Just This Once, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge #3) (10 page)

Barry grinned. “She won’t be happy, but she’ll understand. Meanwhile, how long will you be covering our beat?”

“At least another week or so.” Aidan declined to share he’d been considering covering the courthouse longer simply because it afforded him more chances to cross paths with Becca.

“Excellent. Why don’t we grab a beer tonight?”

“Sure. Name the time and place.”

“I’m simple. Right across the street as soon as they lock the doors here.”

Aidan stood and buttoned his suit jacket. “I’ll be there. Need me for anything else right now?”

Barry had already swiveled his chair away and pulled up his email on the computer. “Not at all. Thanks for stopping by.”

***

Becca forced herself to walk calmly down the hallway after leaving Barry’s office. She was seething inside, but she wasn’t going to lose it, not now. She kept her eyes on the floor, counting the square tiles as her heels clicked their way to her office.

“Hey Becca, any news on…?”

She glanced up quickly, cutting off the attorney speaking. “In a rush. I’ll update you later,” she said swiftly. Dan Campbell lifted a hand and waved her past him. “No worries. Just checking.” He paused, his gaze sharpening. “You okay?”

Her chest was tight and she was flushed with anger, but she wasn’t about to try to explain anything right now. She fought to soften her expression and paused in her frantic walk down the hall. “Yeah. I’m okay. Just one of those days. Thanks for asking.”

Dan nodded. “Let me know if you need anything.”

She nodded tightly and waited for him to move past her before she kept walking. Blessedly, no one else stopped her in the busy hallway. She made it to her door and stepped into her office. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it and closed her eyes. Tears threatened, but she gulped in several breaths of air before she pushed away and sat down at her desk.

Barry gave her two choices: administrative duty at another district court, or a month long vacation. The idea of administrative duty made her want to vomit. A vacation against her will was only slightly more appealing. All because an asshole was blaming her for his ex-girlfriend getting up the nerve to actually say out loud he had a penchant for beating the shit out of her. Becca knew Barry had a point. With Morris talking trash about her, getting her off the active cases for a bit would let things die down. Even though she understood Barry’s point, it didn’t mean she liked it. In fact, she was flat pissed about it. She didn’t appreciate that assholes like Morris could throw their weight around and make trouble. He couldn’t get to her with violence, so he manipulated the situation like this. She grabbed a pen and winged it at the wall.

Right then, there was a sharp knock at her door. Aidan stepped through just as the pen hit the wall and clattered to the floor. He immediately leaned over and picked it up. He set it on her desk and met her eyes. His expression was controlled. She sensed him assessing her. Instantly, annoyance flashed through her. She didn’t know how, but he knew the choices Barry had offered her. She tore her eyes from his and crossed her arms.

Silence settled in the room. Aidan took a step back and leaned against the wall. Her office was tiny. One of the many joys of working for the government was limited resources and space. It was considered a luxury to even have her own office, so she’d never minded how small it was. Right now though, it felt way too crowded. Aidan’s hulking frame filled the space. She tried not to look at him, but it was nearly impossible. At some point during the day, he’d removed his suit jacket, unbuttoned his shirt partway and rolled up his sleeves. His jacket was hooked over his elbow. Her eyes kept darting to the exposed skin where his shirt opened—tinged with gold and so tempting. The flex of his shoulders and chest were mesmerizing when he adjusted his position, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Desire mingled with her anger, notching her anger even higher because it annoyed the hell out of her that he could affect her like this so easily. She took a breath. It came out in a huff.

“Everything okay?” Aidan asked.

“Of course. Why do you ask?” She knew her voice sounded snippy, and she didn’t give a damn.

Aidan was quiet for a beat. “I ask because you seem, uh, frustrated.”

She cut her eyes at him. Her anger went from a simmer to a low boil. “I seem frustrated? Really?” she asked archly.

He didn’t break from her gaze. “A little.”

She stood abruptly, crossing her arms and glaring at him. “Whatever. It’s not worth arguing about. Barry told me I either take a month off or handle admin duty at another courthouse all because of Morris running his mouth. I can’t believe he’d do that! Why? Because he’s worried about how I’ll respond to this bullshit. What did he say to you?”

She began pacing in the few feet behind her desk. She heard Aidan take a breath before he spoke. “Look, I get that you’re pissed. I didn’t ask him about you, he just told me he thought it’d be best for you to take a break from here for a while because Morris can’t shut up. I took a look at the reports from the jail after I met with Barry. Too bad Morris didn’t decide to go into union organizing, or something. He’s damn good at getting people to listen to him. Guy’s running around talking trash about prosecutors left and right. You’re not the only one, but he ended up buddies with a few of the perps on your cases, so now they’re bitching you ignored evidence on why their charges should be dropped.”

Her circle of pacing was so small she felt dizzy, so she strode out from behind her desk and pushed her hair away from her face. “Right. Morris is such an ass. I can’t believe this! I don’t want to take a break! It feels like I’m caving if I do. It’s such bullshit.”

Aidan cleared his throat. “It might be bullshit, but I get Barry’s point.”

She swung to him. “Of course you do! Because it’s the safe thing to do.”

His eyes met hers. She couldn’t read his expression, and it infuriated her further. She felt hot all over, anger and desire wrestling inside as she looked at him.

“Maybe it is the safe thing to do, I get it. I do. I would be furious if someone told me to take a forced vacation like this, but this way you can control the script instead of the other way around.”

Becca paced past him and back again. She hated it when reason won when she was angry. Her emotions were taut and warring. She wanted to stay pissed with Aidan, but none of this was his fault. She paused in her rapid pacing and turned to face him.

He watched her carefully. Heat flooded through her belly and spread through her limbs. This desire was so inconvenient. It wasn’t supposed to be like this—where she wanted him with a ferocity that overruled all reason. Even worse, it didn’t make sense. Not right now. She was furious and embarrassed, and now all she could think about was him. The air crackled with tension. His eyes darkened, but he didn’t move.

Chapter 11

Aidan held still though his body was nearly vibrating. Becca had been pacing back and forth in front of him, anger pulsing from her as she vented about the situation. Suddenly, she stopped in front of him. Now, he was caught in her gaze, her blue eyes snapping with anger and something else. She closed the distance between them. Her arms were crossed tightly, but when she stepped close, they fell to her sides. Standing a hairsbreadth away from him, her breasts rose and fell with her breath. Lust jolted through him, but he forced himself to remain right where he was. The utilitarian steel door behind him was cool against his shoulders. He could hear the distant murmur of voices in the hallway. It was still a few hours before the offices would close.

Becca took a shuddering breath and muttered something.

He cleared his throat. “What was that?”

She glared at him. “I said it doesn’t matter!”

“What doesn’t matter?’

Her cheeks flushed, and she shook her head sharply. “That I said just once.”
“You mean…?”

He didn’t manage to finish his thought, much less his question, when she placed her hand on his chest and slid it up to curl around the nape of his neck. “Maybe just twice,” she said, her voice throaty as she tugged him down to meet her lips.

He let the reins slip when she traced her tongue around his mouth. In seconds, it was as if she was a living flame in his arms. Her tongue slipped in to meet his, and he dove into their kiss. She pressed against him, while he slid a hand down her back to cup her bottom, that luscious bottom with its delicious give under his touch. His cock had gone rock hard the moment her lips met his. She arched against him, lifting her leg to curl over his. Her skirt slid up conveniently for him to drag his palm up her leg and into the warmth between her thighs.

The cotton was damp when he stroked across it. He bit back a groan when she moaned into his mouth. Suddenly, she tore her lips free and stepped back. Before he knew what was happening, she tore his shirt open and swiftly unbuttoned his pants. She slipped her hand inside and stroked along his shaft. He couldn’t hold back his next groan. She shoved his briefs down just far enough to free his cock. The feel of her palm curling around him weakened his knees. He braced a palm against the door. She leaned forward and paused with her lips mere inches away from his cock. Her blue eyes landed on his, and her mouth hooked up with a half-smile before she dragged her hand along his cock.

“
Dear God, Becca. You can’t…”

“Oh yes, I can.”

Her lips closed over the head of his cock, her tongue swirling around before she slowly drew him inside. She commenced to drive him to the edge of his endurance, alternating with licking, sucking and stroking. Her wet grip was dizzying. In the midst of the madness she wrought, there was a knock at the door. She ignored it. When he moved to pull away, she put her hand firmly against his hip, pressing him against the door. Another knock and whoever it was gave up. He fumbled with the doorknob to lock it. Once it was locked, he gathered the reins of his tattered control and reached for her. She resisted for a moment, dragging her tongue along the underside of his cock. He nearly choked, but he managed to hold back. As she slowly rose up, he tugged his wallet out of his pocket and yanked a condom out.

He lifted her against him, cupping her bottom in his palms as he took two steps to the desk before easing her down. Her eyes slammed into his, hazy with desire. Her lips were swollen, and her cheeks flushed. He forced himself to maintain control and slowly slid his palms up her calves. As he slipped his hands under her skirt, he pushed the fabric up above her knees. Her thighs fell open, and he kept moving, hooking his fingers over the top of her panties and dragging them down. Her breath came in gasps and pants. Hanging onto his control by the thinnest thread, he stroked a finger into her cleft. She was drenched, so slick all he wanted was to be inside of her.
Now.

***

Aidan stepped into the cradle of her hips and rolled the condom on. Becca shimmied her hips closer to the edge of the desk, frantic to feel him inside of her. When he paused for a breath, she swore and arched against him. He surged inside of her. His head fell forward as he groaned. He felt so good, so damn good. He held still for a beat, seated deeply within her. He stretched and filled her, and she savored every second of it. He started to move, pulling almost all the way out before thrusting back inside. She wanted him to move fast to assuage the frantic feeling inside of her. When he held back and set a slow, but steady rhythm, it only served to notch the wildness higher and higher. Sensation sizzled through her, pleasure twirling tighter and tighter inside. She curled her legs around his hips and arched against him. When she cried out at the pleasure spiking with each stroke, he finally let loose and pounded into her. His hands gripped her hips tightly as he drove against her again and again. He caught her cries with a kiss when her climax rushed through her. She felt the pulse of him in her channel as he tightened against her.

He slowly eased his lips from hers. She shuddered softly from the aftershocks of her orgasm. His forehead fell to hers. Their breath rose and fell in unison, gradually slowing. As she slowly became aware of where they were, she started to panic inside. She’d completely lost her mind and…well, she’d gone wild and had sex. With Aidan. In her office.

Chapter 12

Becca sat at her kitchen table staring out the window. Rain fell in a slow and steady drizzle. The view of downtown was blurry. Puget Sound wasn’t visible for the shroud of fog sitting above it. Her eyes followed a drop of rain as it rolled down the outside of the glass. When it disappeared out of sight, she turned back to her laptop. With a sigh, she tried to focus her mind. After another meeting with Barry, he’d given her the go-ahead to finish up work on some of her cases at home while she decided whether to take a vacation, or take a spin in another district court for the month. She was trying to finalize some legal filings this morning, but her brain kept jumping tracks to Aidan.

She flushed just thinking about what happened in her office three days ago. She’d managed to mostly avoid him since then. Although she hated not being at the office for every other reason, working from home was conveniently keeping her out of his daily orbit. He’d called a few times, and she’d put him off. She was being forced to come to terms with just how naïve she’d been to think she could have one night with him and get him out of her system. Every moment with him was like living inside of a fire—a fire so tempting, her body only wanted more. Yet, she was afraid she might get burned in the process if she allowed herself to get too close. Hell, she’d already gotten too close.

Before she’d concocted her crazy idea to make sure Kyle didn’t go down in her personal history as her last lover, she’d thought Aidan was too damn sexy for his own good. She considered Kyle and what had drawn her to him. She’d never, never felt with him the way she did with Aidan—emotionally or sexually. Not even close. She’d naively thought she could have one encounter with Aidan. The limit would keep her from falling for him, from endangering heart the way she had with Kyle—or so she’d hoped. She hadn’t counted on the fact that the chemistry between her and Aidan would take off like a brushfire once the match was lit. She also couldn’t have imagined how he would make her feel. In two encounters with him, he’d pushed her to heights of pleasure she hadn’t reached before. She put her face in her hands and groaned.
Damn, damn, damn.
He danced in the edges of her thoughts all the time now. She kept wondering what he meant back when he first kissed her that dark, rainy night.
…for God’s sake, don’t act like this was nothing. Because it damn well wasn’t and you know it.