Six
Aiden
I flipped a pancake and I heard it sizzle as it fell to the griddle one more time. Molly was still sleeping, probably because she was a little bit hung over. I was too. Her bloody Mary was sitting on the counter while mine was nearly gone. I picked up the phone again as I sat down at the island. I'd been calling every one of my ex-military buddies to see if anyone knew of a girl I could to bring home to my uncle. Someone I could convince to play a part in my ruse. I had a plan laid out, I would convince her to marry me at the end of the month. Then we would stay married for three months, convincing my uncle that I had really settled down. Then he would let me be done at the hospital and I could move back into the pharmaceutical company make my millions and at the end of three months, she could leave with a nice little severance package. It was a job, and someone would be happy to have it. They could live here in the penthouse with me and take advantage of any opportunities that present themselves as being with me. Including sex every night. This was a win-win. But so far out of the four guys I called I was striking out with each one. Finally I decided to call my brother Luke. He would be as pissed as I was to hear what our uncle was doing to me. Zion, on the other hand, was too close with our uncle to care. I clicked on his picture on the screen and began calling on speakerphone.
“Aiden? What the hell are you doing up this early?”
“It's nearly 10 o'clock. I'm always up by 10 o'clock.”
“Sure you are. But you’re never calling me at 10 o'clock. Some of us have jobs you know, we work.”
I rolled my eyes. “Hey, starting tomorrow I'll be joining the working class once again.”
“Are you serious? You haven’t had a job since, hell I don't know when you've had a job last. What’s going on?”
I was the baby of the three of us, and I had kind of a reputation. My bear growled at the insinuation I wasn’t capable of hard work. I was capable, I just didn’t want to do it.
“I borrowed one of our investor's yachts and landed up in prison.”
“Prison? Like you did a hard time?”
I shook my head. “No, no. Just in the drunk tank for the night. But the investor pulled out of our firm and Uncle Murray is pissed. So he’s making me work at the mountain hospital with you guys for a month and he's making me get married.”
I could hear him laughing at the other end of the line. “Married? Who are you marrying?”
“Well see, that's the problem. I have no fucking clue who I'm going to marry.”
“What about that model? What the hell was her name? Natasha?”
“She's long gone. And don't think I didn't try to call her because I did. She wouldn't even answer. You know half the girls in my phone book wouldn't answer. What the hell is up with that?”
“What the hell is up with that? Are you kidding? You’re a player. That's what's up. Girls don't marry players, they just talk.”
Wasn’t that the truth. But up until just a couple days ago I never minded that. Actually, I preferred it. Screw ‘em and let ‘em go. But now I need one to stay around, someone I could actually spend time with. At least the next four months’ worth.
“So why are you calling me? You know I’m addicted to my work, and single too. Also you know Zion is going to freak out. There’s no way he’s going to go for any of this. Uncle Murray can be a piece of work sometimes.”
“I need to find a girl. Somebody I can spend some time with. Someone, I can marry,” I could hear him chuckling on the other end of the line. “But it's not going to be like that. Just a few months, and then I'll cut them loose. With a huge check to go with it. Shares of the company, Murray is finally going to give me full access to my trust. If I work at the hospital for a month and I get married.”
I could almost see Luke shaking his head. “You can't be serious! No one is going to go for that.”
“I don't have a choice. So, are there any women wandering around that hospital of yours? Anyone who could use some extramarital benefits?”
“Hell no. No one I would set you up with! Any of the single ladies in my unit are smart. And to most of them are married! Hell some of them are older than me. I don't know how to tell you this Aiden, you're screwed. If you’re not willing to call Zion and get this all straightened out, then you’re on your own. I’ve got patients to see, good luck.”
Just then Molly emerged from my bedroom wiping her eyes with my shirt and just a single pair of undies on. Damn, she was hot. My bear grumbled in agreement.
“Yeah okay, buddy. Thanks anyway. Bye.” I swiped my phone to hang up the call.
“Morning sleeping beauty.”
“What time is it?” She whined as she put her hand above her eyes to block out the sunlight coming from my floor-to-ceiling windows in the kitchen.
“After 10.”
She groaned. “I need to text my sister. Have you seen my phone? Wait. Have you seen my skirt? I think my phone was in there.”
I pointed to the couch. “I think that's where I tore it off of you.”
She dragged her feet along the white carpet and flopped down on the couch pulling her phone out of the pocket of her skirt. I turned off the griddle and put two pancakes on a plate for her, grabbing the Bloody Mary off the island and walking into the living room setting it down in front of her.
“You cook?”
“Don't sound so surprised. A man's got to eat. Especially shifters, I eat more than most men.”
“Yeah I get that, but men like you have cooks. Chefs or whatever. They don't usually make their own pancakes and Bloody Marys. By the way, this is really good.” She said as she took a sip.
“I have a proposition for you.”
She pulled her feet up on the leather sofa underneath her so she was sitting Indian style. A single strand of black curly hair fell into her face and it took every fiber of my being to not push it out of her eyes. God, why was I so attracted to her?
I couldn't figure it out. I also couldn't figure out why I was doing what I was about to do. But I didn't have any other choices. I was shit out of luck.
“I'm listening.”
“So last night…”
She picked up the plate and took a bite out of her pancake. “Was great.”
“I was going to say fucking awesome, but great is okay.”
“Okay, so what about it? I thought we were very no strings attached.”
“But what if there were?”
She raised an eyebrow at me. “Strings?”
“Yeah. What if we could keep doing this? Not only would we keep having amazing hot sex, but there was more to it. Something in it for you.”
She set the plate on the coffee table looking confused. “Are you trying to ask me out on a date? Because you kind of suck at it.”
“No,” I put my hands up in surrender. I couldn't remember the last time asked somebody out on a date. I didn't date. I didn't date and I didn't fall in love, I just screwed women senseless. And up until now, it had worked for me.
“No, I don't want to date you. I want to marry you.”
She choked on the Bloody Mary, some of it coming out of her mouth. I grabbed a napkin off the table and handed it to her. “I'm sorry, what did you just say? Because I swear to God I only had four beers last night.”
“Yes, you did.”
“Is this some kind of weird shifter fantasy? Human girl… shifter guy. Hell, I don’t even know what you are.”
“Bear, but anyway here's the deal, I'm wealthy.”
“Consider me shocked.” She said sarcastically. God, I loved it when she was feisty.
“But I'm going to lose all of that money unless I get married. See I had a little run-in with the law recently and my uncle who is the estate holder for my parents wants to pull out my business from underneath me.”
“Business? And your parents?”
“Yes my parents owned a shifter pharmaceutical business, it's very popular, and we do very well. But when they died I went into the military instead, I became a medic and then a doctor because I thought I could apply my knowledge the business. Well, that was the plan. But instead, I came back from war and mostly got drunk and slept with women. And then I stole a boat recently and pissed my uncle off. Oh and I have two brothers who are also doctors and shifters, and they’re angels. I’m the black sheep. I think that pretty much sums it up.”
I surveyed her shocked face, her mouth gaping open just a little bit. She was still in just my shirt and her underwear. Why didn't I think of this as an opportunity as soon as I met her? Why had I been so dumb?
Oh yeah, because now she was looking at me like I was a lunatic and I could see her making an escape plan in her brain. That super smart sexy brain.
“I'm sorry you want me to marry you so you can inherit your parents’ fortune and then what?”
I realized I hadn't told her my complete plan. “We stay married for three months, at the end of three months you get a severance package, a much bigger one than I'm sure you're getting from your current job. Not to mention I can promise you a coding job within the company. Six figures. Or double whatever it was used to make.”
Suddenly she sat up a little bit straighter and I could tell that I picture interest. “What kind of severance package?”
“Half a million. Does that sound fair?”
“And a real wedding? Like with guests and everything? Not some little elopement?”
“No, I’m going have to make it look very real. The wedding, lots of guests. There will probably be a planner and rehearsal dinner and an archway full of roses, if that's what you want. And you will get whatever you want.”
“Oh well, I wanted to only be married once in my life. But… I also didn't expect to lose my job yesterday. And I am single, but not in that crazy cat lady way. I just haven't found the right guy.”
“I could be that guy.”
She rolled her eyes but I noticed a small smile playing on her lips. Those lips that I could imagine wrapping around my cock. Focus Aiden, get her to say yes.
“You could live here. You could live here while I work at the hospital for the next month. That would solve your rent problem.”
“I can't leave Julia hanging out with some big rent bill.”
“You're right, I'm sure I can tap into some of my smaller bank accounts and handle your rent for the next few months. Consider it a sublet. And live here for free, anything you want day or night you have it.”
I failed to mention that what I wanted was her. And that I would have her day or night, whenever I wanted.
But after her moans last night, I didn't think she would mind.
“I have to think about this.”
“So you're not saying no.”
She picked up the plate of pancakes and started eating again, through a mouthful of carbs she said, “No, I'm not saying no.”