Delicious (Cooking Up A Storm) (9 page)

Another questionable look from those sultry eyes… sultry? He’d only seen them this particular shade of brown once. But they’d haunted him ever since that night two weeks ago when she’d let him love her.

Aiden
jerked his mind away from such thoughts. They were in the middle of dinner. He hadn’t even asked her about the house yet and already his thoughts had moved on to the bedroom.

Moved on? Had they ever really left there? Or that night for that matter? He watched her looking at him underneath her lashes and wondered if she guessed. Probably. Women seemed to have a way of guessing when a man was thinking about bedding them.

“I was asking when you have to leave again,” she said while playing with her fork. Cara was nervous. That meant she was remembering as well. He liked that.

“Tomorrow morning,
seven a.m. flight,” he told her and was rewarded with another flash of something that looked like regret.

“So soon?”

“Yeah, I know. Unfortunately, it’s unavoidable. Thank God, I’ve only committed to a year. Otherwise, I think I’d go crazy up there.” He teased her, hoping to ease some of that nervous tension between them.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”
Aiden had been expecting that question for a while now. He’d known she was dying to hear the answer to it.

“Its killing you, isn’t it.” He grinned back at her and she glared at him. “Okay, okay. Let’s take our coffee out onto the deck. It’s much too pretty of a night to be inside. There are a thousand stars out there.” Actually,
Aiden was stalling. He wasn’t sure the best way to ask Cara the question he’d wanted to ask her since talking to Miranda.

“Stop stalling,
Aiden,” Cara told him once they were sitting next to each other on the double recliner.

“Geez, am I that transparent? Okay, here’s the deal. I talked to
Miranda.”

“You’re getting back together with her?” she asked before he could tell her the truth.
Aiden glanced her way in the darkness. Cara sounded upset.

“What? No. No, way. Of course not. How could you even think that?”
Aiden set his coffee mug down and turned to her, forcing her to face him. Even in the darkness, he could see her reaction. Cara looked hurt.

“I, I just thought. That, well, you were with her longer than you’ve ever been with any other woman, and…”

“Cara, there’s nothing between Miranda and me. There never was.”

“Oh please!”
Cara got up and walked away. She didn’t want to be close to him.

“It’s the truth.”
Aiden stood beside her, facing her.

“
Aiden, you guys were…”

“Yes, well so are you and
Jason apparently,” he retaliated. This was not the way he’d envisioned this conversation going. Aiden took a deep breath and waited for calm to return.

“I’m not talking to you about
Jason. Jason is none of your business.”

Aiden
walked away, as far away as he could get and still be on the deck. He looked out at the city below and tried to control his anger.

“You’re right.
Jason isn’t my business. It’s just that you kind of threw me the other day. I just assumed.” He’d turned to look at her at that point. He couldn’t understand her anger. Didn’t she know Miranda meant nothing to him? Was she just using Jason as a barrier to keep him at a distance, as she’d been doing since he’d met her?

“What? What did you assume? That I’d be waiting for you to…that was a mistake. We both agreed it should never have happened.”

“No, you agreed it shouldn’t have happened. I told you I didn’t regret it for a second as I recall.” He came to a stop in front of her. Saw the wariness in her brown eyes. As well as the sultriness. She was only trying to protect herself. Against him?

“Look, let’s agree not to talk about those other two for now. That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about anyway.”

“Well, why did you bring up Miranda then?” Aiden bit his tongue. She had to be the most contrary of women at times.

“Because,
Miranda told me about you having to move out of your place.” Aiden tried not to sound angry as he said that. He wanted to talk about Jason. Oh yeah, he wanted to know exactly what was going on between them but he didn’t dare push her for information at the moment. “Miranda told me because she’s moving out you will be forced to find a less expensive place to live.”

“Yes,” she admitted slowly. “When did you talk to
Miranda?” Why did she sound like he’d just run over her kitten?

“Forget about
Miranda. She’s not important. I only wanted to let you know that I knew about your problem and I think I can help. I want to. If you’ll let me.”

“What do you mean?”
Cara asked with a sigh. At least she wasn’t determined to throw Miranda up in his face as a defense for the moment.

“I want you to come stay here.”
Aiden watched her react to that request. It was going to take some convincing to get her to agree; that much was clear by the way she was looking at him.

“You must be kidding.”

“I’m not,” he said so quietly that she believed him.

“
Aiden…”

“Okay, just listen for a second and stop jumping to conclusions. I’m not just trying to get you back in bed.” Not that he wasn’t constantly going over every single second of touching her in his head but best not to mention that right now.

“Aiden, it wouldn’t work.” She turned and started back inside dismissing his proposition without even hearing it through.

“It will. If you’d stop for a second.” He caught her arm and turned her to face him. When she struggled to free herself, he pulled her closer.
Cara finally gave in.

 
"Okay, okay. You win. Let me go.”

Impossible. He didn’t. “Just listen without yelling at me for a second.”

She tossed him another glare but only nodded. He grinned at her glare forcing her to look away.

“I’m only going to be here a few days a month. Otherwise, the place will sit empty. I’m not selling the house. I like it too much. You’d be doing me a huge favor by staying here,” he added when she still didn’t look at him. “I just want someone living here. This would help us both out. You’d be doing me a huge favor,” he repeated, sounding lame.

“I’m not staying here for free,” she told him. When she saw the reemergence of his grin, she added, “And I’m not going to pay in sex either.”

He laughed but knew he had her. “A guy can dream can’t he?”
Cara’s reaction to that honest answer was to try and pull away again. “Okay, okay. I’m only teasing you. When did you get so thin skinned? So it’s agreed then. You’ll stay here and you can pay whatever.”

“But only for a year,” she told him. “And I’m paying you rent every month.”

“Hard headed. You know you might actually like it here.”

“Yeah, but what happens in a year when you move back. You’re not going to want a third wheel getting in the way of your little model hunt,” she teased.

“Who says I’m going to be hunting models? They’re really kind of boring, you know?”

Cara
gave a hard shove to his chest and he let her go this time.

“I know you. You’ll have them lined up. Here and in
Little Rock. Okay, you have yourself a deal, but only because I’m desperate.” Aiden didn’t doubt that for a second.

* * * *

“Good, desperate is always good. Okay, let me show you around the place.” It occurred to Cara then that she’d only seen a few rooms in the house. The living room, kitchen and, of course, the bedroom. How could she forget the bedroom?

Apparently,
Aiden had no intention of letting her. “You can stay here,” he said calmly as they reached the door to the master bedroom. Cara dug her nails into her palms to keep from reacting to Aiden’s seductive voice. Did the man have any idea how hard to resist he was? She’d been squirming the whole evening. Especially when he was this close.

“I’ll take the guest room,” she insisted and turned to open another door, hoping that it was actually the guest room.

“What’s wrong with my room?” Aiden followed her inside another bedroom that was only slightly smaller than his and only one door down.

“Nothing besides the fact that it’s your bedroom.”

“Umm, I’m still not seeing a problem,” he told her, watching her walk across the room to the window. The room was directly above the deck. The view was even more breathtaking than below.

“This room is perfect. I love the view.”

Aiden stopped close behind her. Too close. Cara closed her eyes and started counting. One, two, three…

“I like the view as well,” he said, his hands sliding around her body pulling her back against his. “I like it a lot,” he whispered close to her ear.

“No, Aiden.” But for the life of her, those words sounded like an invitation.

“I’ve been going out of my mind all evening wanting you,” he told her, his voice husky with desire.
Aiden’s hand slipped beneath the band of her skirt, touching her stomach.

She leaned against him and couldn’t stop the moan that escaped as his fingers slipped beneath her panties and touched the moist center of her, stroking gently.

“God, you feel good.” His voice didn’t sound like Aiden. It was laced with passion. His free hand moved beneath her top to stroke her breast beneath the thin covering of her bra.

“
Aiden,” Cara whispered, her breath catching in her throat as his fingers slid inside her body. She pressed closer. She could feel his arousal against her bottom.

“I’ve wanted this since the last time. I, I needed to know that what happened wasn’t just a dream. I know you want this too,
Cara.”

What was the point in denying it or herself any longer? She’d wanted
Aiden from the beginning. Through all of those other women. She could only pray that when the time came, when he was through with her, that she could let him go.

“Yes. Yes, I want you,
Aiden. I want you so much.”

He turned her in his arms and his lips took hers.
Aiden kissed her like none other. His lips were gentle but demanding. He parted hers, his tongue tasting her. Cara met him touch for touch. His lips left hers to trail hot kisses across her cheek down to her throat. Cara’s head rolled back. Aiden’s lips ravaged her throat.

“God,
Aiden, I can’t wait any longer.” He lifted her up in his arms and carried her to the bed.

Aiden
’s fingers slipped beneath the hem of her blouse and lifted it up over her head and then he stopped.

“What is it?” she asked as her eyes locked with his.

“I just want to look at you. Before things get carried away I want to look at every inch of you.”

Cara
couldn’t hold his gaze. Not when Aiden looked at her like he was at that moment. Like he wanted to eat her alive.

He slowly unclasped the bra. It landed with her blouse. She felt his fingers reach out to touch her for the first time without the encumbrance of the bra and she drew in a sharp breath. His fingers trailed across her breast and underneath. To the sensitive skin beneath.
Cara shuddered.

“God, your eyes are so sexy. When I touch you like this, they are so damn sexy. You’re so damn sexy. I don’t know how long I can wait.”

Cara couldn’t wait either. She pulled him closer and claimed his mouth. Her trembling fingers pushed his pullover up and out of the way.

For a moment,
Aiden was too surprised by her actions to do more than let her lead the way. Cara’s fingers stroked over his chest, down the hard plane of his abdomen, to the button on his pants when he stopped her.

“Wait. Slow down baby. If you go any further I’m not going to be much good to you.”
Aiden pushed her back against the soft bed. “Just lie back and let me look at you. Let me love you.”

He had no idea how much he was asking.
Cara wanted to feel him inside of her. She didn’t want to wait any longer.

Aiden
slid the skirt down her hips and away from her body followed by her panties. She was shivering from the reaction to his touch. From the look in his eyes, she wasn’t sure how long she was going to hold out either.

Cara
closed her eyes and tried not to think about his lips, moving along her stomach. He was playing with her tattoo.

“I love this, you know? Look at me,
Cara. I want to see your reaction.”

“I can’t. Not and hold out. I want you inside me,
Aiden. I don’t want to wait any longer.”

She met his eyes, saw the slight disappointment, and knew that he’d been looking forward to exploring her body with touch and taste. Too bad. She couldn’t wait any longer.
Aiden unzipped his pants and stepped free of them along with the boxers before taking her back into his arms.

“All right, we’ll do it your way this time. But only because I love that your as desperate as me. But don’t close your eyes. Look at me
Cara.” Aiden parted her legs with his body and with one strong thrust he slid inside her body.

For a moment, time stood still. Their eyes locked, their breath driving away with the joining of their bodies to each other.

Kyle saw him hesitate. He was looking at her as if he’d never seen her before. Aiden didn’t move. His body was still within hers. He lifted a finger and brushed something from her face in wonderment.

“You’re crying?” he asked in amazement. “Did I hurt you?” This wasn’t the
Aiden she knew. This man looking at her so tenderly almost made her believe this was more than just sex.

Cara
couldn’t speak. She didn’t even know why she was crying. She only shook her head.

“Please,
Aiden. If you don’t make love to me I think I will just melt away into a million little pieces.”

He shook his head
and moved slowly within her. Cara moaned as his lips took hers once more; his tongue matching the rhythm of his body. Slowly, he thrust deeper, harder. She tilted her hips to meet his thrusts. She felt him groan against her lips and then he slid into her over and over again.

He was close. She was closer. She arched closer to him as the force of her climax exploded. Her muscles tightened around him. With another deep thrust came another ragged groan, he filled her. Fulfilled her, just before, he collapsed on top of her.

“That was intense. No, that was beyond intense. That was amazing. Out of this world. Unbelievable,” Aiden said in a voice that wasn’t recognizable as Aiden.

Cara
slowly found her bearings again. The world around them at least stopped spinning enough for her to recognize that Aiden was still inside of her. She didn’t want him to ever leave her again.

He looked down at her as if he’d never seen her before. “Your eyes are that color again. I love that color.” He kissed her long and hard.
Cara returned his kiss. She couldn’t get enough of tasting him. She felt his body responding again to their closeness. She shivered, her muscles contracted around him as he begin to move again within her. It was even better than before. It was one long, sensual climax. He collapsed once more on top of her and she was crying. Actually crying with reaction to emotions she’d never felt before with a man.

“My God, that’s never happened before,” he whispered against her throat, kissing her there. “Has it with you?”

She could only shake her head. Words just wouldn’t come.

Aiden
rolled over on his back and took her with him. Aiden slowly slid out of her, before gathering her close. “I think we’d better play it safe. Otherwise, someone’s going to find our dead bodies in a very compromising position in a few days. I can only imagine their reaction.”

She didn’t speak.
Cara didn’t even think she could form words together at that point.

“Are you okay? You’re crying again.”

She tried to answer him. Tried to reassure him that she was fine but all that she could do was cry harder.

Aiden
held her close and whispered reassuring words against her ear until she had no more tears left.

“
Cara, are you sure I didn’t hurt you? Please tell me that I didn’t?”