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“I need to text Max before he sends his team out to find us.” He chuckles, throwing me a towel he grabbed out of his backpack. Max has a team?
As he texts Max, I look around. We are in the middle of a pasture, maybe, surrounded by trees. “Where are we?”
“This is Max’s land. He inherited it when his dad died years ago,” he replies, pulling up his shorts. Hmm… so he has land, a plane, and a team. What the hell does Max do?
* * *
“It’s about damn time. You know, I almost sent my team out,” Max says as we load into his Jeep. Aiden laughs out loud from the front seat.
I lie back in the backseat, closing my eyes, soaking in the sun coming from the topless vehicle. The vibration from the ride on the dirt road and the sun’s warmth soothes me to sleep. I wake to Aiden carrying me. I inhale his scent of man and sex. I’m in a blissful state of euphoria as I snuggle into his neck. He gently places me in the front seat of his car.
I fist his shirt before he can stand back up, bringing his lips to mine and stealing a kiss. “I love you, Aiden,” I say against his lips.
“I love hearing you say that,” he whispers into my ear, nibbling on my earlobe. “I need to move or I’m going to throw this seat back and have you for lunch,” he murmurs.
“I’m good with that.” I giggle as he stands up. He growls, stepping away, shaking his head.
“Max would kill me. We’re going to lunch with Max before we head out,” he calls over his shoulder. Hmm… I wonder where we are going after lunch. I don’t think anything could beat what we’ve done so far. All my anxiety about relinquishing my control to Aiden is gone. I can’t deny my feelings anymore, so how do I move on with this relationship without destroying it? I jump when Aiden gets into the car. He looks over at me, cocks an eyebrow, and twists his lips.
“Whatever you’re thinking… stop,” he softly commands, grabbing my hand. “Whatever it is that you think will make me run, you need to let it go. I’m not going anywhere, unless it’s something like you’re my long-lost sister. In that case, I should know.” He chuckles as he pulls my hand to his lips.
“I’m definitely not your sister.” I laugh.
“Then that settles it. There’s nothing that’ll keep me away. So stop thinking there is.” He bites my hand.
“Ouch! “ I pull my hand away and slap his leg.
“What was that for?” I say, inspecting my hand for any puncture wounds.
“For thinking too damn much. Now let’s go have lunch with Max.” He smiles and winks. I stick out my tongue. Juvenile, I know, but so is biting!
Chapter Forty-four
THERE ARE VERY few people I’ve met in my life that I instantly like. Max is one of those people. When he talks, I can tell that he works hard and plays even harder. I’ve learned that he used to be an FBI agent but went solo about three years ago. He now owns a private security firm that does the kinds of things people never hear about for the government. I’m so caught up listening to his stories, I don’t even notice that we’ve been sitting at lunch for three hours.
“I can’t believe your team is up to six now,” Aiden says. I glance to Aiden and my heart skips a beat. He’s relaxed, leaning back in his seat with his hands behind his head. He flexes his arms as I’m admiring them. My eyes dart up to his, and he sports a wicked grin. I laugh and roll my eyes.
“Don’t let the word get out that the way to Aiden’s heart is to shoot him,” Max barks out, followed by a booming laugh.
My head whips toward Max. “You know?”
“Addison, I know everything,” he boasts. “What I’m surprised as hell about is this thing between you two. I never would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.” He leans over and grasps Aiden’s shoulder, squeezing it. I can tell they’re close by the way he looks at Aiden. Just like Syd is to me, so it shouldn’t surprise me that Aiden told him about me. It makes me like Max even more. Aiden grins and winks at me.
I look around and spot the bathroom. “I’ll be back in a few. I need to use the restroom,” I say, standing up. I yelp as Aiden snags me, pulling me down to his lap. His lips brush mine for a quick kiss. I can hear Max chuckling behind me.
When he helps me back on my feet, he slaps my ass. “You’re asking for it,” I warn.
“Always, sweetheart… always.” He flashes his megawatt smile, showing off his dimples.
On the way to the bathroom, I look for my phone in my pocket. I want to call Sydney and tell her about my skydiving experience. I pause when I remember I left it on the table so I spin around to go back and get it.
“Are you going to tell her about Jessie?” I overhear Max ask as I approach the table from behind them. Who the hell is Jessie?
“No. Why would I? I haven’t seen her in over two years.” Aiden shrugs. Crap. I don’t know what to do. Do I turn around and go to the bathroom and come back after they’re done talking? What if they notice me on my way to the bathroom? That won’t look obvious.
Max clears his throat as soon as he sees me. “That was probably the quickest I’ve ever seen a woman go to the bathroom,” he jokes.
I want to ask who Jessie is, but I don’t want it to sound like I was eavesdropping. But holy shit, I’m curious now. Obviously she meant something to Aiden or Max would’ve never mentioned her. Instead, I just smile and grab my phone. “I want to call Syd and tell her about my day.” I look at Aiden, holding up my phone. He cocks an eyebrow. It’s an awkward couple seconds because I know he’s trying to figure out if I heard anything. I decide if it’s something he wants to tell me he will. I lean down and kiss him, silently reassuring him everything is okay.
