Made For Us (13 page)

“You didn’t seem to mind that a few minutes ago.”

She elbowed him in the ribs.

“What? What did I say?”

“I talk about how romantic the candlelight would be and your response was about the practicality of a generator.”

“And?”

“And…you completely missed the point.”

“So you’d rather be all sweaty right now? Is that what you’re telling me?”

Sighing dramatically, Zoe moved out of his arms and sat up to look at him. “Why can’t I have both the convenience of the air-conditioning while having some candles lit around the room?”

“Because there’s nothing wrong with the lights,” he said.

“Are you being deliberately obtuse, or do you really not get this?”

The words were no sooner out of her mouth than Aidan pulled her down and pinned her beneath him. He silenced any further questions, for the time being, with a kiss. They’d just made love more than once and yet he was hungry for her again. She instantly melted beneath him as her arms came around him and her hands snaked up into his hair.

It was quickly becoming one of Aidan’s favorite positions to be in.

Actually, any position that had his body pressed up against Zoe and her hands on him was his favorite position.

She sighed his name against his lips—another favorite—and Aidan would have lit as many candles as she wanted if it meant keeping her happy and satisfied and in this bed with him.

The storm continued to rage outside. Every once in a while they heard the windows rattle or tree branches snapping off in the distance, but they were safe and secure in their own little world and it seemed as though nothing could touch them. Aidan was perfectly content to be cut off from the outside world. It wasn’t often that he allowed himself to get to this point of no contact. Actually, he couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t been glued to his cell phone, making sure no one needed him. He was finding that there was something to be said for letting everyone else handle life’s problems.

The only problem he worried about was never wanting to leave this apartment again. The storm would end eventually and real life would invade on the peace they had found. Their little slice of seclusion would soon be taken away.

Slowly Zoe’s legs came up and locked around his hips.

For now, long live the storm…

* * *

It was after two in the morning when Aidan walked out into the kitchen to grab something to drink, check on Baron, and see if he could find a weather update on the TV. The remote was poised in his hand when Zoe stepped out of the bedroom wearing one of his shirts.

The weather report was the last thing on his mind.

She walked over to him with a small, sleepy smile on her lips, took the glass of water from Aidan’s hands, and took a sip. “What are you doing out here?” she asked quietly.

“Same as you. I was thirsty. Then I thought I’d see if I could catch a weather update.” He studied her beautiful face and felt his chest tighten. “It’s still too crazy outside to let Baron out, but he doesn’t seem to mind.” He pointed to the dog sleeping peacefully in his makeshift bed in the corner of the room.

With a nod, Zoe took him by the hand and led him to the sofa to sit down. She still didn’t want to see the video footage of her house again, but the reality of it was sinking in. Aidan tucked her in close beside him but didn’t turn the television on. She turned to him questioningly.

“Tell me what brought you here to North Carolina,” he said softly.

They had talked about so much that first night that Zoe was a little surprised to realize they hadn’t really talked about this. “I was born and raised in Somerton. It’s a pretty small town and for most of my life, I had no desire to be anyplace else.” Shifting slightly, Zoe rested her head on Aidan’s shoulder. “Then my mom got sick. It was all…so fast. One day she came home from work and told me she didn’t feel very well and the next, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.”

Aidan went very still beside her. There wasn’t anything he could possibly say to that. There were no words he could utter that could possibly offer her the comfort he knew she needed.

He knew that feeling well.

“Maybe if she had gone to the doctor more often or if she’d done a self-exam, they might have found it sooner. But by the time they finally diagnosed it, it was stage four.” Taking a moment, Zoe forced herself not to cry. “She made me promise to go out and live, to make sure that I took the time to see and do all of the things I always wanted to see and do.” She shrugged. “I guess she realized there were a lot of things she had put off in her life because she thought she’d have more time.”

“So you wanted to see the ocean,” he said, remembering their conversation from that first night.

She nodded. “I felt like I owed that to her. It was one of her dreams and she didn’t live long enough to see it for herself.” She took a moment to calm her emotions and steady her voice. “After the funeral I was just so numb, like I couldn’t believe it was happening. It seemed like everyone in town was there for me and yet I’d never felt so alone. It had always been just the two of us. I never knew my father, and my mom was a late-in-life baby so my grandparents had passed away when I was a teenager. I was well and truly alone.”

A lump formed in Aidan’s throat because he remembered all of the people who had crammed into his house after his mother’s funeral. Everyone was there to offer their condolences and help, but even in a crowd of people, he had felt alone.

“How long did it take you to decide to move?”

“I knew before she died. She made me make plans and she wanted to hear about them; she said it made her feel better about leaving me if she knew that I had a plan to get out of Somerton and explore the country.”

“Why North Carolina?” He was happy she was here with him, but he wanted to keep her talking and hopefully move on to a lighter topic so that she wouldn’t be so sad.

“The West Coast held little appeal to me. Plus it was out of my budget. I had my own decorating firm in Somerton; it was small but it was mine. I knew I’d have to let it go and find another firm to work for, at least for a while, so I did a national search on one of those job finder sites and found Tate Interiors. Mom would help me look over the job listings and when we read Martha’s, we both just knew that it was exactly what I needed.”

Aidan kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad you’re here.”

It was quite possibly the nicest thing he had ever said to her. Wrapping her arms around his middle, Zoe hugged him lightly. “Thank you.” They sat for several minutes in silence. “Tell me about your mother.”

Aidan didn’t talk about his mother, not with anyone. It hurt too damn much. Hell, he had only mentioned her to his father out of desperation. But with Zoe, it felt like the right thing to do. “She was incredible.”

Zoe smiled against his chest.

“She had six kids and yet she managed to make each one of us feel special; even if we were all in the same room together, she just had a way of looking at you and letting you know that everything you said was important to her.”

“That couldn’t have been easy.”

He shook his head. “I don’t imagine so.” He felt that lump form in his throat again and he forced it away. “We used to have the best conversations. I always felt we had a better connection because I was the oldest, but I’m sure if you talked to any of my siblings, they’d tell you they felt the same way. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t talk to her about. No matter how ridiculous it was, she gave you her full attention.”

“She sounds amazing.”

“She was. I wish we’d had more time together. I wish she could have seen all that I’ve accomplished, what we’ve all accomplished.”

“She does. You have to believe that.”

“Sometimes I do.” He wasn’t ready to share with her his thoughts on that subject. “I was away at college when she died. It was a tropical storm, late October. She never should have been out in it. Darcy was a baby and had an ear infection. My father was working late and she needed to run out to pick up a prescription. If I’d been home, I would have gone. Hugh could have gone; he was old enough and he had a license, but he was grounded for something and they had taken his driving privileges away. Looking back it seems ridiculous, but there it is.”

“Aidan…” Zoe could tell this was hard for him and didn’t want him to continue or to relive such a painful memory.

“They told us she died on impact,” he said flatly. “The drunk driver who hit her walked away with barely a scratch. Between the force with which he hit her and the force of the storm, she never saw it coming. At least that’s what I have to tell myself.”

“Oh, Aidan…” She hugged him fiercely. His arms came around her and they clung to each other for a long time.

“That’s a good look on you, Red,” Aidan said as he came strolling out of the bedroom in nothing but a pair of well-worn jeans.

Zoe looked down at herself and chuckled. All she had on was one of his T-shirts. She hadn’t even bothered with her panties. Looking over her shoulder at him, she winked. “You think so?”

He nodded as he stalked toward her, standing in the kitchen. “Oh yeah. As a matter of fact, I think you should stay in that all day.”

Doing her best to pretend she was considering her options, she squealed with delight when he came up behind her and scooped her up in his arms. She swatted playfully at his shoulders. “As much as I love this caveman thing that you’ve got going on, I’m starving. One bowl of potato soup a day is not enough for me.”

“And water. You had some water last night too.”

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously, put me down.” Aidan maneuvered her in his arms until all she could do was slowly slide down his body. She nearly purred with delight at the feel of him against her. “You fight dirty, Shaughnessy.”

“I never claimed otherwise,” he said gruffly and leaned down and kissed her.

As much as Zoe was growing addicted to the feel of his mouth on hers, her growling stomach was her first priority. Quickly stepping away from him, she went in search of food to make for breakfast. But Aidan quickly stepped in front of her.

“Aidan…”

“You made the soup yesterday, so let me make you breakfast.”

Well
, she thought to herself,
that
has
a
nice
sound
to
it
. “Okay,” she said and smiled up at him. “But what can I do to help?”

With his hands on her shoulders, he gently moved her out of his way. “Not a thing. Sit at the table and…talk to me.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “You don’t mean dirty talk, do you?”

Aidan’s laugh was loud and hearty. “You have a dirty mind, you know that? No, I didn’t mean dirty talk. I just wanted you close to me to keep me company.”

“Oh.” She blushed furiously. “Well, that I can do.” Before she sat down, she walked over and gave Baron some attention as she refilled his food and water bowls. Then, smoothing the T-shirt down over her bottom, Zoe took a seat and watched as Aidan made his way around the kitchen. In no time, he pulled out bacon and eggs and bread. He looked completely at ease and sexy as hell. “So you cook, huh?”

“I enjoy eating too much to live on fast food and frozen entrées. Besides, I’d go broke fast if I had to live like that.” They shared a laugh as he placed the bacon in the pan and moved it around until it started to sizzle. “Actually, my mother believed it was important that we all learn to cook. As the oldest, I got the most of her attention in the kitchen. Even now, when the holidays come around and we want something that was her specialty, my father and I make it together.”

“Does he enjoy cooking too?”

Aidan shook his head. “Actually, none of us particularly enjoy it, but we know how to do it. Dad had to get a crash course in how to cook. When my mother died, he had five kids living at home, including an infant. There was no way he could survive without knowing how to cook. There was the casserole brigade that came around for a while after my mom died, but eventually we had to learn to fend for ourselves. Whenever I came home on school breaks, we’d cook together. Hugh and Quinn would help out too, but Riley and Owen were still too young.”

“I can’t even imagine what that’s like, you know, having so many siblings. It was always just me and Mom. I don’t even have any cousins that I can think of.” Sighing, Zoe rested her chin in her hands and watched as Aidan continued to move about the kitchen with ease. Baron came up beside her and settled by her feet.

“When I was younger, I used to wish that I were an only child.” He chuckled and shook his head at the thought. “There was never any privacy. And because I was the oldest, I always had to help somebody.”

“Yeah, but I bet you’re all really close,” she said wistfully.

“We are,” he said with a smile.

Zoe quietly pondered that and watched Aidan expertly flip the bacon, begin scrambling the eggs, and put bread into the toaster. Unable to sit still any longer, she walked over to the refrigerator, pulled out the orange juice, and put it on the table before getting glasses and silverware. They worked together completely in sync until Aidan put their plates on the table.

“Thank you,” Zoe said as she looked at the heaping plate of food. She was thankful that Aidan already knew she wasn’t the kind of woman who ate like a bird. The portion in front of her was exactly what she had been hoping for.

Taking a forkful of food, Aidan contemplated what he wanted to say. Actually, he knew exactly what he wanted to say, but worried about upsetting Zoe.

“You’re scaring your breakfast,” Zoe teased. “That tells me you’re thinking about something. Please tell me it’s not work.”

Putting his fork down, he sighed. “Yes and no,” he said carefully and then looked up and met her gaze. “If there’s damage to the construction site or to the surrounding area, we’ll have to suspend our normal schedule. The amount of time will depend on the extent of the damage that we’re dealing with so I want you to be prepared for that.”

Nibbling on her bacon, Zoe nodded. “I suppose I can work on the plans for the remaining houses in the meantime.”

“Does Martha have any other projects you can work on?”

She shrugged. “I have no idea what she has available. Martha told me you requested that I not work with anyone else while working with you. I had to give up the rest of my clients.”

He actually felt bad about that now. “If we have to suspend the job for a couple of weeks and you can find a short-term project to work on, I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”

“Okay.” As she looked at him though, Zoe could tell that there was still something else. “Now tell me what’s really going on, Aidan.”

How did she read him so well? Was he that transparent?

“Have you given any thought to what you’re going to do…you know, about a place to live?”

Her stomach clenched at the thought of it, but not as bad as it had earlier. “The phones are still down,” she began. “I tried making some calls this morning but couldn’t get through to anyone. I’m hoping between the management people and my insurance that I’ll have someplace to live without too much of a gap in time. In the meantime, I plan on finding a hotel room.” The casual shrug was meant to look as if it weren’t a big deal, but inside, the thought of living in a hotel was not appealing at all. “I’ll probably have to reorganize my schedule for a longer commute because I’m sure it’s going to be somewhat impossible to find a room near here. Wherever it is, as long as it doesn’t float away, I’ll be fine.”

Aidan placed one of his hands over hers for comfort. He knew she was trying to sound like she had it all together, but he also knew that it had to be difficult for her. “You can stay here if you’d like.”

Zoe’s head snapped up and her surprised gaze met his. “What?”

“I mean…I don’t use this place much. It’s not like…I’m not saying that we’re going to move in together.” His words rushed out so fast that he was almost tripping over his own tongue. “So…really…you’d have the place to yourself. It’s still a bit of a commute, but you wouldn’t have to live out of a hotel room. You’d have a kitchen and privacy and—”

“Aidan,” she interrupted, “it’s okay. It’s very generous of you, but I’ll be fine in a hotel. I’m hoping that it won’t be something that I’ll have to deal with indefinitely.”

“But you don’t have to.” He was completely baffled at her refusal. “Wouldn’t you rather have someplace with more creature comforts than a hotel room?”

“I suppose. But really, as much as I appreciate the offer, I prefer to take care of it myself.” Quickly shoveling some eggs into her mouth, Zoe hoped Aidan would take the hint and let the subject drop.

“And how exactly are you planning on doing that?”

Okay, maybe not.

“For starters, I plan on being on the phone with the management company just as soon as we can get a call to go through.”

“I hate to break it to you, but chances are they’re going to be overwhelmed with the number of properties that must have been damaged by this storm.”

“Yes, that’s a possibility, but I’m guessing that mine is the only one in the ocean. That would make me a priority.”

“You would hope,” he muttered.

Dropping her fork, she glared at him. “Look, I’d think that you of all people would understand this. You don’t like other people telling you what to do or how to run your life. Neither do I. But I’ve never had my home wash away in a storm and I’m trying to handle it the best way I can!”

He didn’t like the way her voice shook, and he reached over and squeezed her hand again. “Okay, you’re right. I’ve never dealt with anything like this either. All I’m saying is that…maybe you can stay here, make your calls, and just…chill until you have a new place to live. You said it yourself—I’m sure that it’s going to be hard to find a hotel room right away between the tourists and the evacuations.”

Zoe made a noncommittal noise.

Aidan could understand her pride. If their roles were reversed, he didn’t doubt that he’d react the exact same way. He recognized the hint of defeat in Zoe’s eyes, the sense of disappointment that things were beyond her control.

“At least you’d know that you had a roof over your head and a place to spread out while you got things in order. What do you say?”

Everything inside of her wanted to say that she didn’t need the help, that she was going to be just fine on her own like she always was, but instead, she allowed herself to admit the truth. She needed him.

“Thank you.”

* * *

There was no phone service.

The cable was still out.

The rain and the wind continued.

And yet neither Aidan nor Zoe seemed to notice. After they finished their breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen, Aidan had an overwhelming need to comfort her.

Standing back, he watched as she washed the pans and dried them and then washed and dried her hands. His hunter green T-shirt looked good on her. It hugged her curves—curves that he had kissed every inch of and wanted to again.

They had made love several times last night, and each time was more passionate than the time before; each time there was a desperation to please and be pleased. Slowly stepping up behind her, Aidan gently placed his hand on her hips, bowed his head to her shoulder, and simply breathed her in. Zoe relaxed against him. His mouth wandered from her shoulder to her throat, where he softly kissed her.

In the middle of the kitchen, in the middle of the storm, they were able to communicate without words. He’d carried her to bed before in a way that was fun and playful, but this time he wanted to show her another side of himself.

Carefully, he turned her around and then took both of her hands in his. Walking backward, he led her back to the bedroom, his eyes never leaving hers. For once she didn’t argue, didn’t have a sassy retort. She knew him. Somehow this woman was able to see inside of him and know his thoughts almost as well as he knew them himself.

Zoe closed the bedroom door behind them and when they stopped beside the bed, Aidan reached down, took the hem of the shirt in his hands, and slowly slipped it off over her head. The glorious mane of red hair fell across her shoulders as he dropped the shirt to the floor. He wanted to tell her she was beautiful. He wanted to say she was sexy as hell and his every fantasy come to life.

But the words were too small. They weren’t enough.

Aidan Shaughnessy was a man of action. Stepping in close, he cupped her face in his hands and he kissed her. Kissed her slowly. Tenderly. Thoroughly. He kissed her until she sighed and melted against him and then he kissed her until she was gasping for breath. Moving as though their steps were choreographed, they changed positions until he was able to guide her down to the bed, her head on the pillows, her body soft and pliant beneath him.

And still he didn’t speak.

Stepping back from the bed, he slowly removed his own clothes before coming down beside her. His hands were like a mere whisper against her skin. He loved watching the way she reacted to his touch. The soft gasps and sighs and purrs were the sexiest sounds he had ever heard. It was fascinating to watch the play of emotion on her face and the way that her lips moved with silent words. She didn’t need to speak. Aidan already knew what she was asking for.

They moved together as if they’d been lovers for years. And even though every touch was a discovery and every movement was a new beginning, there was no need to rush, no need to move things along to the next level. If it were possible, he’d keep them here, locked in this one moment in time for as long as humanly possible.

All he wanted to do was give to Zoe rather than take—something maybe no one else ever had done.

He wanted to cherish her.

And maybe…just maybe…he wanted to love her.

* * *

Zoe didn’t think it was possible to feel so thoroughly exhausted and fully invigorated at the same time. As the next morning gave way to the afternoon, she had never felt more alive.

Even as she lay blissfully in Aidan’s arms.

She didn’t think she’d be able to move again after the way they had made love the day before. Never before had a man touched her the way Aidan had. The day had completely gotten away from them, and when she had fallen asleep from the sheer exhaustion of it all, she realized she had never been happier.

“I think I may be delirious,” he said, his voice rough like gravel.

“Why?”

“I think I’m seeing sunlight coming through the windows.”

She chuckled. “You’re not delirious. That actually
is
the sun. The storm is finally over. If you listen closely, you can hear the birds chirping too.”

Aidan wasn’t too sure about that; the only thing he could hear right now was his heart pounding from what he and Zoe had just done.

Again.

He didn’t think he’d ever get enough of making love with her. If anything, her response to him was so incredible, so terrifyingly beautiful, it just spurred him on to want to please her more.