Chapter Nine
Aiden had decided that he was far too inebriated to drive his motorcycle home, so he did end up asking the waiter to call his town car. When it arrived, they were standing together just outside the restaurant, Aiden’s jacket over Melanie’s shoulders because she had shivered and he insisted that she take it, despite the fact that she was already wearing her own suit jacket. His was much larger and the material was thick and warm against her body.
Before the chauffeur could even step out of the car, Aiden had pulled the door open and ushered Melanie inside, before sliding in next to her. Despite the roomy back seat, their thighs pressed together in the center of the bench and, for a moment, Melanie feared that Aiden might be drunk.
One look into his clear blue eyes told her that, while he was a bit tipsy, Aiden Carmichael knew exactly what he was doing.
Their ride to his penthouse was silent.
When they arrived, Aiden once again held the door open for her and guided her, with his large palm spanning her lower back, into his apartment building. They nodded to the security guard on duty, who recognized Aiden with a single glance and didn’t even seem to mind that he had a guest coming up without signing in first.
As they disembarked the elevator on his floor, Aiden silently removed the jacket from her shoulders and folded it over a chair in the living room, before inviting her to join him in the kitchen with the silent offer of his hand. Melanie took it without hesitation and allowed herself to be led toward his kitchen island, where he helped her onto a stool, before making his way to a wine cooler and pulling out a bottle of white.
Melanie watched as he pulled down two glasses and handed one to her.
“Don’t you think we’ve had a bit too much to drink?” she asked.
“Worried you can’t control yourself?” Aiden asked. “I know I have that effect on people.” He winked and she rolled her eyes, though she could feel her cheeks heating up. “Honestly, though, if you’d like me to call you a cab, I’d be happy to. You would just miss the dessert.”
“What, exactly, is this amazing dessert?” Melanie asked, accepting the glass of white he offered her.
Aiden gave her a smile before turning to the fridge and pulling out a small bakery box, tied with a string. Opening it, he showed her its contents and Melanie nearly burst out laughing.
“Tiramisu?” she asked. “That’s your special dessert?”
“It’s the best this town has to offer,” he said, “and it cost as much as this wine, which I’ve been saving for a special occasion.”
“Well, luckily,” Melanie said, “tiramisu happens to be my favorite kind of dessert.”
“I know,” Aiden replied and Melanie furrowed her brow. Had she mentioned it before?
Before she could get clarification on that, Aiden had pulled two forks from somewhere and begun motioning for her to follow him outside. Melanie stood shakily from her chair and slipped out of her heels before following him, grabbing the bottle of wine and their glasses from the counter.
Aiden’s penthouse came with a beautiful terrace that Melanie had never seen before. The sights of the city, visible from their little perch so high up, were breath taking. There was a bench near the edge where they could get the perfect view as they relaxed and that’s where she found Aiden setting up. He motioned for her to take a seat and she did, pouring them each a glass of wine from the open bottle and placing one in front of Aiden, as he flipped open the bakery box again and handed her a fork.
“You are going to love this,” he assured her, sticking his own fork into the treat and taking a healthy mouthful. He chased it with his wine and watched as Melanie did the same, her eyes widening as a low moan of pleasure ripped from her throat. She couldn’t help it; the creamy dessert was just too good to hold it in. She’d always loved tiramisu, as a child; her father would bring it home as a treat every now and then, because it was his favorite as well. But, she hadn’t tasted any, quite this good, in a long time.
“Oh my God,” she gasped, “that is just…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “How did you find this?”
“Your father introduced me,” Aiden informed her. “One of his investments was in a bakery that made high-end desserts. This was always his favorite. And, he told me, yours as well.”
“He remembered that?” Melanie asked. She had just assumed that her father only paid attention to his own love of the treat and never even thought of her own. She was wrong.
“Of course he did,” Aiden assured her. “Your father might have seemed cold and distant, but he wasn’t…not always, anyway. In fact,” he looked away and took a deep breath, “that was one of the reasons...”
“One of the reasons what?” Melanie asked, taking another bite and moaning, before chasing it down with a long sip of the delicious wine.
“One of the reasons I never acted on my attraction to you.” Melanie practically choked on her wine and Aiden reached over, patting her back as he chuckled lightly. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she assured him, taking another sip. “Um, you…your attraction? When?”
“Since the first moment I met you,” Aiden admitted. “You were only nineteen at the time, so I always felt a little strange about it, but you were beautiful. Are beautiful. And you were so smart and fiery. And ambitious.”
“Just like my father,” Melanie sighed.
“I wouldn’t make that comparison right now,” Aiden said, wrinkling his nose and Melanie laughed. His face softened and he smiled. “But, yeah, like your father. Only he didn’t look as good as you in a dress.” Melanie rolled her eyes, but she felt her cheeks flame. “Whenever your father invited me over for dinner, I always hoped that you’d be there, just because I wanted to sit across from you and listen to you talk about your day. You always had this light in your eyes when you were sharing what you’d learned. Your mother always looked so proud and sometimes it was the only smile I’d see on your father’s lips all day, however small it was.”
“Really?” Melanie asked.
“Yeah,” Aiden nodded. “It always felt a little taboo to think of you in that way. I mean, your father had taken me under his wing and was showing me how to make it big in the finance world and what was I doing? Taking special interest in his daughter.” He shook his head. “But I just couldn’t help it.”
“So you’re saying you had a crush on me?” Melanie teased, smiling as she took another sip of her wine. “Like we were kids in high school and I was the hot cheerleader and you were the nervous preppy kid?” She giggled. “Wow. I don’t think I even got that kind of attention in high school. It’s kind of refreshing, actually.”
“Is it?” Aiden asked, and she could feel him getting closer. She couldn’t stop the teasing, though, as if her mouth was running on autopilot.
“Yeah,” she said. “Like you’re going to send me a note in math class, asking me to the dance and I have the choice between ‘yes’ and ‘definitely yes’.” She giggled again and felt him move even closer. “Did you tell all your friends about your gorgeous girlfriend who was still in college? Were they jealous? Did you show them pictures of me and compare them? Did they have crushes on me, too? Did you dream about running away with—”
Her teases and taunts were cut off by the press of Aiden’s lips on her own, and Melanie found herself moaning at the taste of the tiramisu and white wine on his tongue as it entered her mouth. She felt the glass slip from her lips and heard it crash to the ground, but paid it no mind as she wrapped her arms around Aiden’s shoulders, pulling him closer. Aiden swiped the bakery box off the bench and bent himself over her body, turning them so that they lay horizontally on the bench. His hands played with the hem of her blouse and the lapels of her suit jacket, asking a question that she answered with a breathy, “yes” before he was working on removing both.
Her own hands went to his belt, unbuckling it before she went through the process of untucking his shirt and undoing his zipper and pants buttons. Clothes began to loosen and come off as the moments went on and neither even noticed the New York chill surrounding them. All they could feel was the heat of each other’s embrace.
When Aiden entered her, it was swift and fast and everything that she had hoped it would be. Melanie was surprised at herself for even hoping that something like this would happen, but there was no denying the electricity between them now, as he pumped himself into her. Melanie’s nails scored over his shoulders and she practically whimpered in ecstasy. Aiden’s hands fell between her body and the cold bench beneath her, as if protecting her with his grip. He pressed inside her with soft grunts, pulling her firmly against his body and pressing his mouth against her chest, leaving soft bite marks there that Melanie knew she would see in the morning.
The first time she came, with him inside her, Melanie gasped Aiden’s name into his ear, the sound tickling his skin and making him pump into her even harder. The second time she came with him inside her, he followed just seconds later and gradually slowed his movements until he was certain that she was completely satiated.
Then, he stood, with her still in his strong arms, and carried her back into the penthouse, taking quick steps toward his bedroom, where they finished undressing each other and fell, together, into the sheets.
*****