Taken Outback (The Dusty Rider Series Book 1)

by Stella Knights

  He dips his body back into the water and wades over towards me. “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be, is it?”

  “You mean money?” I clear my throat as he moves closer.

  “Yeah, it’s not the be all end all people make it out to be. Of course, it helps to have some, but people seem so driven to get more and more and they don’t know how to stop.”

  I look down into the water and think about what a stark contrast this statement is to Tom’s greedy ways.

  Aiden continues speaking as he wades even closer than moments before. “I just think what’s the point of killing yourself for a pile of cash you never get to enjoy because how can you enjoy it if you are always working trying to make more?”

  I look up at him and shake my head. “You’re right. For a while now, I’ve questioned what money does to people.”

  “I think simple things are better than all the materialistic distractions you see everywhere. Things do not bring lasting pleasure.”

  Aiden is standing close to me now. Close enough to touch. Close enough for me to smell his musky scent that I want to drown into.

  He gazes at me but has not reached out to touch me. His earlier statement that he doesn’t want me ‘doing anything I don’t want to do’, flashes through my mind.

  Maybe he won’t touch me until I touch him first. Can I actually do this? Yes, Holly, you can.

  I can’t wait any longer, so I reach out and take hold of his strong hand. I pull it towards me and look at his face as my heart quickens.

  Aiden’s brow furrows.

  I lower my chin as I look up at his face. “It’s okay, Aiden.” I gently pull him closer towards me. I hold his hand up against the top of my chest, placing it near the bottom of my neck.

  Can he feel my heart beating?

  His brow relaxes as he stands up and peers deep into my soul.

  In my mind, I’m telling him to take me, but the words don’t come across my lips. My hand guides his fingers so that they wrap around the nape of my neck. I let my hand fall away while his remains against me.

  He lowers his face to mine, all the while not breaking his gaze. He moves his hand up my neck, forcing me to tilt my head back slightly. Leaning in closer, his other hand moves to hold on to the opposite side.

  If he intended any harm to come to me, this would be the moment he could hurt me as I’m completely exposed. Though, instead of fear, all I feel is wanton desire for this man standing before me. I want those lips on mine and I don’t think I can wait any longer.

  I part my lips.

  Aiden leans in and kisses me.

  Time stops as the electricity between us sends a shiver down my spine. I don’t think I’ve felt intense passion like this in a first kiss before. It was the perfect kiss as if Aiden knows exactly what I need and all the men who have come before are now forgotten strangers.

  Aiden is masterful with his mouth as he starts off softly, then as I reciprocate he increases the level of hunger and intensity. His lips part against my mouth and his tongue explores with feverish passion.

  I dissolve into him and pray this moment never ends.

  His hands drop from my neck onto my shoulders as I pull him even closer. The momentum of our kiss causes us to fall back into the water against the side of the pool. As we slip deeper into the cool water around us, I glide my hands across that muscular chest I’ve dreamt of touching.

  His hard body is more beautiful than my fantasies. I’m a hungry animal wanting to explore every inch with my hands. I’m insatiable as I ache to feel him touch and explore me. Heat emanates from his muscles that ripple beneath my fingertips. His boulder-like shoulders undulate underneath my arms as I caress his well-defined back.

  Wanting his hands to explore more of my body, I reach up and guide them down towards my hips. Our kiss breaks for a moment as he again looks into my eyes. He arches a brow at me. His voice is a husky whisper. “You sure this is okay?”

  My mind finally relaxes as my heart takes control. I allow myself to stop questioning my captivity. Releasing myself mentally, I say without hesitation, “Yes.”

  My words release the tiger inside of Aiden. The strength of his touch increases as he caresses my back and down the sides of my body. He massages every inch of my exposed skin.

  I wish he would untie my bikini and explore more of me. I want to feel my nakedness pressed against him. But he only moves his hands against what is already exposed.

  Trying to reassure him that I want this, I pull him closer to me, wrapping my legs around his waist, drawing his maleness closer against my sex. I shiver at the sensation of his hard member pressing between my legs, through his trunks and my bikini. I wish our clothes could disintegrate so I can finally have him completely. I moan through his lips, willing him to take me.

  He moves his kiss down my neck and against my ear. The searing heat of this moment is almost too much to take, causing me to moan once again.

  We fall further and further into the water. I ache to melt into him making us one, but we must come up for air. This causes us to break free from our kiss. I gasp for air as my insides are left burning for more.

  He gazes at me with fire in his eyes. “Let’s go inside.”

  His hand grips mine as he guides me out of the pool. He gently wraps a towel around me before grabbing one for himself. As he reaches behind to wrap it around his waist, water droplets fall down his flesh as though he were a Roman statue just dipped in bronze.

  He puts his hand on my chin and pulls me closer to give me a gentle kiss. Hand-in-hand we walk inside.

  Once in the kitchen, Aiden gives me another soft kiss and brushes a lock of my wet hair off my brow. “Why don’t you take a shower while I cook us up something?”

  I immediately pout.

  What? This is not the time to eat Aiden, this is the time you make me yours! I’m hungry, but not for food.

  Sensing my need for more of him, he looks at me with those unsettling blue eyes. “You are a typical city girl, aren’t you? Hasn’t anyone taken their time to love you in while?”

  I shake my head no.

  “Well, one thing I am going to teach you, Holly, is that being in the country means we have all the time we want and no distractions. We can take our time with everything. Do it slow, do it right.”

  “But what if…”

  He places his index finger against my lips to quiet me. “No buts about it. I like to take my time with these things. It’s so much sweeter if you build up to it.” Motioning around him, he says, “Look around you, there’s no rush. No schedules, no meetings, no nothing. Just plenty of time and plenty of me, all for you.”

  My brow furrows as I nod to show him I’m trying to understand. But my insides don’t want to wait.

  “Trust me, you’ll feel more pleasure from the build up.” Playfully, he swats my backside. “Now, go take a shower. You’ll get what you want when I know you’re ready for it.”

  I’m hot right now, with every cell in my body begging for release. But I know he won’t give it even if I do beg. As I head to the shower, I take a couple deep breaths to try to control my animalistic urges.

  The hot water runs down over every inch of my supercharged body.

  When did I last take time for sex? I guess it would’ve been at university before any distractions got in the way. Could Aiden be right? Could delayed gratification really increase the level of pleasure he will give me?

  It seems so unnatural to be able to take my time to do things. Somehow my life became all about the to-do lists constantly running through my head. Everything was always done straight-away, in a hurry or with an appointment.

  How depressing is the thought that I probably needed to schedule time for love with Tom all these years?

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  AFTER MY SHOWER, I find Aiden downstairs, once again cooking for me. He has set the dining room table with lit candles and a bottle of wine breathing in the centre.

  “What smells so good?” I ask, a
s I walk up behind him and kiss the back of his neck.

  He glances up from the pan. “I’ve grilled some chops and made some mash for us.”

  We sit down to eat and Aiden gets straight into telling me his thoughts. “I want to get to know you, Holly. And I want you to know me. Back at your office, you got to ask me many questions, but none were about the real me. It was just what some organisation thought you needed to know.”

  I take a sip of the wine. “Well, I don’t think that’s a surprise considering we have to keep it professional.” He grins at the sarcasm in my voice mocking him. “No real information about a person means no connection to them.”

  “Yeah, but regardless, I think we both felt a connection. And all you knew about me was from a file.”

  I blush slightly because I know he’s right. “The truth, Aiden, is that there wasn’t much to your file.” I shake my head while taking a bite of the lamb chop sitting on my plate.

  Contemplating this, he says, “You know the worst thing about what I did? It’s that I’m forever labelled.”

  “But it was only something you did. It’s an action. It’s not necessarily who you are. And if people can’t see the difference, then they’re not worth being in your life.”

  Shaking his head, he says, “I guess that’s one way of looking at it. But it’s still important for me to try to make things right with some people.”

  “Shouldn’t what you think of yourself matter the most?”

  After taking a mouthful of mashed potato, he pauses, considering my question. “Sometimes, maybe. But all the same, I want to fix things if I can.”

  “You must realise some people will always judge you no matter what you do.”

  “True.” Taking a bite of lamb, Aiden is quiet for a moment. “A few weeks after I was in, it hit me what I’d done. I felt shame for disappointing my parents. That was the worst part to deal with.” He puts his fork down and sits back in his chair to take another sip of wine. Staring at me, he asks, “Have you been disappointed by anyone in your life?”

  I look down at my plate for a moment, considering his question. I would like to hide from the truth, but I cannot. “That’s a bit easy, isn’t it? I mean, who hasn’t?”

  “Tell me what happened.”

  I look up and see that his gaze is focused squarely on me as if everything I say means something. It feels unusual to have someone focused on me during a meal and not be constantly interrupted by his text messages or calls from work.

  Noticing my pause, Aiden again says, “Tell me.”

  It seems the tables have turned. Instead of me getting into Aiden’s head, he’s now trying to get into mine. Or maybe I am unsettled because this is the first time in a while anyone has cared to ask me what is going on beneath the surface.

  “I don’t know. I moved to Brisbane because Tom got a promotion, and all I’ve felt since then is loneliness.”

  “Oh, so his name is Tom?” Aiden looks down to resume eating his lamb chops.

  Anxiously, I reply, “Yeah.” Changing the subject because I don’t want to think about Tom, I say, “Maybe you should tell me more about living out here in the country?”

  He shakes his head. “I’m not going to let you off that easy. I want to know what’s going on in your life. How did he disappoint you?”

  I sigh because I know I can’t run from the truth any longer. “Well, since we got married, Tom’s job has been more important to him than me. And this has gotten worse since we moved to Queensland. I guess we sort of lost our connection. And to make things worse, I recently caught him doing drugs.”

  Frowning, he says, “Sounds like your marriage became a bit of a prison for you.”

  “I never looked at it that way, but you’re right. I’ve felt trapped and forgotten.” I look down, pushing my food around with my fork. “At this point, it’s hard to figure out what matters anymore. All I know is I’ve been unhappy for a while.”

  Aiden smirks as he pours us both more wine. “Maybe you should take some of your own advice.”

  My brow furrows. “What do you mean?”

  “Maybe you should consider your marriage was just an action you took, and stop letting it define you as a person.”

  I let my expression soften as I reflect on what he has just said. I’ve never mulled over why I’m seemingly desperate to stay in my marriage when it’s clearly not working.

  Why can’t I just let it go?

  Aiden eats his last bite, picks up his wine glass and leans back in his chair. “You know, I’ve met many people in your line of work during the time I was arrested, going through court and then during my legal orders. None of them were like you. You seemed to actually care about your, ah…” He clears his throat before continuing, “Clients.”

  “I like helping people no matter what their situation. And to be honest this job changed my perspective on clients.” I grin as I use his euphemism. “I realise now most clients are just like everyone else, but the difference is they got caught and are repaying their debt to society.” I pause to pick up my wine. “There are so many people committing crimes that never have charges laid against them. They’re never forced to repay their debt. And some of what they do is not called criminal even though it should be. It’s refreshing at work because everyone’s crimes are out in the open.”

  Aiden looks at me intently. “It sounds like you are speaking about someone in particular who has maybe hurt you in the past.”

  Looking away from his gaze, I say, “Not really. Life just gets complicated as we get older and learn how the world works. I just think it’s frustrating when someone hurts you and you are left wondering if they ever cared. Like money somehow makes you virtuous and can be used to get you out of anything you do wrong.”

  Aiden pauses as he mulls over my opinion again. “I thought the same when I first went into prison. In the beginning, I assumed I was better than everyone else because I had money. But I quickly learned that money doesn’t mean anything when you are doing time. It’s a whole different set of rules in there.”

  “I can’t imagine what you went through.” My smile fades into concern thinking about what he may have endured during those three years.

  Changing the subject, he says, “Tonight’s not the night to talk about that. I’d rather talk about you and how beautiful you are.”

  I blush.

  “You don’t realise how beautiful you are, do you?”

  “I can’t answer that,” I say bashfully.

  Aiden takes a sip of wine. “Tell me how you wound up in Australia.”

  “It’s cliché. Tom and I met when he was working on the ski slopes of Colorado. I was there on holiday with my family. After, we kept in touch and until I came to Australia as part of an exchange program. I enjoyed it so much that I wound up transferring to finish my degree here.”

  “I don’t mean to pry, but it was Tom that had you upset that day in the office.”

  My gaze drops down to my hand wrapped around the stem of the glass. “It was. He’s a bit too obsessed with climbing the corporate ladder.”

  “I gather you’re not too thrilled by this?”

  “I’m happy he’s able to achieve his dream. But he’s always off at meetings or whatever.” I wave my hand in the air to make it seem like I’m nonchalant about it. “He kisses ass to his boss because he’s always chasing the next promotion.”

  “Is his boss male or female?”

  I wince. “Female.”

  “Is it possible there’s more to his relationship with his boss?” He holds my gaze as he waits for my answer.

  How could he know this?

  After a moment, I sigh. “As painful as it is to admit, yes, I do think he’s up to no good with his boss. I don’t have proof though.” I shrug as I take the last sip of wine.

  Did I really finally admit this out loud?

  Leaning against the table, he looks at me with concern. “Sorry, I’m not trying to upset you. I just look at you, this beautiful, amazing wom
an, and I think how any man would be crazy to ignore you or hurt you. If you were mine, I’d make sure you always felt loved.”

  I blush again. I haven’t heard something this profound and idealistic from a man in a long time.

  Aiden gets up and stands behind me. He leans in, with his hot breath against my neck and whispers, “You need to realise how beautiful and worthy you are.”

  He picks up my plate to takes our dishes into the kitchen. “How about I clean up while you get comfortable on the couch? We could watch a movie or something. If you like sports, I have the Reds rugby game I recorded from last weekend?”

  “I’ve never watched any rugby before.” I shrug while giving him an innocent smile.

  “Well, I guess that’s another thing I’ll add to the list of what we need to teach you out here. Rugby is definitely part of Queensland country life.” He grins as he shakes his head.

  “I grew up watching NFL, which is basically another religion in Texas. Is it anything like that?”

  “It is a little like that, but the players don’t wear any pads or helmets to protect themselves.”

  “No pads or helmets? That sounds a bit dangerous.”

  An amused look flashes across Aiden’s face. “It’s not that bad. Why don’t we watch a few minutes and if you find it too boring, we’ll put on something else, okay?”

  Taking the plates, he rinses them in the sink, before placing them into the dishwasher.

  “Okay but let me help you finish cleaning up first.”

  Aiden shakes his head. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Go relax.”

  SITTING ON THE couch in the living room, Aiden turns on the recorded rugby match. He brings in the rest of the wine and hands me my glass. He pulls me close as I lean back against his chest. “Comfortable?”

  I nod as I tilt the glass to my lips, getting more relaxed with each sip of wine, slipping further and further away from any thoughts that our situation may be wrong.

  As the game starts, Aiden says, “The first lesson is that there are a couple types of rugby in Australia. The first, and my personal favourite, is rugby union. The second is called league.” Putting his hand up to stop me from asking what’s the difference, he says, “Union is better because historically it came first and it has a better flow to the game. League tends to be stop-start like the NFL. Now, there’s a third type called Aussie Rules, but it doesn’t count because I liken it to aerial ping pong.”