"I don't think he gets involved much in these kinds of situations," Aaron chuckles. I look up at him sharply, and he grins back. "Can I be straight with you?" he asks, and I nod. "This…what happened between us, won't go any further than us. It's not going to have a bearing on what happens today with Holden, and it's not going to impact your career in any way."
I nod again, feeling relieved but still confused. "So, why are you here?"
"To see you again. I wasn't sure if I liked the idea of being an anonymous one-night stand, or how did you put it, 'your dirty little secret.' Now you know who fucked you last night, and I think I prefer it that way." Aaron reaches out and touches my wrist, and when I flinch, he grabs it, his palm dry and grip strong. "There's no need for drama, Nicole. What happened was between two consenting adults, and I know that you enjoyed yourself. I felt your pussy quivering around my cock when you came. I could feel how much you wanted it…how much you needed it. So, fuck this repentant shit. Own your decisions."
There is genuine anger in his voice, and I don't get it. It's me who should be furious. It's me who should be raging at him. "You seduced me," I say quietly, and he shakes his head.
"You were the one who toasted 'to something worth remembering.' You were the one who said yes when I asked you if you wanted me to give it to you. You were in control, Nicole. You decided."
As his words sink in, he lets go of my wrist, and I cuff the place he held with my hand, not because it hurts but because I missed the sensation of him grasping me that way. He's right. I did need the sex. I did need the release. I needed the way our night together felt like a giant wall between the me I was with Jonathan and the me I want to be. I recall the strange sense of sadness that I felt at the prospect of never seeing him again, and the delicious feelings of desire that had awoken inside me.
Now that my stranger is sitting in front of me, nothing seems simple. Feelings are jumbled and complex.
"You took advantage of me."
Aaron shakes his head, eyes narrowed, and handsome face twisted into a scowl. "I liked what I saw and what I saw was willing. You're twisting things. I didn't know who you were until after last night. I recognized the company name from the documents on your nightstand. I ran a search for you in our company records and found a match. Let's just say it was fortuitous fate that put us both in that bar. You don't need to do this…now you know who I am, you're attributing feelings that weren't there. Have you forgotten what it felt like when we were together?"
"I remember," I say, looking into his eyes that are framed by such long lashes he'd be pretty if he wasn't so damn masculine.
"You remember trembling?" he asks, voice so low it rumbles, his expression determined. He wants me to lead me back down the rabbit hole I fell into headfirst last night.
"Yes."
"You remember moaning?"
"Yes."
"You remember when I pushed inside you?"
Oh God, when he talks like that, my body comes alive again, wanting to feel what he's describing, despite who he is. "Yes."
"And you liked it all?"
I want to shake my head, but I can't lie. I had liked it, all of it. His filthy words and controlling methods, his eyes and tongue on my skin. All of it. "Answer the question, Nicole."
"Yes," I say, so quietly it sounds pathetic. "Yes." The second time is louder, and I own the response. I'd liked it all. I'd wanted more. I'd felt euphoric and powerful, even in my submission.
"Enough to do it again?"
I really look at him then, at the serious expression on his face and the darkness in his eyes. Everything about him tells me that I should beware. If Aaron was a road sign, it would read Proceed With Caution.
Amazing sex can muddle the mind. It can make us eager for people who are nothing but bad for us – once bitten twice shy, though. "I don't think so," I tell him before my body can corrupt the sensible answer. My heart is bruised enough, and getting involved with Aaron only has the capacity to hurt it even more. I put my usual barriers aside for one night, but I'm not foolish enough to think that someone like him would have any qualms about taking what he wants at the expense of my feelings. In a way, he's already done just that.
Aaron blinks slowly once, and his eyes seemed to shutter. All the challenge and fire that was there is extinguished. That's not what I want to see. He doesn't seem to know what to say now I've turned him down, and it's his lack of an immediate biting response that has me wondering if I've hurt him.