The Girlfriend Contract 2 (2 page)

Gwen didn't speak until the car started moving. She double checked to make sure the partition was up so that the driver couldn't see or hear them.

"I'm sorry about that..." Aiden started.

"I'm not in this to get called a hooker," she said.

"We both know that's not the case," Aiden said.

"He knows what we're doing."

Aiden look
ed up at the ceiling while he unbuttoned his shirt and tugged at the knot of his tie. "No. He suspects. There's a difference. And really, I am sorry about this. I didn't expect him to move so quickly."

She wanted to threaten him with
reneging on the whole thing, but couldn't. She had yet to read the contract she'd signed so hastily, after all. For all she knew, he had clauses in there about the exact duration this... whatever it was, was supposed to go on for.

So instead she just sighed and said, "Take me home."

He did. They pulled up in front of her building. The driver started to get out, but Aiden beat him to the punch. He opened the door, even offering her a hand. She accepted, but only because she now felt exhausted from that opening skirmish with Bradley Manning. She wondered how Aiden managed to do anything but sleep his days away to escape a presence like that in his life.

He walked her to the door. "You really did do well, though. I think this is going to work out just fine."

"Gee, thanks," she said as they reached the entrance. Light from the lobby and the mail room spilled out as they turned to face each other.

For just a second there, Gwen forgot herself and wondered if he was going to kiss her goodnight. Her lips tingled as she remembered the kiss they'd shared when she climbed into that limo for the first time. Without really thinking, she wet them in anticipation.

But this wasn't a real date, she reminded herself.

Aiden smiled at her and then turned away, saying, "Good night."

Gwen couldn't believe him! Or herself, for that matter. Why is it so important that he kiss me again? But it was.

"Aiden!
The driver!" she hissed at him. He stopped, looked at the car, then back at her. He turned back to face her.

"Good thinking. He'll probably tell Bradley everything... Okay, come here."

She couldn't help feeling a touch weak in the knees when he wrapped his arms around the small of her back and pulled her close. She found herself wondering if he kept himself in shape under that shirt. It certainly felt that way, with their bodies pressed together like that.

"You don't have to be so convincing; he can't see us that well from here," Aiden said.

She realized that he meant the way she looked up at him. The moment was gone, the spell broken, all those things. She wanted to push him away.

Then he leaned in and kissed her again. It was just like before. Electric, that is. Like their bodies completed a circuit.

Damn you, knees! she thought as they again turned into two loose rubber bands barely able to hold her up, her body not supporting her in her frustration with him.

She'd just wrapped one arm around his waist, her other hand on the back of his head, feeling the soft strands of his hair between her fingers, when he ended it. She worked her jaw, glancing around, trying to look anywhere but at him. For being a jerk, he was a good kisser. He slipped out of her arms and shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks, his thumbs hooking on the outside. He turned to go.

"Good night. And Gwen?" he said, looking over his shoulder.

"Yes?" she said.

"Read over the contract, will you? It's important."

"Oh, yeah.
Right." Her shoulders slumped. She wrenched the door open and searched for her key, her movements rapid and jerky with anger.

What were you expecting?
she scolded herself, him to ask if he could come upstairs with you or something?

She finally found her keys. The whole way up in the elevator, and then back in the dark entrance hall of her apartment, she could still feel Aiden. The scent of his cologne followed her, as well as some impression of his
presence.

It was only when she turned on the hall light that she saw she still wore his jacket around her shoulders.

Why didn't he ask for it back? He must have seen it on me this whole time, she thought. She took it off and started to hang it up on the rack beside the door. Then, without really thinking, she brought it close to her face and smelled it.

Yep, that's his cologne all right. It was light and understated. She breathed it in again, holding the scent before letting the air rush from her lungs.

"He's not your real boyfriend," she said, feeling stupid for smelling his equally stupid jacket. She tossed it up onto the rack, resolving to give it back to him when next they met.

The exhaustion hit her, then. This had to be one of the longest days of her life.

Gwen locked the door behind her and walked to her room, kicking her shoes off on the way. She barely had the energy to unzip the dress and step out of it as it fell around her feet.

She went to sleep intending to not wake up until lunch the next day.

And she couldn't shake the scent of Aiden's cologne. It followed her into sleep.

Chapter 2

Gwen found herself walking down the polished concrete floor of a posh condo. It was both familiar and alien. She'd been there many times, she felt. But she didn't have any recollection of any such visits.

Pieces of modern art hung from the walls, which were cream-colored. They caught and held the light pouring in through the bank of windows along the wall in the room she could see to her right. The park appeared in that window, all the buildings
pressing in closely along its rectangular border.

She touched the wall, felt the texture of the paint beneath her fingertips. She became aware of how cold that concrete floor left her feet, and she looked down. Her feet were bare. As were her calves, her thighs.
And everything above that.

Suddenly self-conscious of her nakedness, she searched for some sort of cover.
A robe, a towel. Even a tablecloth would do.

She reached out for the polished latch of the door that appeared in front of her. But before she could open it, it swung inward. Not of its own accord, however.

Steam spilled out of the room in great roiling clouds that swirled back in on themselves as they touched the colder air outside the bathroom and recoiled from it.

And standing there, using a beige towel to dry
himself, was Aiden. He, too, was naked. She looked down, unable to help herself. Her eyes widened. Very naked.

"Hey, babe," he said, grinning at her.

That's weird, she thought. I've never seen him grin like that before. She also thought he should do it more; he had nice teeth. They set off his eyes.

Despite his
toweling, little rivulets of hot water dripped from him onto the tile floor of the bathroom. The droplets of water ran down his chest, between the little clefts in his abdominal muscles, all the way down...

Oh, I'm looking again, she thought, her whole body flushing as she dragged her eyes back up to his face. It wasn't easy. He looked pretty fine, naked.

And his hair looked just perfect in its chaos, too. Like he'd run the towel through it just to achieve that specific effect.

"Hey, yourself," she said.

Then his eyes slid down her body. In her shock at seeing him, she'd forgotten her own clothing situation. Or lack thereof.

"Turn around!" she said. More like shrieked in embarrassment, actually. Her hands went to the areas
that most needed it, doing their best to cover things up but not quite managing.

Why is he looking at me like that? I thought I wasn't his type?
she thought. Rather than averting his gaze like she'd so politely asked, he continued looking. That grin of his grew wider, almost wolfish in the way it showed his teeth.

"Why so bashful all of a sudden?" he said.

"Why am I naked?" she replied, "Where are my clothes? Did you take them?"

Aiden folded his damp towel once lengthwise and hung it on the stainless steel bar beside the steamed-up mirror. He put his hands on his hips and cocked his head slightly to the side.

She regretted her choice of words in describing him.

Gwen swallowed heavily, looking up at the ceiling. Did he have no shame or something?

"Your clothes? They're in the closet in the bedroom, I bet. You know... right where you left them?" He chuckled at her. Then he prodded her with his index finger, just above her navel. It tickled.

"Hey! Cut it out," she said, contorting herself to move away from another attempted jab. She could slap his hand away, she knew. But that meant taking one of
her own hands off censorship duty. And that wasn't about to happen.

"You know what? The bedroom actually sounds pretty nice... How about we go
there? I know a great way to spend the rest of the morning."

"Excuse me?" Gwen said, becoming painfully conscious of her no-clothing situation.

"I love it when you play hard to get... There's just one thing you always forget..."

"And what's that?" Gwen asked, taking a tentative step backwards. She could turn around and run, but that would just leave other parts exposed.

"I'm faster than you!"

Then he lunged for her. She squealed, but he caught her up in his arms and pulled her close. His body was all warm and wet against hers from the shower. And, she didn't need to remind herself, naked.

She felt that all too well. Especially when he just chuckled more at her struggles and started kissing her neck. Yes, she definitely felt the... extent of his nudity against her.

And, she realized, she liked
it. Her struggle, not particularly strong to begin with, subsided. Her squeals of outrage changed into little gasps and, dare she admit, even a groan or two, as his hot mouth worked its magic on her bare neck and shoulders.

His hands went on exploratory missions, one heading up her back to trace her shoulder blades and neck, while the other went down, apparently trying to discover just how firm her cheeks were. This hand
had double duty, pulling their hips together.

"Oh..." she said, her body responding in the most natural way it could.

"I thought so," Aiden said, "So... how about we take this party to the bedroom?"

"Oh... Okay," she replied. No wasn't an option. Not with the way her knees shook. Or the way certain other parts decided to quiver as they flushed with heat.

He pinched her butt as they walked to the bedroom. Which she suddenly knew how to get to, for some reason. "Hey!" she said, jumping.

"Sorry.
Couldn't resist. You've got a cute butt. What else can I say?"

She turned to face him even as she grabbed the latch for the bedroom door and pushed it openly partly behind her. She tried to look stern, but judging by that grin of his wasn't succeeding in the least. She shoved her finger in his face.
"How about sorry?"

"And just what do I have to apologize for?"

She took her finger away and put her hand on her hip. Her naked hip, which she did her best to ignore. "Objectifying my body..." she started, trying to stay serious. Her own growing smile seriously hurt her attempt.

"I'll get right on that... Right after this," he said.

"Right after wha—!" Gwen started. But he grabbed her up in his arms. He pushed her through the doorway. She squealed again, but this time out of enjoyment. The whole way over to the bed, his lips didn't leave her body. They roved over her mouth, her chin, her neck, her chest.

And then he bore her down to the bed, the mattress giving beneath their weight. Still, his lips stayed on her, blazing a hot trail on her flesh. Her body responded to his touches.

Aiden, lying on top of her like he was, pushed one foot gently between her calves. She kept her hands busy, running her fingernails along his shoulder blades before sliding them up into his hair, still damp and fragrant from his shower. He smelled so good. Fresh and clean and manly.

Her body burned with desire. She put up no resistance as he spread her legs apart with his foot. He kept whispering little things into her ear, his lips grazing her earlobe and
his breath hot with need on her skin.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he entered her. He kept whispering her name in between kissing her neck and bringing his lips up along her jaw and chin.

"Oh, Aiden..." she said, wrapping her legs around him, locking her ankles at the small of his back so that he couldn't escape. "Aiden... Oh, yes..."

Something started buzzing. She ignored it, or tried to, focusing all her attention on their joined bodies, on the weigh his weight felt on top of her. On the way he filled her.

But she couldn't. That damn buzzing just kept getting louder and louder. The more she tried to concentrate on being with Aiden, the more difficult it became to ignore that buzzing sound.