Chapter Nineteen
Aidan followed Beck home even though they’d kissed good night in the Waterford Farm drive at ten o’clock on Sunday night. A slow drizzle had increased to a heavy rain, and that was all the excuse he needed to make sure she got home okay.
He slipped into his usual parking spot on the street, hustling around to the back of the building, where she parked, to meet her before she even got out of her car with Ruff. She didn’t seem the least bit surprised as she turned off the ignition and opened the door, but Ruff barked mightily in greeting.
“It’s raining,” he said, as if that explained his decision.
“And I ate pizza.” She slipped out of the car and stood, wrapping her arms around him, not caring that the rain splattered all over her. “So we should celebrate.”
“With more pizza?” he suggested, already knowing that was not what either one of them had in mind.
“With more…this.” She tilted her head back, inviting a kiss that he wanted to take, but he had to look at her instead. The rain dribbling down her cheeks could easily be mistaken for tears, but he knew better. This was not an unhappy woman. This was joy. Pure joy, and he was holding it in his arms.
“How long do I have to wait?” she asked without opening her eyes.
“Long enough for me to memorize the way you look right now, all wet from rain and lit by the moon and streetlamp.”
That made her smile. Laugh, even, but she didn’t open her eyes or change her position or speak.
“Long enough for me to brace myself for how hard it’s going to hit me when I kiss you, and how much I am not going to want to stop.”
“Mmm.” The little moan was her only response, but it told him she felt exactly the same way.
“Long enough for me to tell you that I can’t remember the last time I felt that good at Waterford Farm. And it’s all because you were there.”
Finally, she opened her eyes. “Really?”
“Really.”
“I felt the same way. I mean, at home and at peace and secure. It’s been a long, long time since I felt that way, or…” She bit her lip, as if trying to stop herself from what she was about to say.
“Or…”
“It’s been a long, long time since I’ve felt this way about anyone,” she admitted on a whisper. “I don’t know what your secret ingredient is, Aidan Kilcannon, but I can’t seem to get enough.”
A raindrop hit her nose, and he kissed it off, then moved to her lips. “Same,” he murmured. As he intensified the kiss, Ruff started to bark ferociously.
“Oh no you don’t, buddy. Not this time.” He grabbed hold of the dog’s collar with one hand and guided him out of the car. “Can we go inside, Beck?”
Silent, she took his hand and led the way.
The hallway was dark, but she didn’t put on a light. The minute they stepped inside, she turned, embracing him again and taking another kiss. Ruff’s barks echoed in the tiny space, loud enough to cover up their noisy heartbeats and already ragged breaths.
Each kiss grew hotter, deeper, and more desperate. They managed to get up the back stairs, fish out keys, unlock, and slide inside, but there, all he could do was lean her against the closed door and move his hands everywhere.
She did the same, hungry and greedy to touch him.
Ruff circled, barked, and finally accepted that he was being ignored, the room finally quiet except for their soft groans and the occasional sweet whimper from Beck’s throat.
“We’re sliding to the floor,” he murmured into the kiss.
“Really? Feels more like floating on air to me.”
Yeah, that, too. “If we go in your room, Ruff can’t see us.”
“You think he cares?”
“I think he’ll eat my face off if I try to undress you.”
“Then I better do it for you.” She slipped away from him, tugging him along by the hand. “He should sleep on the sofa if we’re quiet.”
“Or bark outside the door if we’re not.”
Laughing, she brought him inside her bedroom and closed the door firmly. The room was dim, lit only by a yellowish cast from the ridiculous Christmas lights they never took out of the trees in Bushrod Square.
But it was enough for him to see the dresser, a rocker, and the bed. Enough for him to see the promise in Beck’s eyes. Enough for him to drink in the sight of her gorgeous body as she backed away and gathered the hem of her T-shirt in loose fists.
“Undress, did you say?”
He tried to swallow, but his throat was bone-dry, and his head got light as blood rushed out of it to be put to better use than thinking. “Beck.”
She lifted a brow in question.
“Let me.” He took a few steps closer. “I haven’t thought about much else since I met you.”
“Not pizza?”
“Pizza’s just a way to be around you.” He hadn’t realized how true that was until he said it. But from the first, his desire to be in that kitchen was grounded in his desire to be with this woman. Not Ruff. Not away from Waterford. Her.
“Then…” She looked up at him, arching slightly into his body to invite more under-the-shirt exploration. “I love pizza.”
“That didn’t take long.” He laughed, but it disappeared into the first real kiss in this room, and then everything melted away. Everything.
Her top and little white sneakers. His shirt and far too heavy boots. Her silky bra came off with one easy snap as he laid her on the bed, trailing kisses while she fumbled with his shirt buttons.
But more than clothes disappeared. It was like he could feel walls tumbling down, brick by brick. Old hurts and new problems. Deep wounds and surface cuts. Everything smoothed out until it was as silky as the skin on her belly, warm and feminine under his lips. He unzipped her jeans and helped her tug them off, snagging his wallet and a condom he’d been optimistically carrying for weeks, then kicked off his khakis.
And finally, almost completely undressed, they lay all the way down, breathing like a couple of racehorses in anticipation of the starting bell. It was time. This was it.
She splayed her hand on his chest, circling her palm as blood thrummed through his body, making him ache with need. He traced a line with his fingers over her hips, sliding into the lace strap of an itty-bitty thong he could rip if he wasn’t careful.
And finally, they kissed again. Once, gently. He held back, wanting to relish every moment, every sensation. Wanting to be sure she was ready. He was, of course. Hard and certain and as ready as a man could be. But this was Beck, not some hookup, not some easy, feel-good, meaningless fling.
This was not meaningless. They were forever connected by Charlie. By Ruff. And now, by this.
“You having second thoughts?” she whispered, searching his face with her eyes and her fingertips.
“I’m having first thoughts,” he admitted.
“What’s that?”
“The first time I realize just how much you mean to me.”
“That’s what this is for, right?” She kissed him on the lips. “To show me how much. And let me show you.”
He sank into that kiss, then, openmouthed and fully ready to give himself like he never had before. He wanted to be completely lost in Beck, so far gone that he couldn’t think or see or feel anything but her.
With one move, he did away with her panties, and she dragged his briefs out of her way. Her touch was sure, hot, and insanely good.
“Show me, Aidan,” she whispered in his ear. “Show me what it means.”
Nothing had ever been easier. Sex was effortless, glossy, sweet, and slow. They fit perfectly, no matter how many times they rolled around, assumed new positions, and laughed, kissed, touched, and connected at the deepest level.
When her nails dug in and her pleas grew desperate, when his body clutched and refused to obey his mind, and when they were both absolutely at the peak of pleasure, everything else disappeared except the two of them and the pure pleasure they gave each other.
As Aidan moved and Beck rocked and they both fell into complete release, Aidan reveled in those long, drawn-out, crazy seconds of being totally and utterly lost.
Except, when Beck collapsed on him, soaked and spent, Aidan wrapped his arms around her and realized he wasn’t lost at all.
He just got found.
* * *
The bed rumbled. Low, loud, like a freight train coming to life and vibrating, then whistling as it flew right by Beck’s ear. Her eyes popped open in shock, and she stared at her wall, then blinked to full alertness when the train backed up, roared again, and blew so hard she felt the bed vibrate.
Aidan snored that loud?
Shame, because everything else he did in bed was beyond perfection.
She slowly turned and came face-to-face with Ruff, on his back, paws up, snoring like a bear in hibernation.
She bit back a laugh at the hilarious sight, feeling relief the snoring wasn’t Aidan’s. Then surprise, because Ruff had never shown any interest in sleeping in her room, let alone in her bed. But mostly, a contentment so rich and deep she couldn’t quite give it a name rolled over her so thoroughly that she let her head fall back on the pillow with a soft thud.
The three of them in a bed was pure magic.
On the other pillow, a honey-blond head moved, and then two beautiful blue eyes opened and pinned her with a look.
“We have company,” she said.
“I let him in,” he admitted. “He was crying.”
“You’re a pushover.”
He slid a hand over Ruff’s head and threaded his fingers in her tangled hair. “You were sound asleep, or you’d have done the same thing.”
“Someone tired me out.”
He smiled. “I need to hold you.” He rubbed Ruff’s belly, which woke him and made him automatically roll over. Then, Aidan gave him a gentle nudge toward the bottom of the bed. “Out of the way, Beasto. I want my woman.”
Something stretched in her chest, a dangerous, delicious pull of pure pleasure at the very idea of being his woman. No such stretching for Ruff, though. He repositioned, claiming his space with a yawn that put every inch of a five-inch tongue on display, then let his head plop right back down again.
“Maybe this was Charlie’s plan,” Aidan muttered. “He didn’t care who got the dog, only that he did the job of getting between us.”
“Almost worked,” Beck said on a laugh.
Aidan sat up, got both arms around Ruff, and gently shoved his big body downward, instantly taking his place and wrapping himself around Beck. “That’s better.”
Ruff jumped off the bed and gave a shake, ambling out of the room, no doubt searching for food.
“I have to take him out,” she said, but even as she spoke, she knew that would be impossible. Because right this minute, a strong man with talented hands and a sexy body was holding her so securely, she knew poor Ruff would have to wait at least a few more minutes.
Aidan kissed her head and slid his bare leg around hers. “Tell me what changed, Beck. What pushed you over the edge?”
She blinked in surprise at the question, then smiled. “Honestly? I think I knew I wanted to sleep with you the minute I laid eyes on you,” she admitted. “First, I wanted to kiss you, and I thought that would be enough.” She touched his lips. “But of course, it wasn’t. Then I got to know you and watch you work and see you with Ruff. And then, last night, with your family around, I saw a man I like a lot. And you’re sexy. So sexy.” She laughed. “Maybe I should have led with that. What about you?”
He stifled a laugh. “I meant what made you finally eat pizza.”
“Oh!” Her jaw dropped, and she playfully punched his arm. “And you let me do that whole speech?”
“It was too good to interrupt.” He kissed her nose.
“It was Gramma,” she said, thinking about the real question. “She made me feel secure enough to try it.”
“So I can’t take any credit?”
She stroked his arm and shoulder, loving the cuts of each muscle and the warmth of his skin. “You get credit for taking me into your family and letting me feel things I forgot and…long for.”
He squeezed her lightly. “You make me feel things I forgot and long for, too.”
“Then we’re good for each other.” She pressed a kiss on that shoulder, because it was so strong and felt so good. Then she looked up at him. “What put you over the edge?”
“I can pinpoint the moment when I started to…think about you as more than a rival for Ruff. It was when you didn’t freak out about the paint. Hated that you were taking him, but admired your attitude.”
“Moments after you called me weak,” she reminded him.
“Man, I got that all wrong.” He cuddled her closer, not forcing anything, letting a slow morning heat build. “You’re strong and sexy and sweet, all in one.” He rocked her against him, taking her breath away. “Let’s go see Mike today.”
She choked a soft laugh at that. “You press your whole hard body against me and suggest we see Mike? So romantic.”
Inching back, he looked at her. “If I were romantic, I would not have suggested that.”
“Not sure I’m following your logic.”
“If I were romantic, I would never want you to leave Bitter Bark. Helping Mike win that contest and get on TV will catapult sales, then Slice will be back on its feet and so will its original owner, then you will fly back to your life in Chicago to take pictures of babies and have brunch with friends and…” He narrowed his eyes. “Oh, please tell me you don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Little late to ask, hon. No, I don’t.”
“But you will, especially now that you’ve come to terms with your past.”
Had she? Silent, thinking about that, she closed her eyes as he stroked a few strands of hair off her face. “You’re a catch, Rebecca Spencer.”
“Not if I don’t want to be caught.”
Searching her face, he slid his hand over her shoulder and under the comforter to caress her waist and hip. “Do you?” he finally asked.
She’d have to be honest. As difficult as it was, he deserved total candor. “Aidan, I’ve lost enough people in my life not to want to take that risk. I’m not planning to dig in my heels and stay single forever, but I’m petrified of getting so close to someone, and having to endure the pain of losing them, whatever that loss might entail.”
Still touching her, his hands searing her skin but soothing at the same time, he stayed quiet for a while. A long while. Long enough that she had to break the silence.
“What about you? I mean, obviously you’re single now, but will you stay that way?”
She expected a joke about his dad, or an easy answer, but there was nothing light about the way he looked at her. “I don’t do anything casually,” he said, the intensity of his words as powerful as his touch.
“So this was not casual sex?”
He was quiet for so long, a tendril of fear started to worm up her chest.
“Then what was it?” she asked.
“Amazing. Healing. Hot. Critical for my survival. Pick a description.”
“But not casual.”
He gave a dry laugh. “Casual is a way you dress, Beck, not the way I make love. Not to you.”
She tried to swallow, but that wasn’t happening. Her chest was getting tighter, too.
“You’re scared to death of that,” he said, scanning her face like he could read every emotion swirling in her.
“I told you, getting close to someone terrifies me. I’ve lost the three people I’ve loved the most.”
“I’m not gonna die.”
“You don’t have to. There are other ways to lose people, but that’s the worst.”
He blew out a long, slow breath. “Then let’s call it casual,” he said, and she could tell from his tone that was a huge concession and maybe a way to end a conversation he didn’t like. “Or fun. Or wonderful. Or temporary. Call it a freaking taste test, if you want.”
“In other words, you don’t care what we call it.”
“Bingo.” He kissed her on the nose. “As long as it’s not rare, occasional, or over.”
“So you want to sleep with me again?”
“Tonight,” he said, not a nanosecond of hesitation. “If I can wait that long.” His hand coasted over her again, turning her to the side, sliding his leg between hers. “Nope. Can’t wait that long,” he muttered as he leaned over to press his lips to the slope of her breast.
Like last night, she shuddered under his touch and instantly melted.
Poor Ruff wasn’t going outside anytime soon.