at a very angry, and red-faced Aiden.
“You were told to stay put.” His voice vibrated with barely suppressed fury.
“I just wanted to check on the helicopter.”
The wind blew a stray strand of hair against her cheek and into her eye. She blinked against the tiny sting, then noticed the birds were gone, and the light had faded to a pale gray which overshadowed the bright blue from moments before. She looked to the south and gasped at a towering wall of clouds in the distance.
She’d seen hundreds of thunderstorms, flown around their towering clouds while watching lightning dance within their stormy depths, but she’d never seen a menacing wall of superstorms barreling down on her.
“Look.” She pointed south. “It’s coming.”
“Yes,” Aiden said. “It’s coming and you were out gallivanting around an oil rig you had no business screwing around on. Everyone. Inside. Now!” When the others filed in, Aiden grabbed her arm, holding her back. “Don’t you ever do something as foolish as that again.”
“It was nothing.”
His grip tightened. “It was everything. Your safety is my responsibility. I know you’re used to being in charge, doing whatever the hell you please, but on my rig, I’m the boss and you will respect my authority.”
“Aiden…” His anger took her by surprise, even if he had every right to be furious with her actions. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think—”
“Damn straight you didn’t think.”
“Look, I apologize. You’re right. What I did was irresponsible and disrespectful of your authority. It won’t happen again.”
“Damn straight it won’t. I can’t do anything to Andrew and Larry, they’re your men and they follow your lead, but shit Ariel…” He ran his hand through his hair as the first, fat drops of rain began to fall. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”
She gulped and her insides clenched with shame. Everything between them had been going well, and she’d fucked things up.
She placed a hand on his arm. “I really am sorry.”
“Not as sorry as you’re going to be when you’re over my knee and your ass is cherry red.”
“Aiden?”
He rolled his eyes and pulled at his face. “It’s what you deserve, but honestly, I’m too angry right now. Just get inside. I have a feeling the second half of this storm is going to be a rough ride.”
Chapter 17
Aiden
Aiden couldn’t believe Ariel’s cavalier attitude. After all his warnings, and safety talks, she ignored him and went off half-cocked. Anything could have happened to her and her men during their very dangerous walkabout.
Up to the helideck? Was she crazy?
The worst thing about it was Ariel thought nothing of it, ignorant about the inherent dangers of everything onboard a rig.
Over his knee was exactly where she belonged, but they hadn’t explored any of that. They’d known each other for less than a day, and he was seething over the arrogance her actions showed. He might be into a little kink here and there, but he would never strike a woman in anger. For pleasure, he’d do any number of mutually consenting activities, but he’d never raise a hand while anger boiled in his blood. It was best to join the others and ride out the second half of Julian’s rage while he calmed down.
The wind had kicked up, roaring once again with fury. Weird that it had been crystal blue moments ago. Dark gray covered the sky and blotted out the sun. The rain returned, not in sprinkles but in blanketing sheets. He followed Ariel inside and sealed them in as he locked the door.
Only halfway through this damn storm.
Back in sickbay, he spent a few moments talking with Jeffery about his legs, asking about the pain. Caleb was awake and sitting up. The flight nurse, Andrew, thought Caleb suffered nothing more than a concussion, but still couldn’t rule out a bleed in his head. There was nothing to do but observe him and give Tylenol for the pain.
Aiden did what he could to lift their spirits and planned for worst-case scenarios in his mind. His motto was plan for the worst, brace for the best. That way, he would never be surprised or caught unprepared.
An uncomfortable tension hung between him and Ariel. He kept his distance, afraid he’d snap at her in front of the others and say something inappropriate. From the way she kept a wide berth, she definitely sensed his lingering anger. Her gaze constantly darted to him.
When he caught her staring, she quickly looked away. Gathered with the others around a gurney turned poker table, he was surprised to see her holding her ground against the others.
Caleb drifted off, complaining of a headache, and Jeffery’s face drew tight with pain. Jeffery tried to shrug it off, but it was clear he wasn’t handling things well. Aiden went to Andrew and whispered in his ear. Andrew gave a nod and left the poker game to give Jeffery something stronger than Tylenol. Aiden slipped into Andrew’s place at the game, placing himself directly opposite Ariel. She refused to make eye contact.
“What’s the buy-in?” he asked.
Larry snorted and tossed him a mixed stack of Band-Aids, alcohol wipes, and 2x2 bandages.
“What’s with this shit anyway?” He separated the odd assortment of chips and searched Larry’s face for an explanation.
“I’m a recovering gambler,” Larry said. “I don’t bet with money.”
“If you’re a recovering gambler, doesn’t that mean no gambling at all?”
“It’s not like alcoholics anonymous. I can get my fix, just not with actual cash.” He pointed to the odd assortment in front of Aiden. “Alcohol pad is a buck. Band-Aids are a five-piece, and 2x2s are ten bucks a pop.”
“And here I was expecting pennies. Okay, deal me in.”
The rig groaned and shook with the powerful winds as the eyewall slammed into them. For a moment, it felt as if the whole place shifted. Nevertheless, he and Duncan exchanged a loo
k. They’d discussed nearly every eventuality on their short exploration of the rig. Despite the ferocity Julian leveled at them, they hadn’t come upon any significant damage.
The poker game continued. His stack of bandages, Band-Aids, and alcohol pads dwindled while Larry’s pile increased. Aiden glanced at Ariel’s stack, impressed by the number of 2x2s she managed to hang on to. They still hadn’t said a word to each other.
The monotony of card playing took the edge off his anger, and he forced himself to see things from her point of view. That didn’t mean he agreed with her, and they would have a private conversation later, but he knew her heart had been in the right place.
“Did you feel that?” Larry put his cards down. “I don’t remember it shaking like this before.”
“That’s just waves hitting the supports,” Duncan said.
Larry didn’t look convinced. “If you say so.”
Ariel asked for a card and tossed a Band-Aid on the pile. Her eyes flicked up to Aiden, and while he tried to catch and hold onto her warm brown eyes, her gaze flittered to the side and back to her cards.
He folded. “I’m out.” With one Band-Aid and two alcohol pads left to his name, he was done with the game. “I’m going to the Control Room to check on the progress of the storm.”
“How much longer do you think?” Randall, who had been mostly quiet while he read his book in the corner of the room, looked up.
“Half a day?” Those were the first words out of Ariel’s mouth since he’d locked everyone inside.
“Ugh.” Randall put his book down.
“You might want to get some shut-eye,” Aiden suggested. “We’re still doing twelve-hour shifts until we’re done with this.” He pushed off and headed to the door and was surprised to see Ariel join him. “You don’t have to come.”
“What about the buddy system?” she asked, pulling back with uncertainty.
“I don’t need a buddy,” he snapped. “Go ahead and stay with the others. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Her expression hardened and she followed him out in the hall. Pulling the door shut, she crossed her arms beneath her breasts and stared him down.
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