Blessed (18 page)

She crossed her arms and smirked at him. Something about this guy just irritated her. She wasn’t sure if it was his arrogant, dominant personality or what, but she had to resist the urge to pick a fight with him. “Little old me? I tried to get a word in edgewise, but you wouldn't shut up long enough for me to get enough oxygen to speak.”

Devon narrowed his eyes at her while Aiden put a restraining hand on her arm. The temple guard glanced at Aiden and said in a dry voice, “Can I guess which gods are interested in her?”

Aiden felt Eliana tense underneath his hand, and he said, “Hey we're all on the same side here. Stop baiting her.”

She shook his hand off, and he groaned.

“No, Aiden. Please, let him guess. I'm soooo interested in what Mr. Big-and-Bad has to say.” She bared her teeth in what could not be mistaken for a smile.

Devon returned her false smile with one of his own, and was about to say something she would make him regret, when the door opened, and another officer strode in. “Captain, we need you at the house listed as Linda's home of residence. There are multiple bodies, sir.”

Standing abruptly, Devon turned all business and began issuing orders with quick precision. Ignoring her, he turned to Aiden. “Take care of your student, Aiden. Good luck not sealing her mouth with duct tape.”

She blew Devon a kiss and said in a super sweet voice, “Right back at you, cupcake.”

Aiden jerked her out of the room and hustled her out of the store. If Devon's growl was any warning, they had about thirty seconds before he and Eliana started to trade blows.

“What's wrong with you?” Aiden hissed after he got her into his Hummer and locked the doors.

With a tired groan, she leaned her head back into the seat. “I'm sorry, Aiden. I don't know what it is about that guy, but he really gets under my skin. Something about him makes me want to take him down a peg, or twenty.” She turned to him, rubbing her eyes. “Thank you for saving me in there. If you hadn't come, I would be in handcuffs by now, complaining about police brutality.”

Aiden patted her hand and started the car. It was still drizzling outside, and the air was chilly. The Temple Guard tactical trucks left, and the remaining cop cars turned off their lights. Aiden tapped his fingers along the steering wheel before glancing at her. “You're staying at the Sanctuary tonight.”

She opened her eyes and looked at him with arched brows. “Are we going to have a sleepover? Play Truth or Dare and paint each other's toenails?”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “No, but I don't want you back at your dorm tonight. It would be better for you, and your roommate, if you were someplace where you're not an easy target. Once again I underestimated how far Destro would go to harm you. I’m not going to let it happen again. Linda may still be in the area, and she may try to take you out before she disappears.”

With a frown, she nodded. “Okay, but I have to grab some things before we go.”

“No can do. I don't want you going back to your dorm tonight. I'll call ahead and have my housekeeper set up a room for you with everything you will need to be comfortable. Don't worry, she has a twenty-year-old daughter, so she knows what you'll need.”

The weight of the day seemed to press on her like a thousand pounds. She nodded and opened the door to her car. “I'll follow you.”

He gave her thumbs-up as he relayed instructions to his housekeeper on his cell phone.

****

Kyle watched the two cars pull out of the parking lot with a grim look. Furious, he beat his hand on the dash until his knuckles split and blood began to dot the windshield with each strike. Breathing heavily, he wrapped his hand in a T-shirt from the backseat and stared out the windshield at the darkening sky. Kyle wondered what the hell she was doing with Professor Klemenson. He had followed her to work in the hopes grabbing her when she left that night. Now he had to call David and tell him she had left with a professor and about all the cops who were here. With a shaking hand, he dialed David's number and prepared to pay the painful price for his failure.

With a sigh, Eliana relaxed back into the swimming pool-sized tub full of fragrant bubbles. The bathroom was done in various shades of peach and cream marble with bronze fixtures, a lovely and surprisingly feminine space. On the hook next to the tub hung a thick, plush white bathrobe and a pair of fluffy white slippers.

As soon as they’d arrived at Aiden's house, his motherly housekeeper had hustled her into one of the guest suites and given her strict orders to take a nice relaxing bath before dinner. Before hopping into the tub, Eliana called her mom and dad to assure them she was okay and gave them an edited version of what had happened today. Her mom had wanted to come down and bring her home, but her dad calmed her enough for Eliana to assure her mom she was safe where she was. Eliana hung up with the promise to call them if anything else happened and to take it easy tonight.

She then called Chrissy and told her she would be spending the night with a girl from one of her classes and to cover for her if her parents called. She could tell Chrissy didn't believe her, but she let it go and said she would handle Eliana’s mom.

She had no idea how long she was in there, but a quiet knock at the outer door caught her attention. “Yes?” she called out in a loud voice.

The housekeeper said through the doorway, “Dinner will be served in ten minutes, Ms. Shay. Mr. Aiden requested it in the family dining room. It's down the stairs, to the right, through the billiard room, then down the hall to the left.”

“Thank you.” She laughed to herself. “They really need to hand out a map of this place to guests.”

She stepped out of the bath and toweled off. In the bedroom, a long brown suede skirt and cream cashmere sweater lay next to a pair of white silk panties and matching bra. Raising an eyebrow, she tried on the bra and found it tight, but the panties fit well. The top and skirt fit perfectly, and Eliana wondered where the woman had found this. With a twirl that made the skirt flare around her, she moved back to the bathroom.

Standing back to look in the mirror, she twisted her hair into a loose bun and gave herself the once-over. “Not too bad for a refugee.”

A delicious, savory smell led her toward the dining room of the opulent mansion. The rest of the place was quiet, the only sound coming from the occasional lash of rain blown against the windows. The dark wooden doors to the dining room were open, and Aiden stood looking out the window into the night. He had changed into a pair of jeans and a dark silky looking shirt that clung to his shoulders. She noticed with amusement that his feet were bare like her own, and he was curling his toes into the deep tan carpet.

She cleared her throat. “I don't know what's for dinner, but it smells way better than dorm food.”

He turned and when he saw her his green eyes lit up and an easy smile curved his lips. “You look great. I'm glad they were able to find something that fit you.”

“I'm amazed they were able to find something so quick. Your housekeeper is a ninja shopper.”

“Actually, we have a room full of new clothes available for guests. Sometimes people come in a hurry without a chance to pack properly, so clothing of all shapes and sizes is provided.”

“That's good to know. I was hoping I wasn't borrowing someone's white silk panties.”

He froze for a second then sat in his chair and said in a rough voice, “Let's see what the cook has for us tonight.”

Dinner turned out to be roasted chicken stuffed with a delicious cranberry walnut dressing. They had a relaxed meal, enjoying each other's company and the food. He opened a bottle of chilled white dessert wine and hesitated a moment before filling her wine glass.

“Oh please.” She snorted. “Aiden, I hate to break it to you, but I have gotten drunk before.”

He sighed and poured her a glass. “Well, my intention is not to get you drunk. Just to help you relax so you're able to sleep.”

“Pity,” she said softly as she stood with her wine glass and followed Aiden into the den attached to the dining room.

Looking around the room, she smiled at the giant flat screen TV in front of a wide brown leather couch. The room was decorated in shades of burgundy, dark green, and gold. It was definitely a man's space, with a small polished wood bar in one corner and a chess table in the other.

She paused in her inspection as she noticed Aiden standing in the doorway watching her. Feeling nervous in the charged silence, she said, “My dad would love this TV on game day. He would never leave here.”

With a smile, he came in and took a seat on the couch and put his feet on the large leather ottoman. He glanced at the clock on the wall. “Do you mind if we watch the news? I want to see if anything is on about what happened at your store today.”

She sat back on the other end of the couch and took a big gulp of her wine. The cool, fruity liquid helped her suddenly dry mouth. She had actually managed to put what had happened today in the back of her mind, but now it was filling her thoughts again and making her stomach tighten.

“Sure. Let's see if I'm going to get a phone call from my parents tomorrow asking if I'm a terrorist.”

Noticing the sudden tension in her voice, he reached over and brushed a stray curl off her cheek. “Hey now, don't worry. Devon may be a prick, but he's good at what he does. Let's see what the official story is before we worry about your mom not being able to show her face at the grocery store. They may not run anything at all if the police and Guard want to keep it quiet.”

This comment almost earned him a small smile while she took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He grabbed a large and complicated remote and turned on the TV while dimming the lights for a better picture. The lead story was about a large Celtic festival in New York that had suffered a bout of food poisoning. Then came the weather and a commercial and back again to the news, with no mention of Linda or the raid today. As the news continued to roll by her anxiety lessened, and the more it lessened the more her desire grew.

Aiden stretched out on the other end of the couch and she kept watching him from the corner of her eye. He looked so good and his psychic scent was filling the air again, teasing her, tempting her to close the distance between them and bury her face against his skin. She wanted to touch him, to see for sure if the fire she glimpsed in his eyes was real or a figment of her overactive hormones. Most of all she wanted to just lose herself tonight in his arms, to let the memory of their love making replace all the fear and anger.

If he rejected her she could just pretend that a half glass of wine made her drunk. Yeah, right. No, she was pretty sure he wanted her. The big, hard dick she’d felt between her thighs when he’d held her against the side of his Hummer would certainly point in that direction…no pun intended. She bit her lower lip and came to a decision. Her next move would depend on his reaction.

“If we're going to be sitting here watching TV, do you think I could get a foot rub?” she asked, hoping he didn't hear the nervousness in her voice.

He studied her in the dim light and gently drew her feet into his lap. The moment he touched her the delicious smell of his psychic scent disappeared and she wondered why he’d put his shields up. His hands were warm and slightly rough, and they felt like heaven on her skin. A tingle raced from her feet and over her body, sensitizing her skin and making her nipples draw tight.

Scooting closer so she didn't have to stretch out, she let out a small sigh of pleasure as he rubbed her feet. He had long fingers and strong hands and seemed to know what he was doing. The sound of the TV faded into the background as she watched him through half-closed eyes. He stroked his thumb along the bottom of her foot and pressed in deep. As he worked, he made his way to her ankles and began to rub them as well. He would look at her occasionally, and she was sure now of the desire in his eyes.

She groaned softly as he hit a sore spot. Her body was full of liquid heat, and her pussy hot and tight. She wanted him, badly. She wanted those wonderful hands to move all over her body, to produce pleasure and wash the bad memories of the day away with good ones. All those daydreams about him paled next to the reality of his touch.

Taking a gamble, she slowly inched up her skirt to expose her calves and the tops of her thighs. “Do you think you could rub my legs as well?” she asked in a soft voice.

He froze and said in a thick voice, “Sure.”

His hands swept up her calf, long fingers kneading the muscles and caressing the skin. She shifted as her body throbbed and let out a long sigh. Just imagining what his hands would feel like high her upper legs had her pussy soaking the silk panties she wore with her need.

With long, slow sweeps of his hands, he worked his way past her calves to her thighs. Almost there, almost touching her in the way that she had been dreaming about from the moment they met. Her body went absolutely rigid with tension, waiting for him to make that final step.

He hesitated, his fingers high on her inner thigh, and she said with a soft moan in her voice, “Please don't stop.”

He moved his hands away and looked at her with a pained expression. “Eliana, we… I can't do this. I'm not only your Mentor. I'm also your Professor. I'm sorry I let things get this far. It's not your fault. It’s mine.” Hands balled into fists, he started to move away.

She let out a small growl and pounced on him, straddling his lap and facing him. The sensation of his body against hers was better than she imagined, and there was no way she was going to let him go now. She pinned his unresisting hands down at his sides and decided to set him straight. “Aiden, I'm not a virgin. You're not corrupting me or anything like that. I know how things stand, and I can be subtle. I want you, I want you inside of me, I want you to stroke me until I scream, and I want you to teach me how to make you moan.”

He made a pained noise. “You’re not a virgin? You sure?”

Laughing softly, she wiggled on his lap so that his cock pressed into her mound. “I’m positive.”