by Dani Wade
Avery also encouraged her to take care of herself and have fun every so often, thus the frequent invitations to Lola’s.
Avery glanced at the table of women who were now moving on to other things. “That Mary is something else.”
Christina nodded. “Yeah. I know she was just playing around. I just—” Christina twisted her fingers together “—haven’t figured out how to respond naturally.”
Avery took a drink, but her blue eyes remained calm and steady on Christina.
“I feel like everyone knows why we married and is going to judge everything I say.” Christina looked to her friend for comfort.
Avery didn’t disappoint. “They are not judging you,” she said, reaching out to still Christina’s hands with her own. “Most of them are thrilled, because the marriage gives them a sense of stability.”
Christina frowned. “For their jobs?”
Avery nodded. “And for their future. Whatever the reason behind it.” She leaned forward to look directly in Christina’s eyes. “And that’s no one’s business but yours. One of the Blackstone grandsons having a permanent reason to stay here means the mill will continue to be run by the family. And if that happens through an arranged marriage—well, those have been happening all over the world since the beginning of time.” She leaned back. “People in town feel they can trust the family not to abandon them, to have their best interests at heart.”
Christina felt slightly sick to her stomach. If only they knew. “That’s what baffles me. They don’t really know Aiden at all. Not the man he is now.”
Avery shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. He’s familiar, which is always better than the unknown.”
If Christina had anything to say about it, he wouldn’t disappoint. Since he possessed a mind of his own, there were no guarantees. But oh, how she wished there were. He’d worked hard for Black Hills so far. If only he would stay...
“I’m not going to pry,” Avery was saying, “but you know I’m here to talk if you need me, right?”
Christina smiled. “Thank you.”
Avery shrugged, then steered the conversation on to more mundane topics, helping Christina relax. This was exactly what she needed. Calm. A project to focus on. Friends to distract her.
No worries about the future. No challenging conversations. No brooding, attractive male to turn her inside out and upside down.
* * *
Life often moved in directions Christina never expected. She had spent a lifetime going to movies and restaurants alone, hanging out in coffee shops and bookstores on her days off. But as she looked around the dinner table a month later, she finally understood that she was no longer alone.
That’s what family was for. And she had claimed the people around her as hers, for as long as they would let her.
“I have an idea,” she said, gaining the attention of the table. Everyone was in their usual places, one end full now that Jacob had rejoined them and Luke had been able to clear a brief few days for his appearance at the fair. Nolen and Marie peeked through the door from the kitchen. “I think we should go to the fair. Together.”
“Fair?” Marie said with a grin. “I haven’t been to one of those since I was a kid.”
Christina was glad to see some enthusiasm. “I was out there working last night and it looked so exciting. I’ve always wanted to go to one.”
“You’ve never been? Not even to the county fair as a kid?” Jacob asked. “Then you definitely have to check it out. Cheap thrills for all.”
Nolen, who had entered the room carrying a tray with their after-dinner coffee, threw out a word of warning. “It isn’t safe for you to go alone, Miss Christina. You men should take the ladies.”
Luke agreed. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
But there had to be a fly in the ointment. “I’ve got reports to finish,” Aiden said, accepting his usual cup of black decaf from Nolen. “But Luke over there never met a roller coaster he didn’t love.”
“The Scream Machine is my favorite,” Luke said, waggling his brows in a suggestive expression. “But seriously, I’d love to have some fun before I have kissing duty tomorrow night.”
Aiden just snorted, which started the ball rolling.
Luke pounced. “Ah, big brother here just doesn’t want everyone to know what a wuss he is.”
Aiden’s growl of warning was accompanied by Christina’s chant, “Tell us! Tell us!”
“Luke,” Aiden said, his voice deepening in warning, “I will hurt you.”
A mock expression of fear covered Luke’s face, drawing a laugh from the women. “In that case, I won’t tell them roller coasters make you puke like a girl.”
Aiden lunged for his brother, knocking him out of his chair and onto the dining room floor. The sound of male grunts and wrestling crowded out the formal atmosphere of the room. Christina stood, watching the men twist back and forth on the oriental carpet with a sort of breathless wonder. The boys had been physical as kids—at least when James hadn’t been around—and Christina had watched them on her visits with a mixture of fear and fascination. She’d certainly never expected this kind of frivolity as adults. These wild antics shocked and delighted her.
Nolen calmly stepped around the writhing mass to place Christina’s hot tea on the table. Jacob simply moved away, watching his brothers with an amused expression. The contrast boggled her brain. When a draw was finally called—or rather, both men claimed to have won—they stood up and continued talking as if nothing had happened. Well, that wasn’t quite true.
Luke smoothed his hands over his dark blond hair then jerked his button-down shirt back into place. Aiden, on the other hand, left the evidence of their fight, for once not caring about his scuffed look. The mussed hair, red, roughened chin, and twist of his T-shirt brought naughty thoughts to Christina’s mind. Her heart thudded as she imagined pulling that shirt off and adding to his breathless state.
A quick walk around the table took her to his side, where she slipped under his arm. Tucked up against him, palm resting on his heaving ribs, she met his gaze with a teasing look of her own. “We’ll just check out the atmosphere. How about that?”
As Aiden’s laughter faded, Christina became aware of the hushed silence in the room. She suddenly felt every inch of Aiden pressed against her, the heavy weight of his arm around her shoulders. Though the others knew they shared a bedroom, even after James’s death, she and Aiden had never taken their intimate relationship farther than the privacy of that room. She knew beyond a doubt she’d inadvertently signaled to the others living in the house that their relationship was much deeper than the expected convenient marriage. Embarrassed, she drew back, only to have his arm tighten around her.
Looking up, she found his eyes trained on her face. The look he gave her wasn’t angry or irritated, but still sparking with amusement and adrenaline from wrestling with his brother. He squeezed her arm. “I think that sounds like a great idea.”
Her body automatically relaxed and she returned his smile with relief. Everyone else turned away, moving toward the door with excuses about preparing for their night out.
But Christina and Aiden remained locked together. She swallowed, her heart beating in excitement. Which was ridiculous. To anyone else, this would be the smallest thing imaginable, barely significant in the whole scheme of things. But her heart knew Aiden didn’t make gestures, big or small, lightly. And he wasn’t done amazing her tonight.
He leaned down as if to kiss her, but stopped just short of her parted lips. “So, Christina...will you go to the fair with me?”
She swallowed hard, struggling to keep her tone teasing like his. “Are you asking me on a date, Aiden?”
“I believe I am,” he said, moving the final distance to brush his lips across hers. Once. Twice. “But I have to warn you that my intentions don’t involve letting
you kiss me good-night at the door.”
Christina’s heart thudded. If only this could be real. Forever. But she hid her hopes and grasped this opportunity with both hands. Because the truth was she could have now, and all the other memories they created, to keep her through the lonely days ahead.
After a lingering kiss of her own, she said, “I think I can live with that.”
She held on to that mantra over the next few hours. Through dusty fairways, caramel apples and threats to ride the Sidewinder. At one point she stumbled, and Aiden steadied her at her elbow. As they continued on, his hand slid down to hers. And stayed. In the twinkle of carnival lights, Christina’s heart filled with the gesture.
She wasn’t a logical woman. Practicality came naturally with her profession, but getting attached to others was in her nature. Closeness was actually a craving for her. Aiden filled that need as no one else ever had. That he was willing to do it with the whole town watching meant even more.
With one squeeze of her hand, she was lost. And happy about it.
“Mrs. Blackstone, will they make enough money for the new playground?”
Christina paused at the high-pitched voice, smiling over at Bateman and his family. She looked down at their kindergarten-aged granddaughter. “I sure hope so, sweetheart. It will be a lot of fun to have a new one, wouldn’t it?”
“It sure would,” Bateman’s wife said. “Give me something to do with these young’uns while their mama is at work.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Bateman said with a grin, which grew bigger when his wife swatted his arm.
“Come on, Susie Q,” his wife said. “I’ll let you try to win me that teddy bear.”
“No, the teddy bear is for me, Grandma.”
“Are you sure?” she asked as they walked away. “I could have sworn it was for me.”
“This was a great idea,” Bateman said. “Everyone is having fun.”
Christina agreed. “And Jean is excited to keep moving the counter up on the fund-raising scoreboard. I really think the new playground will be a go.”
Bateman extended his hand. “Thank you, Aiden. We needed some fun right about now. Someone to invest in our community.”
Aiden shook the hand, but corrected Bateman. “It wasn’t my idea. You can thank this one,” he said, lifting his and Christina’s clasped hands. “I just provided a little labor and encouragement.”
Much to her dismay, Christina wanted to preen under his praise. She shrugged, instead. “Getting through tough times is easier if we do it together.”
Bateman smiled his approval. “As long as things stay quiet at the mill, then I think all this talk will die down. Maybe that little chat with Balcher did the trick?”
Aiden frowned into the distance. “I don’t know. He doesn’t seem the type to give up after a simple slap down. I feel almost as if there’s a time clock ticking down to his next move.”
“Let’s hope not,” Bateman said.
Amen. If things could stay the same, for herself and the town, Christina would be a happy woman. She used to long for something different, but now she held her breath, praying nothing would ever change. Unrealistic, but true.
Fifteen
“Are you coming inside?” Aiden asked.
Christina had been strangely silent on the way home. She got that way sometimes, and he’d learned to give her space to think. In fact, he’d taken a few unnecessary turns on the drive. The late summer night enclosed them in patchy fog, and a cool breeze blew through the open windows. It had been so long since he’d been at ease with anyone, especially in that kind of silence, that he hadn’t wanted it to end.
Yet here they were, looking at each other through the open window of the truck. Luke, Jacob and Marie had long ago returned to the house, which was silent and barely lit. Aiden wanted to scoop Christina into his arms and carry her to their room, but something held him back. It was almost as if they’d moved into a new stage, and he should once again ask her permission before introducing intimacy.
Logically, he knew only his feelings had changed. But what about her?
“I’m not sure,” Christina said. She still sat inside the truck, staring at him in the dark as if searching for something, but he wasn’t sure what. “Aiden...”
His throat constricted in anticipation. “What is it?”
“I’m afraid.”
The words barely registered. He wanted to wipe away her fear with some pat little phrases, but he couldn’t. Obviously, she felt this, too. But they both had to embrace it for it to go anywhere. “I know,” he finally said. “I’m a risk. But most of the things we want in life are scary. It’s up to you how you deal with it.”
Unwilling to coerce her decision with his presence, he turned away. The side expanse of green lawn was still damp from the dew, along with the outer ring of azalea bushes. As he approached the weeping willow tree, he heard running footsteps behind him. Turning back, he watched as Christina ran across the lawn and barreled into his chest. Together they burst through the curtain of swaying tree limbs. He wasn’t quick enough to brace himself, so her momentum knocked him off balance, and they tumbled to the ground in a tangle of bodies.
But when they came to rest, Aiden found himself in a win-win situation, with Christina’s toned legs straddling his thighs and her breasts snug against the hard wall of his chest.
His body surged to instant hardness, the fullness punching the back of his zipper in an attempt to reach her skin. He arched against the sensation, pressing deeper into the V of her thighs.
She glanced around them, and he let his gaze follow, then smiled. The thick fall of branches from the fifty-year-old tree isolated them from the world outside. It was a veil enclosing them in the magical discovery of each other. Christina braced her hands on his shoulders to keep him from bucking her off, but her own hips tilted, rubbing her most private of parts across his length in one long, slow slide. Aiden’s heartbeat burst into overdrive.
He needed her. Now.
She crouched closer, her lips meeting his in an all-out assault. Her mouth open, tongue delving deep. He met her with everything he had to give.
He explored, tracing the inner curves of her mouth, the moist heat stirring an ache to bury himself inside her. They couldn’t linger long. Aiden knew Christina’s hunger grew with his own by the way she kneaded his chest and nibbled his bottom lip. Her breathy pants brushed his skin, increasing his urgency for more.
With a jerk, he had her button-down shirt open and gaping, so he could explore her smooth skin and the lace of her bra. Leaning back, she delved between her thighs for the button to his khaki pants. Her fingers fumbled for a moment before she released him, inching back so she could get the zipper down. The condom wasn’t far behind.
He lay on the hard ground, barely noticing it, his hands gently squeezing her lace-covered breasts, while his wife prepared to ride him for all she was worth. And he was in heaven. The only thought pounding through his brain was a refrain of more, more, more.
She stood to shuck her own pants, and it was all he could do not to jerk her back against him. He wanted everything. More of that delightful mix of shy and brazen. More of the woman who comforted him and wasn’t afraid to point out when he was wrong. More than anything, he needed her to complete his soul.
If he hadn’t already been shaking, Aiden would have started. Pulling his wife back onto him, he fitted himself at her entrance and guided her down. It killed him to go slow, but suddenly, she arched her back and slid herself home.
Stealing his breath away.
Unable to sit still, to remain at her mercy, he gripped her hips, forcing her into a counterrhythm with his own body. They ground together. Aiden savored every breathless cry straining from her throat. In the darkness, he caught the swing of her hair as she moved, the curve of her jaw silhouetted a
gainst the lighter backdrop of leaves.
As he fought for completion, only one thought remained: mine.
With that, he drove himself as deeply as he could, allowing her body weight to aid him. Her cry mingled with his. Her body contracted around him as she slammed into her peak, dragging him along in the undertow.
For long moments he knew nothing but the warmth of her flesh, the pounding of his blood and the need to never let go.
Before he could stop it, his first coherent thought emerged from his hazy brain. I don’t think I can live without this. But separation came soon enough. Christina simply slipped to the side and onto her back, her head pillowed on his biceps.
“I need to get up,” she said, “but for some reason my muscles won’t move anymore.”
He chuckled, feeling the sound vibrate through his chest under the very spot where her hand rested. “You need to be careful. I think I could get addicted to you ending every date this way.”
He heard her smile in her voice. “Oh, I think I can live with that.”
And as he helped her to her feet and into her clothes, he knew that he could, too. Because damn if he wasn’t in love for the first time in his miserable life.
* * *
Christina brushed the grass off her pants before pulling them back on. She should be ashamed, or embarrassed, or something...but she wasn’t. Aiden didn’t even give her time to put her shirt on before he was pulling her across the lawn and into the back door. She couldn’t help but giggle as they raced up the stairs. “This is becoming a habit,” she said breathlessly.
“This is a habit I can most definitely live with,” he said with a grin.
Christina slept deep, secure in the knowledge that Aiden was curled around her, but it ended with the harsh reality of a ringing phone. She woke at the loss of warmth, her euphoria slowly fading, and listened in the predawn gloom as Aiden spoke.