Aiden wants to stop me; I can see he’s surprised by my sudden need to leave, but he doesn’t try to talk me out of it. “Let me walk you out to your car?”
“I walked. I have to hurry.”
“Let me drive you,” he says.
I’m shaking my head, stuffing the care instructions in my purse as I lift the strap over my shoulder. “No, I can’t. I can walk.”
“Gracie, stop,” he demands, and I stop, looking up at him with a worried glance. “I’m not letting you walk all the way home. It’s on the other side of town.”
I roll my eyes. “Really, Aiden. This is Whiskey Run, not Jasper or anything.”
But he’s already wrapped his hand around mine, threading our fingers together. “I’m still not letting you walk. I’ll take you home.”
But I’m shaking my head. “If my dad...”
“Who is your father?”
I hang my head between my shoulders. “My father is Brandon Franklin.”
“The mayor?”
I nod.
“Well, he seems like a decent enough guy. He wouldn’t be happy that you’re walking across town by yourself at dark. Let me just take you home.”
“That’s just it. He doesn’t want me out, period. And with you? He would probably lock me in a room somewhere if I was seen unsupervised with a man. You can’t drive me home.”
He pulls me to him. “I’m not letting you walk. I’ll drop you off close to home, but this isn’t going to work, Gracie. I plan on seeing more of you, and I don’t care who your father is, he’s not going to stop me.”
Hope flares in my chest. Man, I wish I could believe what he’s saying. But no one bucks the wishes of Brandon Franklin. Nobody. I look at my watch again. “I have to go, Aiden.”
Aiden
“Do you trust me, Gracie?”
She doesn’t even hesitate. “Yeah.”
“Okay.” I pull her with me as I lock up the shop and go out to my car. I don’t release her until we’re standing next to my F150. I open the door for her, gesturing for her to get in. She hesitates, and it goes all through me that she’s this scared. Is it me, or is it the reaction from her father? “I’m not going to hurt you. I’ll take you home. Drop you off down the road from your house.”
She nods and climbs into my truck. I slam the door and walk around to get in. We’re halfway across town before she says anything. “I’m not scared of you, Aiden.”
My hand tightens on the steering wheel. “Who are you scared of?”
She shrugs. “It doesn’t matter. Not really. I’m going to find a way to get away from my father.”
“Does he hurt you?” I ask. I’m holding my breath, waiting for the answer. I may end up in jail tonight if I have to kill a man.
“No, not like that. He yells and stuff, but that’s it. He’s just controlling. I received a full scholarship to Berkeley, and he turned it down. He wants me to go to Jasper Community College and commute. I had hoped to get away from him, and now I don’t know how.”
I barely process what she’s saying before I blurt it out. “You could stay with me. I could help you.”
She shakes her head, and for the first time, I notice the sadness in her eyes. “I can’t let you do that. He wouldn’t let you... I know everyone thinks he’s great and a good man, but he’s not, Aiden. He’s evil.” I turn onto her street, and she points to a side street. “Pull in here. I’m just two houses down.”
I do as she asks and turn off my truck. “You can’t tell me he’s an evil man and then just expect me to leave you like this.”
“I’ll be fine. He wouldn’t hurt me.” But even I can hear the doubt in her voice.
She reaches for the door. “Thank you for the ride... the tattoo... everything.”
“Gracie, I wasn’t lying earlier. I never do that with a client. I want to see you again.”
She’s shaking her head. “I’m not allowed to date.”
I thread my fingers through her hair and grip the base of her neck, tugging her to me. I lean my forehead against hers. “That’s not going to work for me, sweetie. I just tasted you on my fingers. You’re mine now.”
Her hands go to my chest, probably to push me away, but instead she bunches my shirt in her hand and pulls me even closer. I can’t hold back anymore. I press my lips to hers in a first kiss that I feel all the way to my toes. “Open your mouth,” I say against her lips, and she does what I ask.
I slide my tongue in and taste her. Her hands slide around my neck in a hard grip. Fuck, it’s not enough. I pull her across the console, and she comes easily, her breasts flattened against my chest. I devour her, ravaging her, trying to get my fill, but at the same time, I know I never will. She’s going to be mine.