Chapter Ten
Autumn
Somehow the song shifted into another one and another one without a break. We kept dancing, our bodies drifted closer until my head nestled between his neck and shoulder, and Ayden's arms wrapped possessively around me. Reflections of Avenue's rich atmosphere drifted by as we circled around. Once I caught us in the wall of mirrors, and it seemed like a flash of an old Hollywood movie where the star-crossed lovers are together at last.
I lifted my head and smiled at Ayden. It must have been the champagne and wine letting those thoughts drift through my mind. But the stormy blue of his gaze let me know I was not alone. Whatever I was feeling, Ayden was tangled up in as well.
Just as my head drifted back to his shoulder, I felt a buzzing in his breast pocket. "I think someone's calling you," I said.
"Nah, wrong number."
The buzzing continued and slowly shook us from our trance. "It could be important," I reminded him.
"Unless it’s the board or you calling, I don't care," Ayden mumbled, but he pulled out the phone and checked the caller ID anyway. "Or worse, it’s my parole officer."
I stepped out of his arms and smoothed my hair down. "I'll let the driver know to meet you outside. Don't worry about the check. It’s on the house in Jace's memory."
Ayden hesitated, swaying back and forth, and then he clenched his jaw and answered the phone. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Simone. I need to get somewhere that I can hear you."
I lingered for a moment at our table and finished my glass of wine. My friends wandered by to say good-bye and make plans to get together. After an appropriate amount of time, I left a generous tip and headed outside. The limousine was parked right in front where the entire line contained behind the velvet ropes could gawk at it.
"I wonder if they think you're a movie star," I said to Ayden as I slid inside the limousine.
"Yes, I realize my circumstances and new-found wealth have made my case very interesting for the parole board," Ayden responded.
I blinked in the dim interior and saw that he was still on the phone call with his parole officer. I started to edge back out the door, but Ayden grabbed my wrist and shook his head. I settled back into my seat and checked my email. I could not help but overhear his side of the conversation.
"I know, Simone. No, I did not realize my photos were all over the tabloids. I don't read that crap. Sorry, yes, I know you're just trying to help. I don't want special treatment, and I sure as hell don't expect it. You're right. Under the radar. Yes," Ayden said.
He hung up the phone and tossed it on the far seat of the limousine. We pulled away from the curb, and Ayden dropped his head back on the leather seat with a heavy sigh.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were still on the phone," I stammered.
Ayden lifted his head and glared out the window. "She's right, my parole officer. If I want to stay out of prison, then I shouldn't be running all over town getting my photograph in the tabloids. It’s bad enough that I've been given this enormous wealth. I can't blame the board for taking a closer look at me."
"I told the driver to take us back to Jace's?" I ended on a question knowing that Ayden still felt awkward about living in the mansion though he insisted on paying rent to Knight Holdings.
He scowled, "Like we have a curfew or something. Autumn, I'm sorry. You deserve someone who can take you out to dinner and dance with you all night. You should be out on the town with a normal good guy, like a doctor."
"If you don't want to go home, I know a place where the paparazzi can't touch us," I volunteered.
Ayden's crooked smile returned. "What would I do without you?"
"Go home and behave yourself?" I asked.
He chuckled and hit the divider button so I could tell the driver our new destination. When I directed him to take us to No Limits, Ayden raised both black eyebrows at me.
"You trying to send me back to prison? Was I that bad of a dancer?" He put one hand to his heart as if I had ripped it out.
I laughed, "Not at all. The real question is whether or not you trust me."
"You're the only one I trust," Ayden said.
It was a quick drive to Jace's rooftop nightclub. The driver circled around and dropped us at the back entrance so we did not have to contend with the lines of people and their camera-phones. When we stepped into the elevator, I waited until we were one floor away from No Limits. Then I took Ayden's hand and pressed the Stop button at the same time as the basement button.
Underneath the heavy velvet curtain at the back of the elevator came the distinct sound of doors opening. Ayden's blue eyes sparkled with mischief as he turned around and pulled aside the black curtain. Behind it was a small, completely private, and completely secret club.
"All the years I worked with Jace, and I only ever heard him tell two other people about this place," I said. I lead Ayden to the bar. "The first is this man here, our resident mixologist."
"Who was the second?" Ayden wondered.
"Bryon Shelton. Not much of a party man, but he is very fond of a good Manhattan," I said.
We sat at the bar and enjoyed signature cocktails made with amazing dexterity and imagination by the mixologist. Ayden was interested in every move. Not until he sipped halfway through the delicious concoctions did he start to look around.
The Insider, as the club was called, was a long and narrow establishment that stretched out on either side of a floor-to-ceiling mahogany bar imported from Ireland. The wood was worn but glossy with imprints where centuries of patrons' elbows had rested heavily. There were small round tables flanked by plush red chairs and a set of high-backed booths on either far wall.
"Don't you think this is where Jace was heading with Knight Holdings?" Ayden asked. "Into the realm of exclusive, private, the kind of place that wraps you in rich simplicity, and lets you be spoiled."
"I don't know. Jace loved the public, and he loved his people." I stirred my drink and savored the last drops.
"Then a place the persistent public can visit, with a password that changes three times a night. One of those speakeasy type places with mixologists, and wild chefs, and the best small act entertainment. Make it feel intimate and exclusive. What do you think?" he asked.
I put my hand on top of his and pretended to check my non-existent watch. "I think it’s last call, and we should talk about where we're going next."
He turned his hand over and caught mine. "There's a choice?"
"For you. Either way, I'm going home." I slipped off my barstool and headed for the door.
Ayden caught up with me in the elevator and pressed me against the wall. His lips buzzed over mine, but did nothing more than tease me. "Are you sure you want me? Seems like all of Vegas is available to Ms. Bishop."
"I want you," I whispered.
The elevator ride and limousine drive were a blur of radiating desire. We curled up close together but waited until the driver dropped us off at my place. Ayden downed an entire bottle of water as we rode up to my top floor loft condo.
I unlocked the front door and let him prowl around while I watched. The loft was one large airy space divided on the right into two bedrooms and a bathroom and on the left into a pantry, laundry room, and half bath. The kitchen dominated the left side with a six-burner restaurant grade stove and oven, wide marble-topped kitchen island, and custom cabinets complete with soft under lighting.
"It fits you," he murmured on his second lap. "Refined, almost austere but open, full of light."
"In the day time, there's quite a view," I motioned to the wall of windows.
"Makes me wonder if you grew up in a place like this, all top-of-the-line and perfect," Ayden said. He stopped in the middle of the windows.
I joined him, stood on tiptoe and slipped my arm along his to point out the window. "Just over there is the arid little suburb where I grew up. Both parents were teachers, and we barely hung on to our two-bedroom house my entire childhood. They taught me education was key, so I studied hard and worked harder."
His arm snaked around my waist and pulled me close. In the dark, his eyes still shone a midnight blue. They locked on mine as his hands kneaded up and down my back. "I knew it was in you too. That same iron rod I have. It won't let us bend or back down or give in. Though it looks better on you, elegant."
"My friends always warn me that men don't fall for perpetually stubborn women," I said.
Ayden's lips brushed mine, and then he spoke softly against my cheek. "I love that I found it in you. We're the same underneath it all, and I've never found that before."
I took his ruggedly handsome face in both hands and used all my willpower to pull away from his intoxicating kiss. "There are plenty of other people, other women like that. I worry that what you don't know is I'm nothing special, I'm just here."
His mouth seared over mine, the heat of his passion melting me into his arms. When I clung to him as much as he held me close, he said, "I might not have dozens of notches in my bed frame, but I'm not a fool. I know when I've found real gold."
I turned my head and hid it against his shoulder. "You can't say things like that. Don't you realize I'm falling for you?"
With one easy sweep Ayden lifted me into his arms. He took one step, and then looked deeply into my eyes. "You're not lying. I know you're not, but I can't believe it."
I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his doubt away. He swayed against the waves of my passion and carried me to the bedroom. Ayden lay me down on the bed so gently, as if I might break. I shook my head against his hesitation and pulled him down on top of me.
Our clothes came off in tugging blurs of fabric until the blissful slide of his bare skin on mine. The heat built between us as we touched, caressed, and could wait no more. Ayden's lips devoured mine, my body arched against him.
"Don't hold back. Please don't hold back," I begged in ragged whispers against his burning lips.
His kiss changed then, became slower and more insistent. Ayden pressed into me, claiming every inch as he eased us together. He held nothing back, but it was tender and so deeply connected, I could not imagine where he ended and I began.
My hips rocked up against him as I cried out my need against his panting lips. Ayden answered with a rhythm that ratcheted me up and over the highest crest. I rode the coaster down, feeling him with me, plunging faster until I shattered all around him.
He hung his head against my pounding heart and tried to bring his breathing back to normal. Once our pulses settled, Ayden rolled over and brought me with him, wrapped in his arms, as we drifted into a heavy, satiated sleep.
* * * * *
I woke up before Ayden, afraid the leaping of my heart would startle him out of his deep sleep. We were still tangled together, his arm tucked around my waist, our legs woven over each other, as we slept curled towards each other. I peeked out from under my eyelashes and memorized his dark head on the white pillow.
Ayden's cheeks and chin were shadowed with stubble. I remembered the delicious friction of it against my bare skin and blushed. Then I closed myself and gave in to the sensational memories.
When I opened my eyes, I caught a flash of blue.
"Are you awake?" I asked.
"No, and I certainly was not watching you sleep," he muttered against the softness of the pillow.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I yanked the pillow from under his head and whacked him with it.
"Turns out I was the one sleeping while you were watching," Ayden laughed.
Our playful wrestling was cut short by the buzzer on my front door. I leaned over Ayden, teasing us both where our bare skin met, and grabbed my phone. I pulled up my security feed and scowled.
"It’s David," I said.
Ayden grabbed his pillow and snuggled back under the covers. "Tell him I said 'hi.'"
I slapped his shoulder as I got up and found a pair of exercise pants and tank top with built-in support. I hoped David would think the rosy hue on my cheeks was from a strenuous work-out. The color deepened as I thought about all the strenuous things I wanted to do when I got back to Ayden in my bed.
"Good morning, David. This is a, well, strange surprise." I opened the door only wide enough to talk to him.
"Can I come in? Autumn, we really need to talk." He put his hand flat on the door and pushed, but I resisted. "Please. I was wrong to push you away. We've worked so well together in the past. Think about that, Autumn, please."
"We worked well together with Jace as a buffer. That's all gone now," I said.
"It doesn't have to be. Don't you think Knight Holdings would benefit from the old team sticking together? We're the ones that really know the ins and outs. We should work together, support each other," David said. He brushed the back of his hand across his mouth and tried a different approach. "I've always admired you, Autumn. You've got the common touch, the educated mind. Together we could really do great things."
He pushed on the door again, but I shook my head and stood firm. "I'm sorry, David, but it comes down to the fact that I do not trust you. You need to be aware of the fact that I have access to all the company records, even yours."
"Jace really trusted you," David muttered.
"Yes, he did."
"He trusted me too," David whined. "Why doesn't anyone remember that?"
"Please leave him out of this," I snapped. "The point is I've seen too many dead accounts and suspicious transactions in your name to have complete trust in you. Can you explain those away?"
"Are you kidding me?" David screeched. "You expect me to sit down and explain all my transactions to an assistant? I'm the one that should be scrutinizing your work and double-checking your figures. You seem to forget that I'm the business manager and the interim CEO of Knight Holdings. And I need your help, Autumn. I need you on my side."
He shoved hard against the door, and I lost my grip on it. The door slammed against the wall and David hurried inside. He rolled his eyes at the door and wiped the back of his hand over his mouth again.
"David, this is very inappropriate. Please leave," I said. I blocked him from taking another step inside my home. "We can talk about this later at the office. We'll set a meeting, and I'll bring those sandwiches that you love."
He could not answer because his jaw had gone slack. I blinked at him, almost frightened until I realized what he was looking at. Ayden sauntered into the room barefoot in nothing but his dress pants and a white undershirt.
"Anyone else want coffee?" Ayden asked.
I dug my fingernails into my palms and said. "No, thanks. David was just leaving. I've got everything under control."
It was too late. The damage was already done. David was pale and silent. He staggered a few steps towards the door and then spun around. The color returned to his face with a vengeance, and he turned almost purple before the words formed in his mouth.
"You two are together? I bet that was his sick plan all along. You really are a stupid bitch underneath it all, aren't you, Autumn. I knew it."
"That's enough, David. Time to leave," I snapped.
"You know he's the one that killed Jace or had him killed, right? I bet he was plotting it the whole time he was in jail. Figured out just exactly how to make it look like an accident," David snarled.
"You know, I could say the same thing about you," Ayden said. His voice was deadly calm. "I could point out how much you had to gain once Jace was out of the way. And you were the last person to supposedly see him alive."
"And you fell for all these lies?" David screeched at me. "You realize how this is going to play out, don't you? A court of law is going to take one look at your ex-convict lover boy here and know he's guilty. Then they're going to look at me, an upright businessman, and award me damages. Maybe I'll even sue him for slander."
I tried one more time to make David see reason before Ayden lost control. "No one is accusing anyone else of murdering Jace. It was an accident, and we are all mourning the loss. Now, David, I understand you came here looking for support, and you're upset that you didn't find it. I'm sorry. Please leave."
"How long do you think it will take?" David sneered around my shoulder at Ayden. "I'm betting it will be less than an hour before they decide to send you back to prison. You should think long and hard about what that is going to feel like."
Ayden gently set me aside and bent down to get in David's face. "You want to know what prison is going to feel like? For guys like you, it feels like being a rat in a cage full of snakes. Every step you take is watched and measured. You are hunted from the moment you wake up until the moment you dare to fall asleep. I've seen guys like you shrivel up and die within a month."
"Shut up, you have no idea who I am," David huffed, but he crossed his arms and his eyes darted to the open door.
"Sure I do. You're the man who opened his big mouth and talked his way into shoes he can't possibly fill. So you spend every day trying to scurry around and demand that people below you look up to you, but no one ever seems to." Ayden's voice was cold and relentless. He never broke eye contact with David and stepped forward every time David gave an inch. "That's what prison is like. A whole population of men that can read you like a headline and put you in your place. And, trust me, there's no talking your way to a higher spot in the pecking order. Not in prison."
"Enough, Ayden. David was just leaving," I said.
Ayden stopped talking, but his body language was enough to destroy the smaller man. His shoulders flexed as he took another step towards David, his arms out wide as if taunting him with an open target.
"That's enough, Ayden," David squeaked. "Tell him, Autumn. This is just what I was saying. We're civilized people you and I. Please Autumn. We should work together. You should be on my side."
Ayden jolted towards David. The smaller man broke and skittered towards the open door. He whimpered as he looked from the open door to me and back again.
"Both of you, this conversation or whatever it has become, is over," I declared. "David, you will go home, and we will forget this unfortunate run-in ever happened. I'm sorry that I cannot work on your side, as you say, but I just cannot trust you."
David continued to whine. "Now of all times. I could really be making progress. Jace is gone and now I could finally make some progress, grow the business. It’s about time I can make things right, so I don't have to keep looking over my shoulder. I'm interim CEO. I should be able to make some progress now."
"David," I said gently, "go home."
"What would you know about any of this?" he roared at me.
I stumbled back and Ayden lunged. He caught David by the collar and hoisted him off his feet. They careened through the open door until David slammed against the far wall.
"The board can't have their CEO doing things like this," David sneered.
"Things like harassing an employee in her home?" Ayden spat.
"Who knows? Maybe I'll suggest to the board that it was you that harassed Autumn in her home. Who are they going to believe?" David asked.
Ayden pulled back his fist and only hesitated for half a second. The hit swung hard and crashed into the wall two inches from David's ear. The plaster shattered and left a gaping hole.
David slithered out of Ayden's grasp and straightened his rumpled suit coat. He was deadly pale and shaking as he turned and walked down the hallway and out of my building.
"He's gone," I whispered, but we could both still feel the outrageous confrontation, and it would linger for hours.