Taste (4 page)

“Of course, I’ll send them through today.” At least that put me at ease, if only slightly.

“I’d almost expected Gavin to surprise me again and fly you in.”

“You know I would have.”

“I know, dear. You’ve been looking out for me ever since your father died. Now I have Gavin.” That’s precisely what I was worried about now. Not that I could tell her that.

“I’ll always protect you, Mom. It’s my job.”

“Are you sure you’re the child and not the parent?” she said, the warmth in her voice unmistakable.

“Will you come visit me soon?”

“That sounds like a fantastic idea, sweetheart. I can show you all of the pictures from the wedding and our honeymoon.” She sounded ecstatic, and I wanted to feel happy for her. If only I didn’t have suspicions about Gavin. If only I knew more.

I sighed and dropped my head down to rest on the top of my desk. “I’ll look forward to it.” I replied distractedly.

“You sound busy. I’ll let you go, but I’ll call you the minute we get back.”

“Be safe, Mom.”

“Always, Alyssa. Love you.”

“Love you, too,” I said back before I ended the call.

When I called Aiden and told him about the quickie wedding, he sounded just as concerned as I was. He agreed that there was nothing we could do about it until we had some evidence—if there was in fact any to be found.

Two weeks after that—a month after his last visit—I went to meet Aiden’s flight at the airport. I was happy—the happiest I’d truly been for a long time—and although the private detective hadn’t found out anything substantial, he was still looking for answers, as was Aiden.

The passengers started to disembark, and I stood there anxiously waiting to see his gorgeous smile again. When I saw him, I ran, jumping up into his arms as I tangled my fingers in his hair and slammed my mouth against his. He’d dropped his bags and grabbed my ass, holding me to him as he returned the kiss and laughed into my mouth.

I pulled my head back to look at him, just happening to look over his shoulder and stopped breathing at what I saw.

That was because the man I’d known as Barrett stood right behind him, and the look on his face was murderous.

“Aly?” Aiden asked as he dropped me slowly to my feet. “What’s wrong?”

I couldn’t answer him because I was in shock. My anger hit me hard and a red film covered my eyes.

“Aly?” he said again, his voice full of concern as he turned around to see what had rendered me speechless.

I finally managed to close my mouth, but was still unable to tear my eyes from the man who’d sweet-talked me, wined and dined me, kissed and groped me, then finger-fucked me before walking out. Seeing him brought back the rawness of it all—the lies, the deceit, everything.

“That’s Barrett,” I whispered harshly.

“What?” Aiden asked incredulously as he switched between the two of us.

“That man there”—I pointed straight at the man who had the audacity to scowl at me—”that is Barrett fucking Matthews. The man paid to fuck with me.”

“That’s Mark Lucas,” Aiden replied, his brows furrowed. “He was on my flight.”

“No, he’s not,” I argued, as I moved to the side to get a better look at Barrett.

“Alyssa,” Barrett said gently, which pissed me off even more.

“You asshole,” Aiden growled and quick as a flash, he had Barrett backed into a wall with his forearm against his neck. Barrett’s arms gripped Aiden’s shoulders as he struggled to push him off.

“Lawrence, you don’t wanna go there.”

“You might think that,” Aiden spat out, “but you’d be fucking wrong.”

When Barrett’s face went red and Aiden did not show any sign of letting him go, I rushed toward the two of them and pushed Aiden away.

Airport security arrived, and two men took Aiden in one direction and Barrett in the other. They left me standing in the middle of the two groups, my head switching between Aiden, who had flashed his badge at the security guards and appeared to be talking calmly to them, and the man who broke my heart.

Barrett had turned and braced his hands against the wall, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. Against my better judgment, I wanted to go to him and make sure he was okay. Then there was Aiden, who just wanted to protect me and who had acted on impulse to do exactly that.

Knowing what I wanted to do was not the logical, or even smart thing to do, I bottled up my anger and took one last look at Barrett. My breath caught when I saw him leaning against the wall, staring right at me. His eyes were conflicted; that war I’d seen waging there back in Vegas was stronger than ever.

Gone was the cocky smile and sexy smirk. Instead, his face was blank and unreadable.

“Aly, let’s go,” Aiden called out from behind me, and taking my last long fill of Barrett, I turned my back and took Aiden’s outstretched hand then walked away.

When we got to my car, Aiden pulled the keys from my hand and bleeped the locks. He walked to the passenger door and held it open while I took my seat. Once he’d put his luggage in the trunk, he took his place behind the steering wheel but didn’t start the car.

“How did it feel?” he asked, his voice strangely terse.

“What do you mean?” I spun my body toward him and placed my hand on his forearm.

“To see him again . . .” His tone was strained. His fingers gripped tightly around the leather steering wheel, and I knew he was trying to control his anger—at what or who, I wasn’t sure.

“So, you believe me?”

“Oh, I fucking believe you. What pisses me off is that he’s come back to Seattle.”

“Why?”

“Because he sat next to me on the plane and gave me this whole bullshit story about how he was an FBI agent. His case has been put on hold, and he came home to have some downtime
and find a woman he’d met that he wanted to reconnect with.” He spat out his last few words, as if they had left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“What are you asking me, Aiden?”

He finally turned to look at me, his eyes full of anger. “That man knew who I was to you, yet he told me—to my face—that he has come back to Seattle to reconnect with a woman, meaning you.”

“You don’t know he meant me,” I replied instantly.

He lifted his arm to rest on the seat beside my head and leaned forward until his forehead rested on mine. He took a slow, deep breath before releasing it, clearing his eyes so all I could see was warmth.

“Beautiful, he came back for
you
. You’re not a woman that anyone would forget. You’re also not a woman that a man like that—a man like me—wouldn’t go after. He knows who I am and my connection to you.”

“Aiden, he can’t know who you are to me, it’s impossible. Besides, I don’t know who the hell he is.” Then a thought came to me. “Do you know him?”

His jaw tightens but doesn’t answer. He took a deep breath and let it out on a sigh. “It’ll all be alright, Aly.”

“Okay,” I answered. I brought both of my hands up to cup his still tense jaw, smiling when I felt him relax under my touch.

“I missed you, Detective.”

“I missed you too, Aly.”

“Take me home?” I asked suggestively.

“Thought you’d never ask.”

The rest of the weekend, I was distracted. From the moment I woke up Saturday morning, I felt strange. It was like I was crawling out of my skin and I had no idea why. When Aiden and I made love the night before, it was different than it used to be. By bringing our feelings about each other into the open, our connection had deepened and grown stronger.

It started off in our usual feverish fashion. I couldn’t get enough of him. After four weeks of phone calls and flirting, of phone sex and whispered promises of everything we wanted to do to each other, when the time came, I pounced on him as soon as we got through my apartment door. His last visit he knew my head wasn’t in the right place even if my heart was, this time it was different.

I’d dropped to my knees on the floor of my hallway and wrapped my mouth around him. He’d then carried me to my shower and returned the favor—twice. We utilized the soap and water, running our hands over the other’s warm slippery bodies, all hands, mouths, tongues and nails. We couldn’t get enough. I completely let myself go and as always, Aiden was there to catch me.

When we finally fell into bed, he changed the momentum. He was attentive, he took his time, and when he finally buried himself inside me with his eyes locked on mine, I’d forgotten about everything except what Aiden and I had together. It wasn’t rushed; it was slow, languid, and full of meaning. I poured my feelings into every touch and kiss, using my body to say what I could not yet verbalize.

In the light of day, however, I couldn’t stop myself from comparing the two men—as unfair as it was.

When Aiden looked at me, a wave of warmth glided over me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. When Barrett looked at me, it felt like a thousand lightning bolts scored through me, alighting every nerve ending in my body.

It was the difference between a slow-burning fire and a raging inferno.

I felt guilty, though. Everything Barrett had said to me had been a lie. Every moment I’d spent with him was fake. Whereas with Aiden, he’d been forthright from the start, and in the last month had proven his sincerity in everything he’d said and done.

Aiden was two years of constant; Barrett was a twenty-four hour mistake. I just had to remember that.

Sunday afternoon, Aiden and I went to Harrison’s offices.

As soon as we took our seats, the man with the graying blond hair and ruggedly handsome looks handed Aiden a brown folder full of documents. “You better start reading, Detective,” he said.

“What is it? What did you find out?” I asked.

“Special Agent Mark Lucas was working a case. I spoke with a contact of mine in the FBI and pulled in a few favors. I found out there has been a tri-state undercover operation underway for at least six months. It all involves the financial dealings surrounding the Sovereign Hotel and Gavin Barnes.”

“What are they looking for?” Aiden asked, looking up from the paperwork in his hands, his face unreadable.

“Fraud, embezzlement, and bribery of city officials,” Harrison replied.

“Oh my God,” I gasped, placing my hand over my mouth. I turned toward Aiden. “My mom . . .”

“Beautiful, it’ll be okay,” Aiden assured me, putting his hand on my leg and squeezing gently.

“You don’t know that,” I shrieked, as I stood up from my seat and started to pace the room.

“Sit down, Alyssa. I promise you, this is a good thing.”

I spun around to face him. “How can this be good? My
mother
has just married a man being investigated by the FBI.” My voice was a high-pitched shriek, but all I could think about was my mother losing everything my father left her because of Gavin. “We have to get the marriage annulled,” I announced to the room.

“Aly, you need to take a deep breath. We don’t want to ruin any chance they might have of making an arrest.”

“No, no, no, no.” My eyes grew wide, and I shook my head at Harrison’s suggestion.

“I’ll go see Special Agent Lucas,” Aiden announced which just ramped up my anxiety even more.

“No!” I snapped. “You almost punched him the last time. I’d rather not have you arrested for assault, thank you very much.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, opening them to see Aiden giving me a wry grin. “What?”

“You’re cute when you’re being protective,” he said before he stood up and gave me a hard and fast closed-mouth kiss.

“Alright, I’ll keep digging then?” Harrison asked, looking at Aiden.

“Yes, keep looking. Anything else you can find out, let me know,” he replied.

Harrison switched his gaze to me. “Alyssa, there’s one more thing I need you to know.”

Aiden wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. I turned to look at Harrison and waited for him to continue.

“I cannot find any record of your mother signing a prenuptial agreement with Gavin Barnes.”

“You investigated my mother?” I asked incredulously.

“I asked him to,” Aiden said. I tried to pull away from him, but he just tightened his arm and kept me in place. “Aly, you said they got married very quickly and without telling you. It made me suspicious, so I asked Harrison to look into your mother’s holdings, and whether there was in fact a pre-nup in place when she married Gavin.”