The Awakening: Aidan (10 page)

Whatever his plan was—it was working. His absence caused him to be in her thoughts more than when he’d been constantly around, which was saying a lot.

Even then, she’d always been thinking of him.

Instead, he’d done a Houdini act and disappeared, which had left her jumpy and moody, expecting to find him suddenly just there. The
Drall
should be pushing him to seek her out, but he’d surprised her by fighting an instinct that most shifters immediately caved to.

How?

She didn’t get it.

If things had gone as she’d expected, Aidan would’ve chased after her when she’d left his house. A few more nasty words would’ve been exchanged before she’d escaped. But no, she’d made it to her car, cranked it, and driven away without one sign of him following her.

Shock number one.

Then she’d expected him to pop up here to start the second round of denying Aidan. Never showed.

Shock number two.

And the surprises kept mounting. No calls. No unexpected visits. No flowers or chocolates. Not a damn peep. In three days.

Apparently, she’d gotten through to him. Why, then, wasn’t she more relieved?

What was even scarier was she actually missed the ass.

Somewhat.

She
didn’t
miss having to continuously remind him they had no future, which in turn left her emotionally exhausted. Mostly because she needed to remind
herself
as much as him.

However, she did miss his smile, his voice…and that little flutter in her stomach every time he looked at her. Which meant Aidan O’Connell had gotten under her skin, and she didn’t like it.

She shouldn’t be wishing he’d call, or pop up unexpected, or wishing…

Yeah, she could admit it.

Wishing he was human.

The intercom buzzed, and Jaylin sighed. “Yes?”

“There’s a lady here wishing to speak with you,” Pam’s voice flowed through the speaker.

Jaylin frowned. She didn’t like surprise visits, but it wasn’t as if she was booked to the gills with appointments anymore. She lifted the receiver. “In regards to?”

“She won’t say. Just keeps repeating it’s an urgent matter.”

Maybe this would result in a new client. “Send her in.”

A few seconds later, an older woman walked in and closed the door behind her. A unique woodsy scent teased her nose and Jaylin tensed.

This
was all she needed—another damn half shifter.

As the lady walked across the room, Jaylin studied her. She could’ve passed for a Shirley MacLaine lookalike. She wore designer cream slacks and an expensive blue silk shirt that set off the copper highlights in her blondish-red hair. Diamond earrings sparkled from her earlobes. And Jaylin couldn’t help but appreciate the matching diamond necklace and bracelet.

This woman had money. Lots of it.

Too bad she’d have to send her away.

“Dr. Avgar.” The woman settled her startling blue eyes on Jaylin. The friendly smile on her lips melted away the regal air she had about her, and made her suddenly seem like she was someone’s grandma. “Thank you for seeing me with no notice.”

“It was no problem at all.” Standing, Jaylin offered her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs….?”

“Biggerstaff.” After shaking her hand, the woman sat in the chair across from Jaylin’s desk.

“How can I help you, Mrs. Biggerstaff?” Jaylin asked, sitting as well.

“I need you to accompany me to Cancun to help my son.”

Jaylin blinked. There was no way she’d heard her correctly. “You want me to go where?”

“Cancun, Dr. Avgar.”

Yeah, that was exactly what she’d said the first time. It didn’t sound any more believable the second time around.

Leaning forward, Jaylin threaded her fingers together on top of her desk. “I’m sorry. I have a practice to run. I can’t leave my clients.” What clients? “Besides,” she continued. “I no longer work with shifters.”

“I know, but you came highly recommended. I flew all the way from Cancun just to speak with you.”

“I’m sorry about that, but you should’ve called and we would’ve saved you the trip.” Jaylin pushed back her chair and rose. “I do appreciate your time.”

The woman slammed a manila folder on the desk. “I will not be dismissed.”

Wow, the sweet smiling woman was gone. Mother bear was out in full force. Jaylin put on her practiced patient smile. “I understand your frustration, Mrs. Biggerstaff. But I stopped taking anyone from the shifter community as clients months ago.”

Her anger magically morphed into tears, which magnified the blue in the woman’s eyes. “P-please just look at h-his file.” She took a shaky breath. “If you can still say no, I’ll leave with no further argument.” Mrs. Biggerstaff dabbed her eyes with a silk handkerchief that probably cost more than Jaylin made in an entire month before the woman’s face crumpled even further and she cupped her head in her hands, sobbing.

Jaylin bit the inside of her lip as she slowly sat down and reached for the file. Gawd. She was such a sucker. But the woman was crying. She could at least look at the blasted file.

She opened it, and a picture of a young man with the same coppery-colored hair as the woman’s highlights was clipped to the inside of the folder. Jasper Biggerstaff. He looked to be in his late twenties. She ran her thumb over the picture. So young. He was smiling with blue eyes that held a charming twinkle. So innocent.

“Which one?” Jaylin asked.

The woman lifted her head. “W-what?”

“
Dsershon
or
Wydowed
?

“Neither.”

Jaylin blinked. “Then what’s the problem?”

“The
Drall
was awakened.”

Ah. Okay. “Did she reject him before he could
Fewse
to her?”

“Yes.”

Jaylin closed the file, her mind immediately going to Aidan. “Listen, Mrs. Biggerstaff, I understand he’s upset, but he doesn’t realize the bullet he dodged. Had he mated to her and then she rejected him, he’d be going through something a hundred times worse.”

Like Aidan would. Her heart twisted.

“You tell his
Drall
that, why don’t you? He’s miserable right now and won’t talk to us because ‘we don’t get it.’ He needs someone who does.”

She opened her mouth to politely refuse again, but the woman held up her hand. “A few days tops. Just go. Let him talk to you, open up, see his life isn’t over.”

Inwardly, Jaylin snorted. How was she to do that when life as he knew it
was
over? All he could do was make a new life.

Like. Aidan.

Damn it. She couldn’t think of him.

“…we’ll pay all your expenses and make sure you have some time to enjoy the beach.” She inhaled, dug in her purse and withdrew a bulky envelope and placed it on the desk. “If nothing else, maybe this will change your mind.”

Jaylin eyed the package, having an idea of exactly what was inside, and her heart jumped at the thickness. She swallowed. “And what’s that?”

“Seven thousand dollars.”

“H-h—” she cleared her throat. “How much?”

“Seven. Grand. Paid up front. You can’t tell me you’d make that in the few days you’ll be gone.”

No. She couldn’t. Heck, she barely made that in a month. Especially after she’d paid Pam a portion that in no way covered what she should be making, paid the office bills and some of her own debts. A bonus like this would really help out right now.

Lord, when had she become such a money slut?

When she suddenly didn’t have it anymore, that was when.

“That’s a little too generous, don’t you think?”

The woman squared her shoulders and sat straight. “He’s my son.”

It was all she said, but it said everything.

She stared at the envelope, chewing her lip. Seven grand would keep the practice open for a couple more months, buy her some time to drag herself out of the mess she’d made of her career. It would help Pam, too. So much. All Jaylin had to do was go to Cancun and help another shifter. The pros far outweighed the cons.

“When do you want me to go?”

The woman’s pinched expression relaxed and a relieved smile tilted up her lips. “Thank you.” She gathered up her purse and files. “I’m flying back as soon as I leave here. I can’t stay away from Jasper for too long. He’s just so…depressed. I’ll send my jet back to get you tomorrow morning. Plan for a ten o’clock departure. That should give you enough time to sort your schedule out.”

“Your jet?”

“Oh, honey. I don’t do commercial. Private is the only way to go.”

Jaylin had no idea how to even respond to that, so she went with, “Yes, that should give me enough time to get everything together.”

If she went into Tasmanian Devil mode.

“Good.” The woman stood. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon then.”

Jaylin also stood. “Have a safe flight.”

After she left, Jaylin sagged in her chair. Maybe this case was a blessing in disguise. It’d put thousands of miles between her and Aidan. She wouldn’t be all jumpy and worried that he’d just pop up…not that he had. Instead it was as though he’d completely forgotten her, and surprisingly, she didn’t like that.

She didn’t like that she didn’t like that. God, she was a mess.

Wanting to get away from her thoughts, she grabbed the envelope and hurried from her office. “I have a present for you.”

Pam spun around in her chair. “Oh! I love surprises.”

Jaylin lifted the wad of cash from the packet and fanned herself with the money.

Her friend’s mouth dropped open. “Girl, what
were
you doing back there?”

“Good Lord, Pam, does your mind always go to the gutter?”

“Of course. Seriously though, where did that come from?”

“Mrs. Biggerstaff. I’ll need for you to cancel my appointments for the rest of the week.”

“You mean all four of them?”

Jaylin grimaced. “I thought I had seven.”

“You did. Miss Pratt got a new boyfriend, so her depression vanished. Mr. Potter finally called his son and they had a long heart-to-heart, and Mr. Jones just canceled, stating a conflict with his tee time.”

“I guess this came at a great time then.” She split the money. “Here’s your half.”

“No way.” Pam held up her hands. “You were paid that to do a job, not me.”

“We’re a team, Pam. Take it.” When she still refused, Jaylin added, “I’ll be in Cancun.”

Pam gasped then snatched the money. “Well in that case.”

Jaylin laughed, then started back to her office.

“Hey, Jay?”

She looked over her shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Do you ever worry you made a mistake by cutting the shifter community from your client list? They were a majority of your patients and the human list isn’t really growing.”

That was the question of the day.

“Yeah, I do,” she admitted.

“Do you think you’ll add them back in?”

“I don’t think I have it in me to, Pam.”

“Why not? You were a superb therapist, and everyone knew it.”

“I probably would’ve agreed with you not even a week ago. But what kind of therapist am I really? Yeah, I talk a great game, but who am I to counsel others on what they should do when I failed to do the same?”

“What in the world are you talking about? Failed what?”

“Not what, Pam.
Who
. I failed Aidan. I, Dr. Jaylin Avgar, esteemed therapist, ruined a shifter’s life. I knew what was happening, and I didn’t stop it. I’ll never be able to forget or forgive myself for that. How am I supposed to ask someone else to put their faith in me after that?”

…

Jaylin checked the ticket once more as she hurried through the airport, dragging her one piece of luggage behind her.

The itinerary Mrs. Biggerstaff had given her for the next four days actually left quite a bit of time for Jaylin to enjoy herself, but she’d packed light anyway. A few business outfits for when she was in session with Jasper, including the gray skirt suit she wore now, a couple of pairs of shorts and shirts, and a few sundresses. She’d been indecisive on the bathing suit, feeling very unprofessional in packing it for a business trip, but in the end she’d tossed it in, reminding herself that she wouldn’t be with Jasper 24-7.

As she reached the desk, she handed her ticket to the flight attendant, who looked it over, then allowed her to enter the terminal. When she stepped inside the jet, she froze.

Holy. Shit.

How much money did this woman actually have? The walls were made of black reflective paneling that made the oversize silver leather seats and sofa stand out. Everything was sleek, stylish, and expensive, including the top-of-the-line entertainment system mounted on one wall. What a way to start off the trip.

She shoved her suitcase in one of the overhead compartments, then slumped into a seat. Tension seeped from her body and she closed her eyes, sinking deeper into the luxurious cushions.

Even though she knew this was a working trip, she felt as if she was going on vacation. In a way, she guessed she was. The change in scenery and a few days of tropical air should help her come back ready and focused. At least she hoped it did.

The sealing of the door announced they were about to depart.
Paradise, here I come.

She smiled.

“One day you’ll smile at me that way.”

Her eyes snapped opened and she shot a glance to her side.

Un. Be. Lievable.

Aidan had traded his jeans and T-shirt for an expensive bespoke suit. His hair was immaculate, groomed in a way that was so unlike him that it was almost laughable,
if
he hadn’t appeared as comfortable in those duds as he did in casual clothes. She sat up straight. “What the hell are you doing here?”

He held out his hand. She eyed it but didn’t take it.

“I’d like to introduce myself. I’m Jasper Biggerstaff.”

Air gushed out of her mouth. “You set me up!”

Aidan sat down in the seat across the aisle from hers. “Now, Jaylin, to set you up would entail having you take the fall for something. This was merely using the power of surprise to my advantage to get you to myself.”

“I—I can’t believe you did this!”