Aiden left the kitchen and strolled through a second hallway that led to his master bedroom. Inside, he entered the closet while unclasping his cuffs and button-down shirt. He removed it swiftly and headed to a dresser where he pulled out a drawer and tugged a white t-shirt over his chiseled chest. Then he pulled out of his suit pants and replaced them with Calvin Klein denim. The change of clothes didn’t make him any less anxious then the suit and tie had, and Aiden knew why. Summer Greystone was in his home. The love of his life, the one he was sure was his future. Could he really spend a night with her and let her leave the next day without that needed conversation?
Aiden placed his hands on the wall and hung his head. For the last eight years, Aiden convinced himself that he was much better. Gone was the broken heart and sleep insomnia he’d endured after her sudden disappearance. Aiden was stronger now. He’d spoken to God, been to church, laid his burden down, and still, his nervous system felt like a runaway train.
“I hope you don’t mind…”
Aiden turned sharply when her voice cruised through his closet. Summer cleared her throat.
“I um, decided I’d rather take a bath if it’s okay with you.”
The sensible side of him was losing the fight. He ran a piercing eye over her form, wrapped in a terrycloth towel. Her bare arms rested against her side and her creamy skin shined from her neck, shoulders, knees, and toes.
At the entrance of the closet, Summer prided herself in not squirming from the virile assessment Aiden made. But her heartbeat she couldn’t control as it responded loud and clear in disorderly conduct. With her own examination, Summer noticed the change in Aiden’s attire. His dress down was even more enticing than his suit. The t-shirt he’d slipped over his toned arms was lifted right before it made it to the meeting with his jeans leaving a peek of olive flesh, carved, and strong on display. A surge of warmth drifted over Summer’s skin, and she hadn’t given herself a direct order before her feet moved.
The first step was shy and unsure, but the second and third were bold and risky.
“Stop.”
It was the only thing he said. Summer didn’t even see his lips move as if the sound had been a thought translated through him. She paused, and her pulse pounded as did his.
Her voice was in a whisper. “Aiden.”
“What are you doing?”
His voice was also hushed but profound as he held still.
Summer’s eyes roamed his face then she dropped her head but just as quickly lifted it again.
“Have you ever wondered…” she bit the corner of her lip coyly, “what it would be like to be with each other again?” Summer took another close step. Two more and she would be close enough to feel the heat radiating from his skin.
“Now why would I think about that?” His gruff voice spoke. Aiden was giving it his best shot to reject her, but still, that sensibleness wavered the closer she became.
Summer exhaled, it was a minor gut punch but not one she would let take her out of this fight. She shrugged her shoulders.
“I’ve thought about us, more times than I could count. I image us waking up together. Seeing your face and smelling your bad breath.” She giggled, and the small joke cut through the frost he held.
“I’ve never had bad breath girl so don’t play.”
Summer giggled again and took another step.
“There was that time,” she tapped her chin, and Aiden’s brow lifted sharply. She laughed and shook her head. “I’m only kidding.”
“I know you are,” he said factually.
Summer giggled again then took her final step. There she rested in his shadow and was taken by the undertow of his deep stare.
“I’ve also imagined us making love.” Her hands drifted to the tying in her towel, and her fingers worked to remove the knot. On her toes she lifted, and her soft lips met his. Initially, Aiden didn’t return her kiss, but the barrier he detained crumbled with every second that passed. Summer kissed his lips again then trailed her tongue around his mouth. Like a lightning bolt, a stinging heat shot down his core straight to the hardest part of him.
“Shit,” he cursed, capturing her mouth in one breath, consuming her lips altogether.
“Mmmm,” she moaned, and a riveting stir of energy coursed through them and took up root in their chromosome.
Summer finished untying her towel just as Aiden’s hands dropped to the cloth. Their lips fused, and his tongue invaded her mouth, but still, Aiden held on to the towel keeping it from revealing her nakedness. Savoring the mouthwatering kiss, Aiden sucked at her tongue and swallowed the sweetness on her palate. Then with insurmountable strength, Aiden pulled back, keeping a closed fist of the cloth while his gaze smoldered over her face. Reigning in his exasperated breath, he swallowed and lifted his mouth from the closeness of hers.
“This… is not happening.”
Surprised, Summer’s brows bunched together.
“Yes, it is. I want you Aiden, and you want me too. Why are you holding back, I can tell—”
“Because!”
He hadn’t meant to startle her with the loud outburst, but Summer was wearing him thin, and Aiden had to regain some sense of control.
“You can’t just walk back in here and expect me to what? Where is this supposed to go? You disappeared, and I find out through a dear john letter that I didn’t get until three weeks later!”
Aiden tied the towel back in its knot.
“This is not happening.”
He sidestepped her and walked toward the exit.
“Aiden!”
He paused.
“I’m sorry okay! I— I…” She let out a deep breath.
Aiden turned back to her. “You what Summer?” He folded his arms.
Summer walked up to him. “I’ve missed you since the day I left. I was sick for weeks before I could manage some mobility in my apartment. I need you to understand,” she paused.
“I don’t know what makes me sadder,” Aiden said. “That whatever you went through was so bad that you couldn’t confide in me. Someone you say you loved. Or that you came back thinking we could hop in the sack and the eight years of desertion would be forgiven.”
Summer’s lips trembled, and she shut her eyes tight and dropped her face into the palms of her hands.
“You’re right; you should’ve known. I realized that too late.”
“Why did you leave?”
Summer swallowed. “I’ve never told anyone.”
“Tell me.” His voice was even with a comforting depth. “What happened?”
They watched each other for a long minute.
“I was thirteen…”
Aiden froze instantly, and his heart almost stopped. Summer noticed his reaction and put her hands on his shoulders and shook her head.
“No, no, it’s nothing like that,” she reassured him.
Aiden exhaled sharply and ran a hand down his face.
“You should probably not start with; I was thirteen then.”
“You’re right. I guess I’m just… nervous.”
Aiden took another deep breath. “Would you like some tea?”
Summer smiled softly. “Please.
Chapter Four
Aiden handed Summer a coffee mug filled with freshly brewed Lipton tea.
“Thank you,” Summer said. She blew across the top of the glass and took her eye around the open room. There was a guitar in the corner perched against the wooden panel.
Summer had also noticed gear in Aiden’s closet that only firefighters would wear. She cleared her throat and took a sip of her tea.
“Do you still play the guitar?”
Aiden’s eyes crossed the room to his instrument.
“Yeah.”
“Hmmm.” She cleared her throat again knowing she could no longer avoid this conversation. “Remember the day I left school early because I wasn’t feeling well. I came down with a fever in class, and Mrs. Robins sent me home because she didn’t want me to spread w
hatever I had.”
“I walked you home,” he said pulling the memory together.
“Yeah, I was tired and out of breath by the time we got here.”
“You had the flu,” he said.
“And oddly no one in school caught it.”
Aiden nodded.
“Well after I went inside the house I went looking for my grandfather. I knew I should tell him I was home, or he would likely blow my head off thinking I were an intruder.”
Aiden nodded again, remembering the odd look on Benjamin Greystone’s face at the cemetery.
“Well, I found my grandfather, in the kitchen with Regan Downing bent over the sink.”
Aiden’s surprise was slight; he stared at Summer in disbelief.
“Regan’s head was practically in the sink, and both of their pants were down to their ankles. I was frozen for too long. Enough time passed that I have a video in my head, a full thirty seconds of my grandfather pounding at Mr. Downing’s wife. My grandmother was at the farmer’s market. She went the same time every week. When my grandfather spotted me, his first reaction was as if he’d seen a ghost. Then he became angry and shouted at me to “Get out of here!” she said holding a fist up, pretending to shake it like her grandfather did.
I had to live with him for five years while he screwed Regan Downing every week when my grandmother went to the farmer’s market.”
“What?” Aiden said appalled. “So he continued to do this?”
“Yes, he did. My grandfather didn’t care that I had seen them. He probably figured at this point in their lives my grandmother would never leave him anyway. And how could I tell her that her son of a bitch husband was cheating on her every week?” Summer shook her head. “I couldn’t. So I had to put up with it.” She took a sip of her tea. “Leaving was the only thing I thought about for a full year. The last one,” she added. “I couldn’t stay. I needed a fresh start, away from him, away from Chandler County.”
“Away from me,” Aiden added.
“No, it was never like that.”
“Your actions say something else.”
Summer approached him. “Aiden, I was young and feeling out of sorts. Can you forgive me?” Aiden looked away, and Summer touched his face with the warm palm of her hand. His eyes were brought back to her. “Please.”
Aiden didn’t respond. Could he really forgive her that easily?
"At the time I felt it was necessary to leave. Don't punish me because I didn't have the strength to stay. I'm here now, and I need your forgiveness. Please," Summer said again.
Aiden bit down on his jaw then released a long breath.
“I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
“We all have a choice.”
“There’s nothing I can do about what happened in the past,” Aiden said. “I forgive you, but I’ll never forget it. Shouldn’t matter to you now that you’ve got a new life. Like you said you never meant to run into me anyway. In the morning I’ll take you to the airport.”
Aiden moved to walk away, but he paused. “I’m sorry for what you experienced. A part of me holds some of the blame for you leaving.”
Summer frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“I was your man, and I had no idea you were hurting.” Aiden grimaced. “I missed the mark on that. I’m sorry.”
“No, Aiden I’m not going to let you blame yourself.”
“It’s okay,” he said, “it’s the truth.”
“We were young. I made mistakes, and you weren’t old enough to pick up on things like that.”
“Nice try,” Aiden said, “but even a child knows when someone they love isn’t in good spirits.” He sighed. “I’m not looking for a pity party here Summer. Just owning my part in our break up.”
Summer sighed. “I’d like to get to know you Aiden. I don’t want us to be strangers. I can’t go back to Atlanta without knowing we’re on good terms now or ever.”
Aiden stared at Summer’s face as a million thoughts rummage through his mind. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Summer asked. “What do we have to lose?”
“That can’t be a serious question can it?”
Summer blew out a breath. “Okay, but things are different now. I’m not a child; I understand the dynamics of being in a relationship. So would never—”
“Whoa,” Aiden said. “Never say never and who’s talking about a relationship?”
Summer swallowed a lump in her throat, and her thoughts shuffled.
“I just want to be friends,” she lied.
The two watched each other closely trying to find fraud in either of their demeanors.
“Friends?”
Summer nodded. “Yes.”
Aiden tried to wrap his head around the possibility. Friends with Summer Greystone. He was unsure but willing, especially since, her arrival had shaken his core. His eyes traveled to the clock on the wall. Time was ticking, but Aiden wasn’t sure how much of himself he should divulge. Or if he should walk the fine line of pretense long enough to see her off.
“Okay,” he finally said. “Friends.” He held out a hand for her to shake. Summer excepted it, and the bright smile that followed her lips into a sassy curve nearly knocked him over.
“You should go take your bath first and put on some clothes.”
“Why, you don’t like seeing me traipse around your kitchen in a cotton towel with nothing underneath.”
Her comment sent a flash of heat straight to his groin, and his dick jumped in his pants.
“Chill out on the specifics,” he warned.
“Or what?”
Summer stepped to him and sat the mug she was holding down on the counter. She brushed her body against his and could feel each ridge of his solidly built body. Aiden had no doubt been in the gym, and his regimen paid off.
For a brief moment Aiden wondered if he could hop in the sack with Summer for a passionate one-night stand, but no. If he wanted to keep his sanity, he couldn’t. Or could he?
Chapter Five
“I’m thinking about going to Jairo’s Blues and Supper Club for amateur night.”
Summer’s brows lifted, and she took a meager step back.
“How awesome,” she said with a smile.
Aiden was happy she gave him some space, he’d say anything to turn Summer’s attention elsewhere, especially since, if they did end up in the sack he was almost sure he would never be able to let it be a mere fling.
“When is amateur night?”
“Tomorrow.”
Summer’s eyes perked. “I’d love to come and hear you play.”
This idea of Aiden’s was beginning to backfire.
“Then, you would miss your flight.”
Summer’s bright eyes dampened.
“I don’t care Aiden. I said I want to get to know you.”
The softness of her voice wrapped around his heart and tugged. Aiden didn’t respond.
“But clearly you care,” Summer added. She held up her hands. “I won’t stay longer then I’m wanted. I’m sorry for suggesting it or intruding on your life.” Summer bit the bottom of her lip then turned quickly and left the room.
A harsh expletive ripped from Aiden’s lips. Let her go. His feet held firm, but his fortitude wasn’t solid. Shit. He went after her, leaving the kitchen and heading to his bathroom. He entered with her name on his lips but found her naked stepping into a bath. Another concession of profanity slipped from him as his eyes took in the glory that was her creation.
Summer had always had petite feet and legs, but her thighs were curvier than he’d imagined and the round fullness of them coupled with the bare apex of her thighs became his undoing.
Summer watched him eat up her form, and his breathing had gone from normal to silent as if he were not allowing air into his lungs. His gaze traveled up to her perky breasts, and his eyes seemed to shade over. Summer was thoroughly turned on by his perusal, and she leaned her back agains
t the wall and perched a foot up on the edge of the claw-foot tub.
“Would you like to get in with me?”
When Aiden took her, he did it swiftly. Before Summer had a chance to blink, she was in Aiden’s arms. Her legs circled his waist, and she pulled and yanked at his shirt. They managed to get it over his head, but it caught around his neck, and arms, refusing to be tossed, revealing his washboard abs. Summer’s hands slid down the pecs in his chest and dived down to his jeans. She fumbled to get them unbuttoned, but when she did, Aiden lifted her and removed them from his carved hips with ease.
Now in his birthday suit, Aiden pushed Summer’s back against the wall, and the head of his cock glided across her vagina with a slow dragging dig. Summer shuddered, and a whimper left her lips.
“Is this what you want, Summer?”
Aiden’s voice had grown deeper, and his lips hovered above Summer’s ear with their chest compressed. His mouth touched her temples, placing a kiss there so tender that it relaxed her bones further.
“Is this, what you desire?”
Without a chance to change her mind, Summer was consumed with each inch of his extended shaft.
“Oh…” she moaned.
Summers’ hands clenched his shoulders, her fingers digging into his flesh. Aiden filled her completely, burying himself to the hilt.
“Oh… my God,” Summer moaned again. She hadn’t expected to be so thoroughly taken. Aiden had surely grown up and not just in height.
He kissed the side of her face while his hips rocked in and out smoothly. She held on to him as if letting him go would cause her to combust into a million tiny embers. The heat that covered their skin became a blanket of instant perspiration, and their breathing kicked into gear as did the bump and grind against the wall.
Missing Summer_A Chandler County Novel Page 3