Chapter Ten
Kaitlyn
The doors opened on the surface elevator, sunlight spilling inside the metal cage. Pulling her sunglasses down to shield her eyes she stepped out, enjoying the feel of the early-afternoon sun on her skin.
I never realized living underground could make you miss the sun so much. Her entire mood changed as she soaked in the UV rays. Although the sun was up and shining, she was still dressed in pants and a long-sleeve shirt. The spring day was one of the warmest yet, but the chill of winter was still fresh in her mind. All in all though, it was a perfect day to spend time outside, especially after the exhaustion of the past two days.
The jet lag was playing hell with her system, but Kaitlyn believed in sucking it up and just accepting things that were quite simply out of her control. So she ignored the dull burning around her eyes that told her she should be fast asleep at that point and instead scanned the surface area nearby.
It was empty. Looking at her phone, it showed that she was two minutes past the twenty-minute deadline Aric had set. To her that was a minor miracle, considering she’d changed, brushed her hair, and touched up her makeup as well. To do all that and only be two minutes late was a heroic effort.
All of which meant nothing now that it was clear she could have spent more time. Kaitlyn didn’t often put much in the way of makeup on, but the importance of closing this business deal couldn’t be understated. Both for the bank, her career, and also her own financial well-being. That six-figure payday was going to be hers, and if that meant dolling herself up a bit, then so be it, she wouldn’t complain. It was a minor price to pay.
“Where are you?” she asked to the empty space, feeling self-conscious about just standing there doing nothing.
The base spread out in front of her, sloping gently downward from the cluster of entrances to the underground complex. Besides the building from where she’d just come that housed the set of personnel elevators as well as a supply elevator, there was also the massive gaping tunnel.
She studied it, noting the massive railway tracks embedded into the ground that led in and out. That wasn’t the weird part. It reminded her of an old-style mining shaft, with the hand carts and whatnot. Out of date, but normal-enough looking. The huge concrete cylinders resting on tracks perhaps a hundred feet back from the entrance were what truly threw her off. What in the world would they be used for?
Her eyes gauged the size of them, comparing them to the tunnel. The closest one was the smallest, but they grew in size, the fifth one being a good chunk bigger. If they were to be pushed over the lip of the tunnel they would slide down it and probably block it. Even as she came up with that idea it became clear that’s exactly what they were. Plugs. Giant concrete plugs designed to block the tunnel in case the base was attacked, sealing off the lower levels.
What was down there that was so important they couldn’t let anyone get at it?
Her thoughts were distracted by the sounds of someone jogging in her direction. Looking over her shoulder she saw a distinctly familiar form coming her way. Tall, broad-shouldered, and flashing pearly whites that were visible from fifty feet away, Aric didn’t stop smiling even when he came to a halt next to her.
“You’re in a good mood.”
“How could I not be? You made it.”
Kaitlyn looked away, embarrassed about his excitement at seeing her. She didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but Aric certainly did. It was flattering, but also not something she was used to.
“So where are we going?” She wanted the attention off her for the moment, and back on the food. Her stomach was starting to growl at her and demand she satisfy it. Unfortunately most of the food they’d had so far had been substandard, since they’d been eating at off hours due to the jet lag.
“This way.” Aric pointed at one of the paths that led toward a few of the more permanent buildings on the base.
Curious as to what he had planned in their brief time apart, she followed without question. They walked side-by-side in silence. Kaitlyn was ready to cringe at that, but as they walked on the quiet grew more peaceful. Her eyes were drawn to the mountains again and again, eying the snowcapped peaks of the bigger ones located deeper inside the range.
“It would be so very nice here if it weren’t for the military base,” she remarked at last. “I’m impressed at the beauty of these mountains.”
“They’re smaller than home, yes, but they still have much of that same majestic nature to them, don’t they?”
Kaitlyn nodded. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. It calms the soul a little, making me feel a little more at home than I’d expected when coming to a new continent and country.”
She sensed Aric looking at her and glanced up.
“Are you okay?” he asked, concern dotting his face.
“What do you mean?”
He worked his jaw. “I never thought to ask you if the idea of coming on such a faraway trip was okay with you. Not everyone travels well, and I didn’t take that into consideration. Are you handling this okay?”
She nodded. “Yes, of course! I’m so happy to be here. Do you think we’ll get some time to do a little more sightseeing? That helicopter ride yesterday was wonderful, but I’d love to get a car and just go explore on my own, you know?”
“I don’t see why not. Once the deal is all finalized you can take a few days to do whatever you want, sure.”
“Oh, okay. You don’t have any interest in exploring?”
Kaitlyn cursed herself for saying the words. Inviting Aric along for her sightseeing trip was not a very good way to keep a business relationship between them.
Neither is agreeing to go to lunch with him. Or the way you hugged him earlier.
Fire seared through her body as she recalled being pressed up tight against him, feeling his rock-hard chest against her face as he hugged her tight. All willpower had fled in that moment, leaving her weak and vulnerable. The constant change in Aric was like a never-ending rollercoaster, and she just didn’t know what to expect anymore. When he’d apologized to her for not following up on the folder of materials making it to her hands, she’d been left stunned.
Aric did not apologize. Not the Aric she’d known and heard about prior to the trip. He was a hard-assed boss who expected perfection from his employees. Although she’d not held back when laying into him, she’d expected a fierce pushback from the proud man. Instead he’d accepted the blame and then the two of them had proceeded to hug it out for a solid thirty seconds or more.
Her body had reacted in ways she’d not been happy about, betraying her with its physical actions, despite knowing full well she didn’t want to let herself get involved with Aric like this. Nothing had come of it to her relief, but it was proving hard to put the cat back into the bag now that it had been opened. The tension she’d first felt weeks before was back, and this time with a vengeance.
Not only did she want Aric, but it seemed like she could have him. The ego-soaring boost of that alone would make it hard to resist him, even if he hadn’t changed. Being able to tell her friends that she’d made him hers would have almost been worth hopping into the sack with him again.
He’s changed though, and that’s what’s making everything so difficult. I’m not interested because he’s hot, not completely—can you blame me?—but because this new side of him is so different than what I’m used to.
“I would go exploring,” Aric conceded. “If you wanted me along. I wouldn’t want to impose on you.”
Kaitlyn made the mistake of looking up into his face. His eyes were nearly glowing, pushing away the cool, detached look he normally wore and replacing it with something warm and inviting that encouraged her to sit down and stay awhile.
“You’re not imposing,” she told him, hearing herself speak, but not recognizing the tone. It was softer, more flirtatious.
“That makes me happy.” Aric’s voice was heavy and thick with feeling.
They were becoming wrapped up in one another and Kaitlyn wasn’t doing a damn thing about it. What’s worse, was she was actively encouraging it. She saw her hand lift to slowly push the hair out of her face, ensuring that he could look upon her fully.
“But only if you tell me where we’re going now,” she added after a pause.
“And ruin the surprise?” He looked sad. “What sort of fun would that be?”
She looked away so he wouldn’t see her smile. “The sort where I’m not kept in the dark. I don’t do surprises very well.”
“No?”
She shook her head.
“So I guess me unloading this entire trip on you didn’t work to well either, did it?”
“I went back to my office and had a mini panic attack, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Aric groaned. “I royally screwed this up for you, didn’t I?”
“Maybe,” she admitted lightly, not wanting him to feel bad. It’s not like she wasn’t going to get paid for it in the end, and that would more than make up for any problems. “Now, stop with the secrets—remember we said no more of those—and tell me.”
By now they were crossing through the green area that had been preserved at the heart of the cluster of permanent aboveground facilities. A few uniformed members of the army sat or strolled under the trees here or there, but it was mostly empty. Kaitlyn’s eyes were drawn to the flat grassy area next to the small river that ran down through the mountains and wound its way through the base.
“Aric, what is that?”
“That’s where we’re going.”
“That’s a red and white blanket spread out with what looks suspiciously like a picnic basket on top of it.”
He chuckled. “I always knew you were a perceptive one. I can’t fool you for a second.”
“Ouch.”
They shared a laugh, leaving Kaitlyn feeling both at ease and uncomfortable. A picnic? With Aric? Who was this guy? He certainly wasn’t the same person she’d worked with for six months.
It was tough to deny the cuteness of what he’d managed to arrange in such a short period of time however, and her heartstrings were definitely being plucked. “You put this all together?”
He shrugged as they sat down at the edge of the blanket and kicked off their shoes. “It’s not as fancy as it looks. My options were fairly limited, but I hope you’ll enjoy. There’s no metal trays, I promise.”
She bit her lip, smiling up at him through her eyelashes at the reminder of his earlier joke. A sense of humor and a romantic? There were apparently a lot of sides to Aric she’d believed never existed. Like the protector she’d seen yesterday at the helicopter. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by her how he’d kept himself between her and the soldier at all times.
Contrast that with the guy she’d seen this morning, engaging in a dick-swinging contest with Kallore. That was the man she’d expected to see. Unwilling to not be the biggest guy in the room, and had to ensure everyone knew it.
The yo-yo of personality meant that while she was definitely softening up around him, she wasn’t positive of who he was yet. Not until that point could she make a decision on whether to let things progress the way they seemed to be going on their own, or to bring them to a stop.
She just hoped things became clear soon, because the longer she spent around him, the more impossible it was becoming to stop what had already started. All this thinking and judging and attempts to figure him out were giving her a headache that threatened to keep her up at night. That could also be the stress of keeping her status hidden from him.
Aric had been busy digging in the basket while all this went through her head, which was a positive because Kaitlyn doubted she could have kept her face from betraying the emotions swirling inside her like a kite in a hurricane.
“To drink we have a non-environmentally friendly plastic water bottle, or metal soda can filled with some generic cola that would probably never pass inspection back home.” He held up the options with a “I’m doing my best with where we are, please don’t judge me for it” grin.
Kaitlyn broke into a wide smile and took the water. “And for the pièce de résistance?”
“Ah. Well, for that madame, we have perfectly roasted and expertly cut roast beef on a day-old fresh bun, served a la-plastique, or a filet-o-tuna avec, I believe, mayonnaise, also served a la-plastique.”
“I would have preferred a la-carte, but I’ll take the roast beef.”
Aric nodded and slapped a shrink-wrapped log of bun and meat into her hand with a flourish completely unnecessary for the quality of meal. “Voila.”
“Picnic-a-la-Aric. Truly an experience one hopes to forget.”
The big man looked crestfallen at her joke. Feeling bad, she reached out and rested her hand on his forearm. “I’m joking. This is really nice of you, ensuring that we don’t have to eat inside. You even made it a little fun.”
Aric’s neck tightened as she touched him, the veins popping, but he returned her smile and laid a hand atop her. “Of course it’s fun for you. You’re not having the tuna!”
She laughed. “That’s what you get for offering me first choice. You should have gotten more of both.”
“I tried. The lunch lady didn’t let me.”
His delivery reminded her so perfectly of a grade-schooler upset at not being given what they wanted that she fell onto her side, overcome with the giggles. She pictured Aric the giant looking up at this lunch lady who said no with an angry wave of her serving tongs. It was just too much.
“At a certain point it ceases being laughter at my joke and begins to be laughter at me,” Aric stated, tearing into his sandwich with mock hurt still on his face.
“I’m sorry, I was just picturing a lunch lady big enough to be mean to you.”
Aric’s food went flying past her to land on the grass as he started coughing, his face caught between a smile and panic as he choked for a few moments on a bit of bread or meat. Eventually he cleared his lungs and enjoyed his version of said evil lunch lady. “Wow, okay, I can see how that would be funny.”
She nodded. “You are rather large. Almost like that Kallore fellow too. Do you have something in common?” She frowned in thought. “Lots of the other male directors at the bank are all tall like you as well, now that I think about it. All jacked and good-looking too.”
“You think I’m jacked and good-looking?” His lips curled upward.
“Like you need the compliment,” she said dryly.
Aric tilted his head slightly, attempting to be modest while accepting her comment most likely. She was glad to see he didn’t get arrogant about it, though why he should be fishing for compliments in the first place was beyond her.
Watching him eat set her stomach rumbling and she tore open her roast beef and began to chow down, if only to settle the need for food. It certainly wasn’t a very good sandwich, but she’d begun to expect as much from the military base. Still, it fulfilled her need for sustenance, and gave them a chance to eat in silence.
It also meant she could rack herself with more guilt for holding back information Aric deserved to know. Her mind was a broken record on the topic, spinning round and round the subject, never fully arriving on a decision.
“This was definitely way better than eating among the troops,” she admitted, breaking the silence and fleeing her thoughts.
“Indeed.” Aric looked around. “What are you going to do with the rest of your day?”
“I have no idea,” she admitted. “The thought hadn’t crossed my mind. Probably go back and nap for a bit, if I’m being completely honest. You?”
Aric just shrugged. “Yeah, maybe the same.” He dipped his head in the direction of the underground visitors’ quarters. “Shall we?”
She helped him clean up and they walked back to the elevators, making only small talk along the way. Only when they paused at the outer doors did the mood suddenly change. At first she missed it, because she was looking off to the side, getting her first real glimpse as a unit of battlesuit-wearing soldiers tromped on by.
“Sorry, what were you saying?” she asked, turning back to look at him.
“I was saying how beautiful you look in the sun.”
Trying to speak through her abruptly dry throat proved impossible, so Kaitlyn resorted to looking down and to the side as she blushed. Fingers lifted her chin up however, until she was forced to look directly at him.
“Aric?” she asked, shaky voice mirroring her legs. “What are you doing?”
He leaned closer, freeing her chin only to brush a few rogue strands of hair out of the way. “I would very much like to kiss you, if that’s okay.”
What? No, no it wasn’t okay! Kaitlyn definitely wasn’t ready for this. Her voice didn’t respond, so she shook her head. Wait, why was everything moving up and down? No!
But it was too late. Her body had once again betrayed her, offering herself up to him without a fight. Aric’s lips smashed into hers before she could change her mind. Beside them the picnic basket and blanket fell to the ground, forgotten.
After a few seconds she remembered to slam her eyes closed and open her mouth to him. The idea of stopping never crossed her mind. Not in any real capacity. He was the perfect kisser. What had come in as hard and aggressive had transformed into a kiss that was soft and firm, with enough tongue to be sexy.
Two hands the size of her head gripped her waist, providing a tantalizing tease of what it had been like to hook up with him. Kaitlyn knew they’d hooked up before, but everything about this moment was so different it felt brand new again. This Aric was tender and erotic, a more fulfilling vibe than the lust she’d experienced before. That had a time and place, but this wasn’t it.
Knowing she was starting to lose control, and that the moment was leaving her lightheaded, kicked in a response from her brain that for once did what she wanted and pulled her away. Not a panicked retreat, but a pause for air. Their eyes opened and quickly found one another.
His mouth was open and he was breathing deep, much like she was. It must have been good for him as well, a fulfillment of a rapid explosion of interest between them that she’d been blindsided by.
“Umm.” She stammered, trying a second time to come up with something appropriate to say while waiting for Aric to take charge. She was far too awkward to be the one that did that!
Instead though he smiled at her, his expression turning panicked and then pained. “I’ll see you later.”
Then just like that he was gone, headed deeper into the base, leaving her there with the empty basket and blanket, and a brain screaming one thing over and over.
What the fuck just happened?