“I want this to be a safe place for Audrey,” she explained. “A place where she can express all her emotions without fear of reprisal.”
“She doesn’t fear reprisal from me!” Aiden snapped defensively. “I never punish her!”
The psychologist smiled patiently.
“I know,” she replied quietly, meaningfully. “She has little in the way of boundaries or discipline and as hard as it might be for you to enforce rules, given her history of loss and…”
She trailed off as if she realized she had said more than she intended.
“And what?” Aiden demanded.
“Nothing,” she said quickly. “I am suggesting that you should enforce her punishments, no matter how hard it might be for you. If she feels like she can get away with too much, she will continue to push and sometimes, that can go too far. At her age, her brain is still developing. Her impulse control is poor and if she has too much leeway…”
An image of Xander automatically popped into his mind and Aiden’s blood ran cold.
What did Audrey tell her?
He gazed at her face, hoping to read any indication of what his daughter may have said but Dr. Pierce’s face remained stoic.
A combination of worry and desire tickled his gut as he stared at her.
She’s so beautiful, he thought, his eyes trailing over the lines of her perfectly carved face and resting on the sweet pink of her lips.
I wonder if her other lips are the same shade.
The thought was so unlike one he would usually have, for a moment, Aiden wondered if his twin had not taken him over.
But the rush of heat building in his groin was not due to anything but the feelings Sage seemed to bring out in him. The attraction he felt toward her was undeniable and growing exponentially, it seemed.
You can’t sleep with your daughter’s therapist, he told himself, wanting to slap his own face at the insanity of the idea.
As if he didn’t have enough to worry about without bringing more issues into his life.
There was no room for another woman to get close to him. Hiding who he was from Jamie had been hard enough, even though he had not used his abilities in years.
When Audrey had begun showing signs of her own powers, Aiden had pulled double duty, running interference as his daughter struggled to control herself in her confusion.
I can’t let her secret out any more than I can let mine go, he thought, shoving the hard-to-ignore concept of Sage ass-up over the arm of the loveseat while he thrust into her from behind out of his mind.
The bulge in his pants was unmistakable and Aiden discretely adjusted his raincoat, rising quickly to turn his body.
“Anything else I should know?” he asked, suddenly needing to escape before he was caught, ready to burst out of his pants.
“One step at a time, Mr. Van Hoyt,” she told him, pushing herself off the desk and coming toward him.
Fuck, she’s only getting me harder – and she isn’t even trying, he thought, annoyed with his own cock and its insistence to be a pain in the ass, willing the tell-tale rod in his crotch to stay hidden.
“Call me Aiden,” he told her and before he could stop himself, he turned to look at her. “I want to take you out to dinner.”
Her mouth parted in surprise and Aiden almost closed his eyes, waiting for the rejection which would follow.
Of course, she can’t have dinner with me! He thought, furious with his lack of self-control. What the hell is wrong with you? All the stress is getting to you.
“I would like that,” she breathed, and it was Aiden’s turn to be shocked.
“Good,” he said slowly. “I’ll…call you?”
She nodded, her own face appearing as dazed as he felt.
He waited for her to provide a private phone number and after a second, she seemed to clue in, abruptly turning back to her desk to scrawl her number onto a piece of paper and hand it to him.
“That’s my cell…and my home,” she told him, a slight crack in her voice.
If we both know this is so wrong, why are we doing it? He wondered but it didn’t mean he was going to be the one to blow the whistle on it.
Maybe if we just screw once, we’ll get this attraction out of our system and carry on with our lives like normal people, he reasoned, but there was something else going on, something he didn’t want to admit to himself.
Aiden wanted to keep Sage close in case she uncovered the secret he had worked so hard to hide over the years.
But which came first? The attraction or the need to protect my daughter?
Aiden again tossed the doubt aside, wondering why he always second-guessed himself.
“I’ll…wait for your call?” she half-asked and he smiled, nodding.
“Are you free for dinner tonight?” he decided suddenly. Her bright blue eyes widened, and she nodded. He noticed the pulse in her throat leaping, and it caused another surge of heat to flow to his dick.
“Yes,” she breathed without hesitation and Aiden’s smile grew.
“Then I’ll call you to find out where to pick you up.”
He turned to leave but Sage’s voice stopped him.
“Aiden…”
“Yes?”
“We need to keep this very quiet,” she told him in a low voice. “Audrey can’t know. Nor should anyone else.”
He nodded slowly.
“Dinner in the city then?” he asked lightly and she visibly exhaled.
“Yes,” she answered gratefully. “That would be perfect.”
Aiden opened the door, a slight flush on his face.
“Why are you smiling like that?” Audrey asked, instantly suspicious.
“Hmm? No, I’m not grinning,” he replied, but he had a hard time not thinking about what Sage Pierce looked like, naked and writhing.
“I wouldn’t smile if I were you,” Audrey pouted as they waited for the elevator. Aiden glanced back casually to see if the doctor was still standing in the doorway watching.
She was.
“Oh? Why not?” Aiden replied, offering Sage a smile.
“Because I told her about my power. She knows about us both.”
Chapter Six
“Sir, how much longer should we wait?”
Drake’s mouth became a fine line, but he didn’t answer his assistant, his eyes trained on the house as he wrestled with himself.
I’m getting too old, he told himself. I should have given up when I was still filled with hope for the future, for the boys and for myself.
“Sir, I feel like – “
“Smythe! How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t give a rat’s ass how you feel!”
He reached for the car door, stepping onto the pavement.
When he turned to secure the vehicle, he caught a glimpse of the younger man’s face and Drake shook his head in bemusement.
He knew I would jump out of the car the minute he tried to tell me this was pointless, he realized. Am I becoming predictable?
The idea gave him shivers of apprehension. If Smythe could already read him like a book, how long would it be before Oculus was on his tail again?
If they aren’t already.
Drake inhaled and walked up the flagstone way toward the colonial style house, his hopes not as high as he approached.
Xander warned you that he won’t be willing. But I must try, even if it means another failure.
His mind turned to his oldest son, Ryder, who had not been overly happy to make his father’s re-acquaintance.
A long finger jabbed at the doorbell and he heard the chime reverberate through the house.
Drake glanced back at the heavily tinted SUV waiting in the driveway, noting that there was no other vehicle parked there.
His eyes took in the pink child’s bicycle and scattered toys, his eyes narrowing as he tried to calculate their significance.
A niece maybe?
He realized he knew very little about Xander’s twin. It was the one subject Xa
nder had put off limits - strictly. He said that if his twin wanted to join them in their fight against Oculus, he would tell them about himself in his own time.
It was a strange sort of loyalty, Drake thought. He couldn’t comprehend why any of his sons wouldn’t want to join them.
But those toys, he mused. Why were they here? It had never occurred to him that any of his sons would have children. Really, nothing had occurred to him except building his army and defeating Oculus.
And exacting my revenge on the group who ruined my life, the people who killed Shirley and turned my boys inside out. A con artist, an assassin, a clandestine operative and a…
He realized he had no idea what Aiden did for a living, but from what he could glean, it did not seem to follow in the footsteps of his other brothers.
But Drake was certain if Aiden or his siblings had bred, none of their offspring would be female. Conways did not have girls. Genetically, it was impossible…wasn’t it?
A stab of worry struck Drake, but it was one with which he was familiar. He had been consumed by it several times over the years.
How much did he really know about what had been done to him when he was in the military? He only knew what he had been told by the government, but nothing had aligned with what he knew as fact.
You can’t even say for certain that it was your own country who performed the experiments on you.
“Hello.”
He almost jumped as the door swung inward and he was facing a middle-aged woman staring at him expectantly.
There was no suspicion in her face, nothing but genuine curiosity as she stared at him and Drake tried to remember the last time he had appeared on anyone’s doorstep to be greeted with a smile.
“Hello,” he said, trying to regain his composure. “I am looking for Aiden…Van Hoyt. Is he home?”
The woman shook her white-blonde head.
“I’m sorry, he’s out for the evening. Are you a client? I can take your paperwork and will call you on Monday.”
Drake’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“A client?” he echoed, looking around for a sign to indicate what business his son might run from the well-manicured house.
“Oh,” the woman laughed. “It’s tax season. I just assume everyone is dropping off their receipts. Sorry. Can I leave a message for Aiden?”
Drake gaped at her, uncomprehendingly.
“He -he’s an accountant?” he guessed, and she eyed him, her eyes narrowing for the first time.
“Who are you?” she asked sharply, and Drake shook his head, trying to contain his dubiousness.
“He doesn’t know me…I mean, I knew him as a child…never mind. When will he be home?”
She stared at him as if debating whether to accept his story.
Over her shoulder, Drake saw a flurry of movement.
“I’m not sure. Late, most likely. Who should I say stopped by?”
Suddenly, a pair of solemn grey eyes poked out at him and Drake was again startled by the face of a girl staring back at him.
The child’s eyes narrowed as she stared at him, their gazes locking.
“My name is Drake Conway. I’ll…come back tomorrow,” Drake said quickly, stepping back. But his gaze was still locked on the young girl.
“He won’t be here tomorrow,” the child told him. “You should come back on Sunday.”
Drake nodded slowly.
“Thank you,” he replied, tearing his eyes from her face to give her caretaker a short smile.
The door closed at his back, but Drake could not help but turn back to look at the girl who remained in the entranceway window, peering out at him.
You have the same eyes as my dad.
The message came straight through to his mind, and it stunned Drake to his core as he froze in place.
Aiden is your father? He asked her. Her smoky eyes grew to saucers and she jumped back, the curtain falling where her face had been, but Drake did not move.
Can you hear me? He called out to her. What’s your name?
There was no answer, but goosebumps erupted over Drake’s arms as he remembered all the silent conversations he’d had with the boys when they were young.
And now it seemed that not only had Aiden fathered a girl, but she could communicate telepathically too.
He wanted to pound on the door, demanding the girl come out and speak to him but he dared not scare her any more.
All he could do was wait.
Again.
Part II
Chapter Seven
The look in his eyes told her that they were not going to make it to the restaurant, but Sage was just fine with that – she had needed this moment ever since the first time she had seen Aiden. What was it about him that just clicked for her? Every time he was around, rational thought fled and she was just a hot mess of desire for him. God knew he was hot as sin, but jeez, really? I’ve never been this way with any other guy. Figures that I’m falling for the one guy I shouldn’t be with.
His eyes ran up her body slowly and she saw the heat in them grow, smoldering as he took her in. She was wearing a silky white sheath dress that showed off her curves. Her hair was upswept and her back was exposed, the curve of her ass being hugged by the soft material. “You look beautiful,” he told her gruffly, stepping inside the condo, a bouquet of wildflowers in his hands.
Damn. He brought flowers. How the hell could I resist him even if I was so inclined?
She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had brought her flowers.
“Thank you,” she breathed, placing the stems in a crystal vase as he stood watching her, the lust in his face almost tangible. “And thank you for the flowers.”
He pinned her with his gaze, the intensity of it almost enough to set her on fire. Sage knew then that any resolve she may have deluded herself into believing she had, was gone.
“I made reservations at La Luce,” he told her gruffly, slowly stepping toward her, and she nodded.
“That’s one of my favorite places,” she told him, her pulse beginning to race at the scent of his aftershave.
“Let me help you with that,” he said, placing an arm on either side of her to take over the flower arrangement. She gasped slightly a moment later when he lifted her arm, placing it around the back of his neck. He trailed his fingers lightly down her side, brushing ever so slightly along the outside curve of her breast. Her breath hitched as her breasts seemed to swell, almost as if they were seeking his touch. He lowered his mouth to the exposed curve of her neck, placing a soft kiss there, a brand. Awareness shot straight through her, the light touch electrifying all of her nerve endings.
She moaned softly, her body melting into his as he breathed in, taking in the scent of her, pressing his body subtly against her back. He drew a deep breath at her neck, licking the tender skin there.
“Chanel?” he asked lightly as he continued to trail the backs of his fingers along the arch of her ribcage. Barely touching. But having a cataclysmic effect. She trembled, needing a rougher touch, her breasts straining to come in contact with him.
She nodded, not trusting her voice, but she arched her back slightly, wanting to feel his hardness against the curve of her buttocks.
Sage gasped, at first unsure if the rod pressed against the tight material was, in fact, all him.
His lips grazed the flesh where her shoulder met her throat and her breath hitched.
“Feel this?” he rasped. “Do you want it?”
Her lips parted, but only a sigh emerged. Instead of answering, she rubbed her ass against him, rotating in slow sensual circles, begging him to give her more.
His delicious scent was filling her, making her breath in more deeply, which thrust her breasts even farther forward, as if begging for his attention. Oh God, I feel him, and I want him, every inch of his hard, strong body pressing into me.
God, this is crazy.
“I don’t know what it is about you,” he rasped. “But I’ve never needed to tou
ch someone as much as I need to touch you.”
The words sent more heat through her body. Instead of answering him, she turned in his arms, touching her lips to his, tasting him, lingering in the feeling of him.
For a long second, he was still, his mouth as soft as silk, his taste exploding on her tongue. She licked at his lips, and a shudder went through him.
Then as if a dam had burst, something like a growl escaped him, and suddenly he pushed her against the counter and his tongue invaded her mouth, his lips hard and insistent. There’s nothing soft about him anymore. He’s all steel and unyielding, hot and demanding. She wanted him on her, exploring every inch of her body. He seemed to sense the urgency in her, his strong arms lifting her onto the counter unexpectedly, palms spreading her knees apart.
Every sweep of his tongue, every shift of his body, every touch feels like it scorched her, marked her, owned her.
Her dress had already lifted, bunched above the curve of her ass as she leaned against his hard body. His hands went to the back, unzipping the Vera Wang dream, and stripped it over her head in one movement. Then he paused, his eyes lingering on her slim form as she sat there on the counter, spread and displayed for him.
“Damn, see what you do to me, Sage?” he ground out as his erection seemed to reach for her, almost peeking out of the waistband of his pants. Holy crap, she thought with wide eyes, that simply can NOT fit inside me. Her pussy clenched at just the sight, moisture flooding her core, as if in preparation for the delicious stretch that was coming.
He hadn’t taken his eyes off her, displayed so prettily in pink panties. He bent forward, ripping through the delicate material and opening her even further to his tongue. Sage groaned, her calves tightening against his shoulders as Aiden’s tongue swept at her like a velvet scarf, hitting precisely the right spots as she slowly swung in rhythm to meet his devastating thrusts.
“Oh my God,” she moaned. Her cries caused his hands to tighten against her cheeks, his fingers probing deeply into her core as she leaned back and let herself go, reveling in the delicious sensations.
His breathing grew ragged, his tongue rougher and Sage reached out to grab for something, knocking the vase over.
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