His Desire (9 page)

“Aaron…”

“Relax. When I said I had a proposition to make, it wasn’t exactly that, although with you looking the way that you do right now, it sounds a whole lot more enjoyable than dinner, but I really did invite you here to eat,”

Aaron added quickly as Kylie felt the embarrassing color returning in full force.

She followed him inside to the living room, while trying to block out images of the last time she’d been here with Aaron. When they stood facing each other in too familiar territory, Kylie regretted ever letting Sarah talk her into wearing that skirt.

“You said you had a proposition.” Why did the very word have to sound like an invitation for more?

“Yes, well I do, but why don’t we have dinner first and then we can talk about that.” Aaron sounded nervous. Aaron wasn’t supposed to be nervous.

She couldn’t ever remember Aaron nervous.

That surprised her so much that she followed him into the kitchen where Aaron had apparently gone to quite a lot of trouble.

The dining room table was laid out perfectly right down to the candles.

“You did this?” she asked in wonder. In a second, Kylie realized there was a lot about Aaron that she didn’t know.

“Don’t sound so shocked. I can take care of myself, you know.”

“So you’re saying you can cook?” Kylie asked with a teasing smile. Aaron’s eyes met hers. She saw gentleness in them that she’d never noticed before.

Kylie tried to remember this was her friend.

“Oh, I can cook. Quite well. It might surprise you the things I can do.” Aaron took a step closer, just as her breath caught in her throat and her heart slammed against her ribs. “In fact, it might surprise you just how domesticated I truly am,” he told her quietly, his hand cupping her face bringing her closer.

* * * *

Aaron was finding it hard to concentrate on what Kylie was actually saying throughout most of the evening. In truth, he didn’t really care. She could be reciting the Declaration of Independence for all it mattered. He was just happy to be there with her and more than a little surprised at how comfortable it felt, sitting across from her, and simply talking in his kitchen.

The place had never felt like a home in all the years he’d owned it until now.

Now, he found himself dreading having to leave it for the first time.

“Aaron?” Kylie’s soft voice saying his name brought him back to the moment. He glanced at her. She was watching him with a mixture of confusion and uncertainty.

“Hum? I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Another questionable look from those sultry eyes… sultry? He’d only seen them this particular shade of brown once. But they’d haunted him ever since that night two weeks ago when she’d let him love her.

Aaron jerked his mind away from such thoughts. They were in the middle of dinner. He hadn’t even asked her about the house yet and already his thoughts had moved on to the bedroom.

Moved on? Had they ever really left there? Or that night for that matter? He watched her looking at him underneath her lashes and wondered if she guessed. Probably. Women seemed to have a way of guessing when a man was thinking about bedding them.

“I was asking when you have to leave again,” she said while playing with her fork. Kylie was nervous. That meant she was remembering as well. He liked that.

“Tomorrow morning, seven a.m. flight,” he told her and was rewarded with another flash of something that looked like regret.

“So soon?”

“Yeah, I know. Unfortunately, it’s unavoidable. Thank God, I’ve only committed to a year. Otherwise, I think I’d go crazy up there.” He teased her, hoping to ease some of that nervous tension between them.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Aaron had been expecting that question for a while now. He’d known she was dying to hear the answer to it.

“Its killing you, isn’t it.” He grinned back at her and she glared at him.

“Okay, okay. Let’s take our coffee out onto the deck. It’s much too pretty of a night to be inside. There are a thousand stars out there.” Actually, Aaron was stalling. He wasn’t sure the best way to ask Kylie the question he’d wanted to ask her since talking to Mariah.

“Stop stalling, Aaron,” Kylie told him once they were sitting next to each other on the double recliner.

“Geez, am I that transparent? Okay, here’s the deal. I talked to Mariah.”

“You’re getting back together with her?” she asked before he could tell her the truth. Aaron glanced her way in the darkness. Kylie sounded upset.

“What? No. No way. Of course not. How could you even think that?” Aaron set his coffee mug down and turned to her, forcing her to face him. Even in the darkness, he could see her reaction. Kylie looked hurt.

“I, I just thought. That, well, you were with her longer than you’ve ever been with any other woman, and…”

“There’s nothing between Mariah and me. There never was.”

“Oh please!” Kylie got up and walked away. She didn’t want to be close to him.

“It’s the truth.” Aaron stood beside her, facing her.

“Aaron, you guys were…”

“Yes, well so are you and Jeff apparently,” he retaliated. This was not the way he’d envisioned this conversation going. Aaron took a deep breath and waited for calm to return.

“I’m not talking to you about Jeff. Jeff is none of your business.”

Aaron walked away, as far away as he could get and still be on the deck. He looked out at the city below and tried to control his anger.

“You’re right. Jeff isn’t my business. It’s just that you kind of threw me the other day. I just assumed.” He’d turned to look at her at that point. He couldn’t understand her anger. Didn’t she know Mariah meant nothing to him? Was she just using Jeff as a barrier to keep him at a distance, as she’d been doing since he’d met her?

“What? What did you assume? That I’d be waiting for you to…that was a mistake. We both agreed it should never have happened.”

“No, you agreed it shouldn’t have happened. I told you I didn’t regret it for a second as I recall.” He came to a stop in front of her. Saw the wariness in her brown eyes. As well as the sultriness. She was only trying to protect herself. Against him?

“Look, let’s agree not to talk about those other two for now. That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about anyway.”

“Well, why did you bring up Mariah then?” Aaron bit his tongue. She had to be the most contrary of women at times.

“Because, Mariah told me about you having to move out of your place.”

Aaron tried not to sound angry as he said that. He wanted to talk about Jeff.

Oh yeah, he wanted to know exactly what was going on between them but he didn’t dare push her for information at the moment. “Mariah told me because she’s moving out you will be forced to find a less expensive place to live.”

“Yes,” she admitted slowly. “When did you talk to Mariah?” Why did she sound like he’d just run over her kitten?

“Forget about Mariah. She’s not important. I only wanted to let you know that I knew about your problem and I think I can help. I want to. If you’ll let me.”

“What do you mean?” Kylie asked with a sigh. At least she wasn’t determined to throw Mariah up in his face as a defense for the moment.

“I want you to come stay here.” Aaron watched her react to that request. It was going to take some convincing to get her to agree; that much was clear by the way she was looking at him.

“You must be kidding.”

“I’m not,” he said so quietly that she believed him.

“Aaron…”

“Okay, just listen for a second and stop jumping to conclusions. I’m not just trying to get you back in bed.” Not that he wasn’t constantly going over every single second of touching her in his head but best not to mention that right now.

“Aaron, it wouldn’t work.” She turned and started back inside dismissing his proposition without even hearing it through.

“It will. If you’d stop for a second.” He caught her arm and turned her to face him. When she struggled to free herself, he pulled her closer. Kylie finally gave in.

"Okay, okay. You win. Let me go.”

Impossible. He didn’t. “Just listen without yelling at me for a second.”

She tossed him another glare but only nodded. He grinned at her glare forcing her to look away.

“I’m only going to be here a few days a month. Otherwise, the place will sit empty. I’m not selling the house. I like it too much. You’d be doing me a huge favor by staying here,” he added when she still didn’t look at him. “I just want someone living here. This would help us both out. You’d be doing me a huge favor,” he repeated, sounding lame.

“I’m not staying here for free,” she told him. When she saw the reemergence of his grin, she added, “And I’m not going to pay in sex either.”

He laughed but knew he had her. “A guy can dream can’t he?” Kylie’s reaction to that honest answer was to try and pull away again. “Okay, okay.

I’m only teasing you. When did you get so thin skinned? So it’s agreed then.

You’ll stay here and you can pay whatever.”

“But only for a year,” she told him. “And I’m paying you rent every month.”

“Hard headed. You know you might actually like it here.”

“Yeah, but what happens in a year when you move back. You’re not going to want a third wheel getting in the way of your little model hunt,” she teased.

“Who says I’m going to be hunting models? They’re really kind of boring, you know?”

Kylie gave a hard shove to his chest and he let her go this time.

“I know you. You’ll have them lined up. Here and in Oklahoma City. Okay, you have yourself a deal, but only because I’m desperate.” Aaron didn’t doubt that for a second.

* * * *

“Good, desperate is always good. Okay, let me show you around the place.”

It occurred to Kylie then that she’d only seen a few rooms in the house. The living room, kitchen and, of course, the bedroom. How could she forget the bedroom?

Apparently, Aaron had no intention of letting her. “You can stay here,” he said calmly as they reached the door to the master bedroom. Kylie dug her nails into her palms to keep from reacting to Aaron’s seductive voice. Did the man have any idea how hard to resist he was? She’d been squirming the whole evening. Especially when he was this close.

“I’ll take the guest room,” she insisted and turned to open another door, hoping that it was actually the guest room.

“What’s wrong with my room?” Aaron followed her inside another bedroom that was only slightly smaller than his and only one door down.

“Nothing besides the fact that it’s your bedroom.”

“Umm, I’m still not seeing a problem,” he told her, watching her walk across the room to the window. The room was directly above the deck. The view was even more breathtaking than below.

“This room is perfect. I love the view.”

Aaron stopped close behind her. Too close. Kylie closed her eyes and started counting. One, two, three…

“I like the view as well,” he said, his hands sliding around her body pulling her back against his. “I like it a lot,” he whispered close to her ear.

“No, Aaron.” But for the life of her, those words sounded like an invitation.

“I’ve been going out of my mind all evening wanting you,” he told her, his voice husky with desire. Aaron’s hand slipped beneath the band of her skirt, touching her stomach.

She leaned against him and couldn’t stop the moan that escaped as his fingers slipped beneath her panties and touched the moist center of her, stroking gently.

“God, you feel good.” His voice didn’t sound like Aaron. It was laced with passion. His free hand moved beneath her top to stroke her breast beneath the thin covering of her bra.

“Aaron,” Kylie whispered, her breath catching in her throat as his fingers slid inside her body. She pressed closer. She could feel his arousal against her bottom.

“I’ve wanted this since the last time. I, I needed to know that what happened wasn’t just a dream. I know you want this too.”

What was the point in denying it or herself any longer? She’d wanted Aaron from the beginning. Through all of those other women. She could only pray that when the time came, when he was through with her, that she could let him go.

“Yes. Yes, I want you. I want you so much.”

He turned her in his arms and his lips took hers. Aaron kissed her like none other. His lips were gentle but demanding. He parted hers, his tongue tasting her. Kylie met him touch for touch. His lips left hers to trail hot kisses across her cheek down to her throat. Kylie’s head rolled back. Aaron’s lips ravaged her throat.

“God, Aaron, I can’t wait any longer.” He lifted her up in his arms and carried her to the bed.

Aaron’s fingers slipped beneath the hem of her blouse and lifted it up over her head and then he stopped.

“What is it?” she asked as her eyes locked with his.

“I just want to look at you. Before things get carried away I want to look at every inch of you.”

Kylie couldn’t hold his gaze. Not when Aaron looked at her like he was at that moment. Like he wanted to eat her alive.

He slowly unclasped the bra. It landed with her blouse. She felt his fingers reach out to touch her for the first time without the encumbrance of the bra and she drew in a sharp breath. His fingers trailed across her breast and underneath. To the sensitive skin beneath. Kylie shuddered.

“God, your eyes are so sexy. When I touch you like this, they are so damn sexy. You’re so damn sexy. I don’t know how long I can wait.”

Kylie couldn’t wait either. She pulled him closer and claimed his mouth. Her trembling fingers pushed his pullover up and out of the way.

For a moment, Aaron was too surprised by her actions to do more than let her lead the way. Kylie’s fingers stroked over his chest, down the hard plane of his abdomen, to the button on his pants when he stopped her.

“Wait. Slow down baby. If you go any further I’m not going to be much good to you.” Aaron pushed her back against the soft bed. “Just lie back and let me look at you. Let me love you.”

He had no idea how much he was asking. Kylie wanted to feel him inside of her. She didn’t want to wait any longer.

Aaron slid the skirt down her hips and away from her body followed by her panties. She was shivering from the reaction to his touch. From the look in his eyes, she wasn’t sure how long she was going to hold out either.