by Tina Saxon
“Okay. So, before you continue, let me make sure I have this straight. Jett is Aiden, an FBI agent who brought Travis down. He still wants you, obviously really bad. I know how you felt about him and you seem to still have feelings for him. I know you’re hesitant because of the whole ‘Travis is my father’ thing. You didn’t choose him as your father. He’s more like your sperm donor. But I know you, you haven’t dated much since last summer. I have a feeling it was because you were comparing everyone to Jett… I mean Aiden. Ugh… that’s confusing.” She giggles. “He’s hot as hell, he’s the best sex you’ve ever had, and he seems like a guy who can put up with your stubborn ass, so I don’t understand your confusion.” She looks at me with a questioning expression.
“There’s more.” I sigh again. “Last night was our date. He took me to dinner and that’s another story in itself.” I roll my eyes, remembering Marco and the girls. I’ll save that story for another time. “After dinner he takes me to Central Park, lays down a blanket, and we talk. We really didn’t know anything about each other. He asked about my parents.” I twist my lips and bite my cheek then continue. “I told him my mom died when I was ten and my dad when I was one.” I wait for Syd’s reaction. She knows that I hate lying, and I really need to hear what she thinks.
“Go on. I’m going to reserve my judgment till the end.” She smirks.
“Funny, smartass,” I reply, smiling, but I’m sure she’ll see it my way when she hears it all. “Anyway… he brings up last summer. I knew that would come up eventually. Especially how I left. Come to find out, he had a plan with the FBI to get me out of the house that night.” Syd’s eyes fly open wide.
“So, you really didn’t need to shoot him?” She giggles again. She understands why I did it, but she always joked about me being trigger happy.
“Well, I didn’t know that!” I exclaim.
“It seems like you two think alike. Which is crazy because I’ve never met anyone like you.” It’s now that I throw the pillow back at her, both of us laughing.
“We’re more alike than you think.” I take a big drink of my wine and fill my glass up again. “He questions why I was there. Why Travis wanted me to stay. I tell him that I just can’t tell him. He then tells me that the real reason he was there was more personal.” I take a deep breath and continue. “That it was more about revenge because Travis had his parents killed when Aiden was fifteen.” Syd gasps in shock, her hand flying to her open mouth. “He also said that is why he became a cop and then went into the FBI. He wanted justice for his parents’ murder.”
“You are kidding me,” she whispers.
“Fate. Fucking. Hates. Me,” I say, emphasizing each word and then down my wine till it’s empty again.
“How did the date end?” she asks.
“Oh… we fucked.” I threw myself back on the couch. “And then I asked him to leave. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with me?” I close my eyes and shake my head.
“Was it as good as the first time?” I glance up to her and she’s wearing a shit-eating grin.
“Really? Didn’t you hear my whole story? We won’t work. Aiden hates everything that is Travis. Whether I like it or not, I’m part of Travis!” I scream. “Syd, what am I going to do? I had started to think that he might not actually care about Travis being my father, that maybe we had a chance, until he dropped that bomb on me. My heart hurts, my brain hurts. What am I going to do?”
“Oh, girlfriend. I don’t know. This is one messed-up situation.”
“Thank you, wise one, for your insight,” I say sarcastically. “Well… I’ll let you ponder on this one. We’re going out and getting trashed tonight! My friend Harper will be here in an hour. We’re going singing tonight! And she only knows that we met when he was undercover. So zip it around her.” I cock my eyebrow up.
“Your secret is safe with me.” She giggles and pretends to zip her lips. The wine is definitely making her feel good.
“Oh, guess what I brought with me?” she questions with a huge smile. I shrug with a questioning expression. “My boots and jersey! The Cowboys play the Giants on Sunday. We are finding a place to watch it. Even though we’ll probably be the only ones with Cowboys jerseys on, we are representing!” she squeals. We love football, but we love our Cowboys more. The first game of the season is this Sunday, and I had already planned on watching it with her.
“Already planned on it.” I wink.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Aiden
“I NEVER THOUGHT I’d see the day that Aiden Roberts is pussy whipped.” Damon chuckles, pulling a beer to his lips.
We’re sitting in a bar, which is the last place I want to be right now, but Damon dragged my ass out for the night. I haven’t talked to Addison since our date Tuesday night. That’s three days ago. Three fucking days. I’m addicted to her already and having withdrawals. I think the main problem is that I know the effect I have on her. It’s the same she has on me, but she’s fighting it and I don’t know why.
“Damon, what am I going to do?” I slam my beer down.
“Why are you asking me? You really don’t want to know my answer. No woman should be this hard to get. I know Addison’s beautiful and all, but she has your shit all tied up in knots. Not. Worth. It,” Damon states matter-of-factly. “Look around. There are plenty of women to choose from. Like those girls right there…” He uses his beer to point toward a group of women who have made it known that they are interested. I glance in their direction but look away quickly before making eye contact with any of them.
I sigh. I can’t stop thinking about Tuesday night. It’s all I’ve thought about since I left Addison’s apartment. I’ve slept like shit since that night, can’t concentrate on work. And now I’m sitting in a bar fucking sulking.
Grow a pair, Roberts.
“I need another beer, and I don’t want to wait for our waitress. Need anything?” I say, getting up to head to the bar. My need to drink is faster than our waitress is. Damon nods as I get up. A couple of the girls from that group make their way over. One smiles at me. She’s pretty. Long dark hair, good body, blue eyes—but not the color of blue that I crave. I can’t muster a hello. I give her a smile and nod then walk to the bar. I squeeze in at the bar and order a couple beers. There’s a slight touch on my back, a woman’s touch. I silently plead that it’s Addison. I turn around and it’s the girl who was at our table. I try to hide my disappointment. I don’t want to act like an asshole.
“Hi there. Do you mind grabbing my drink since you’re already up at the bar?” She hands me a ten-dollar bill. Well, at least she’s not that type of girl to automatically expect that I pay for her drink, but there’s no way I’ll let her pay now.
“That’s okay, it’s on me. What’s your poison?”
“Just a vodka sour.” She smiles. She has a great smile. Normally she would be a woman I’d be interested in. Although, she might as well be my sister because I don’t have any desire to talk to this girl. I hand her drink to her and head back to the table, beers in hand.
“Thanks for the drink.” She walks right by me. Slightly brushing her arm against mine as we walk. Yep, nothing. No spark. “Are you going to sing?” she playfully asks.
“What?” I ask, confused. Oh, God, she’s probably seen the video. I laugh, shaking my head. “Nope, no singing for me tonight. I’m trying to decompress after a long day.” I’m trying to hint that I’m not interested. I really don’t want to be an ass.
“Well, if you change your mind, you can always get on stage with me and sing.” She must see my confusion because she points to a stage. “There’s karaoke tonight.” She smiles.
It all clicks as I watch them set up the stage. We get back to the table, and I sit down. The girl stands beside me, really close. Too close. We’re at a high-top table, so we’re about the same height now. She doesn’t seem to get the hint that I’m not interested.
“Listen,” I begin to tell her that it’s not her, it’s me, when the atmosphe
re in the room changes suddenly. I’m not sure if I hear her or I can feel her, but I glance to the front door and Addison walks in. I can’t tear my eyes away from her. The girl standing too close to me is talking, but I don’t hear a word she’s saying. Addison is with Harper and another woman. I’m assuming it’s Sydney. She’s a beautiful woman. Much shorter than Addison though. Short blonde hair, good body, and a great smile, but standing next to Addison, she’s average. Addison’s wearing tight white jeans with a red halter top. Her lips match her shirt. Thoughts of those red lips wrapped around my cock has me readjusting in my seat. Well, at least I know my cock isn’t broken. I just hope random girl standing too close doesn’t think it’s because of her. She really needs to leave. Now.
“Roberts, what are you staring at?” I hear Damon ask. I tip my beer in her direction. It’s taking everything in me to not go to her, wrap those long legs around me, and kiss her into submission. She needs time to figure her shit out. But she better hurry the fuck up. I lean back in my chair, thinking what my next move should be.
“Who is that gorgeous woman with Addison?” Damon murmurs, slapping my back.
“I think that’s her best friend from Texas,” I reply.
“If women keep coming from Texas who look like those two, I’m moving.” He laughs. I nod, taking a sip of my beer.
Chapter Thirty-eight
I CAN TELL I’m being watched. As soon as we’re in the bar, I look around. My eyes land on emerald green eyes, and his stare pins me in place. He smiles his gorgeous smile, dimples on full blast, and winks. This small gesture makes my pulse quicken. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to deny this man. He’s made it clear that I will be his. But when he finds out the truth, he’ll never be able to look at me without thinking about his parents. Even if he is able to see past that, will I be able to?
Syd notices that I’ve stopped walking and follows the direction of my stare. “You are in so much trouble.” She laughs. “That gorgeous man looks like a tiger about to pounce on his prey.”
“Well, that tiger looks busy,” I say, nodding to the girl practically sitting in his lap. I pull Syd and Harper in the opposite direction searching for a table. Luckily we grab a table as a group gets up to leave. My phone vibrates in my purse. There’s a text from Aiden.
Aiden: You look gorgeous
Me: You look busy
Aiden: Jealous ;)
Ugh. No… Yes. Syd looks at my text when I voice my frustrations. She laughs. Really? This situation sucks. I am jealous. Very jealous. I look over to him and with a knowing smirk, he raises his eyebrows, waiting for an answer. The girl is oblivious to our current banter. She’s the only one though, because I see Damon staring in our direction. Although, his stare is pinned on Sydney. Great!
Me: Tell Damon to stop! Sydney’s only here for a few days!
I hear Syd ask Harper if the guy standing next to Aiden is the other guy from the video. Upon confirmation, Syd replies “Yum!”
Me: And if that girl gets any closer to you, I might be inclined to remove her myself. ;)
I hear Aiden laugh out loud. His deep, sexy laugh has me smiling at him. Tingles spread all over my body. He whispers something to the girl, and she looks my direction with a sour face and walks away, grabbing her friend as she leaves.
Aiden: There’s my feisty girl. As much as that sounds HOT, I’ve seen you fight… it wouldn’t end well for her. ;)
“Addison stop texting your boyfriend. Are we joining them or staying here? Because we need to order drinks and get on the list to sing,” Harper barks.
I look over to see Aiden sitting back in his chair, watching me. “We’re going to stay right here. It’s girls’ night so let’s show Sydney what us girls do.” I hug Syd. I’m still so excited she’s here. The waitress comes over and places three shots on the table.
“We haven’t ordered yet,” I say, looking at the shots the waitress delivered.
“Well, it seems you have admirers. These are from the table of insanely hot guys over there.” She points to Aiden’s table. We all look over to their table. A couple of other FBI agents have gathered around.
“Holy freaking hotness!” Syd says excitedly. “You did NOT tell me that you worked with the Chippendales of the FBI.” All three of us laugh at her description of the guys. Picking up our shots, we “air” toast the table of guys.
Harper jumps up after we finish our shots. “Alright, girls, I’m going to go put us down for a song. Order more drinks!” She struts off to the karaoke sign-up sheet. I’m a little worried that she’s picking a song by herself.
“So… is Damon single?” Syd wags her eyebrows.
“Syd! You’re only here for a week.” I pout.
“What if I told you that I might move here?”
“For Damon?” I ask, confused.
“No! For me. To be closer to you. I miss you so much, and I need a change. Jeff and I decided our relationship just sizzled out. He works too much anyway. We never saw each other, and when we did we argued. When I decided to come visit, I applied to a few places and have interviews lined up all week while you’re at work.” She’s looking at me nervously, waiting for my approval.
“Oh, my God! That is amazing news!” I scream while I grab her for a hug. “Why is this the first time I’m hearing about this?”
“I was going to tell you when I first got here, but then we were a little busy talking about your new man and then we came out. I couldn’t hold it in any longer.” We’re still embraced in a hug when Harper walks up.
We fill in Harper with the good news. She’s excited, too. She and Syd get along great, which I knew they would. Our drinks arrive just in time for a toast. “Here’s to Sydney getting a new job,” I say as we all raise our glasses.
“And to me getting to have a taste of that gorgeous FBI man,” Syd says right before she takes a drink. Harper laughs so hard she almost spits her drink out all over us. Thankfully I had swallowed my drink already because I’m dying laughing, too. My phone dings and I see it’s from Aiden.
Aiden: What are we celebrating? I love hearing you laugh.
I look at Damon who is staring at Sydney and roll my eyes.
Me: Just girl stuff
After a few drinks our names are called for karaoke. When we get to the stage, we are all feeling pretty tipsy. Sydney has been a singer her entire life and has a beautiful voice, so I push her to the front.
When we see what song Harper has picked out we all giggle. We take our places on stage and the music starts. Adam Levine’s “Moves Like Jagger” fills the room. Harper and I work the room with our dancing and back-up vocals while Syd works the room with her voice. I notice that she’s zoned in on one person: Damon. The crowd is going crazy by the time we’re done. Lots of clapping and screaming as we make our way back to our table. Enjoying our post-performance high, we’re laughing and high-fiving everyone as we pass. Three drinks are already waiting for us when we get there. The waitress smiles at us as we take our seat. “You know who,” she says before walking off.
I glance over to Aiden and mouth “Thank you” as I take a sip of my drink. I can see the heat in his eyes from where I’m sitting. I smile and wink at him. He picks up his phone and types. Next thing I know my phone dings.
Aiden: My cock and my hands are having a disagreement right now
I tilt my head to the side and twist my lips.
Me: ????
Aiden: My cock really wants to pound you, but my hands want to pound every asshole in here who is staring at you right now :(
Me: Awww. Jealous?
Aiden: Never…
I can tell he’s texting again, so I wait before I respond with “bullshit.”
Aiden: Before you
As I’m about to press send with a reply, I look his way but he’s not in his seat. I glance around to see where he went and then he’s right in front of me. He wraps his hand behind my head and pulls me into a deep kiss. A kiss that is meant to show dominance, to show possess
ion. I immediately submit, melting into the kiss. I grab his muscular arms to keep me up. When he moves back, there’s a devilish glint in his eye.
“Mine,” he leans down and whispers in my ear. The heat of his breath makes me clench my thighs and wiggle in my seat. He laughs as he turns around and walks back to his table.
I erase my original response and text
Me: Tarzan
“You guys are going to make beautiful babies,” Syd says dreamily.
“That’s what I said!” Harper jumps up and high-fives Syd. They’re both giggling, talking about baby names, power couples, and nicknames. I shake my head and down my drink.
A few songs later we are out of our seats, dancing by our table. Drinks continue to appear as soon as we finish the current ones. I text Aiden asking if he is trying to get me drunk. He just laughs and winks.
I watch Damon stare at Sydney from across the room. I’m not sure if she even notices him. She hasn’t said anything. When he notices that I’m watching him, he sports a huge grin. He grabs Aiden’s phone. Not a second later, my phone is dinging.
Aiden: Introduce me to your friend :)
Aiden grabs his phone and texts me, too.
Aiden: Just so you know that was not from me!
I laugh out loud. Syd and Harper come look at what I’m laughing at. Syd smiles and dances. “I was wondering if he’d ever come meet me.” She giggles. “He’s been eye fucking me all night long.”
I bust out laughing. “Sydney, when did you start cussing so much?” She shrugs and continues dancing.
Me: Come over and meet her yourself
I don’t wait to see their response. I join the girls dancing. Within a couple minutes, Aiden and Damon have made their way over to our table. They bring us more drinks since ours are empty. I look at Aiden, raising a curious eyebrow.
“What? I couldn’t let him come all the way over by himself.” He smirks. “And if she’s your best friend, then I want to meet her, too…” he crosses his arms “…AND you didn’t specify on my phone who you were telling to come over.”