The Assistant (4 page)

“Oh, wow.  It’s gorgeous,” I breathed as I
walked into the cabin.  King bounded ahead of me and sniffed the entire place
enthusiastically as I looked around curiously.

“It’s not very big but I’ve made a lot of
improvements to it,” Aiden replied as I kicked off my boots.

“I love it!”  I said enthusiastically.

“I thought you might.”  Aiden grinned as he
moved to the fireplace and quickly built a fire.  “Leave your jacket on until
it warms up in here.”

The cabin was small and cozy and I peered
interestedly into the kitchen.  The main area of the cabin was one open space
with an island separating the kitchen from the living room, and I ran my hand
along the smooth, granite surface.

“This is lovely.”

“Thanks, I installed it myself,” Aiden
replied.

“Impressive.”

“Actually, I gutted the entire kitchen and
redid everything.”  He joined me and, as he pointed out the various
improvements he had completed, I couldn’t stop from smiling.  He was like a kid
in a candy store and before this moment, I would never have guessed that this
version of my grumpy, rude boss even existed.

“This is the bathroom.”  Aiden opened a
door to show me the small room.  “There’s no tub, just a shower, but there’s
plenty of hot water.  And this,” he led me to the second door, “is the
bedroom.”

I peered into the room.  It was very small
with just enough room for a double bed and a wooden dresser.

“It’s nice.”

He laughed.  “It’s small and absolutely
freezing in the winter.  Most nights I have to sleep on the pull-out couch in
the living room. Eventually I’ll open up the back wall and expand the cabin
further out.  I’ll add a second fireplace and maybe even a second bedroom.”

I gave him an admiring look.  “You can do
all that yourself?”

“Most of it.  I’ll have to hire some
contractors for the second chimney and the electrical stuff.  I have a friend,
Joe, who lives about half a mile away.  He’s pretty handy and will help me with
a lot of it.

“What is it you’re going to do today?”  I
asked curiously.

“I need to work on the shed,” he replied. 
“I’m putting in some shelving on the inside and I need to replace some of the
boards on the outside.  They’re starting to rot.  I should have done it in the
fall but I was finishing up the kitchen.”

He led me back into the living room.  It
had started to warm up and I shed my jacket as he pointed to a cupboard in the
kitchen.  “There’s coffee, tea, and hot chocolate in that cupboard.  Help
yourself.  I’m going to go out and start on the shelving in the shed.  Feel
free to just relax in front of the fire or have a nap on the couch.  There are
some books in the cabinet if you’d like to read.”

I rummaged through my bag and pulled out my
book.  “I’ve got one, thank you.”  I smiled at him as he pulled a knitted cap
off a hook on the wall.

“Well just shout at me if you need
anything.  Okay?”

“You bet.”

He started toward the front door and turned
around when I called his name hesitantly.

“Yes, Ms. Jones?”

“Thanks for this.”  I looked around the
cabin.  “It’s really lovely here and I could use a day of just relaxing.”

“You’re welcome, Lina.”  He gave me another
one of those unfamiliar warm smiles and my stomach fluttered with a combination
of lust and happiness.

* * *

“Hey, I thought maybe you could use a hot
chocolate.”  I held out the mug of steaming chocolate and Aiden set his hammer
down before stripping off his work gloves and taking it from me.

“Thanks.”  He took a sip as King leaned
against my legs.  The snow didn’t seem to bother the big dog at all and I
patted him gently.  He licked my mitten-covered hand as I studied Aiden
carefully.

Although it was snowing heavily and he had
been outside for nearly two hours, he had stripped off his jacket and sweater.  I
admired the way his muscles flexed under the long-sleeves of his shirt.  His
cheeks were red from the cold and he looked ridiculously adorable.

“What?”  He was watching me stare at him
and I could feel a warm blush crossing my cheeks. 

“Aren’t you cold?”  I asked.

He shook his head.  “No.  Not really.”

I glanced at the pile of rotting boards at
my feet as Aiden stared at the dark sky.  “We’re going to have to leave soon. 
The roads are only going to get worse.”  He gave me an apologetic look. 
“Sorry, Lina.  It wasn’t supposed to storm today.”

“That’s fine.”  I hid my disappointment.  “

“I’m just going to finish up this last
section and then we’ll head out.  Okay?”  Aiden glanced anxiously at the sky
again.

“Sounds good.  I’ll just tidy up the
kitchen.”  I took his mug before wading through the soft snow.  It was nearly
past my knees and I gave a strangled yelp of surprise when King bounded past
me.  His large body knocked me flying and I landed face-first in the snow, the
mug slipping out of my hand and disappearing in the snow.  I struggled to sit
up in the deep snow and gave a gasping whoop of relief when Aiden flipped me on
to my back.

“Lina, are you okay?”  He was squatting
next to me and he wiped the snow from my face as I nodded.

“Yes, I’m sorry,” I sputtered.

“Sorry for what?  It was King who knocked
you over.”  He frowned at me.

“Right,” I muttered in embarrassment.

“Here, let me help you up.”  He reached for
my hands and I shook my head.

“I’m fine.  I can get up on my own.”

“Don’t be silly.”  He scowled at me and
took my hands.  “I’ll help – “

King, barking loudly, came thundering
toward us.  He barrelled into Aiden, knocking him off his feet and on to me
with a harsh thud.  I grunted with surprise as his hard body landed on my soft
one and started to giggle when King took off, his large paws digging in the
snow and showering us in its cold wetness.

Aiden, still lying on top of me, gave me a
look of concern.  “Lina, I’m sorry!  Are you okay?”

I giggled again.  “Just ducky, Mr. Wright.”

A small smile crossed his face and he
pulled his glove off with his teeth before stroking his thumb across my cheek. 
“You’ve got snow all over your face again.”

I caught my breath at his warm touch and
forgot about the coldness seeping into my body.  Aiden’s gentle touch was
enough to set me on fire and when his gaze dropped to my mouth, I bit at my
lower lip nervously.

He groaned softly and ran his thumb over my
lip.  My mouth parted and he groaned again.

“Kiss me.  Please, Aiden, I need you,” I
whispered before I could stop myself.  He hesitated, his eyes widening with
surprise, and I closed mine in humiliation.  These ridiculous fantasies about
my boss had to stop.  I couldn’t be –

I jerked in surprise when his warm lips
touched mine.  My eyes flew open and my hands clutched at his hard arms as his
soft kiss turned unexpectedly rough.  I moaned, my fingers digging into his
biceps, as he thrust his tongue into my mouth and pressed me deeper into the
snow.  He kissed me until I was moaning loudly and my pelvis was thrusting
against him helplessly. 

I had often fantasized about kissing Aiden
but the fantasies were nothing compared to the real thing.  His kisses were
demanding and forceful and I couldn’t get enough of them.  My body was melting
under his touch, surrendering willingly to his demands, and I made a soft cry
of protest when he pulled his mouth from mine.

“You taste delicious, Ms. Jones,” he
muttered thickly. 

The sound of a motor broke the silence and
King barked joyously and raced toward the snowmobile that was headed toward
us.  Aiden stood quickly and yanked me to my feet.  I brushed the snow from my
jacket and pants as the snowmobile stopped next to us and the driver shut off
the engine and took off his helmet.

“Hello, Aiden.”

“Hi, Joe.  How are you?”

“Good.”  The older man stared curiously at
me and I gave him a tentative smile as Aiden cleared his throat.

“Joe Lawson, this is Lina Jones.  Lina,
this is my good friend, Joe.”

Joe grinned at me. “So, this is the
infamous Ms. Jones.  It’s nice to meet you, Lina.  Stephanie and I have heard a
lot about you.”

I blinked in surprise before holding my
hand out.  “Uh, it’s nice to meet you as well, Joe.”

I glanced at Aiden.  His face was a dull
shade of red and he avoided looking at me as Joe patted King.  “Hey, big
fella.”

He glanced up at the sky.  “Quite the
storm, huh?”

“Yeah.  We were just going to pack up and
head home before the roads get too bad to drive on,” Aiden replied.

“It’s too late for that,” Joe said
cheerily.  “Steph sent me over here.  We saw you drive in and she was worried
that you were going to try and drive home tonight.  The storm’s only going to
get worse and Rudy sent word over the radio that the roads are already slippery
as shit.”

“Son of a bitch,” Aiden said.  He gave me
an apologetic look.  “I’m sorry, Lina.  I think we’re going to be stuck here
tonight.”

“Oh, that’s okay.”  I gave him a faint
smile.  “Better safe than sorry, right?”

“Yes,” Aiden sighed and I stared at the
snow still clinging to my pants.

If it hadn’t been for the weird awkwardness
between us, I could have almost believed that the kiss was just another one of
my lust-fueled fantasies. 

“Why don’t you and Lina come for dinner? 
Steph’s making spaghetti and there’s plenty for everyone,” Joe suggested.  “I
know she would love to meet Lina.”

“Oh, um…”  Aiden glanced at me before
nodding.  “Sure, that sounds great.”

“Good!”  Joe slid the helmet over his head. 
“Supper will be ready in an hour or so, but come on by whenever you’d like.”

Aiden nodded again as Joe started the
snowmobile and drove off.

“I’m sorry, Lina.  I should have paid closer
attention to how bad the storm was getting,” Aiden sighed.

“It’s fine,” I said with a forced
cheerfulness.  “I don’t mind, really.”

“Right.”  He gave me a look I didn’t
understand before glancing at the sky again. “Let’s go inside and warm up
before we leave.  Joe and Stephanie don’t live far and it’ll probably be
easiest if we hike over there.”

“Okay.”  I followed him silently into the
cabin.

* * *

“Lina!  It’s so good to meet you!”  The
short, plump woman pulled me into her embrace before I could even take off my
jacket.  I returned her hug as she kissed my cheek and grinned at me.  “With
everything Aiden’s told us about you, I feel like I know you already!”

I gave her a bewildered smile before
glancing at Aiden.  He was steadfastly refusing to look at me, and Stephanie
patted King before taking my hand.  “Why don’t you come into the kitchen with
me while the boys relax in the living room?”

I followed her into the kitchen.  It
smelled delicious and I inhaled deeply as Stephanie stirred a pot full of
bubbling sauce.  “That smells great, Mrs. Lawson.”

“Oh call me Stephanie, please.”  She smiled
at me and nodded to a chair.  “Have a seat and we’ll chat.”

I sat down and smiled at her as she popped
a tray of garlic bread into the oven.  “You have a lovely home, Stephanie.  Do
you live here all year around?”

“We do,” she replied.  “Joe retired a few
years ago and we decided to move up here full time.  It’s so peaceful, I love
it.”

“It does seem very peaceful,” I agreed. 
“Have you and Joe known Aiden long?”

“Oh a few years now.  He spent a lot of
time here at the cabin with us and when the old Warren place came up for sale,
we weren’t surprised when he bought it.  He’s done wonderful things with that
little cabin, hasn’t he?”

“It’s really nice.  I like it a lot,” I
replied.

“Is this the first time you’ve been up
here?”

I nodded and Stephanie sat her plump body
down in the chair next to mine.  “I’m surprised by that.  I would have thought
Aiden would have brought you up here before now.”

“Um, I think you might have me mistaken
with someone else, Stephanie,” I said.

She gave me an odd look.  “I don’t think
so.  You work with Aiden, right?”

I nodded again and she smiled at me. 
“That’s what I thought.  Aiden is forever going on about what a great assistant
you are to him.  According to him, you’re the best assistant he’s ever had.”

I blushed and Stephanie giggled like a
schoolgirl.  “You’re a sweet little thing, aren’t you?  Aiden didn’t tell us
how pretty you were.”

I blushed more deeply before staring at the
table.  “I’m sure he doesn’t think I’m pretty.”