The thought made my stomach churn.
After returning the bottle of Scotch to the liquor cabinet, I walked to the kitchen and set my glass in the sink. As I came out of the kitchen, I heard the front door. Relief washed over me that she was home, but anxiety was close behind. I had no idea if my words caused too much damage, and if they would be the final thing to make her leave.
From down the hall, I watched her quietly shut the door and remove her shoes. As she leaned over to pick up her shoes, her hair hung across her face, blocking me from seeing her expression. She tiptoed toward me, but with the lights out, it took her a few steps before she saw me.
She really was beautiful.
The contrast of her auburn hair and green eyes. Her dress that hugged every inch, every curve, of her body. Her cheekbones, her lips…She continued down the hall until she reached me. After pausing for a brief moment, she stepped aside to avoid me.
“Can we talk for a second?” I asked. “I need to apologize.”
She stopped again, but didn’t want to look at me. “Yes, you do.”
“What I said was beyond wrong. I don’t know what came over me.”
Of course, I knew what came over me. I was going mad from being so close to this girl, wanting her so bad, that I was acting irrational.
“You know,” she said, turning to face me. “This is the second time you’ve told me you don’t know what came over you. The funny thing is I know what came over you, but I want to hear you say it.”
She caught me off guard because I thought she really didn’t know. There was no way for her to understand what was going on in my brain. While I suspected the attraction was mutual, the constant battle I had in my heart versus my mind was something I couldn’t comprehend her sharing.
“I’m not sure what you want me to say,” I said. “All I can say is I’m sorry.”
She stepped closer to me, dropping her shoes to the floor with an echo. “Okay. You’re sorry, but you still didn’t answer me. I want you to say it. Tell me what came over you.”
Her proximity made me edgy, pushing me into a different direction than where I’d said I’d go. I moved back, and she followed, relentless for an answer.
“I don’t know what you want,” I said.
I stepped back again, and again, she followed. She put her hands on my chest, physically pushing as she continued to coax the truth out of me. I wanted to tell her, to be honest, but I knew once the words were out there, it was done. There’d be no hope.
She looked up at me and held my gaze before pushing up on her tiptoes. There wasn’t going to be any backing down on her part, especially after the way she was working so fucking hard to get my eyes to hers. It was like she knew the truth was hidden behind them, and if she got close enough, she’d see everything.
Her perfume surrounded me along with the hint of whatever cocktails she’d had with Abel.
Her hands pressed against me harder. “Aaron?”
One small dip of my head and the space between us would close. She was so close.
“How was your date?” I said, almost spitting out the last word.
I didn’t know why I asked. Maybe I wanted confirmation she wasn’t into Abel. Maybe I wanted her to say she was into him because it would make things easier.
“You didn’t want me to go out with Abel tonight, did you?” she asked.
I shook my head. It was obvious and admitting to it was one less thing I had to lie about. “No, I didn’t. Now you know what was bothering me.”
“Why didn’t you want me going out with him?”
“Because he’s my brother, and you’re my employee. It seemed like—”
Her eyes dug into me, strong and constant. She still wasn’t backing down. “You aren’t telling me the truth. Tell me the truth, Aaron.”
Her hands and words continued to push me. I wanted nothing more than to dig my hands into her hair, kiss her lips, and bring her to my bed. I wanted to lay her out, strip off her clothes, and fucking devour every inch of her body. I wanted to know what her skin tasted like and how she felt when I fucked her from behind. I wanted her, just her.
“You told me the other night you couldn’t,” she said. “I think you should’ve said shouldn’t.”
I shrugged because I wasn’t sure it mattered. “Maybe.”
“Is what we shouldn’t do the reason you didn’t want me to go out with Abel?”
Her hands moved from pushing on my chest to gripping the white fabric of my shirt. She was losing her patience and rightfully so. I hated it when people did that to me—keeping things hidden because they thought it might hurt. It only hurt when the truth was encased in lies.
I unclenched her hands from my shirt and placed her arms at her side. “Yes. That’s the reason I didn’t want you to go out with Abel.”
She folded her arms across her chest, waiting for more.
“Fine. I’ll say it. There’s obviously something here between us, and we’re both fighting it like crazy. But I can’t fight it anymore,” I said. I paused, taking in a deep breath. “It can’t happen, Callie.”
Her face softened, or maybe it fell. I couldn’t tell.
“I mean, there are too many reasons and too many implications,” I said. “I’m your boss for Christ’s sake. You live here, with me and my daughter. So, I don’t know whether it’s a case of shouldn’t or couldn’t. It’s both. I can’t.”
She bent to pick up her shoes and walked toward the stairs. After ascending three steps, she turned. “That’s all I needed to hear.”
I didn’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t the hurt sketched across her face or the cold tone of her voice. It was deserving. I knew that, but as I watched her leave me, I wasn’t sure if I could keep my word. The screaming inside my brain to follow her, to make her understand, crushed my insides.
She put up a good fight. I’d give her that.
I wished she would’ve fought a little longer.
My resolve, along with my bluff, was crumbling. I knew what was right, and I knew what I wanted. I was almost certain she felt the same.
Even though I laid it all out for her only moments before, if she came to me now, only moments later and told me it was okay, that she wanted me the same, I’d break.
Chapter Thirteen
CALLIE—
I wanted to say something more, but he made himself clear. He could be the respected business owner, the protective father, and the righteous boss, but taking a chance on us was something he wouldn’t do. In a strange way, I was glad. He vocalized all the things I couldn’t, my emotions fighting against logic, the battle of want versus right.
What was right was that we’d stay away from each other. It didn’t matter how he made me feel alive and connected or how I knew I’d never felt this before. I couldn’t, we couldn’t, let it overtake us. There were too many reasons not to.
I flopped facedown on top of my bed, feeling both exhausted and antsy at the same time. After rolling over to my side, I remembered I left my phone in my coat downstairs. Shit. I needed to text Evelyn and have her talk me down from the ledge, a ledge that included me quitting my job, moving back in, and dusting off my Venom pink bloomers.
I waited a half hour before I peeked down the hallway and saw Aaron’s bedroom door was closed. Light illuminated from the gap under his door made it a safe assumption he was in there, and I wouldn’t be running into him.
With gentle steps, I hurried down the hallway and stairs until my bare feet hit the marble floor. I moved fast down the darkened hallway until I reached my coat. Before I even retrieved my phone, I heard it ringing from the front pocket. The Friends theme song alerted me that it was Evelyn calling.
“Hey,” I said, answering.
“Finally!” she said. “I’ve called you like five times.”
“Sorry. I forgot my phone.”
I started walking back down the hallway as Evelyn shouted expletives. Just as I entered the kitchen, she paused to take a breath.
“Obviously. And why are you whispering?”
“Everyone’s sleeping, and I came downstairs to get my phone.”
I turned on the faucet, filling up my glass before continuing. “The date was probably one of the best I ever had, and I have no intentions of going out with him again.”
“Uh. Okay,” she said. “What does that mean?”
“It means neither of us are interested because he knows full well I am only into his brother.”
I took a sip of water as I leaned against the cool granite counter. Evelyn’s silence meant she was processing, and any moment she would explode into either another round of cussing or a barrage of questions.
“Holy shit,” she gasped. “How the fuck did he know that? Did you tell him? Oh, shit. Did Aaron tell him? What did he say? Abel not Aaron, I mean. So, was the whole date thing a setup?”
“I’ll give you the condensed version now, but will fill you in completely tomorrow,” I said, pausing to take another drink. “The date itself and what we discussed really doesn’t matter. Aaron and I talked when I got home and things are much clearer to me now.”
“Are you serious? What did he say?”
“That it didn’t matter if we felt anything for each other, but that it wasn’t going to happen.”
“Wait. He said he felt something for you?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know,” I said, pushing down the lump that had formed in my throat. “Again, it doesn’t matter. It can’t happen. I needed him to be firm with what’s at stake, and that it’s bigger than us. I wish it was different. I know whatever this is doesn’t happen often, and it has never happened to me.”
“Oh, sweetie. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m…tired. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I ended the call and set my phone down next to my water glass. My entire body shook from all the emotions I was processing. All I wanted to do was run home (the home I shared with Evelyn), climb into my bed, and forget about ever meeting Aaron.
“Callie?”
Startled, I spun around to see Aaron standing in the entryway of the kitchen. I placed my hand on my chest as I tried to catch my breath.
“Speak of the devil,” I said. “You scared me.”
“The devil, huh?” he asked, dragging his fingers through his dark hair.
There was no smile, no hint of joking. I didn’t know what he was doing by coming to me again. There was no room left in me to try and figure him out.
“Did you need something?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I heard you down here and—”
“Wait,” I said, stopping him. “Did you hear me on the phone?”
His large shoulders lifted as he took in a deep breath. He didn’t need to say a word. He absolutely did hear. There are times when you’d think to yourself, Wow. Things can’t get much worse than this. Then like magic, it does. This was one of the moments.
I turned back toward the sink, and after a moment, I heard him move, stepping cautiously toward me. I couldn’t face him.
“I didn’t mean to listen,” he said. “But I need to know.”
“What?”
“If what you said was true.”
He came up behind me, but I still couldn’t look at him. I knew if I did I would lose what little control I was holding on to.
His movements got closer.
Closer.
Closer. So close.
My body adhered to the warmth coming off of him, willing me into submission. I knew in my mind I couldn’t do that, but my body, my body was screaming something different to me.
“Calliope,” he whispered into the back of my neck. “Tell me. Please.”
His hands circled my waist, and I lost all resolve when he pulled me into him. His lips grazed my ear. “Tell me,” he repeated.
I was almost light-headed, our bodies melting into each other, his warm mouth breathing softly on my neck. “What do you want me to tell you?”
His grip around my waist tightened, and he spun me around, our faces just inches apart. His eyes lingered over my face, settling on my mouth. He dragged his tongue over his bottom lip, the energy between us enough to make me tremble.
Before I even knew what he was doing, he shifted me away from the sink and picked me up from the waist, lifting me onto the countertop. With his eyes still fixed to mine, he placed his hands on my bare knees, spreading apart my legs.
He stepped into me while lazily dragging his hands from my knees to my hips. His movements continued up my side, increasing pressure while passing my breast and letting a thumb graze over the swell underneath it.
He still hadn’t answered my question when his hands reached my neck, and he intertwined his fingers behind it.
He leaned forward. “Tell me it’s okay for me to kiss you. I need you to say this is okay,” he begged.
I shut my eyes tightly, knowing the only way I could refuse him would be if I didn’t have to see him. “I can’t. You said—”
“Look at me,” he demanded.
I should’ve shouted at him that enough was enough, and we couldn’t keep doing this dance. I should’ve reminded him about Delilah and how she was the most important thing in all of this. I should’ve told him we both knew it was wrong. I should’ve told him that despite the pull, the unstoppable force chipping away at our resolve, we could never be right together because the twenty-four-year-old nanny wouldn’t be enough for a man like him. I couldn’t ever be enough for him.
I should’ve said all these things.
I should’ve pushed past him and run out of the kitchen.
But I didn’t do or say any of those things.
Instead, I did the one thing I knew I shouldn’t. I opened my eyes, met his, and willed myself to stay strong.
He reached his other hand up to the side of my face, cautiously and painfully slow. “I know you feel it, too. I see it in the way you look at me, the way your entire body responds when I move close. I just heard you say the words on the phone. I’m telling you I feel it, too. I’ve fought it, but…” He trailed off.
I tilted my head, resting my cheek into his touch. Everything about him surrounded me, and I fought against the voice inside of me, the screaming voice that shouted this was wrong.
But there was another voice that told me that this was maybe a once-in-a-lifetime thing, that if I walked away I’d never feel this kind of intense pull to another man again. Yeah. That voice was so much louder.
“Are you sure?” I whispered. “Only if you’re sure.”
His expression looked almost pained, and I knew he was battling the same voices in his own mind. “I’m not sure, but I can’t walk away anymore.”
He was leaving it in my hands. It was all me. I knew what I should do, but…
I grabbed his shirt in two fists and pulled him toward me, our lips almost touching. “It’s okay.”
Our lips connected in a fiery passion and my body lit up everywhere. The answer was right there. This was what I wanted.
And it was what he wanted, too.
It was in the way he kissed me. The way his hands forced me closer to him. The sounds he made, mumbled against my lips. My entire body tingled and pulsed.
My legs wrapped around his waist, begging him to keep going and to assure him I was as sure as he was. My hands, my fingers…my entire being wanted him without any barriers. There had already been too many barriers between us, and I wanted nothing to come between us and this moment.
Except something could and I had to ask him about it. I pushed him away gently. “Delilah. What if…?”
“Don’t worry,” he interrupted breathlessly. “The gate is up at the top of the stairs. She won’t come down.”
Our lips were back on each other’s in a half second, and the kisses took on a ferocious tempo,
the softness of our lips mixed with the subtle bites of urgency. His tongue slid into my mouth effortlessly, and when my tongue met his, our excitement was lifted to an entirely different level. He tasted of mint and alcohol and of him, and I wanted to drink him in.
His hands moved to my hips where he gripped the sides of my dress roughly and pulled me further into him. His lips left my mouth and traveled to the crook of my neck. Kissing, sucking, and running his tongue along my skin.
“Please don’t stop. Please,” I pleaded.
His nose ran along the side of my jaw until he reached my ear. “I’m not stopping. I won’t,” he whispered.
“Promise?”
His hot breath mixed with words returned to my ear. “I’m never fucking stopping again. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone in my life.”
“Me, too.”
“Feel that?” He swiveled and jerked his hips into me, his erection rubbing against me. “That’s how much I want you.”
Instinctively, I ground myself into him harder, wanting him to feel how much I wanted him. As if he didn’t trust what he was feeling, he pushed my skirt up further and his hand dipped between my legs.
“Jesus,” he hissed.
His mouth was back on mine before I could even register his movement, kissing me deeply.
I wanted, I needed, more of him. Sliding my hands around his waist and under his shirt, my fingers brushed along his smooth, warm skin. I gripped the bottom of his shirt just as he broke our kiss and leaned his forehead against mine.
“Your hands on me, they feel so good,” he whispered.
I gripped his shirt at the hem, causing him to pause as I lifted it over his head. The shirt was tossed to the floor, and I took in the perfection of his bare chest, running my fingers over his hard muscles.
“I want to feel you everywhere,” I said.
He worked his mouth down my neck until he reached just below my collarbone, burning a path down my chest to in between my breasts. His fingers slipped under the small straps of my dress and eased them down with a deliberate, determined resolve, until my breasts spilled out from the top.
So Twisted Page 11