Final Call (The Call #2) (13 page)

“I happen to enjoy
making you blush very much, Miss Black. I’ll strive to do it more
often.”

I roll my eyes and grab
the cartons sitting on the kitchen side. “Baby, you can pin me
against a wall and describe to me in explicit detail all the things
you’d like to do to me with your tongue and your cock and I still
wouldn’t blush. I said you can make me blush, but I didn’t say it
was easy.”

I set the timer on the
microwave oven at the same time Aaron wraps his arms around me.

“Baby,” he murmurs. “I
have a soft spot for that.”

“Even though I only
said it originally to annoy you?”

“Yes.” He turns my face
to the side and brushes his lips against the corner of my mouth.
“Do you usually dine in your lingerie?”

“Quite often.” I spin
and run my finger down the middle of his stomach. “Would you prefer
I put some clothes on?”

“Don’t even think about
it.”

I smile and turn back
to the oven at its ping. Aaron sits down, and I set the Chinese
food between us.

“So. London,” I say
after a few minutes.

Aaron nods. “You’ll
come with me?”

“Since you’re asking, I
suppose so.”

His eyes light up. “If
I had known asking would make you so agreeable, I would have tried
it before.”

“We both forget to ask
sometimes.”

“I like your demanding.
A lot.”

I throw a shrimp at
him. “Watch it, baby. I’m more demanding than you know.”

Aaron raises his
eyebrows and leans forward on his elbows, his eyes hot and his
voice silky smooth. “I’m ready for anything you demand of me,
Dayton. Anything.”

Chapter
Eleven

Aaron gently shakes me
awake, his breath cascading over my cheek. “Dayton, sweetheart?
We’re in London.”

“Stupid time
difference,” I mumble, rubbing my eyes and sitting up.

He chuckles. “Come on.
Dinner then you can go back to sleep.”

“What? What time is it
here?”

“It’s around six
p.m.”

I blink at him, sitting
up, and shake my head. I’m not even going to try and work that out.
I grab my jacket, and he guides me out of the plane.

“On the bright side,
you don’t have to meet my cousin until tomorrow. Tyler is always a
delight.” His tone is dry, but there’s an obvious fondness
there.

“You didn’t mention
your cousin.”

“I didn’t mention
London until my father reminded me three days ago. What makes you
think I’d remember to inform you that we’re staying with my cousin
for ten days?”

I smack him lightly in
the chest. “We definitely have to work on the conversational part
of our relationship.”

Yes, we do, don’t we,
Dayton?

Aaron laughs and wraps
an arm around my waist. We’re expedited through customs and swept
straight into a waiting car. I stifle a yawn as I slide across the
back seat and press myself against the window.

I’ve never been to
London, and it isn’t a place I ever envisioned myself visiting.
After my parents died, I never imagined I’d fly again, but I have.
I’ve conquered that fear, and now here I am. In London. With
Aaron.

Nothing should surprise
me anymore, but it does. At every turn.

“Where does he
live?”

“Tyler stays in my aunt
and uncle’s house in Belgravia. They primarily spend their time in
the US, so the house as good as belongs to him. It was passed to
Aunt Kate from her parents as part of their restaurant business.
She and Uncle Todd spent a couple of years in the US expanding the
business when we were young and decided to move back when Ty and
Tessa were older. Ty stays in Belgravia rent-free.”

“Nice,” I mutter.
“Won’t he take over the business, like you did with Stone?”

Aaron shakes his head.
“He made it clear very early that it isn’t something he’s
interested in. He’s happier being a photographer and working for
me. Ty’s never been business-minded like me and his sister. Tessa
manages the UK business and will eventually take over the US side,
too.”

I nod slowly. “Did you
always know you’d take Stone over?”

“There was never any
question. I inherited ten percent when I graduated from Columbia,
and obviously the rest became mine a few weeks ago.”

“I didn’t know you went
to Columbia.”

“You never asked.”

“When have I had time
to ask you?” I turn to him and raise an eyebrow. “Really,
Aaron.”

He laughs. “Apparently
your nap hasn’t brightened your mood any.”

“Shut up.” I curl
myself into his side and close my eyes again.

“Don’t get
comfortable,” he whispers. “We’re here.”

We get out of the car
and I look up at the house in front of me. The cream brick building
is four stories high, with a black railing on the first floor
surrounding a small balcony. The black wooden front door is
sheltered beneath the same balcony, and two perfectly trimmed
triangular bushes are above it.

“This is his
house?”

“His parents’.” Aaron
leads me forward.

He pulls a silver key
from his pocket and unlocks the front door. Then he gestures for me
to go first, and I step into the gorgeous townhouse. It’s the
embodiment of opulence and elegance, despite essentially being a
bachelor pad. The tiled floor of the hall stretches forward with
several doors coming off of it. I wring my hands in front of my
stomach.

Jesus. I thought my
house was big.

“Come on.” Aaron takes
my hand when the suitcases are lined up in the hall. The small bag
we took on the plane is in his other hand. “We’ll freshen up before
dinner then put those away.”

He takes me up a
winding staircase. Pictures of a young boy and girl adorn the walls
as we go, and it’s evident this was very much a family home at one
point. As the pictures show the almost-identical children growing
up, I turn to Aaron.

“Are your cousins
twins?”

He nods. “Yes. Tessa
will be getting married next week. We never really got along as
kids despite our inclination for our parents’ businesses. I’ll be
expected to attend the wedding since we’re here.”

“You sound delighted,”
I note, hearing the flat tone of his voice.

He laughs. “Ty and I
were boys’ boys. We were forever climbing the trees in the yard and
playing soccer and getting all muddy. Tessa is a true lady. She was
never seen with a hair out of place even when she was still playing
dress-up with her mom’s shoes.”

I smile sadly and look
down. Wasn’t I that girl, too?

“This is our room.”
Aaron pushes open a heavy door and guides me into the room.

The furniture is all
antique style, including the bed, and the sheets covering it are
black satin. I groan at the sight of them.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you know how hard
it is to sleep in satin sheets?”

Aaron smirks, and my
heart skips a beat at the look in his eyes. “Oh, Day,” he mutters,
turning me into him and rubbing his thumb across my bottom lip.
“Who said anything about sleeping?”

I smile at the touch of
his lips to mine. “I wouldn’t want to disturb your cousin.”

“My cousin goes through
women the way you go through Agent Provocateur’s latest collection.
It’s impossible to disturb Tyler.”

“Well then.” I reach on
my tiptoes and flick my tongue against his mouth. “That’s a
different story, isn’t it?”

He slaps my ass. “Stop
turning me on and get ready before I bend you over this bed and
fuck you into tomorrow morning.”

I take the bag from him
and throw him a flirty grin. “Is that supposed to deter me?”

“Dayton.” He growls my
name. “The bathroom is next door.”

***

I roll over in bed and
stretch my arm out, expecting Aaron to be beside me. When it flops
straight to the empty sheets, I force my heavy eyelids open and
look at the clock on the nightstand.

Ten thirty.
Crap.

My sleeping habits
leave a lot to be desired.

Faint voices travel up
the stairs and through the small crack in the door. One is Aaron’s,
and another one is distinctly British. The second voice has to be
Tyler. The low hum of their conversation is broken by a bout of
loud laughter. My own lips twitch at the outburst, and I climb out
bed.

I haven’t heard Aaron
laugh like that in weeks. He has the kind of laugh that trickles
through your body and warms your insides. It’s infectious, and I
have a burning desire to meet the person who can make him laugh
this way.

I should probably get
dressed though… I bite my lip as I stare at my suitcase. What do I
wear? Doesn’t it always rain in England?

A quick peek out the
window proves me wrong. The sun is filtering through a smattering
of fluffy white clouds set against a bright blue sky. Not even the
ground is wet.

I slip on a simple
dress and quietly push the door open. In the light of this day, the
house is even more elegant than I thought it was. The frames
holding the pictures on the stairs are ornate, and the rail on the
staircase is just as fancy.

Clearly, I have simple
living tastes.

I walk downstairs
quietly. Aaron is standing in the kitchen with his back to me, his
suit jacket slung over the back of the chair he’s leaning against.
The creak on the bottom stair gives me away, and he turns, a mug of
steaming coffee in his hand.

The smile that spreads
across his face makes my heart beat double-time. It’s the kind of
smile where no words are needed, because everything is said with
the curve of your lips. This one says that he’s very, very happy to
see me.

“Good morning,” he
murmurs, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me into
him.

“Morning,” I
whisper.

“Did you sleep
well?”

“Apart from sliding
around several times, yes, thank you.”

“Tyler? Jesus. Where
are you now?” Aaron looks around the kitchen. “C’mon, man. You
can’t eat cookies for fucking breakfast.”

“Never stopped us
before.”

The guy who emerges
from what I’m guessing is the pantry is almost a carbon copy of
Aaron. The only differences are the lack of stubble dotting his jaw
and that his eyes are dark brown, not the startling blue of my
man’s. His hair is also a little longer and wavier, but the grin
that breaks onto his face is identical to Aaron’s.

Tyler puts down the
cookie bag and gives me the once-over. I raise an eyebrow, and I
immediately understand Aaron’s words from last night. The
appreciative way he trawls his gaze over me would melt any other
woman.

Aaron clears his
throat, and Tyler snaps his eyes to him. “I know the words
‘off-limits’ aren’t something you’re used to, Ty, but look at her
that way again and I’ll see to it you’re unable to entertain
another woman again.”

God. I love protective
Aaron.

Tyler holds his hands
up. “I can look and not touch, cuz. It doesn’t happen often, but it
happens.” He flicks his eyes to me quickly. “Shame though. I’ll
just wait until she’s done with your boring arse.”

Aaron slaps him around
the back of the head with lightning speed, and Tyler laughs,
ducking away.

“I was going to
introduce you, but a hotel is looking incredibly tempting.”

I roll my eyes and step
forward. “You must be Tyler. I’m Dayton. Excuse his possessive
streak. We’re working on reining it in some.”

Aaron’s hand connects
with my ass, and I shoot a glare over my shoulder.

“Watch it, Mr. Stone.
You’re still on my
shit list.
”

He smirks and lifts his
mug to his mouth, hiding it.

“Dayton.” Tyler shoots
me a beaming smile that oozes charm. Yep. This guy knows how to
melt panties right off. Fortunately, not mine. “It’s a pleasure to
meet you. Of course, I would have preferred to meet you a few weeks
ago. Between you and me if I’d known you looked like this—”

“Tyler,” Aaron growls.
“Do you think you could behave yourself while I have to work today,
perhaps? Or do I need to make other arrangements for Dayton? I’m
sure she’d much prefer to explore London than be locked in a spa,
but the latter can be arranged.”

“I’ll behave.” Tyler
holds three fingers in front of his body. “Scout’s honor.”

Aaron narrows his eyes,
but I can see the amusement shining there. I get the feeling that
Tyler is the only guy he’d let pull this shit and get away with it.
No doubt anyone else would be in a very uncomfortable, painful
position right now.

“Day.” Aaron pulls me
back to him. “I have to work all day. Apparently my company doesn’t
understand jet lag.” He yawns as if to prove his point.

I smile. “Have fun with
that.”

“So sympathetic.” He
wraps his hand around the back of my neck and pulls my face to his.
“Tyler’s agreed to spend the day with you. I’m not sure how much of
a good idea this is, but if he pushes his luck, put the little
asshole in his place.”

“Don’t worry. I will.”
I pat his chest.

“I have to go or I’ll
be late. I don’t think I’ll be home for dinner, so make sure Ty
takes you somewhere expensive. On my tab,” he adds, looking at me
pointedly.

I chew my lip. “Yes,
sir.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Good girl.” He kisses
me, his lips soft against mine. “Now I’m going. See you
tonight.”

“See you later, baby.”
I wink and kiss him quickly.

“Hey, Aaron?” The
cookie bag rustles as Tyler picks it up.

“Yes?” Aaron looks at
him, shrugging his jacket on.

“If any of the models
at the casting today are any pop, send them my way, would you? The
last is getting a bit clingy and I need to fend her off.”

“You know I can’t do
that, Tyler. You’ll have to go out and find some poor woman to use
by yourself.” He buttons his jacket and pockets his cell, then
looks at me. “Remember, woman. My card.”