“You good?” Max asks as we sit on our lounger.
I nod. Max knows me better than anyone here. He knows I freaked out. I’m pretty sure everyone knows it. I’m embarrassed I acted that way. I hated it even more seeing the hurt in Addison’s eyes when she thought I didn’t trust her.
That foreign feeling burst through me like a fireball when I saw Addison look at Ryker. My mind didn’t even give me a chance to rationalize it. I just saw red. Raging, jealous red. And of course, Addison saw it right away.
I scrub my hand over my scruffy face. I need to talk to Ryker. I’m sure he thinks I’m an asshole for what I was thinking. He knows I love Addison.
“Hey, I’m Jaxon. We didn’t have a chance to meet before you were hauled off.”
Jaxon is at Addison’s side, extending his hand. He briefly looks at me with his brow cocked and an amused grin. Asshole, I’m not worried about you. I shake my head.
“Addison. Nice to me you.” Addison shakes his hand and takes it back immediately then scoots next to me a little more while still smiling up at Jax.
Normally, when she is close to me it makes me feel like I’m the luckiest guy in the world. Right now, I feel like an ass. I give her a quick kiss on the lips and push off the lounger, standing. Jax and Addison both look at me.
“Where’s Ryker?” I ask Jax.
“Inside, getting us beers.”
I look down at Addison and she nods. I wink and walk off. As soon as I walk through the door, Ryker slams his beer down on the counter.
“What the hell, Aiden?” he asks, staring me down.
Walking over, I curse under my breath, and he hands me a beer. He must know I need it. I think I’ll need a few more. I put it to my mouth and take a long drink. He stands there, crossing his arms, waiting.
I chuckle. It’s the exact same stance Addison gave me earlier. He lifts his eyebrows. I’m sure he’s wondering what the hell I find so funny.
“I fucked up,” I admit.
He just nods.
I finish my beer, throwing it in the trashcan. The bottle shatters, causing a loud noise.
“It’s been years since we pulled that shit,” he grits out.
“Fuck!” I bark out, running my hands through my hair. “I know that. I can’t explain where that came from. I know how much Addison likes football and when she smiled at you, I just lost it.” I sigh.
“The mighty Agent Aiden Roberts is jealous of me.” His voice is full of humor. “Who would’ve thought that would ever happen?”
“Fuck off,” I laugh, grabbing another beer.
He grabs my shoulder and squeezes. “If I didn’t believe that you fell in love with this woman, I do now. And remind me never to fall in love, because that girl has your balls in a vise grip.” He chuckles.
“Don’t I know it.” We tap bottles and take a swig.
“Did you tell her?”
“She wouldn’t let it go, I had to.” I shrug.
“Fuck, man. You know it’s going to be awkward between us now.” My eyebrows furrow. “Not me and you, asshole. Me and Addison.”
“Ryker, that’s the last thing that I want. I told her the same thing. You’re like my brother. It was a knee-jerk reaction,” I say, irritated. Goddamn feelings.
“By the look of the holes in the house, it seems like you’ve been having a lot of those,” he says, looking around.
“Balls. In. A. Vise. Grip,” I repeat slowly.
“How is she doing? She looks good,” he says as we stand looking out to the back patio. She and Syd are dancing around. My cock twitches. I don’t know what I was thinking earlier, not taking her up on her offer. I guess I was punishing myself for acting like a fool.
I can see Ryker’s serious reflection in the glass. Max told me he had talked to the guys. They don’t know everything, but they know enough.
“She’s doing well. She has her moments, but she’s working through them. If she’d stop putting herself in danger, I might be able to breathe.”
He looks over at me, confused.
“Did Max tell you about Lexi?” He shakes his head. At least I wasn’t the only one.
I tell him the short version about what happened. How Addison and I met back up and how Lexi has become part of Addison’s life.
“Fuck.”
“I question the world we live in sometimes,” I say, shaking my head. “Well, after we got back from Texas, Addison went back to her place. Come to find out, she knew the perp and he ended up in her apartment with her.” One hand fists at my side and my other one grips my beer tighter.
“Holy shit! How can one person have that much bad luck?”
“Don’t even ask. Her life has been one fuck you after another.”
“So, what happened? This had to be pretty recent because I just talked to Max at the beginning of the week and he didn’t say anything.”
“It happened on Tuesday.” He looks out at Addison and then back to me with a look of surprise. “She shot and killed him. That’s why we’re here. I was trying to get her mind off of it and relax.”
“How is she even managing? She killed someone a couple days ago.” He looks outside again and points to her. “That does not look like someone who just killed someone. Aiden, I’m a little concerned for you.” He chuckles nervously. If he only knew that she already shot me, he’d think I was insane.
“She didn’t have a choice. She did it out of self-defense. But … I also think she’s not dealing with it like she should be, emotionally.”
“Only you would fall in love with La Femme Nikita.” I laugh out loud. “So what’s up with the sidekick?” He nods his head in Syd’s direction.
Not you, too?
“Why?” I ask cautiously.
“Back when you were in the hospital, I heard about her through Damon. He made it sound like they were a thing. Tonight, I asked about him, and she made it very clear they weren’t and never were. She’s hot, so I thought what the hell …” I drop my head, shaking it. “Yeah, well, I got the message loud and clear.” He takes a drink. I smirk, knowing what he’s going to say. “I happen to glance at Max and if looks could kill, I wouldn’t be five feet under, I’d be chopped up and fed to the wolves.”
I clap him on the back, laughing. “It’s best you stay away from that one. I have a feeling this is a train wreck waiting to happen and you don’t want any part of that,” I say, pointing at Syd.
“Whatever happened to bros before hoes?” he laughs.
“I’ve been gone for a while so I don’t know what’s happened between Damon and Syd, if anything. Syd says he’s dating someone he met online.”
Ryker spews his drink everywhere as he coughs. “Shut the fuck up.”
“Seems to be the consensus. I’m definitely going to give him shit about it on Monday.” I’m not surprised that he found someone online. I’m surprised he went looking there. “And she and Max … I don’t have a clue, but he has his sights on her.”
“She should run. And fast.”
“She’s pretty feisty. I’m thinking she can handle Max or else I’d say something.” I look at Max, and he’s watching us like a hawk. A huge grin spreads across his face. I had a feeling he’d be watching, reading us. I mouth, “Asshole.” I can hear his loud laugh from inside.
“Goddammit. He did his spy mouth reading bullshit, didn’t he?” I swing my arm around Ryker and nod.
We head outside and sit around the fire. The girls are still dancing and singing, so it’s just us guys sitting around the fire, bullshitting.
Syd walks over to her phone. “Hey, Max, wanna sing?” she says, looking over her shoulder. That’s hilarious. If she gets Max to sing, I’d cut off my right nut. I tried for years to get him to sing. It is not happening.
“Little girl, I don’t sing,” he says, smirking and leaning back in his chair. She huffs and picks a song before turning to go back to where Addison is.
The sound of splashing water has me looking over at the pool and then to Max. Oh, shit. Max lowers his head to look at his wet shirt. My gaze turns to Syd standing by the pool with her arms crossed and a scowl.
“Stop calling me a little girl,” she says, giving him a dirty look.
I scoot to the edge of my seat, not sure how this is going to play out. Ryker is biting his lip, trying not to laugh. Jax’s eyes are wide as he drinks from his beer. It’s a wait-and-see game now.
“Tink, that water is cold. If you don’t want to–”
Jesus Christ!
I don’t even have time to react. I’m not even sure what made her do it again. But she did. Stupid girl. He’s up out of his seat in a second flat, grabbing her and jumping in the water.
Addison screams at Max. Jax, Ryker, and I stand, but we don’t move. It’s too late. There’s nothing we can do about it now. He won’t hurt her, but she’s going to be pissed.
A couple seconds later they both bob up. Sydney is gasping for air. Max swims around like the water is actually enjoyable.
“You … fucking … bastard.” Syd gasps between each word. Yep, she’s pissed.
Addison runs into the house. I go to the edge of the pool to help her out. Addison comes out and wraps a shivering Syd in a towel, throwing a couple down by the side of the pool. I look at Max, twisting my lips.
He shrugs. “I tried to warn her.” He puts his hands on the side of the pool and pulls himself out. His strips out of his shirt dropping it onto the ground.
Syd whips around at the sound. Her eyes widen when she looks at Max. Her pupils dilate for a fraction of a second before they return to anger. She curses under her breath as she spins back around, stomping to the door. Addison follows her. Oh, Syd, you’re playing with fire.
“I need a hot shower,” she says, her voice shivering.
Addison is about to say something when Max beats her to it. “No.” Max’s voice booms. “She shouldn’t—”
“Max,” Addison says in a cold voice, shooting him a look of frustration. “I’m fully aware of how the body works.” Her stare is icy. Max sighs and nods, holding his hands up. I think Max forgot that Addison, a forensic scientist, definitely knows that you should never change your body temperature from cold to hot that quickly to prevent heart damage or shock.
The girls disappear into the house, and we erupt in laughter. All of us except Max.
“This day needs to go down in history,” Ryker says, clapping. “Aiden’s jealous of me and you just got put in your place, by a girl!” He points at Max.
Max flips us off as he walks back into the house. He’s back with dry clothes and a beer within a few minutes.
“Check on the girls?” I ask.
“Are you kidding me? I’d like to keep my nuts tonight,” he says, plopping down in his chair. He drains his beer in one gulp, placing it on the ground in line with the other empty bottles.
“Seriously?” I look toward the patio door where the angry voice is coming from. “What the hell? I’m feeling a little left out right now.”
We all bust out laughing at the butt-hurt whine coming from Ryan.
“I’m not kidding! I haven’t seen y’all in four months. We get a couple calls saying there are some concerns that teenagers might be partying at Aiden’s house. THIS is not what I expected to see! Assholes!”
I bite my lip to contain my laughter. I do feel a little bad. Ryan was always the sensitive one, which is probably why he was the first to settle down. He walks over and I give him a hug. “Hey, brother. It’s good to see you.”
He shakes his head and sighs. “It’s good to see you, too.” He looks me up and down. “You look good. A lot better than the last time I saw you.”
“When do you get off?”
“I’m off now. The calls just came in, so I told them I’d check on it on my way home. Something about screaming, cussing, and loud music,” he says, narrowing his eyes at the guys.
“That was his fault,” Jax points at Max with a shit-eating grin.
“That was very lawyer of you,” Max says sarcastically.
Ryan looks around and back at us. “I’m pretty sure Max wasn’t the one screaming.”
My attention turns to Addison walking out of the house. Ryan notices me looking behind him and spins around.
“Everyone, hide your guns,” he says, joking.
Fucking Ryan. Addison’s eyes go wide and her face pales. Max growls behind me as my expression hardens. The silence is painful.
Ryan’s face contorts to regret as soon as he figures out he said the wrong thing. “Addison, I’m sorry. I don’t know—”
I grab his shoulder and shake my head. Max rises from his seat, putting his arm around Addison. “C’mon, Addie, let’s go make Tink some hot chocolate.” She slowly nods her head, letting out a harsh breath.
Once they’re out of our sight, I smack Ryan upside the head.
“Obviously I deserved that, but if anyone ever talked to me and told me shit, I’d know how I messed up.” He punches me in the arm.
“Sit,” I demand. I start the same story that I told Ryker, but when Addison comes out I stop. I’m not sure if I should continue or keep going. She smiles at me and then gives Ryan a soft smile. Max and Syd come out, too. Syd’s wrapped in a huge blanket with a coffee mug, steam rising from of it.
“Everyone, take a seat,” Addison says. My eyebrow shoots up, wondering what she’s going to do. “Everyone here is important to me and Aiden, like brother or sister important,” she says, smiling at me. She sits in my lap, and I wrap my arms around her. “I feel like I need to tell y’all a ghost story. My ghost story.”
“Sweetheart, you don’t need to do this,” I softly say.
“Yes, I do,” she says firmly. “I don’t want what just happened to keep happening. Everyone here knows parts of the puzzle, everyone has different pieces. I need to put it together for everyone.”
I nod. Syd reaches over and squeezes her hand. She knows as well as I do this is tough for Addison. She’s one to keep things bottled up and deal with them herself. My heart beats faster knowing that she trusts my best friends enough to tell them her story. I didn’t think I could love her anymore, until this second.
The fire crackles and the ocean waves are the only sound made for a couple minutes. I can tell Addison is preparing herself. And everyone stays quiet while she does it.
“It all started the day my mom was murdered when I was ten.” I flinch, and she squeezes my hand. I despise knowing that my dad is the one she saw that day. She continues telling her story, how she met Marco and ended up at Travis’s house and why. I hate hearing about Marco, but I guess that’s an important detail.
“So you two were pretty much on the same life path?” Ryker questions. The guys all know that I thought Travis killed my parents. We both nod. I’m not going to spoil the surprise. I’ll let Addison do it. I can’t.
She tells them about how she was held captive for a week and how my job was to make sure she didn’t escape. Everyone’s eyes bore into me.
“It wasn’t like that,” I say defensively. Addison’s eyebrows shoot up. “Well … you were treated well. I would never let anything happen to you,” I try to explain.
“Even though that was when Aiden and I fell in love, I was still being held captive and was not allowed to leave.”
“You seduced a prisoner? That’s low, even for you, Aiden,” Jax says a little pissed off. I fist my hands.
“It wasn’t like that,” Addison says, placing her hand on top of mine. “We both fought it, but it was very mutual.”
“And you didn’t know he was undercover?” Ryker asks.
Addison laughs. “Definitely not. And you’ll believe me in a second. But before I get to that, I figured out why Travis was keeping me there. Come to find out, he didn’t kill my mom. He was in love with my mom. And…” she briefly pauses, “…he’s my father.”
The guys’ mouths drop as they look between Addison and me. I know what they’re thinking. Keep listening, boys, it gets worse.
“When I found that out, he didn’t want me to leave.” She looks at me and grins.
I shake my head. “You can skip the next part.”
“No, she can’t,” both Syd and Max say at the same time. They look at each other and laugh.
“The next part is the best part.” Max chuckles.
I narrow my eyes at him. “You’re supposed to be my best friend. This shouldn’t make you happy.”
“Shut up, Aiden. Let your girl talk,” Jax says in anticipation.
I dramatically gesture with my hand to tell her to keep going. Might as well get this out. I’ll never live this down now with everyone knowing.
“I love you,” she says, grinning, looking at me before turning back to everyone. I squeeze her thigh where my hand rests. “I knew that I needed to get out of there. There was no way I was going to stay, even for a hot bodyguard.”
She tells them about our run that morning, how she faked a fall. I remember feeling like shit because we were racing. The last thing I wanted was for her to get hurt.
“When he pulled me up, I …” She winces, looking at me.
“Sweetheart, it’s okay. Keep going.”
“With the momentum of him pulling me up, I kneed him as hard as I could.” Groans can be heard around the circle. Any man cringes when they hear that. It hurts to even think about. “And when he went down, I grabbed his gun.”
I look at Max and he has the widest grin on his face, waiting for it. I flip him off, knowing he’s getting a thrill out of this.
“I knew I only had a couple minutes before the other guards were out there, so I needed to get out fast. I also knew if I ran, Aiden would have caught me.” She clears her throat before continuing. Everyone is hanging on her every word. “So … I shot him and ran like hell.”
Not a word is uttered. They are shocked speechless. That is until Ryker bust out laughing. “You fell in love with a girl who shot you? Did you confuse that with Cupid’s arrow?”
I shrug. “It was fucking hot how she handled the gun.”
Ryker shakes his head. “I shouldn’t be surprised. Like I said, La Femme Nikita.”
Max’s laugh booms around us, and he points at Ryker. “She was hot,” he states, getting up. “I have to piss.” He walks around the house and does his business. I don’t think we’ll ever grow up enough that we stop thinking it’s cool to piss outside.
Syd shakes her head and rolls her eyes. “Men,” she says, sighing.
Addison nods in agreement. She continues her story about how she moved to New York and finally met Agent Aiden Roberts, talks briefly about our dates, skims over the Jessie incident but explains why Ryan made the comment earlier. Then she gets to the part about admitting to me that Travis was her dad. She stops and looks at me when she starts to share that my dad was the one who killed her mom.
I nod for her to keep going. “Travis requested to meet me, and I didn’t know why. So I went to visit him to tell him that I wanted him to leave me alone. He ends up telling me that he had Aiden’s dad killed because he’s the one who…” she swallows and takes a breath, “…killed my mom.”
Gasps echo around the fire. My spine stiffens. I blow out a harsh breath. We’ve never discussed this. I have no idea how she feels about it. It feels like a forgotten memory that was never addressed, but now it’s front and center. She turns in my lap, facing me.
“I let that go a long time ago,” she says, feeling me tense. “Like you said that afternoon, we can’t control what either of our fathers did. We aren’t like them. You’re a good man, and I love you,” she whispers, leaning over and kissing me.
When she rights herself again, she continues. This is the part she takes a lot of pauses. Her voice shakes as she tells them about being kidnapped, beaten, and then raped. Her gaze never leaves the fire. The flames dance in her eyes as I watch her. I’m not sure if I’m seeing the fire or her actual anger. Thank God she doesn’t go into the details of her rape.
Poking my eyes out right now would feel better than having to hear this. I read the report. I know what happened, but hearing it come out of Addison’s mouth is like adding fuel to my already burning fire. I’m about to explode. I look up to the dark blue sky as my leg starts shaking.
Cool it, Roberts. She needs you to be strong.
I know she needs to get this out in the open, but I hope like hell it’ll be the last time I hear it. I feel Max’s hand on my shoulder, squeezing it. I don’t look over. I just nod. Addison unwraps my fist and intertwines our fingers as she continues talking. Her touch helps ground me. I pull our joined hands to my lips, kissing them softly.
She tells them pretty much everything. This is torture. She talks about the rescue, the healing process, all the way up to finding Lexi. I finally release a huge breath. My heart feels like it’s on speed and about to jump out of my skin. I want to stop her and take her away so I can make her feel safe. Take all the pain away. Every now and then she wipes away a tear.
But my strong girl continues. She pushes through it. The guys never stop her or interrupt her. They can see she needs this. But they’re an extension of me, and I can see the anger on their faces. They hide it from Addison, but I know each of their tells.
We’re close to the finish line, and I’m exhausted. My muscles have started hurting from being tense for so long. She’s up to Wednesday night now. I can tell she’s exhausted, too. She grabs my beer and takes a drink. I sweep my thumb against her lips, wiping the beer from them.
“Thanks,” she whispers, bringing her lips to mine. I kiss her hard. Her lips part for me, and I don’t even care that we have an audience. I kiss her deep. I want to make sure she knows that none of her past matters. She matters. I hear the guys snicker about needing a beer break anyway.
I weave my fingers through her hair. Her hair is so soft and beautiful. She moans into my mouth, and my dick twitches. The little she-devil must feel it because she grinds her ass against it. I grab her hair and pull her back.
“Sweetheart, I already want to take you away, you better stop or I’m not going to be held responsible for your disappearance tonight,” I growl.
She laughs. “I love you so much, Aiden. Thank you for being here. I know how hard this was for you to hear.” She looks down.
I lift her chin to meet my eyes. “Addison, I will always be here for you. Forever.” I pull her to me again and kiss her.
“Forever,” she repeats against my lips. When I hear the sounds of chairs being filled I pull away. I know she wants to finish and the faster she finishes, the faster I can take her away.
It doesn’t take her long to get to the end. But as soon as she talks about shooting and killing Marco, Ryan smacks his forehead, cursing under his breath.
“It’s okay, Ryan. You didn’t know,” she says sweetly.
“I’m still sorry,” he says. She nods in acceptance.
“So that brings me to tonight,” she shrugs.
Nobody knows what to say. It was a lot to take in. Jax is first to say something.
“You definitely drew the short end of the stick in the game of life.” Ain’t that the truth.
Addison grins. “I used to think that fate hated me and sometimes I still feel like she hasn’t been fair about how much I’ve had to go through in my life compared to others, but I have a lot of good in my life, too. I think she led me to very specific people, knowing they would be able to get me through anything.” She leans over to grab Syd’s hand. Syd’s eyes well with tears. She jumps up and lands in my lap, too, hugging Addison.
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” she repeats. “You are my hero.” She hiccups through her tears.
I blink back the wetness pooling in my eyes. “I love you, too,” Addison whispers.
Syd gets up and bundles herself in her blanket, sitting down. “And now I have y’all,” she says, smiling at everyone. They smile back and nod somberly.
Max pushes off his chair and pulls Addison into his arms. He holds her tight without saying any words for a few moments. “I love you, Annie Oakley,” he finally says, kissing her on her head. Her laugh is soft.
“I love you, too, Max,” she says quietly.
When he releases her, Jax is next to pull her in a hug. Max leans down over my shoulder. “I’m going for a run.”
I nod in silent understanding, knowing exactly how he feels. Syd watches him go inside the house. I wonder if she’ll follow, but she stays put. She chews her cheek and then turns her gaze to our direction. Blush creeps up her face. I smile wide. She rolls her eyes and looks away.
“I’m in the city, so if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to call,” Jax says.
“What?” Addison’s head tilts. “You live in New York City?”
Jax chuckles. “Yes. I’m usually so busy with work, I don’t get out much.” He shrugs, looking at me. I’ve always told him he works too much. He needs to enjoy life a little more. I guess that’s what happens when you’re a lawyer for the rich.
Ryan gives her a hug, too, and tells me that he’ll be back tomorrow so we can fix all the holes. Not quite what I was planning on doing this weekend, but I guess I should get it over with. I walk him out the door as Addison talks to Jax and Ryker.
“Bring Macie tomorrow. We’ll grill out in between fixing this shit,” I say, looking at all the holes.
“Sounds good,” he says. “You doing okay? That’s a lot to take in.” He looks out to the back patio.
I think about it for a minute. I sigh, twisting my lips. “A small part of me feels guilty that everything that has happened to her is a chain reaction brought on by my fucking dad.”
“Aiden, don’t do that,” he says, crossing his arms.
“How can I fucking not?” I say, running my hands through my hair.
“Because it has nothing to do with you,” Addison says from behind me. I exhale sharply.
I slowly turn around. Our eyes lock. Beautiful blue eyes plead with me. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
“Kind of glad I did,” she says, her eyes softening.
“That’s my cue to leave. I’ll see you both tomorrow.” Ryan slaps me on the back and then leaves.
“I’m sorry,” she says.
None of this is her fault.
“Sweetheart, I don’t know what in the world you could be sorry about.”
“I should have … we should have talked before I told everyone.” She sighs. “I didn’t even think how you might be feeling about everything.”
God, I love this woman. After all she’s been though, she’s worried about how I feel? I shake my head in astonishment. Walking up to her, I grab hold of her hips, lifting her up. She naturally wraps her legs around me, but her eyes go big in surprise. I walk toward our room. Jax and Ryker stop us before we disappear into the room.
“We’re out of here,” Ryker says down the hallway.
I glance their direction. “You guys staying in town?” They both nod. “Come back tomorrow for lunch. We’re going to barbeque.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see Addison looking at me.
“We’ll be here,” Jax says as he salutes goodbye.
I take Addison into the room, shutting the door with my foot. I sit down on the bed, still holding her so now she’s straddling me. She struggles to get loose, but I hold her hips tighter.
“No.”
She looks at me, her brows knitted together. “We’re going to talk. And I don’t want any space between us.”
Her lips curl up, and I sneak a quick kiss. I can’t look at her lips and not want to devour them, so hopefully this will hold me over for now.
“I feel like an ass,” I admit. “The last thing I want is for you to worry about how I feel.”
She rolls her eyes. “How can I fucking not?” she says, repeating my words earlier with a pointed brow. She runs her hands up my arms. “How we’re linked together is why we found each other, but I feel we can’t move forward until we both let go of the choices our parents made. I have. I need you to. For me. For us.”
“I thought I had until I heard you talk tonight. Then the feelings of guilt slammed into me like hitting a brick wall.”
“I don’t and have never blamed you. It wasn’t because of you that I went to Chicago. I can easily say if I hadn’t made that one choice to not find out who Travis was, I would’ve never been kidnapped or raped.”
I loathe that my first thought is that she wouldn’t have met me either. How selfish can I be? Doubt creeps up as I wonder if she regrets going to Chicago. I tense.
Her hands palm my jaw. “Stop,” she pleads, pulling me from my thoughts. She rests her forehead against mine. “I can see it in your eyes that you’re questioning things. Why? Why now? You’ve been chasing me for almost a year. Telling me to stop running. I finally say forever and now you’re questioning things?” Tears fill her eyes.
I go to pick her up and push her aside, needing to walk around, but she squeezes her hips tight. When I find her eyes she says, “No. No space.”
I chuckle softly and nod in resignation. “You have to wish that you’d never gone to Chicago.” It’s painful to say.
She bites her lip, letting it slip out. “We would have met eventually. I was still moving to New York City … We would have still worked together. So, if I knew that we could have been together without Chicago, then yes, I’d wish that I had never gone.” Her eyes reflect a flood of emotions as she continues. “But I also believe that I was put on that course for a reason. We can’t rewrite history, Aiden. There are too many unknowns. If I had never met you in Chicago, my heart wouldn’t have belonged to someone else when I first moved to New York. I might have ended up with Dave before I ever met you.”
She smiles. I cringe at the thought. Bastard still reminds me he almost had her first. “Very funny. When you put it that way …”
“I don’t regret you,” she says, wrapping her arms around my neck. She spreads soft kisses over my face. When her mouth lands on my lips, I pull her bottom lip and suck on it. I deepen the kiss, coaxing a moan out of her. Her taste, her sounds, her feel is something that I’ll never get enough of. She’s intoxicating and addicting. I move my hands up, rounding over her beautiful ass, and tug her closer to me.
I want her wrapped around my dick. I want to be so deep inside her that we’re connected. We’re one. But I’ll wait until she’s ready. And it definitely won’t be here with people in the house. I need her to be able to lose all abandon. Let go.
But when she grinds her pussy against my painfully hard dick, it’s becoming painfully difficult to think with the right head.
“I can’t believe you did that!” Syd’s voice comes from the next room. Max’s room. We both freeze and stare at the wall like we’re going to be able to see something. Addison looks back to me.
“I figured it’d come out eventually. She was being too quiet.” She chuckles.
“I’m still freezing because of–”
The sound of someone being pushed against the door echoes in our room and cuts off Syd’s yelling. Addison gasps, covering her mouth.
“Do you think …” she whispers, her eyes wide. We both lean a little toward the wall as we listen intently. At first there aren’t any sounds. When I hear Max growl, it’s obvious.
Addison shakes her head. “No. No, no, no,” she says, trying to get off me.
“She’s fine, Addison.”
“She’s drunk.”
“She is not. She hasn’t had anything to drink for the last couple hours.”
“But—”
I put my finger on her lips. “Shh. She’s fine,” I say, lifting her out of bed. “But we don’t need to listen to what’s about to happen.”
I grab some pillows and give them to Addison to hold. Grabbing a blanket, I head out to the patio.
Addison rolls her eyes. “I lived with the girl for years, there isn’t anything I haven’t heard already.”
I laugh, placing Addison down on the lounger. I put some wood in the fire pit and start it again.
“What are you laughing at?” She narrows her eyes at me.
“They’ll definitely be some different noises tonight.”
She jerks her head back a little. “What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say, Max is probably a little more creative than Syd’s usual guys.”
“What the hell does that mean?” she questions. “Oh, my God. Max, too?” her voice rises.
“Max, too, what?” I ask in confusion.
“You and Max,” she whispers.
“Hell no,” I bark out and laugh.
“Then how do you know?” she asks, lifting a brow.
“Woman, I’ve known Max almost my whole life. I know.”
I lie down beside her, covering us up. She rolls into me and snuggles into my side, putting her head on my shoulder. I feel her take a big breath in through her nose and then relax. Her hand goes up my shirt, and she rests it on my bare chest.
“I need to hear stories about Aiden and Max in the early years. You guys never talk about growing up. You say Syd and I were probably troublemakers, but I’m pretty sure we’d be angels compared to you two,” she says, snickering.
I think back to our high school years and laugh out loud. “Baby, we probably made the Devil look innocent.”
“Y’all were that bad, huh?”
“You don’t even want to know.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “I do want to know. But I’ll let it go for now.”
Addison snuggles against me, and we stare up to the stars. Tonight’s the perfect night to sleep under the stars. Bright moon, millions of stars, and the sound of the ocean waves are the perfect trifecta to fall asleep.
“It’s beautiful tonight,” she says, mirroring my thoughts. Her voice is filled with exhaustion. She’s had an emotional day. I start singing softly.
She looks up at me. “Are you singing Adam Levine?” I can feel her stomach muscles tighten with laughter. I nod. “Your register is a lot sexier. Deep and masculine. It’s beautiful,” she says, laying her head back down.
I continue my version of “Lost Stars” by Adam Levine until I feel her breathing even out and her body relax as sleep takes her over. It pulls me under not too long after.