Pleasures of the Night(48)

“Aidan,” she whispered, her nostrils filling with his scent. There was no other scent in the world like his. It was spicy and exotic. Foreign. She loved it, craved it. “I won’t be gone long.”

“A minute is too long.” His voice was dark as sin, his accent thick and delicious, a vocal caress.

Then Aidan kissed her with tightly restrained passion, his tongue gliding along hers expertly, reminding her of how good it was with him. The best. A rough, edgy growl rumbled in his chest as she melted into him. Just from a kiss.

She hugged him back with all the strength she had in her. There was so much she wanted to say, to ask, to know. But there wasn’t time, and she hated that. Over his shoulder, she could see the clock. It was five minutes to one.

“I need to go.” She pressed her face into his shoulder, feeling guilty as sin.

Aidan couldn’t figure out what to do with his desire to snatch Lyssa up and take her far away.

A knock came to the door just as Lyssa slid to her feet.

“Yeah?” she called out, her voice husky.

“Chad’s here.” Stacey’s voice through the door was more serious than any Aidan had heard from her today.

Lyssa breathed in sharply. “How do I explain to him,” she asked plaintively, “when I don’t know what’s going on myself?”



He caught her chin and urged her gaze to meet his. His chest ached at the sight of her. She was pale, her dark eyes tormented, her lower lip worried between her teeth. “Tell him the truth. An old flame showed up and you have to reevaluate.”

She nodded, but looked shamed enough to set him on edge.

Her hand came to rest on his bare shoulder, and his eyes closed a moment in pleasure at her touch. She moved then, her fingers sifting through his hair.

“Are you okay?” Lyssa asked, her voice filled with concern.

Aidan nodded. Inside him, something vibrated anxiously, making his stomach clench tight. “I hate this. I don’t want you to go.”

“You’re awfully possessive for a guy who walked out of my life at some point,” she said dryly.

He stilled, conveying the truth of his words with a steely stare. “I’ve looked for you my whole life.”

All these years he couldn’t figure out what he was missing. He’d searched for answers in an attempt to calm his restlessness, and he still wanted them. But what he’d needed was Lyssa and the connection he found with her.

She shook her head, her lush lips drawn tight. “You say the corniest shit, but it never sounds corny coming from you. You could give lessons on how to make the worst pickup lines in history work.”

Reaching for her purse, Lyssa set her keys and some money on the desktop. “Get some clothes. I don’t carry much cash—I’m a debit card girl—but there should be enough here for some jeans, shirt, and boxers. Talk to Stacey, she’ll tell you where to go.”

Aidan caught her wrist before she turned away. She lifted her gaze to meet his. They stared at each other, questions and confusion filling the air.

“I have to go,” she said finally.

He caught her then, his hands fisting in her hair, tugging her head back, his mouth taking hers. Taking it, completely, his tongue gliding deep and thrusting. Drinking in the taste of her, leaving his flavor in return. Her hands clutched at his back, her knees weakened, her body sagged with the weight of her desire. Only when she was whimpering into his mouth did he release her.

His nostrils flared. “Make it quick, or I’ll hunt you down. You won’t like what happens if I do.”

She swallowed hard and nodded, backing away slowly. Dazed.

As the door closed with a click of finality behind her, Lyssa released her pent-up breath. There was no denying it. She was head over heels.

But she still had to deal with Chad.

“Shit.”

The last time she had felt this torn was when she’d made Jenna Lee cry in college because of a thoughtless comment. Chad deserved someone who was really crazy about him. That bit of knowledge was the only thing that kept her from hating herself completely.

Lyssa lifted her chin and moved down the hallway to the rear clinic door. She could do this. She could.

Then she stepped outside, saw the handsome man leaning against his Jeep, and began to cry.

It wasn’t that she regretted what she had done with Aidan last night; she didn’t. But she should have handled this entire situation better. Add in the events of the last twenty or so hours and her overwhelming feelings for Aidan, and she was reduced to an emotional wreck.

“Hey,” Chad said softly, coming up to her and holding her close. “It’s not the end of the world. I’m a big boy. I can handle it.”