He uncrossed his arms. “You’re right. You do mean more to me than any lap dancer, stripper, book-club member or any other woman out there, Jillian,” he said in a soft tone. “And you were wrong to think I missed my old life. What I miss is being with you. I think we handled things okay that first year, but during those second and third years, because of trying to make that dual residency program work and still keep you at the top of the list, things became difficult for me. Then in the third year, I was the one with focusing issues. It became harder and harder to keep our long-distance affair afloat and stay focused at work. And the secrecy only added more stress. But I knew if I complained to you about it, that it would only stress you out and make you lose focus on what you needed to do.
“You were young when we started our affair. Only twenty-one. And you hadn’t dated much. In all honesty, probably not at all, because I refuse to count that dude you dated in high school. So deep down I knew you weren’t quite ready for the type of relationship I wanted. But I loved you and I wanted you and I figured everything would work out. I knew how challenging medical school could be and I wanted to make your life as calm as possible. I didn’t want to be the one to add to your stress.”
He paused. “But it looks like I did anyway. I tried to make the best of it, but unfortunately sometimes when we talked, I was in one of my foul moods because of stress. I would get an attitude with you instead of talking to you about it. At no time should I have made you feel that you deserved my anger. I apologize. I regret doing that.”
“It’s okay,” Jillian said, pulling out a chair. “Come sit down and eat. Your food is getting cold.”
She watched him move away from the door. When he reached the table, she skirted back so he could sit down. When he sat, he reached out, grabbed her around the waist and brought her down to his lap.
“Aidan! What do you think you’re doing?”
He wrapped both arms around her so she wouldn’t go anywhere. “What I should have done last night. Brought you back here and put you in my lap, wrapped my arms around you and convinced you that I meant everything I said about your value to me. Instead I got upset and walked away.”
She pressed her forehead to his and whispered, “Sorry I made you upset with me last night.”
“I love you so much, Jillian, and when I think you don’t believe just how much I love you, how much you mean to me, I get frustrated and wonder just what else I have to do. I’m not a perfect man. I’m human. I’m going to make mistakes. We both are. But the one thing I won’t do is betray your love with another woman. Those days are over for me. You’re all the woman I’ll ever need.”
She leaned back from him to look in his eyes. “I believe you, Aidan. I won’t lie and say I’ll never get jealous, but I can say it’ll be because I’m questioning the woman’s motives, not yours.”
And she really meant that. When he hadn’t come down for breakfast she had gone into the Terelle Dining Room to eat alone. She ran into the book-club ladies and ended up eating breakfast with them and enjoying herself. Once Aidan had made it clear last night that he was not available, they had put a lid on their man-hunter instincts. Jillian and the six women had a lot in common, since they were all recent medical-school graduates, and they enjoyed sharing their experiences over breakfast. They invited her to join them for shopping at some point during their two days in Rome and she agreed to do that.
She shifted in Aidan’s lap to find a more comfortable position.
“I wouldn’t do that too many times if I were you,” he warned in a husky whisper.
A hot wave of desire washed over her. He was looking at her with those dark, penetrating eyes of eyes. The same ones that could arouse her as no man ever had...or would. “Why not?”
If he was going to give her a warning, she wanted him to explain himself, although she knew what he meant.
“Because if you keep it up, you might become my breakfast.”
The thought of that happening had the muscles between her legs tightening, and she was aware that every hormone in her body was downright sizzling. “But you like pancakes and syrup,” she said innocently.
A smile spread across his lips. “But I like your taste better.”
“Do you?” she asked, intentionally shifting again to lean forward so that she could bury her face in the hollow of his throat. He was shirtless and she loved getting close to him, drinking in his scent.
“You did it again.”
She leaned back and met his gaze. “Did I?”
“Yes.”
She intentionally shifted in his lap when she lowered her head to lick the upper part of his chest. She loved the salty taste of his flesh and loved even more the moan she heard from his lips.
“It’s been a year, Jillian. If I get you in my bed today it will be a long time before I let you out.”
“And miss touring Monte Carlo? The ship has already docked.”
“We have time.” He suddenly stood, with her in his arms, and she quickly grabbed him around the neck and held on. He chuckled. “Trust me. I’m not going to let you fall.” He headed for the bedroom.
“Now to enjoy breakfast, the Aidan Westmoreland way,” he said, easing her down on the bed. He stood back and stared at her for a long moment. “I want you so much I ache. I desire you so much I throb. And I will always love you, even after drawing my last breath.”
For the second time that day, she fought back tears. “Oh, Aidan. I want, desire and love you, too. Just as much.”
He leaned down and removed her shoes before removing every stitch of her clothing with a skill only he had perfected. When she lay there naked before him, he slid his pj’s down his legs. “Lie still for a minute. There’s something I want to do,” he instructed in a throaty tone.
That’s when Jillian saw the bottle of syrup he’d brought into the bedroom with them. She looked at the bottle and then looked up at him. “You are kidding, right?”
“Do I look like I’m kidding?” he asked, removing the top.
She swallowed. No, he definitely didn’t look as if he was kidding. In fact he looked totally serious. Too serious. “But I’m going to be all sticky,” she reasoned. All she could think about was how glad she was for the bikini wax she’d gotten at the spa yesterday.
“You won’t be sticky for long. I plan to lick it all off you and then we’ll shower together.”
“Aidan!” She squealed when she felt the thick liquid touch her skin. Aidan made good on his word. He dripped it all over her chest, making sure there was a lot covering her breasts, around her navel and lower still. He laid it on thick between her legs, drenching her womanly core.
And then he used his tongue to drive her insane with pleasure while taking his time to lick off all the syrup. The flick of his tongue sent sensuous shivers down her spine, and all she could do was lie there and moan while encased in a cloud of sensations.
He used his mouth as a bearer of pleasure as he laved her breasts, drawing the nipples between his lips and sucking on the turgid buds with a greed that made her womb contract. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take when his mouth lowered to her stomach. She reached down and buried her fingers in his scalp as his mouth traced a hungry path around her navel.
Moments later he lifted his head to stare at her, deliberately licking his lips. They both knew where he was headed next. The look on his face said he wanted her to know he intended to go for the gusto.
And he did.
Jillian screamed his name the moment his tongue entered her, sending shockwaves of a gigantic orgasm through her body. His hot and greedy tongue had desire clawing at her insides, heightening her pulse. And when she felt another orgasm coming on the heels of the first, she knew it was time she took control. Otherwise, Aidan would lick her crazy.
With all the strength she could muster she tried to shift their bodies, which was hard to do since his mouth was on her while his hands held tight to her hips. When she saw there was no way she could make Aidan budge
until he got his fill, she gave in to another scream when a second orgasm hit.
He finally lifted his head, smiled at her while licking his lips and then eased his body over hers. “I told you I was going to lick it all off you, baby.”
Yes, he had. Then his engorged erection slid inside of her. All she recalled after that was her brain taking a holiday as passion overtook her, driving her over the edge, bringing her back, then driving her to the edge again.
He thrust hard, all the way to the hilt and then some. He lifted her hips and set the pace. The bed springs were tested to their maximum and so was she. She released a deep moan when he pounded into her, making her use muscles she hadn’t used in a year. And then he slowed and without disconnecting their bodies, eased to his knees. He lifted her legs all the way to his shoulders and continued thrusting.
“Aidan!”
He answered with a deep growl when the same explosion that tore through her ripped through him, as well. She could feel his hot, molten liquid rush through her body, bathing her womb. But he didn’t stop. He kept going, enlarging inside her all over again.
She saw arousal coiling in the depth of his eyes. They were in it for the long haul, right now and forever. And when his wet, slick body finally eased down, he pulled her into his arms, wrapped the strength of his legs over hers and held her close. She breathed in his scent. This was where she wanted to be. Always.
* * *
Hours later, Jillian stirred in Aidan’s arms and eased over to whisper in his ear. “Remind me never to let you go without me for a full year again.”
He grinned as he opened his eyes. “One year, two months and four days. But I wasn’t counting or anything, mind you.”
She smiled. “I’ll take your word for it.” She eased up to glance over at the clock. Had they been in bed five hours already? “We need to shower.”
“Again?”
She laughed out. “The last time doesn’t count.”
“Why?”
She playfully glared over at him. “You know why.”
He’d taken her into the shower to wash off any lingering stickiness from the syrup. Instead he ended up making love to her again. Then he’d dried them both off and had taken her to the bed and made love to her again several times, before they’d both drifted off to sleep.
“I guess we do need to get up, shower and dress if we want to see any of Monte Carlo.”
“Yes, and I want to see Monte Carlo.”
“I want to see you,” he said, easing back and raking his gaze over her naked body. “Do you know how much I missed this? Missed you?”
“The same way I missed you?”
“More,” he said, running his hand over her body.
She couldn’t ignore the delicious heat of the fingers touching her. “I doubt that, Dr. Westmoreland.”
“Trust me.”
She did trust him. And she loved him so much she wanted everyone to know it. “I can’t wait until we return to Denver for Adrian’s wedding.”
He looked down at her. “Why?”
“So we can tell Pam and Dillon.”
He studied her expression. “Are you ready for that?”
“More than ready. Do you think they already know?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if they did. Dillon isn’t a dummy. Neither is Pam.”
“Then why haven’t they said anything?”
He shrugged. “Probably waiting for us to tell them.”
She thought about what he’d said and figured he might be right. “Doesn’t matter now. They will find out soon enough. Are you ready?”
“For another round?”
“No, not for another round. Are you ready to take a shower so we can get off this ship for a while?”
He pulled her into his arms. “Um, maybe. After another round.” And then he lowered his mouth to hers.
Fourteen
“I hope you’re not punishing me for what happened the last two days, Jillian.”
Jillian glanced up at Aidan and smiled. “Why would I do that?” she asked as they walked the streets of Rome, Italy. She’d never visited a city more drenched in history. They would be here for two days and she doubted she could visit all the places she wanted to see in that time. She would have to make plans to come back one day.
“Because it was late when we finally got off the ship to tour Monte Carlo, and the same thing happened yesterday when we toured Florence. I have a feeling you blame me for both.”
She chuckled. “Who else should I blame? Every time I mentioned it was time for us to get up, shower and get off the ship, you had other ideas.”
He smiled as if remembering several of those ideas. “But we did do the tours. We just got a late start.”
Yes, they had done the tours. For barely three hours in Monte Carlo. They had seen all they could in a cab ride around the city. Then yesterday, at least they had ridden up the most scenic road in Florence to reach Piazzale Michelangelo. From there they toured several palaces and museums before it was time to get back to the ship.
She had made sure they had gotten up, dressed and were off the ship at a reasonable time this morning for their tour of Rome. Already they had walked a lot, which was probably the reason Aidan was whining.
“What’s the complaint, Aidan? You’re in great shape.” She of all people should know. He hadn’t wasted time having her belongings moved into his suite where she had spent the night...and got very little sleep until dawn. But somehow she still felt energized.
“You think I’m punishing you by suggesting that we walk instead of taking a taxi-tour?” she asked as they crossed one of the busy streets.
“No. I think you’re punishing me because you talked me out of renting that red Ferrari. Just think of all the places I could have taken you while driving it.”
She chuckled. “Yes, but I would have wanted to get there in one piece and without an accelerated heart rate.”
He placed his arms around her shoulders. “Have you forgotten that one day I intend to be one of the most sought-after cardiologists in the world?”
“How could I forget?” she said, smiling. She was really proud of him and his accomplishments. Going through that dual residency program was what had opened the door for him to continue his specialty training at Johns Hopkins, one of the most renowned research hospitals in the country.
Last night, in between making love, they had talked about their future goals. He knew she would start her residency at a hospital in Orlando, Florida, in the fall. The good thing was that after a year of internship, she could transfer to another hospital. Because he would be working for at least three years at John Hopkins, she would try to relocate to the Washington, D.C., or Maryland area.
A few hours later they had toured a number of places, including the Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Trevi Fountain and the Catacombs. While standing in front of the Spanish Steps, waiting for Aidan to return from retrieving the lace fan she’d left behind in the church of Trinità dei Monti, she blinked when she saw a familiar man pass by.
Riley Westmoreland? What was Aidan’s cousin doing in Rome?
“Riley!” she yelled out. When the man didn’t look her way, she figured he must not have heard her. Taking the steps almost two at a time, she hurriedly raced after him.
When she caught up with him she grabbed his arm. “Riley, wait up! I didn’t know you—”
She stopped in midsentence when the man turned around. It wasn’t Riley. But he looked enough like him to be a twin. “I’m so sorry. I thought you were someone else.”
The man smiled and she blinked. He even had Riley’s smile. Or more specifically, one of those Westmoreland smiles. All the men in the family had dimples. And like all the Westmoreland men, he was extremely handsome.
“No problem, signorina.”
She smiled. “You’re Italian?” she asked.
“No. American. I’m here on business. And you?”
“American. Here vacationing.” She extended her h
and. “I’m Jillian Novak.”
He nodded as he took her hand. “Garth Outlaw.”
“Nice meeting you, Garth, and again I’m sorry that I mistook you for someone else, but you and Riley Westmoreland could almost be twins.”
He chuckled. “A woman as beautiful as you can do whatever you like, signorina. No need to apologize.” He grasped her hand and lifted it to his lips. “Have a good day, beautiful Jillian Novak, and enjoy the rest of your time in Rome.”
“And you do the same.”
He turned and walked away. She stood there for a minute, thinking. He was even a flirt like those Westmorelands before they’d married. And the man even had that Westmoreland sexy walk. How crazy was that?
“Jillian?” She turned when she heard Aidan call her name.
“I thought you were going to wait for me on the steps,” he said when he reached her.
“I did but then I thought I saw Riley and—”
“Riley? Trust me, Riley would not be in Rome, especially not with Alpha expecting their baby any day now.”
“I know, but this guy looked so much like Riley that I raced after him. He could have been Riley’s twin. I apologized for my mistake and he was nice about it. He was an American, here on business. Said his name was Garth Outlaw. And he really did favor Riley.”
Aidan frowned. “Outlaw?”
“Yes.”
“Um, that’s interesting. The last time we had our family meeting about the investigation Rico is handling, I think he said something about tracing a branch of the Westmoreland roots to a family who goes by the last name of Outlaw.”
“Really?”
“That’s what I recall, but Dillon would know for sure. I’ll mention it to him when we return home. That information might help Rico,” Aidan said as they walked back toward the Spanish Steps.
The Secret Affair Page 14