Just This Once, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge #3) (9 page)

Years of life as a Navy SEAL kept him far away and made it hard to forge new connections. He had a few people who were near and dear—Ellie, Gage and Gage’s family, and some of his SEAL team members that were part of his life after he’d retired from the military. Otherwise, he’d considered it perfectly fine to live where he worked. He’d never considered he’d be bringing Becca here in any capacity other than as a family friend. He’d long ago written off any chance with Becca. Yet, here she was after last night.

He still had to prepare himself for the eventuality she would keep to the path she’d declared for herself after her engagement fell apart—the path where no man had a chance with her. His thoughts flashed to the way she felt in his arms last night—wild, passionate, pulling him into the flames that twined around them. A woman who felt passion that intensely shouldn’t go through life alone. He hoped like hell she didn’t and that he got to be the lucky man at her side. He mentally shook himself. Now was not the time to start pondering the wonders of Becca and allowing himself to consider how much he wanted her.

When the alarm quietly beeped, indicating it was clear to enter, he stepped through and held the door for Becca. Her breasts brushed his arm as she passed by. His body tightened. He forced himself to hold still for a moment. He needed to get his brain and his body off of this constant loop of wanting Becca. He’d been so successful at tamping down his feelings for her for so long that it threw him to be so easily affected by her. He took a slow breath and deliberately shut the door. The door led into a short hallway, which led to another door. Becca stopped by the next door and turned to him.

“Is this some kind of super secure thing, or what?” she asked, her brow arched.

He shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“No. Just that I always wondered.”

He reached the door and punched in the next security code before glancing down at her. She’d taken a step back, but it didn’t change the current humming in the air around them. Her glossy hair fell back when she tilted her face up to look at him. Her nose turned up just the slightest bit at the end, and her heart-shaped lips were so tempting, he had to yank on the reins of his desire. He forced himself to say something instead of kissing her like he wanted.

“When I had the building designed, this hallway originally went to two separate apartments. Due to the need to expand the space for our computer servers, we remodeled the two apartments into a larger one for me, along with the additional server room. The extra security’s nice, but it’s just a leftover from when there were two entrances in here.”

He pushed the door open and gestured for her to pass. There was a bark and suddenly Oscar hit him in the knees, all eighty pounds of his furry self. He lost his balance, but steadied when Becca caught his arm. Oscar was all wiggles and snuffling sounds. Aidan handed the bottle of wine to Becca and knelt down beside Oscar.

“Hey buddy!” He ruffled Oscar’s fur while Oscar butted up against him, rubbing his head into Aidan’s chest.

“Hey there!” Ellie called out. “As you can tell, Oscar’s thrilled to see you.” Aidan glanced up to see Ellie leaning against the counter with a wide smile. She cast her smile in Becca’s direction. “How’s it going, Becca? Glad you could come.” Ellie pushed away from the counter and walked to meet Becca, tugging her close for a quick hug.

“Of course! When Aidan said you were here and you were making drunken noodles, how could I say no?”

Becca stepped past Ellie and set the wine on the counter. “Wow, you’ve managed to make Aidan’s apartment kind of cozy,” she said with a quick grin in his direction.

Aidan gave Oscar one last pet and stood. Oscar followed him as he walked across the room. His apartment was sleek and industrial. The flooring was dark hardwood. The walls were painted dove gray. The vents were visible above. The entrance led into the main living space, which was a large living room with a half-wall separating it from the kitchen. The kitchen had all stainless steel appliances and granite counters with an island that contained the stovetop and stools on the opposite side. Ellie had instantly left her mark with bright fabrics draped over the corner of the table and two new throw pillows of deep red tossed on his couch, along with a matching throw.

Ellie chuckled at Becca’s comment. “Aidan works too much to keep his place cozy. That’s why I make sure to show up here and there. I leave a few things behind every time.”

Becca tugged a stool out and sat at the counter. Over the next little while, Aidan busied himself catching up on work emails while Ellie and Becca chatted. Oscar decided Becca was in his preferred circle and nearly pinned himself to her side after she petted him the first time.

“How long have you had him?” Becca asked Ellie as Aidan closed his laptop and approached the kitchen island.

His apartment was scented with onions and garlic and whatever other flavors Ellie was cooking up. Ellie turned away and rinsed her hands quickly. She tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear and glanced over at Becca. “He’s been with me for over four months now. No luck on adopting him out yet. I’m trying to convince Aidan to adopt him.” Ellie caught his eyes as he leaned his elbows on the counter. “He loves you. I think you could use some company. All you do is work, work, and work. If you have Oscar, you can take him with you everywhere you do. He’s a really good boy.” Her hazel eyes were pleading as she looked at him.

“It’s not that I don’t want to, I just don’t know if it’s the best idea. There will be jobs I can’t take him on. The courthouse, for one. How will he handle being alone during the day if I can’t take him with me?”

“He’ll be fine. All he does is sleep most of the day. Plus, you can have him downstairs in the office too. It’s not like he’ll have to be alone.”

Becca glanced between them. “He’s a sweet dog. You should think about it.”

Aidan grinned and shook his head. “I already told you I’d think about it. Good enough?”

Ellie grinned. “Good enough for now.” She turned off the burner with a flourish. “Drunken noodles are ready!”

***

Becca watched Aidan’s car pull away from the curb. He’d insisted on walking her up to her door. She’d been simultaneously relieved and disappointed when he didn’t kiss her. Though she’d desperately wanted to kiss him, she hadn’t the nerve to tug him down to meet her lips. She’d always loved how tall he was whenever she let herself even think about how sexy he was, but his height didn’t lend itself to easy ways to bring her lips to his. His car disappeared in the distance, blending into the traffic on the busy downtown street.

She let the curtain fall and turned away from the window. She plunked down on the couch. It had been nice to have dinner with Ellie and Aidan. She didn’t get to see Ellie as much as she’d like. Ellie was warm, kind and funny. Becca recalled the first time Aidan had brought her to a cookout at her parents’ home in Bellingham. Ellie had been somewhat quiet and hung back. It wasn’t until she got comfortable with everyone that her offbeat, quirky nature came out. Watching Aidan with Ellie reminded Becca of yet another reason she was so drawn to him. He and Ellie were close and took care of each other. Their parents had died years ago, yet they were their own tight family unit. She knew he often visited Ellie—the very reason he happened upon her the night she’d been run off the road. Aidan was a loyal, caring brother—so like her own brothers.

Restless, she stood and strode into the bathroom. A hot shower might clear her head and somehow get her brain off its endless loop of Aidan. She’d said just once. Just once didn’t seem nearly enough now. As she stood under the steaming water, she recalled the feel of his hands on her, his lips mapping her body. Liquid need swirled inside of her, her sex clenching at the memory of him surging into her. She cupped her breasts. Simply thinking about last night with Aidan and her nipples were tight. She stroked her palm down her abdomen and slid her fingers into her folds. She was slippery with desire.

Pleasuring herself didn’t even come close to what Aidan elicited. Yet, the need was too deep. In seconds, her channel convulsed around her fingers. She leaned against the tiled wall as she caught her breath. She quickly soaped and rinsed before putting on her favorite pair of sweats and curling up on the couch to watch comfort television. She’d grown accustomed to her own space. In some ways, she savored it. She’d carved out a life where she found meaning in her work and had accepted her choice to eschew romantic relationships. One night—
one night!
—with Aidan had made her question too much. She considered how she worked herself to the bone, all so she didn’t have to think too hard about hoping for anything personal to change for her.

She thought about how many times she buried any fantasies about Aidan. He’d been the only man who tempted her at all. She’d been silly enough to think one night would wash him out of her system. Somehow, the opposite had happened. One night had only made her want more than she’d ever let herself consider. A relaxed night with him and Ellie only added to the confusion swirling inside of her. He was a nice guy, a good brother, funny and generally easy to be with. Aidan carried himself with an edge of reserve and that sexy, military, take-charge vibe. The bonus to seeing the other side of that edge was it made you feel as if you were special. She didn’t need to go thinking she was special to Aidan, didn’t need to go hoping she could take a risk on romance. Aidan might want her.
Admit it. You know damn well he wants you. Okay, okay. So he wants me. But a hard on doesn’t tell you much about his feelings and what he wants beyond mind-blowing sex.

She shook her head and forced her thoughts off the hamster wheel of Aidan. She fell asleep on the couch with the rumble of the television keeping her company.

Chapter 10

Aidan rolled his head around, stretching the tension in his neck, before he picked up the weights and did another round of curls. After a solid hour of weightlifting, he pushed through the door outside and took off on a five mile run. He set a punishing pace. By the time he got back, he’d finally knocked the edge off of his body. One night with Becca and he was questioning something he’d never questioned—his control. He’d fallen asleep thinking about her and woken up thinking about her. In fact, he’d woken up rock hard, his body entirely of the mind that he needed a dose of Becca. He figured a lengthy workout might wear his body down. It had, but only a little.

After a quick shower, he headed downstairs to the office to check in before he went to the courthouse. When he arrived at the courthouse, he was immediately directed to check in with the district attorney.

“I hear you asked to see me,” Aidan said by way of greeting when he stepped into Barry Palmer’s office. Barry had been the DA in Seattle District Court for over a decade. He gave off a distracted air, but he was fair and never missed a detail. He was also ex-military, an Army veteran from many years past. He kept his silver hair close-cropped and dressed in navy suits every day.

Barry continued jotting notes and didn’t look up, but he nodded at Aidan’s comment. “That I did. Good to see you around this week, by the way.” At that, he set his pen down and looked up as he leaned back in his chair. “Have a seat.” He gestured to the chair opposite him.

Aidan sat down and held Barry’s gaze. “Good to be here. How’ve things been going with our team?”

“Excellent.”

“Glad to hear it. So what can I do for you?”

Barry was quiet for a beat. He removed his glasses and cleaned them before putting them back on. “I know you’re aware of the Morris Connor situation. The jail’s reporting in daily. He makes a lot of noise. We get used to noise like him, but he worries me. I wanted to talk to you because I thought you’d want to know he’s still focused on Becca Hamilton. He’s got this hang up that she’s the one who got to his girlfriend to begin with. My concern isn’t her safety. He’s not going anywhere, and the charges are piling up. My concern is he’s making enough noise I think we should take her off cases for a while until this dies down. He’s riling things up inside. There are always guys happy to jump on the bandwagon of a shitty prosecutor. She’s one of the best, but she’s not much good if she’s beating back stupid rumors. I wanted to give you a heads up since I know you’re a family friend. I’ll be talking to her later today. I don’t think she’s going to appreciate this.”

Aidan considered what Barry said. On a practical level, he understood Barry’s point. He worried how Becca would react though, and he couldn’t help the thread of worry weaving in his thoughts for her safety. “You sound pretty confident we don’t need to worry about her safety?”

Barry nodded. “No more so than usual. Prosecutors face a certain amount of risk all the time. Morris makes a lot of noise, but he’s gotten himself pretty tied up legally this go around. He’s mostly bark as long as he’s being monitored, unless you happen to be one of his girlfriends. After I fielded four calls in one morning this week with defense attorneys requesting she be removed from cases, I figured I’d better put her on admin duty, or persuade her to take a vacation.”

Aidan shook his head slowly. “You can’t tell me those defense attorneys think there’s anything to this bullshit.”

“Of course not. They all know and respect Becca. She’s fair and principled and always works with them. The catch is they have to manage their clients as well.”

“Becca’s not going to like this, but it seems like you might already know that.”

Barry’s smile was wry. “Becca’s one of the hardest working prosecutors I’ve ever known. She genuinely cares about what she does. That’s pure gold because you can’t train hard work and caring into someone. The flip side is she’ll raise hell if she thinks something’s not on her terms.” Barry paused and shrugged. “I’m asking her to do a run on admin duty in one of the nearby district courts, or she can take a vacation. She’s probably got enough leave time saved up to take a few months.”

Aidan could practically see Becca’s face when she heard this—her blue eyes would snap, her mouth would tighten, and she might dig her heels in. She would not appreciate being ordered to take a vacation, or worse yet a month on admin duty. He arched a brow. “Good luck with that convo,” he said with a chuckle.