44

CARLY

 

It’s Tuesday afternoon and Aiden and I have been in bliss. It’s probably moving way too fast, as we live together, work together, and he’s totally all about togetherness. Sex twice a day. We maintain separate lunch hours, though, which is good. I usually do lunch with Ally, Stacy, or the both of them.

Yesterday, we had sex on his office floor after five o’clock as he had a meeting run late and had texted me to wait for him. I waited in his office and he took me to the rug and made me come twice.

Sunday dinner at Austin’s was great, but Aiden’s mom didn’t come. Aiden’s dad did, though, and seemed jovial enough, but we all wondered where things were at. He said she wasn’t ready to think about the future, that she was working on herself. Sounded healthy enough to me.

Aiden saw it as progress, too. He told me the old Audra would’ve come over and been a catty bitch. Would’ve made digs and demands. That she was staying away might be progress.

Monday was back to work and I was busy. Crazy busy and rocking my new job.  Monday night we watched TV after Aiden made spaghetti and gave me a foot rub. And then he rubbed my feet on his bare dick and came on them.

Kind of kinky, but he told me he thinks my feet are sexy. Whatever floats his boat. I just love watching him come.

I love San Diego. A lot. I am also pretty sure I’m falling head over heels in love with my hot alpha boss, slash roommate.

I’m  busy working at my desk when I feel my hair slide from my left shoulder to my right one.  There are lips on the back of my neck.

“I have to fly to Miami this afternoon. Big pitch meeting tomorrow with Franklin’s number one client. Babylon offered us a last-minute meeting, so we’re bringing the big guns.”

“Yeah? That’s awesome!”

“Yep. And it’s at least partly down to you and you getting that Lingo banner in their email, peaches.”

I’m smiling. “When will you be back?”

“Tomorrow night. I’m running home now, packing and heading to the airport.”

“Knock ‘em dead, Hot Sauce.”

“Call you when I land. Come into my office for a second so I can say bye properly.”

He backs up. I spin my chair around and follow him in. He drops all his blinds.

“This is so obvious,” I grumble. It’s definitely spreading around the office that we’re an item.

His left eyebrow goes up. “Would you rather I kiss you breathless while groping you with the blinds up?”

“Point taken.”

He comes to me and pins me against the door. He’s devouring my mouth with his. My fingers are in his hair. He smells amazing. He feels amazing.

“See you tomorrow,” I whisper against his lips.

“Yep. You will.” He squeezes my butt and then backs up so I’m no longer blocking the door. “Back to work you go. Be a good girl while I’m gone.”

I smile. “I will.”

He gives me a heated look.

I back out of his office and head back to my cube. Ally pops up.

“Dinner and a movie tonight?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

 

***

Ally told me her date with Jude was a big fat disappointment. Half way through dinner on Saturday, he had some sort of emergency and had to run out. He said he’d call her. He sent an apology text on Sunday, but she hadn’t heard from him since.

I told her what I knew about Meryl and Austin and she thinks on it and tells me there were a few clandestine-like phone calls from home. Meryl had commented there was a guy who was serious about her, but she didn’t know if she was serious about that guy. We gathered that was weighing on her as she began things with Austin.

“We should plot to get her back,” Ally says, as we’re walking toward our apartment building.

“Hm…” I muse.

It’s after ten o’clock and I’m carrying my leftover popcorn. It’s a beautiful night and it’s great to hang out with a girlfriend after being so hot and heavy with Aiden these past few days. I’m not really looking forward to sleeping alone, though.  Maybe I’ll sleep in his bed, instead of mine. Maybe I’ll tell him I’m in his bed, naked, when he phones me so that we can have some phone sex.

Ally switches topics and starts talking about how possessive Aiden is.

“Did you see him growl at Bill the other day? Bill was looking at your ass and Aiden actually growled at him. I thought Bill was gonna piss his pants.”

I shake my head and roll my eyes.

A figure steps out of the shadows beside our building entrance. It’s a girl with a hoodie on, long dark hair flowing out of either side of the hood. As she gets closers, her eyes are on me. Her face looks bruised. Her lip is fat.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

Ally grabs my arm and jerks me back.

Yeah, maybe not a great idea to get so close to someone lurking in the shadows like that.

“You’re Carly,” the girl says.

I jerk back further. Who is this?

“I’m Bella, I was in the apartment a few weeks ago when you came with your suitcase, remember?”

I do remember. Of course I do. What the heck is she doing here and what happened to her face?

“I remember.”

“Well, one sister to another, Aiden Carmichael is not a good man.”

I jerk back and stare at her face. She pulls her hood off and as she steps into the semi-lit area outside the building, I see her face is beaten really badly.

She’s not suggesting Aiden did this, is she?

My mind wanders back to him talking about having Seth beaten up in a dark alley. Did he do this to a woman, too?

“You’re not telling me Aiden had someone do this to you?”

She gets a creepy smile on her face. “What’s your gut telling you?”

“That’s how you make sure people don’t fuck with you, baby.”

No.

“How do we know Aiden did that to you?” Ally asks. “Because I don’t think…”

The girl reaches into her pocket and pulls out a cell phone and holds it up high.

Aiden’s voice comes out of her phone. It’s an audio recording.

“I want you to look into Carly Adler, man. She just started work at my office. My father planted her in my apartment in the spare room for what feels like no good reason, so my gut is tellin’ me there’s a reason. I want to know everything.”

“Tell me the basics.

That’s another voice.

“Cute as fuck. Lookin’ forward to bangin’ her. She worked for Chancellor & Associates in Buffalo, New York and my father recruited her after we acquired it.”

“Don’t know how you can bang chicks you have no idea if they’re evil or not, man. This might be why you have to pay me so much money. Nevermind, actually. Keep on bangin’ away…”

“It doesn’t matter if she’s evil. I ain’t looking for a relationship. If I catch a whiff of a ripe peach like that, better believe I’ll take a bite.”

“She gaggin’ for it?”

“Pretending she isn’t. Maybe because it’d blow her cover, or could be she’s playing a long game. Either way, guaranteed, I will bag her before the month is out. No, a week, two weeks max. Watch me. You want to wager?”

“Naw man, I’ve seen you in action. I don’t like to lose money.”

 

She tucks the phone back into her pocket. “Your best bet is to cut your losses. He’s trouble. As you can tell…” she gestures to her own face, lifts her hood back up over her head, and then she walks away slowly, her hand over her side like her ribs hurt.

I’m standing there, shocked. I’m feeling like I want to throw up.

“C’mon,” Ally says softly, leading me inside.

Getting upstairs is a blur.

“Do not jump to conclusions. Things are not always what they seem.” Ally is talking to me, but my head is running through information.

“I’m going to bed.”

“Talk to me,” she orders.

“I… I’m numb.”

“Don’t go all Fort Knox on me now, Car…”

“I… I need processing time.”

“You need to talk to Aiden. Don’t take that girl’s word for gospel.”

“It’s not just her word, Ally. There was a recording.”

“I know. But…”

“I need processing time. Okay? I’m gonna go take a bath and crawl into bed. I… I’ll see you in the lobby at eight.”

She hugs me and whispers into my hair, “Don’t jump. Talk to him.”

I nod.

She leaves and I lock the door and go run a bath.

I lay in the bath until the bottoms of my feet are pruny, and then I crawl into bed. My bed.

I text him.

“I’m going to sleep. Really tired. See you tomorrow.”

The phone rings a minute later. It’s him.  I ignore it until it stops.

A minute later a text comes up on my lock screen.

“Called to try to say goodnight, but didn’t get you. Sweet dreams, peaches. See you tomorrow night.”