“I didn’t expect you to still be up.” He hadn’t closed tonight, but when he did, it was after four in the morning when he got home.
“I’ve got a lot on my mind,” she said in a low voice as she stood up from the couch and walked over to him. “How was work?”
“Same as any night,” he said. He didn’t want to bore Violet with the realities of drunks he dealt with every evening. “Did you guys get settled in here okay? Does everything suit you so far?”
“Everything has been great. It’s a single man’s apartment for sure, but we’re doing fine. We spent the afternoon doing a little childproofing, but nothing too major. Knox isn’t on the move yet.”
For that, Aidan was thankful. He wasn’t that great with childproof locks. Grown-man-proof locks was more like it.
“I also did some work from home,” Violet continued. “When I checked my email this morning, I got a message from the foundation chairman. They met this morning and you’ll be happy to know that the board approved your grant proposal for the full amount you requested.”
Aidan’s heart nearly stopped in his chest. The full amount? Approved? He almost didn’t believe it. “Are you serious?”
Violet nodded and grinned. Before he could stop himself, he reached out and scooped her into his arms. She squealed with surprise as he lifted her off the ground and spun her around the living room.
“We got the money!” he shouted, growing dizzy with excitement and the circles they were spinning around his blue shag area rug.
“Aidan!” she scolded in a harsh whisper, but he hardly heard her. It wasn’t until the words “wake up the baby” made it to his ears that he realized it was three in the morning and not the best time for celebrations.
He slowly lowered her back to the ground, torturing himself by letting each inch of her body rub along his own until she was back on her bare feet. His pulse started pounding furiously in his throat, making it hard for him to draw in a much-needed breath of cool air. He also had a hard time letting go of Violet now that he had her in his arms again.
Aidan hadn’t intended to touch her, hadn’t let himself do more than shake hands with Violet since they’d reunited, and for good reason. Sweeping her into his arms had been a reflex and now, a part of him regretted it. Now that he’d done it, it would be ten times more painful to let her go. If he could let her go. The part of him that didn’t regret touching her wanted to continue. He forced himself to disentangle from around her, but his hands stayed firmly in place at her waist. He willed himself to release her, but he couldn’t do it.
What he did notice was that Violet wasn’t pulling away, either.
They stood close together, both of them struggling to catch their breaths from the sudden rush of excitement surging through them. He was relieved to know he wasn’t the only one affected by this. Violet was physically flustered with a rosy pink highlighting her cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” Aidan whispered as he dropped his forehead to rest against hers. “I just was in desperate need of some good news and you gave it to me.”
Violet’s gaze shifted toward the guest room as she held silent and still for a moment listening. “I don’t think we woke him up,” she said at last with a heavy sigh of relief. Her eyes met his with a mischievous twinkle lighting their dark brown depths. “Not for your lack of trying.” She smacked him playfully on the chest.
Aidan feigned pain, but all he felt was the pleasurable surge that went through his body as she touched him again. What he noticed was that she didn’t move her hand away after she hit him. They both stood there in his living room—his hands encircling her narrow waist, her palm caressing his chest. He wished he could whip his shirt over his head so she could run her fingers though his chest hair. He loved it when she did that. Aidan could still remember the feel of her fingernails grazing across his skin. Just the thought of it combined with their bodies so close was enough to build the pulsating arousal in him.
Aidan tried to wish it away. This whole physical interaction between them tonight was a fluke. He hadn’t even kissed Violet since that day all those months ago. Them sharing his apartment for the week wouldn’t change anything between them.
Or would it?
“Aidan?” Violet’s soft voice called to him, both a question and a plea.
He knew how to answer it. Aidan leaned in to her and brought his lips to hers. The moment they touched, it was like a wormhole opened up and sucked them in. Suddenly they were together again, fifteen months ago, with none of the complications or repercussions in their way. It was just Aidan and Violet giving in to the pleasure of one another’s embrace.
Violet didn’t flinch or pull away. In fact, her mouth was soft and welcoming, opening to him and letting her tongue gently caress his. She melted against him, the soft curves of her body molding to his hard edges.
Aidan groaned softly against her lips, hoping he wasn’t too loud. He wasn’t about to let this moment be interrupted by babies or nannies or anything else. He’d fantasized about and waited for the opportunity to hold her again. For fifteen months, he’d wondered if she would remain a memory and nothing more.
And now, her hands were roaming across his chest, and his tongue was grazing her teeth.
“Aidan?” she whispered against his lips a second time.
This time he paused, still cupping her flesh by the handful through her blue silk pajamas. “Yes?” he asked as he silently prayed for her not to put the brakes on this encounter. He wasn’t ready to give up this moment quite yet, even if it was a bad idea. He would deal with that in the morning.
“Take me to your room,” she
said instead.
His heart leaped with joy in his chest and he didn’t hesitate for a moment. Instead, he took her by the hand and led her through the dark apartment to his bedroom. Thankfully, his room and the guest room were separated by the kitchen, giving them a little privacy.
He tugged her inside and swung the door closed. With that barrier up between them and the outside world, it was as if a dam had broken. Whatever willpower Aidan had was washed away in an instant and all he could do, all he could think about, was getting a naked Violet beneath him.