“What?” I asked, tired of her staring.
“So, nothing happened between Aidan and you? Nothing at all?”
I didn’t bother turning around, hiding my face from her. “Absolutely nothing.”
“Then I guess we have some dangerous ‘mosquitoes’ in our place. We need to eradicate them.”
I whipped my head over my shoulder to look at her. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about those ‘mosquito bites’ you have on your neck. A few of them, actually.”
What?!
I must have looked horrified, since she said, “Here. Take a look.” She fished a pocket mirror out of her purse and handed it to me with a smirk on her face.
Oh, my God. Aidan actually made hickeys on my neck! One, two... Three of them! That... That idiot!
“It’s not what you think,” I blurted out the stupidest thing I could say.
She looked like she’d thought the same way about my words, but she chose not to comment on them.
“I just don’t want you hurt, Cat. We talked about this already, and you know how I feel about Aidan’s behavior that day. He can be too much sometimes.”
I sighed and took a seat at the table, suddenly too drained to even negate my feelings. Besides, I couldn’t keep pretending that I wasn’t affected by Aidan. I just had to work hard on quelling these feelings. I had to accept them, but I refused to let them rule me.
“I know. I don’t trust him, and I don’t want to be just one of his many flings.”
“My brother has become quite a playboy lately, but I’m honestly not sure about the way he feels about you.”
“The way he feels about me? What do you mean?”
“I mean that I see the way he acts around you. I see the way he looks at you. It’s not just about lust. I think that he might actually feel something—”
“Don’t be absurd. We talked about this already. He already told me how he felt back then about me. I won’t be delusional again.”
“Cat, that was ten years ago and you’re still holding a grudge against him. What if he has changed? That’s a lot of time for a person to change, you know.”
What if he changed to worse? Several years ago—when I was still in the phase in which I couldn’t stop thinking about him—I googled and found pictures of him with different girls. He was a sexy billionaire every girl wanted, and he certainly knew how to work his charms. I wouldn’t let him use this to get me into his bed. No.
“Well, changed or not, I haven’t forgiven him you know.” My smile was bitter, reflecting my inner state. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to.”
“I understand, but it’s not healthy for you. Besides, we can’t know for sure if that’s how he really felt. Maybe—”
“Oh please, Elle. Of course, he meant that. He didn’t like me and he thought nothing more of me than his little sister’s best friend. It would be even worse if you ask me if he didn’t mean it but broke my heart on purpose.”
She shook her head, clearly exasperated with the topic. “But then why did he return your kiss?”
“I don’t know!”
I was getting irritated with Elle now because she was digging up the past. I wanted to forget the night when I foolishly thought that he felt something for me. We’d thrown him a farewell party and we were all drunk. I’d felt horrible that evening because I’d felt we’d been getting closer, yet he chose to go away.
Nobody understood his decision to devote the next few years of his life to the army. He’d never been interested in it, so the day he announced his decision was the day my heart started to break.
So that last night I decided to drown my sorrow in alcohol and pretend I was okay with him leaving. Spurred by the liquid courage, I led him to his room and told him I would miss him. A couple of minutes later, we were locked in a heated embrace, kissing the hell out of each other, and it almost turned into something more...
Just as his fingers connected with the first button of my dress, he stopped and moved away, apologizing profusely. He told me he was drunk and couldn’t think clearly. He told me that was a mistake and he didn’t mean to hurt me.
The last words I remembered before I shut down due to overwhelming pain and regret were that he didn’t see me as anything else but Elle’s best friend.
He didn’t share the same feelings. That was more than clear.
After that, I left his room and he left my life. So it was that I never wanted another heartbreak.
I barely got through it then, and I had no desire for a repeat performance.
“Thank you for worrying about me, but I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl now.” I grinned and decided to push it aside. I’d been stressing myself enough since yesterday. Now all I wanted was to go to the balcony and enjoy the stunning view while working on new sketching ideas.
”Gotcha. By the way, let’s go out tonight.”
“Okay. What did you have in mind?”
“A new club opened recently and they play great music. Aaand, one particular bartender is pretty nice.” She winked at me and I laughed, knowing that if she wanted, she could have any man with just a flick of her finger. She was good with men, so I was sure she would have him in her bed in no time.
“Then we have a deal. I wouldn’t mind hooking up with some cute bartender myself.”
“Nice. Then it’s settled. Tonight, girl, it’s going to be amazing.”
Yeah. Definitely.
4
The club was packed with people by the time Elle and I arrived. Elle had managed to convince me to wear one of her dresses again, much to her delight, so we were dressed similarly—in short, red dresses and almost ridiculously high stilettos, which drew a fair amount of attention to us from the moment we entered. I was more than ready to get some alcohol into my system and dance, eager to join the sea of swaying bodies on the dance floor.
It was hot and the music was pretty loud, but I needed this noise and distraction from one particular person who had occupied my thoughts more times than I could count.
“Come on. I already see Rick,” she said and took my hand, guiding us through the crowd toward the bar.
Now that we got closer to the long circular bar in the middle of the room, I was also able to spot Rick, who was the bartender Elle had told me about today. He was tall and slim, and he wore a beard and a couple of piercings that decorated his earlobes, mouth, and nose. I could even see the outline of his tattoo on the neck right above his shirt, which completed his look. He was exactly Elle’s type, so it was no wonder he’d caught her attention in the first place.
Just as I finished off my third tequila, two guys approached us, but since Elle was determined to hook up with Rick, she politely refused the guy who hit on her. That left me and Jordan, who had pulled me to the dance floor and used his chance to get as close to me as possible.
His hands on my hips held me firmly, sliding down with each passing second until he cupped my ass and pressed me against his body.
“You’re so sexy,” he muttered into my ear, but for some reason, I didn’t feel as excited about it as I’d expected. Instead, Aidan’s face flashed in my mind, and I wished it was him who was holding me like this.
No way. I was obviously too drunk. I should erase Aidan from my mind.
“I could say the same to you,” I told him and was about to kiss him, but then the unexpected happened.
“Get away from her,” Aidan’s stern voice interrupted our little bubble, ruining the moment.
“Aidan? What the hell?” Where did he come from?
He wasn’t even looking at me, glaring at Jordan in the way that made me feel like he was going to punch him any second. His eyes fell to Jordan’s hands on my ass, and they flashed with fury. A moment later, he stepped between us and pushed Jordan away.
“Don’t touch her,” he hissed, taking me completely by surprise.
“What are you doing? Stop this!” I yelled, staring daggers at him, but he didn’t even ackno
wledge me, hovering over Jordan menacingly.
Aidan was taller and more muscular than Jordan, so if he decided to make his fist acquainted with Jordan’s face, it wouldn’t end well for Jordan.
“What are you doing, man? I saw her first.”
Aidan’s taut face looked scary as he stared down at Jordan. “Move the fuck away from her or I’ll break your jaw.”
I winced at his menacing tone, surprised at the amount of hostility in it. I was so mad at him now that I couldn’t even find the right words. Finally, after a couple of seconds, Jordan stepped back with his arms raised in the air defensively in the air.
“Whatever, man. It’s not like she’s that special,” he spat, barely sparing me a glance and turned around to leave.
“Motherfuc—”
“Stop this!” I pulled him by the arm when he moved to grab Jordan, trying my hardest to keep him in place and prevent this from escalating into something ugly. “Leave him alone!”
I was so furious with Aidan that I couldn’t even muster enough anger at Jordan’s crude words. Aidan faced me, deciding to leave Jordan be, and shot me a glare.
“Did you seriously plan to be with that loser?”
“What is wrong with you, Aidan Dowell?!” I was screaming at him now, thankful that others couldn’t quite hear me due to the loud music blasting from the speakers. “Are you out of your mind?!”
“I’m out of my mind? You’re out of your mind! Did you even look at him? He’s a douchebag who just wants to get into your pants!”
“Takes one douchebag to know another,” I bit back, crossing my arms over my breasts. Just like the previous time, this action drew his eyes to my breasts, but I didn’t let that deter me from what was really important now. “You can’t control me like this! I have the right to be with whomever I want, douchebag or not.”
He took a menacing step toward me, leaving no distance between us. I couldn’t even move backward because if I did, I would bump into the people dancing right behind me, so I was pretty much stuck.
“I won’t let you do this to yourself. You deserve better than a lousy one night stand.”
I couldn’t believe him! “As I said, I have the right to be with whomever I want. I’m old enough to make my own decisions. Besides, you aren’t my father or brother. I don’t know what’s going through your mind, but nothing gives you the right to—”
I moved past him, determined to get away, but he stopped me when he grabbed my upper arm and pressed me against his body, interrupting the flow of my angry words.
“I have the right, Catherine. And do you know why? Because it’s me who you want. Not some stupid asshole in this downtown club, me.”
I didn’t even have time to process or even react to his words, because the next thing I knew, he was kissing me. He ran his hands through my hair and left them on the back of my head, holding it firmly as he kissed me with passion. Hot pressure settled in my chest when our tongues connected, and before I could even stop myself, I placed my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me, eliminating the gap between us.
He moved his hand down my back and cupped my ass, pressing it against his huge erection, which made me soaking wet.
“Mmm, so hot,” he muttered against my lips before he left open-mouthed kisses all over my jaw and neck. At the same time, he was grinding slowly against me, making me more and more aroused, until I was seconds away from begging him to take me right here.
What was happening to me? Was I actually that drunk already?
Once more, the pressing thought of Aidan breaking my heart returned to haunt me, and I tried my best to get away from him, cursing myself for letting him affect me this easily.
“Stop this, Aidan.”
My attempts to push him off me were feeble compared to his strength and the way he held me against him, but it seemed that he’d seen something in my eyes because he finally let me go.
“Catherine, don’t do this now—”
“No! Don’t you ‘don’t do this’ me! You can’t just kiss me like nothing ever happened! It happened! You broke my heart ten years ago and you didn’t even care.”
He seemed troubled, looking at me like he was hurting inside, but that couldn’t be right. “Catherine—”
“No! I don’t want to hear you say a word. You left and in that moment you lost any right to interfere with my life. I’ll be out of your place as soon as I find a new one, and then we won’t see each other ever again. But until then, don’t you dare chase off the guys I’m interested in. Are we clear?” I didn’t wait for him to actually respond to my rant, already on my way to Elle.
Phew! That felt good!
Elle’s smile matched mine. “Hey! Have you won a lottery or something? You seem pretty content. Or does it have anything to do with Jordan?” She winked at me, causing a slight blush on my cheeks.
I was relieved that she hadn’t actually seen what happened between Aidan and me. I glanced over my shoulder to check if he was still on the dance floor, but he was gone.
“Actually, it’s about your brother.”
A frown replaced her smile. “My brother? Why? What happened?”
“He came here.”
Her eyes grew huge. “What?! Right here?” She looked around us, searching for him. “But he didn’t mention anything to me about coming when I told him about this place. Where is he now?”
“Wait, what? You told him we were coming here?”
“Well, yeah.” She shrugged her shoulders. “He asked me why I was dressing up. I couldn’t just lie to him, you know.”
I let out a long sigh and took another shot of tequila that Rick had passed me, downing it in one gulp. The burn in my throat was rather enjoyable. I didn’t particularly like alcohol, but at this moment I needed it to help me forget all this drama with Aidan.
“Never mind. Well, he separated Jordan and me—quite aggressively, if I might add—and then we kissed. And now he is gone, apparently.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait!” She placed her hands on my shoulders and levelled her face with mine. “He did what? You did what?”
A blush covered my cheeks again, but I refused to make a big deal out of it. It felt weird talking about her brother to her, even though a long time ago she was our biggest supporter.
I looked away, finding a nearby couple kissing pretty interesting all of a sudden. “Our kiss is irrelevant. I refused him in the end. What I want to say is that he can’t act like he owns me or something. He can’t control me! I don’t know why he’s acting like a possessive gorilla, but I put him in his place.”
Elle almost choked on her own laughter, looking at me like I’d gone crazy. When she finally managed to calm down, she ordered another tequila and we clinked our glasses, cheering to being awesome. Just like the previous one, I finished this shot in a blink of an eye.
“On a serious note, though, I think there’s something going on with Aidan,” she said.
My vision had become slightly blurry, so I had to squint at her to see her clearly. “What do you mean?”
“Before you came, he never acted like this. He was the one who called the shots and girls always played to his tune. But every time he’s next to you, he acts strangely.”
“Aidan is always strange. Maybe he’s gone cuckoo?” I made a cuckoo sign, drawing another fit of laughter out of her.
“Probably. He does need to check his brain, but anyway, I think—and please, don’t get mad at me—but I think he feels something for you.”
My jaw dropped, and all I was able to do for the next couple of seconds was to stare at her in pure astonishment. “Feels something? He’s just messing with me! He’s a playboy and he just wants to use me.”
“Hey, Cat, I know that what he did ten years ago was bad, but he wouldn’t do this to you. Besides, you’re my best friend, and he wouldn’t mess with you like this.”
“Then how do you explain his kisses?”
“He likes you. I told you.”
“Nah. I
refused to believe that.”
Her expression told me that she was tired of my denial. “Whatever floats your boat.”
We spent the rest of the night chatting, but I couldn’t quite focus on our conversation when all I could think about was Aidan and the possibility that he was interested in me. The problem was that if he really felt something for me, I had no idea how to deal with that. Even if everything he did was genuine and with the best intention, I couldn’t let myself fall for him again.
Oh, who was I kidding? I had already fallen for him, and I had no idea what to do.
It was past midnight when I called a taxi and returned to Aidan’s place, leaving Elle with Rick. They were going to his place, so I was sure she would get some action.
I was swaying slightly by the time I entered the apartment, not bothering to turn on the lights. I trudged through the place, intent on getting out on the balcony and enjoying some fresh night air, but I froze in the living room when I spotted a dark figure...
“Aidan? What are you doing?”
He was sitting in the armchair with a glass of whiskey in his hand. Even in the dark, I could see the sizzling intensity in his eyes as he scanned my body, making me feel completely naked. I squirmed, desire washing all over me.
“You didn’t end up with anyone tonight? Or did you already bang someone before you came here?”
His rude words sliced me deeply, opening my old wounds. He was drunk. I could discern the redness in his eyes as he glared at me, and I took a cautious step back.
“I don’t know what your problem is, but I won’t let you speak to me like this. I’m going to sleep now.”
I didn’t manage to make even two steps when he caught me, letting his glass of whiskey fall. The contents spilled all over his white carpet, but he didn’t even pay attention to it, already pinning me against the wall.
“You’re testing my patience, Catherine. All this time... All these years, I’ve been dying to touch you, get a taste of you, have you.” His words made my heartbeat skyrocket, and my insides clenched with need and desire. He’d wanted me. But then why had he rejected me in the first place? “You’ve been on my mind all the time, and now that you’re here, you’re doing this on purpose. You’re trying to push me away as a punishment for what I did ten years ago—”
Always You: A Billionaire Second Chance Romance Page 3