One Night...with Her Boss Page 8

  “Let’s do it.” He nodded his head decisively. “On one condition.”

  “Of course there’s a condition.” It was all Ali could do not to slap the table in frustration. “Jeez Louise, Aidan! Is nothing straightforward with you?”

  He started laughing. “Jeez Louise?”

  “Yeah—Jeez Louise.” She started to giggle along with him. “Now, stop your laughing and tell me what your stupid condition is.”

  “How do you know it’s stupid?”

  “Because it’s a condition on having yours truly as a friend with benefits—and with half the team proposing to me on a regular basis that’s just stupid. Like you.”

  Maybe she should poke him in the arm for good measure. She was enjoying this now. Friends with benefits. She’d never done that before. Tick! An unexpected add-on to her list of new activities. Would she regret this later? Most likely. Then again—nothing ventured...

  “We keep it like it was at the airport.”

  “What? No names? I think we’re a bit late for that.”

  “I was thinking more along the lines of what goes on on the road stays...” He let her fill in the blanks.

  Hmm... She could see where he was coming from. Getting non-stop shtick from the team could be tricky if they went public about things.

  “Not even my gal pals Down South?” Not that she really had anyone to fit that role—but being a sort-of couple with the sexiest man alive...? She needed to tell someone!

  “Not even them. Loose lips and all that...”

  “Until when?”

  “The end of your contract.”

  “Then this ‘friendship’ ends?” She indicated the two of them with a quick flick of her hand.

  “Precisely.”

  Now Aidan was smiling, as well. One of those sultry come-hither numbers. Tingles of anticipation began to slow-dance across her nerve endings. She needed to get this show on the road, stat.

  “Do you want it in writing?”

  “I can think of quite a few other ways we can seal the deal.” Aidan gave her a decidedly saucy look.

  Ali tucked her lips in, then pushed them out decisively. If she’d thought she was numb to the world’s delights before she’d come Up North, she was swinging giddily straight to the other side of the pendulum.

  “Very well, then.” She extended her hand across the table to shake on it. “I’m ready when you are, Suit.”

  “Miss Cosmopolitan.”

  He took her hand carefully, almost studiously in his, bent and pressed his lips upon it before looking up from her fingers with a naughty, naughty, grin.

  “Waiter! Check, please.”

  * * *

  To have said the walk back to Aidan’s flat was fraught with sexual tension would have been putting it mildly. She’d never had such an openly agreed upon fling without strings. Then again, she had never physically ached to be with someone as much as she desired Aidan. Never.

  After her mum had died she’d pretty much perfected being one of life’s cooler customers. A few dates here. A few dates there. By choice she’d never had anything to really dig her teeth into. Not to say that she hadn’t bitten Aidan’s shoulder, trying to stop herself from unleashing a non-hotel-friendly howl of rapture. Or scratched his back with her nails. Maybe just a little. And he had groaned with pleasure.

  Oh, she was in trouble. If her all-over body tingling was anything to go by, the veneer was threatening to crack.

  No. No it wasn’t. This was just overdue, right? A sexy encounter. It would make everything easier. More relaxed.

  Aidan brushed his hand against the back of hers, then wove his fingers through hers as they virtually race-walked through the narrow brick passage leading to their riverside complex. A whoosh of electricity shot through her.

  Long, long overdue.

  She snuck a peek at him. Blimey, he was good-looking. Would it be acceptable to just jump on him right now? There weren’t that many people walking along the river on this cold March night. Maybe here, in the dark of the passageway? A perfect place for secret lovers to share a kiss. Or a thousand. Not that they were lovers. They were— Well... She didn’t know what they were. She couldn’t remember ever wanting someone as much as she had ached for Aidan’s touch. And then to have to put it on hold for the past few weeks... She’d needed every single one of those kickboxing classes. Aidan had been right. She had energy to burn.

  “Everything all right?” He gave her hand a quick squeeze before letting go of it to dig a key out of his pocket.

  Ali felt her entire body tingling with desire. She watched as he put the key in the door and licked her lips in anticipation of what was to come.

  They were here. Outside the door of his flat. In a manner of microseconds she could start ripping off his clothes and sating the hunger she hadn’t appreciated just how much she’d been stemming. Everything was more than all right. Everything was set to just get better and better. As long as she could keep her heart in check everything would be perfect.

  * * *

  “Wow.” Ali wasn’t sure if she’d whispered the word or just mouthed it.

  “You can say that again.” Aidan nuzzled into her neck and threw in some kisses along her shoulder for good measure. Yum.

  “Woooooowwwwuhhh!” She whooshed the sound into his ear, gave him a few kiss-nibbles along his jawline, then turned her head toward the starlit view. “Do you think people can see in?”

  Aidan was still holding her up against his floor-to-ceiling windows, her legs wrapped around his waist, her body as bare as the day she’d come into the world. Just like his. She felt as if they’d just had naughty hotel sex, minus the hotel.

  “Not at three in the morning.”

  Ali unfolded her legs and started gathering up her erratically scattered clothes.

  “Is that what time it is? I had no idea. What time do we have to be at the stadium?”

  “Cool your jets. Coach Stone called me yesterday, and as it’s Saturday they’re doing some sort of cross-country run in the morning, then meeting with their nutritionist and calling it a day at lunchtime. We’re just on call tomorrow. Today.” He corrected.

  “Thanks for telling me, boss.” She glared at him, did a quick calculation and dropped her clothes back on the floor. “Sooooo...” She sauntered back over to him with a sexual confidence she’d never known she possessed. “We’ve got time for a snooze.”

  “We’ve got time for a lot of things.”

  Aidan grabbed her by the hand and pulled her over to his big ol’ Man Bed, complete with dark navy duvet and sheets in that weird Merlot color men always seemed to like. His interior décor skills, however, were the least of her concerns. Everyone had to have a flaw. Let that be his.

  She snuggled into his arms as if she’d been doing it every day for the past five years. What a sea change! She would never have dreamed it was possible to have such open and trusting sex with someone—let alone hanging around for a snuggle...

  Ali tugged Aidan’s top arm more snugly round her waist and wove her fingers through his. Safe and secure. That was how she felt. Which was hilarious, considering it was the last thing she should be feeling with this obvious commitment-phobe. The hours they’d just shared had definitely topped their time at the airport. Aidan seemed to know her body better than she did. Intimacy with him was— Rewind! This wasn’t intimacy. It was what they’d agreed on: a couple of months of blissful commitment-free sex. And then—and then what?

  Then you move on to something else, like you always do.

  Besides, who knew what the world would be waiting to throw on her plate next week, let alone in a few months’ time?

  Aidan’s breath slowed and with it the cadence of her own breathing steadied. Right now, she thought as she felt herself slipping off to sleep... Right now is
good.

  * * *

  “It’s a gorgeous day out there.” Aidan took a slurp of Ali’s thick-as-tar version of coffee and winced. Blimey. If he judged her coffee in the same vein as her lovemaking there didn’t seem to be a single thing this woman didn’t do by halves. “What do you say I take you on a tour of the River Teal?”

  “Are there footpaths?” Ali raised an interested eyebrow and took a deep drink from her coffee mug without a trace of a flinch. She was clearly made of tougher stuff than he was.

  “Miles of them. So I thought it would be more fun if we went by bike. There’s a rental shop just round the corner—or, if you like, you could go wild and buy one.”

  “Ah...” Ali’s enthusiastic expression cooled.

  “There’s a really nice gastropub about ten or fifteen miles down from here—straight along the river. We could earn ourselves a really nice lunch.”

  “Anything we could walk to? I’m game for a hike!”

  “It’s flat, if that’s what’s got you all frowny.”

  “I’m not worried about not being able to make it, Aidan. I just wondered if there were any good walks instead.”

  Aidan hesitated. There was something going on here that wasn’t about foot or cycle paths.

  “There are loads of walks, but the White Hart is a really special place—I’d love to take you there. It’s great to approach it from the riverside.”

  “Maybe another time.” Ali peered out the window and pointed out some nonexistent clouds. “Looks like the weather could turn at any time. We wouldn’t want to be stuck out in bad weather in March.”

  “Dr. Ali Lockhart—if I didn’t know better I would think you didn’t know how to ride a bike.”

  From the wounded expression that immediately appeared on her face Aidan guessed he’d hit the nail on the head. He reached across and gave her arm a reassuring rub.

  “Not to worry. I can teach you how to ride. With all of your yoga panache you should pick it up easily.”

  “No.” Her voice was brittle and she gave him a look laced with nothing less than gritty ire. “I know how to ride a bike, thanks. I just don’t want to ride a bike.”

  “Hey, you.” Aidan came out from behind the kitchen island and gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, but from what I’ve seen you’re game for just about anything. What’s so off-putting about jumping on a bicycle?”

  Ali fought the urge to turn away from him and pressed her lips tightly shut. It was her go-to reaction whenever anyone tried to get closer—to “talk things out.” She didn’t do close. How could Aidan come anywhere near understanding how utterly hollowed out she’d felt when her mum had been taken from her? She trusted Aidan implicitly on an intimate sexual level. Could she trust him to understand the workings of her heart?

  She pressed her eyes shut for a count of three, then opened them up. Yup. He was still there, a gentle smile of encouragement playing on his lips. Maybe it would be good for her. Part of the go-on-the-road psychological reboot she was trying to give herself. If she told Aidan, perhaps she could leave all of the grief she felt behind when she went back home. Not to mention the fact she felt a really overwhelming urge to tell him.

  “My mum and I...” She paused and took a deep, steadying breath.

  She shouldn’t have gulped her coffee down so quickly. Then again, maybe the caffeine would help get everything out. Quickly.

  She stared into her mug and began again. “I was raised by my mum. My dad turned out not to be ‘The One’ she thought he was, but she didn’t let it get her down. She was a champion. An amazing woman who worked her socks off to make sure my dreams of becoming a dancer could be fulfilled.”

  She looked up at Aidan, who nodded at her to continue. He pulled over a chair and plonked himself in it. The gesture said: I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for you.

  Ali fought the tingling prick of tears and continued. In for a penny... “Anyway, my mum died of cancer when I was sixteen and—” She stopped, desperate to stem the sob that came with the memory. She swigged back a couple gulps of coffee and went on. “A few days after she died... As you can imagine, I wasn’t really operating in the real world, but she’d made me promise that no matter what I would continue with my dancing. She believed in me and was convinced I’d be a prima ballerina one day. So, a few days after she died I was riding my bike to rehearsal—I was attending the British Ballet School on scholarship—and—”

  “What happened?” Aidan nodded for her to continue, giving her elbow a quick squeeze. He was there for her. He would help her carry the load.

  “A couple of streets—” Ali grabbed the counter edge and dug her nails in until they went white from the pressure. “A couple of streets away from the school I was sideswiped by a lorry.”

  Aidan clapped a hand over his mouth. She could see he knew what was next, but she pointed to the scars on her knee anyhow.

  “No more ballet for Ali.” Her eyes met his.

  “Oh, Ali. I am so sorry for your loss.” And he looked as though he truly meant it.”

  “I just wish for my mum’s sake I had become a dancer. Made her dream come true!”

  “Wasn’t it your dream, as well?”

  “Yes, but—” She stopped, realizing she’d never really bothered to look at from that angle before. “I suppose once I found medicine I found something else I loved.”

  “Isn’t that enough? Don’t you think your mother would be bursting with pride to know her daughter not only overcame her accident but had the strength to be a—no, the leading specialist in dance injuries?”

  “I hadn’t really thought of it like that.” Despite her best efforts, she felt tears fill her eyes. “I just miss her so much.”

  She abruptly cleared her throat and swiped at her eyes. This was all too close to the bone. Too much like opening up your heart to someone who was going to stick around. Neither she nor Aidan were going down that road, so she’d be best to cut this conversation off now.

  “So. In answer to the question, Do I think a bike ride would be a fun thing to do? No, I really, really don’t.”

  He gave her a sad smile and nodded his understanding, before putting a hand on her knee and rubbing his thumb along one of her scars.

  Her gut instinct was to bridle. And then something inside her shifted. In a good way. For the first time it felt as though she was just saying the words she’d repeated again and again after losing so much. I don’t want to ride a bicycle. Had she really meant them this time? Was she ready to tackle this demon?

  Aidan leaned back against the counter with a studied look. “I can’t even imagine how horrible that must’ve been, but I’ve got to ask—are you not bike-riding because you blame yourself for having the accident in the first place, or because you’re scared?”

  “How do you do that?” Ali couldn’t believe her ears.

  “What?”

  “Take something that’s been gnawing me up from the inside out for a long time and boil it down to two simple questions?”

  It was difficult to tell if she felt angry or relieved. As she sought answers in his eyes Ali felt her chest release its tight grip on her lungs and her shoulders dropped a little. Relaxed back into place.

  “Probably because I’m not living it,” Aidan replied. “Perspective is a whole lot easier if you’re not the one busy slaying dragons.”

  Good point.

  “Is that the voice of experience talking?”

  “Perhaps.” He shrugged. “We’ve all got demons stuffed in our closets, don’t we?” He looked away for a moment, his eyes fixed on an invisible horizon, then turned back to her with a bright smile. “But I bet you’d look damn hot in dragon-slaying getup.” He gave her a wink, grabbed her empty mug and moved to the sink to wash up.

  Ali c
ouldn’t help herself. She smiled. A picture of herself in a warrior-princess outfit—or maybe a slinky chainmail number—flashed across her mind’s eye. Sword in hand, fire-breathing dragon backing down as she fearlessly approached.

  Her eyebrows moved closer together as she concentrated on Aidan’s questions. Yes. Yes, she supposed she did blame herself, to an extent. Her mentor at the dance academy had spent countless hours assuring her that her mother would never have minded a jot. Her only goal had been to make sure Ali was happy. And yet here she was, still slaying dragons all by herself. No mum. No one she felt brave enough to open up her heart to.

  She looked over at Aidan, giving the mugs a good scrub. Maybe she had a little help now. Could she go forward and let go of her unfulfilled dreams? Perhaps create some new ones?

  Maybe.

  Would never riding a bike again change the fact that the plan they had spoken about again and again as her mother’s health had failed would never be a reality?

  Ali traced a figure-eight pattern along the tabletop. “Are these paths completely closed to traffic?”

  “Completely,” Aidan replied solidly, popping the clean mugs one by one onto the draining board. “And I’ve got two very large, deeply unattractive helmets and reflective vests we will both wear. At all times. Even at lunch.”

  “And does this gastropub you’re talking about have sticky toffee pudding?” She had to hold out just a little bit. Didn’t she?

  “With honeycomb ice cream on the side.”

  “Now you’re talking!”

  Ali slid off of her stool and walked over to Aidan. She couldn’t help it. She needed a hug. As if reading her mind, he turned away from the sink, slipped his arms around her waist and popped a little kiss on her forehead. She nestled up against his chest and let herself breathe him in. Friends gave each other a cuddle every now and again, right? Even friends who had spent the bulk of the night exploring one another’s bodies in just about the most erotic way possible?

  She stilled her own breathing. If you took away the physical attraction she had for him, she was still left with a huge mountain of respect. Professionally and—the more she was getting to know him—personally. Aidan’s chin rested lightly on the top of her head and in the quiet of the morning she could hear his heartbeat.