Reclaimed (Powell Sanctuary #5)

Chapter 16

16

Isla

“Ready for another performance, starshine?” Aiden’s hand tightens fractionally around mine. He holds the door open to the Sunset bar about thirty miles outside of Fairview Valley where almost all of his family and friends are waiting for us to arrive.

“I make a career out of entertaining, Powell. You can follow my lead.”

“Oh, really,” he smirks as I start to slip past. At his challenging remark, I change course.

Releasing his hand, I flatten my palms on his shirt, fighting to ignore the way his hard pecs flex and tense beneath my touch. For how much swagger Aiden has, he sure seems shy whenever I get my hands on him. Which isn’t often. Much less than my hormonal self would like.

He’s been sleeping in my bed ever since the night I invited him in and I think his proximity is having a rather… invigorating effect on my dreams. I woke up the other night nearly in a full-blown orgasm from a dream starring my attractive fake boyfriend. Only the fact that it was seven in the morning had me climbing out of bed instead of on top of him like I wanted.

My flowy black skirt swishes around my ankles as I press into him, tilting my head so that my hair cascades down my back. He gazes down heatedly, his blue eyes glittering in the light from the bar. His jaw clenches and I feel him fist his hands at his sides.

“You can touch me,” I whisper seductively, leaning further into him. “It’s okay, lover. Put your hands on me.”

His large hands span my hips so quickly I squeak before I regain control. His fingers tense, clenching the softness on my body.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, starshine.”

“Am I?” I ask innocently and beat my lashes at him.

I gasp as he casually thrusts forward, pressing the evidence of his statement against my stomach. The reaction is instant. My thighs clench, my core tightens, everything below my belly button responds to the knowledge of what I’m doing to him. We’ve barely touched and I’m wet, and somehow I feel like I lost the upper hand.

“Yes,” he grits out between his teeth.

“Do you think they’ve noticed us yet?”

Aiden flicks his gaze to the corner of his eye. “Yes.”

“Then we need to keep on selling it, don’t you think?” I smile at him. Sliding my hands from his pectorals, I trace the planes over his collar bone until I cup the sides of his neck. My thumb strokes the light stubble on his cheek.

“Do you want me to kiss you?” he murmurs, his eyes zeroed in on my lips.

My tongue darts out, tasting the strawberry gloss. Inhaling deep, I’m surrounded by his citrusy cologne. “Yes.”

He dips, his eyes fluttering closed so hard a crease forms between his brows. I watch until the very last second, where the warmth of his breath ghosts across my lips, the spice of the mints he ate in the car tickling my nose as his mouth softly touches mine.

It’s quick. A sweet peck, but the effect rips through my torso like a bomb. Tingles erupt from my stomach, racing down my limbs to the tips of my fingers and toes. His tongue sweeps out just long enough to taste my gloss before he’s pulling back.

“Convincing enough?” His voice is rough.

“Mhm.” I act unaffected as I swipe my finger beneath my lip to fix my gloss. “I think so,” I answer breathlessly.

Aiden smirks and retakes my hand.

“Enough games, starshine. Before you give me a heart attack.”

My own heart beats a wild rhythm. “Don’t worry, Powell. I’ll make sure you get out of here in one piece.”

“Aiden.” He leads me around him with his hand still clenched around mine. The table of our friends is dead ahead.

“What?”

His mouth hits the shell of my ear. “Call me Aiden after I kiss you.”

“O-okay.”

Lips touch the side of my hair before he raises his head. “Hey, everyone.”

Refocusing on the group in front of us, I blush. The attention is heavy and every female is staring at me from one half of the twenty-person table.

“Girl,” Juniper says.

“What?” I hiss as I hug her with one arm.

“Girllllllll,” she repeats, raising an eyebrow.

“Shut up,” I mutter. Aiden yanks out a chair beside Juniper and I ease into it. He slips into the empty one beside me and rests our clasped hands on his thigh.

This is fake. This is fake. This is fake.

“How are you doing?” Bree leans across the table. “I heard about what happened at the club last week.”

“I heard about that too,” Whitney pipes in.

Aiden’s thumb brushes across the back of my hand. He’s engaged in a conversation with his brothers, but the small act lets me know he’s paying attention.

“I’m okay. It was scary at the moment, but I’ve almost forgotten about it at this point.”

“Has there been any more news about the…” Cortney looks around and leans closer. “You know.”

Aiden’s hand squeezes mine. “No, unfortunately. I haven’t heard anything else.”

“That sucks.” Frankie’s eyes are sympathetic. “I hope they find him soon.”

“Me too,” I answer.

A server stops by, so I order a mocktail and the others refresh their drinks.

“How much longer do you have?” I ask Whitney on Juniper’s right. She’s also drinking a virgin margarita, and it must be good because the black straw hasn’t left her mouth since I sat down.

She pats her swollen belly. “About five weeks, give or take a couple. Both Lucy and Bennett were early by about two and a half weeks, so I won’t be surprised if this one comes a little sooner.”

“You could end up with a Halloween baby.” Juniper bumps her shoulder against Whitney’s.

“Jack’s already making all the pumpkin jokes.”

“I planted my seed with pristine timing,” Jack shouts across the table.

“Help me.” Whitney makes big eyes and groans, dropping her head back to stare at the ceiling. “I love him to death, but this third trimester has me wanting to slap him and rip his clothes off at the same time.”

The girls all laugh, except Cortney who makes a gagging face.

“Please nix the sex talk about any of my brothers while I’m here. I already had enough witnessing their little entrance.” She twirls her finger at Aiden and me.

“Aw, give the new lovebirds a break,” Bree says around her straw. She hiccups and sets down the glass hard enough some sloshes up the side. “Oops.”

“How are you already so messy?” Frankie slaps some napkins down.

Juniper and Bree giggle.

“I don’t get out much anymore.” Bree tucks her blond hair behind her ear. “Scarlett is a fantastic babysitter, but she’s extra busy with her senior year of college. I’ve turned into a lightweight.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a cheap date, baby,” Corjan replies.

The fakeness of my relationship is stark in contrast to the amount of love floating around this table. These men are so gone for their woman. Guilt squeezes my heart, and I nearly drop Aiden’s hand. He deserves what his brothers have. He shouldn’t be wasting his time hanging around someone who can’t give him what he needs.

But what if you could?

I can’t. Not pregnant. Not while I need to figure out how I’m going to take care of a newborn and work and live. I have a comfortable amount in savings but it isn’t enough. I don’t think it ever will be.

“Excuse me.” The legs of my chair scrape across the floor. My fingers slipping through Aiden’s feel like an emotional loss as much as a physical one.

I burst into the bathroom, grateful to find it empty. I run cool water over my hands and blot them across my neck. The coolness helps chase away some of the anxiety creeping through me.

Approximately three minutes pass before the door opens and I brace for whoever is on the other side.

Whitney emerges with a kind smile. “Pregnancy bladder is a bitch, isn’t it?”

“It sure is.” I force a laugh.

The stall door bangs behind her and I crank on the faucet to give her some privacy. When she’s finished, she moves directly to the sink. Her eyes meet mine in the mirror.

“He’s really happy with you.” She twists off the faucet and lets her fingers drain in the sink. “I suspect you came in here to escape our craziness, which I can understand, but I didn’t want you to think you’re totally alone. Whatever it is you’re dealing with.”

“Were you scared? The first time?”

“We don’t know each other that well, but I was married to the biggest douchebag to ever exist. No, seriously. If I ever get around to sharing that story with you, your jaw will hit the floor, he was that bad. All that to say, at the time, I didn’t know just how bad of a man he was, so while I was scared, I wasn’t alone. I was just na?ve thinking I had a partner when I really didn’t.”

I twist my fingers together. “I’m sorry you went through that.”

“For a while I was too. Then I met Jack.” She fights a smile, but she can’t hide the light in her eyes. “I think he fell in love with my kids first. The most shocking thing was experiencing how a real partner should act. I never have to ask that man for anything. He just knows how to care for us.”

I wouldn’t know what that’s like. I’ve never been cared for by anyone except for myself.

Except…

Aiden’s been doing just that, hasn’t he? When was the last time I had to go out of my way to ask for something? I mean, he even has water waiting for me when I finish my set. Nobody’s ever done that. I don’t even do that for myself.

“He really loves you.” Her statement shocks me out of my inner thoughts.

“We haven’t been together long enough for him to love me.”

Whitney looks at the door, then swings her gaze back to mine. “I’ve seen a couple of these boys fall and I’m telling you, the way he looked at you after he got done kissing you in the doorway went beyond a basic crush.”

“I think he could find better.” The vulnerable words fall out in a mumbled rush.

She crosses her arms and rests them on her bump. “Aiden doesn’t. Why don’t you let him tell you what he wants?”

I raise an eyebrow. “That easy, huh?”

“More times than not. Come on, let’s get back. Before they start to worry I went into labor and break the door down.”

I manage a short laugh. “Please don’t. I’m not equipped to deliver a baby in a bathroom.”

“I could walk you through it,” she winks. “Besides having done it twice myself, I also work at the hospital emergency department.”

I hold the door open for her to precede me to the table. “I take it you’re not squeamish?”

“Once you start dealing with diaper blowouts and baby vomit, that tends to disappear.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Good to know.”

Aiden’s attention is fixated on the mouth of the hall we emerge from. Even at a distance, I can see the tension ease from his shoulders. He runs his index finger absentmindedly along his mouth, nodding at something Lee says.

“Seems like someone missed you,” Whitney gloats, bumping my hip with hers.

“Yeah well the feeling is mutual,” I admit. She quietly squeals.

As I sit, rather than taking my hand, Aiden lays his arm across the back of my chair. The heat of his chest entices me closer.

“Everything okay?” He studies my face and tucks a loose lock of hair behind my ear.

“Everything’s great.” I lean into him.

He drops his chin and touches his mouth to mine. “Good,” he murmurs against my lips. Way too soon for my liking he’s pulling away and answering a question from Lee, completely unaffected. He’s way too good at faking this. Unless Whitney is right and he isn’t.

“I’m really happy you’re with him,” Juniper says quietly from my other side.

“Me too.” There’s nothing fake about my answer. Even though our time together has an expiration date, I’ll never, ever forget these last several weeks with him.

There’s a commotion at the other end of the table. Aiden straightens in his chair, taking me with him.

“Slow down, Ma,” Sutton orders into his phone. Silas to his left looks on with concern. Sutton’s head snaps to his brother. “We’ll be right there.”

“Is it the kids?” Silas stands to throw on his leather jacket and shove his cell into his pocket.

Sutton shakes his head, and a pause lingers. “It’s Spencer.”

Spencer? Spencer… I flit through dusty memories. “Who’s Spencer?” I ask Juniper.

“I’m not sure,” she whispers back.

A quick glance around the other women shows similar confusion on their faces. All except Cortney. Her expression is a careful blank mask.

“What happened to Spencer?” She asks, slowly rising from her chair to see the Stone brothers better.

“He’s been injured. Mom didn’t say how, just that it’s pretty bad.” Sutton locks his eyes on hers and a silent conversation passes between them.

Cortney slowly sinks back into her chair. “Let us know when you find out.”

“We will. Sorry to cut this short.” Sutton doesn’t even bother to uphold the prior dynamic. He’s all business. “See you guys later.”

Silas bids his farewell and follows after his older brother.

“Who’s Spencer?” I ask Aiden as conversation slowly resumes around the table.

“He’s Sutton and Silas’s brother.”

“They have another brother?”

Aiden pushes my hair off the back of my neck. His gaze fixates on the motion. “Mhm. Middle brother.”

“He didn’t join the police force like his brothers?”

A crooked smile stretches across his face. “Giving back wasn’t really ever Spencer’s thing.”

“Why haven’t I ever seen him?”

“He’s older. Younger than Lee and Sutton. He graduated with Cortney. Actually, as soon as they graduated, he took off. As far as I know, he hasn’t been back since. Not even for a holiday.”

“Oh. That explains that, I guess. Not that I know everyone in town. You and I didn’t cross paths all that much except when I spent time with Juniper.”

“Shy kid, remember?”

I roll my eyes and fiddle with the button at the top of his button down. “I still don’t see it.”

His lips touch my temple. “That just means I hide it well.”