A Maine Christmas...or Two (13 page)

A
fter spending a
restless night tossing and turning, Aidan finally pulled himself out of bed, though he was far from ready to face the day. It was the day before Christmas, and that meant this was the worst day of the year. The day his life had forever changed.

As if this day couldn’t get any worse on its own, he now had the added guilt of being an ass to Chloe. It’d been a mistake to sleep with her when, emotionally, he was in no shape to do so. He should regret it. And yet he didn’t.

All she’d really done is try to help him out and be accommodating. And she hadn’t asked for anything in return. And yet, instead of finding a way to be more sensitive, more respectful of her and the good time they’d shared, he’d let his bad mood take over and make him miserable.

He took a quick shower to help wake himself up, and then got dressed before taking a peek out the window. The snow hadn’t let up one bit. If anything, it seemed to be coming down even harder, blanketing everything and blocking out the sun.

He knew he’d have to make it up to Chloe for being a jerk, though he hadn’t a clue as to how to go about it. It was going to be a hard enough day as it was, and he didn’t need her to be miserable with him, too. The door to her room was open, but she wasn’t there. Nor was she downstairs.

What the hell? Where was she?

Paisley trotted behind him as he went through the house, calling out her name. When he turned up empty, panic seeped into his chest as he expanded his search for her. He went out his front door and was relieved to see that at least she hadn’t taken her car anywhere, though she’d moved it down towards the barn. It was a small SUV and likely had all-wheel drive, but with more than two feet of snow, he didn’t care what she was driving—it wasn’t safe.

Hannah’s accident flashed into his mind—an icy road late at night, pieces of her car scattered everywhere, the cop lights blinding him, and strong arms holding him back as he struggled to get to her.

But this wasn’t Hannah. It was Chloe.

Suddenly he was desperate to find her, and needed to make sure she was safe. There…footsteps from her car to the barn. They’d been blown away by the fierce winds, but he could still make out their faint outline. How long ago had she left the house?

He raced over and pulled open the door, immediately spotting her. She was asleep in an office chair with her head on the desk he’d built for her father. His pulse finally started to slow as a wave of relief washed over him.

He ran his hand over her dark hair and bent over to kiss her cheek and found her ice cold, his pulse racing once more as he tried not to panic. She must have come out here in the middle of the night. And for what? Why? She could have frozen to death. The barn might have protected her from the winds, but it wasn’t heated unless he was running the wood stove.

Squatting at her side, he gave her a gentle shake to try to wake her. “Come on, love. We need to get you inside. Get you out of the cold.”

She started to stir and come to, but she still seemed drowsy and Aidan knew he had to get her warm. He scooped her into his arms as she mumbled and her head lolled around before settling against his shoulder. Still holding her, he fumbled with his key, but managed to get the door unlocked to the passage way. He got her settled in front of the fireplace and quickly got the fire going to try to warm her. Once he’d built the fire up, he added several more logs until it was blazing.

There wasn’t a hospital on the island, though if need be, he could get the sheriff to open the bridge and take Chloe to the one on the mainland. Was the doctor even on the island, or had he gone to see his daughter in Portland?

He needed to get her warmed up but wasn’t sure what’d be best. Keeping her dry in front of the fire with the blankets piled on her? Stripping both of them down and trying to warm her skin to skin? Or maybe he should try the hot tub?

She shook her head as if trying to clear it from a fog. “What happened?” Her words were spoken as if mumbled through pea soup.

He wanted to yell and scream at her. Tell her she’d nearly gotten herself killed. That she’d scared him half to death. Instead, he took a deep breath and brushed her dark hair from her pale, cold skin. “You were in the barn. What the hell were you doing there?”

“I was going to try to get the desk in my car and then go to a local bed and breakfast. I found one online, so I emailed them last night…didn’t want to be in your way here. But the desk was too heavy.” Another shake of her head. “And the roads…there was so much snow.”

“Exactly! The roads aren’t passable, Chloe—not even for driving around the island. And then what the hell were you thinking you’d do? Drive yourself into the ocean? Wrap your car around a tree?” Unbelievable. She could’ve gotten herself killed. “You’re staying here until this storm blows over. Do you hear me? It’s not up for debate. And we still need to get you warmed up. Why you didn’t come back into the house is beyond me…”

“The doors…they locked behind me. I didn’t realize…”

Just as he was getting ready to yell at her about not ringing the goddamned doorbell, she drifted back to sleep, her body still too cold to waste energy with remaining conscious. And then he wondered if she had actually tried to wake him, since he usually slept like the dead. She likely had pounded and rang the bell repeatedly without any luck.

With a weary sigh, he took another look at her. Her breathing was good. He just needed to get her warm as quickly as possible.

She could yell at him when she was conscious again—because he was about to get them both naked, without her permission. He got himself undressed first and then made quick work of her clothing, with only the fleeting thought that this was far different than the first time he’d tackled the task. It made his heart ache with regret and frustration. Though she did stir a bit, she only mumbled a handful of words before going quiet once more.

The sofa was pretty wide and could accommodate both of them, especially since they’d be pressed together to try to warm her. He slipped in behind her so she’d still get the heat from the fire, and then tried his best to cover as much of her as possible with his own body.

Bloody hell, she was cold. Damn cold. He suppressed a shiver and held her to him, while trying to reconcile the events that led up to their current predicament. He knew it’d been because he was an ass, and his actions had harmed another, yet again.

It was why he lived alone and seldom dealt with people. So he could rage and hate himself without subjecting others to it. Without putting others in harm’s way. Once again, he should have paid closer attention, been more considerate, seen the signs. Yet he was too selfish, too absorbed in his own problems to see what was happening around him.

He wondered if he’d ever learn. Clearly not, if Chloe was any indication.

He’d just have to try to make it up to her. Because, truth be told, Chloe had actually made him feel more human—more like the person he’d been before Hannah’s accident. She’d made him smile, made him laugh, and even made him forget his demons, if for a short while.

He felt a small spark of hope ignite in his heart, so precious and delicate that it’d take very little to snuff it out of existence if he wasn’t careful. The darkness within told him he didn’t deserve hope or happiness—not when Hannah was in her grave, and their unborn child never got to take its first breath. Even Chloe had ended up in danger after a mere day in his presence. Yet, his night with Chloe—and nearly losing her—reminded him of what it felt like to be alive.

He may not deserve happiness, but he was damn near exhausted of hating life and himself.

Having drifted off into a light slumber, Aidan awoke when Chloe started to stir in his arms. Her eyes flickered open, and though she took a minute to focus her gaze, her eyes seemed clear, though still heavy with sleep.

“Hey…” A lazy smile slipped onto her lips as she slowly closed her eyes again, nestling lower in his embrace, everything about her moving at a languid pace.

He wanted to shake her awake, just so he could make sure that she was fine and hadn’t suffered any ill effects. But with relief washing over him, he instead kissed the top of her head and tightened his hold on her, debating whether or not he’d ever let her go.

The thought caught him off guard. Normally he’d balk at such a thing, but this time around, he found himself remarkably at ease with the idea.

“You really had me scared there, Chloe.” He was even taken aback by his admission to her. “You were so cold…I can’t bear to think of what might have happened if I hadn’t found you when I did.”

Given how much he’d tossed and turned early on in the night, he could have easily slept for several more hours by the time he did finally fall into a deep sleep. He didn’t want to think of the condition he’d have found her in if he’d awoken much later than he had.

When she shifted again to get comfortable, his body became acutely aware of her lush curves and how they molded to his body, not to mention the tiny detail of them both being naked. Wanting her had never come into the equation when he’d been so worried about her. But now that she seemed to be doing fine, his need for her seemed to overrule his other sensibilities.

And she must have noticed.

She lifted her head off his shoulder and looked up at him with a curious look he couldn’t quite pinpoint. “We’re naked.” It was as if she’d just realized it.

“Indeed we are—though before you get upset with me, I only did it to try to get you warm. Skin on skin, and all that…” He groaned, sounding like an idiot.

She let out a sigh. “Well, if that’s the only reason, then it’s a damn shame.”

He pulled back as if he’d misunderstood, thought about asking her to repeat herself, and then let it go with a laugh. Forward indeed. “You need to regain your strength. And what sort of jerk would I be if I took advantage of you when you were barely conscious?”

She kissed the hollow of his neck just above his collarbone, her lips soft and warm, and sending a spike of need through to his core. “I’m conscious now.”

“And you still need to rest and try to stay warm.” He should cook them breakfast, too—even if it was already past lunch time. She could probably do with a refuel after her body had expended so much energy to keep her from freezing.

Her hips shifted against his hard cock, reminding him of how much time he had to make up for. “Sweetheart…I’m trying to be good, but you’re not making it easy on me.”

She nudged him until he shifted onto his back, and then slipped a leg around his waist so she could lie down on top of him. “See…you’re keeping me warm just fine.”

With his cock trapped between the two of them and her slick heat pressed up against his hard length, he couldn’t help but run his hands down her back to grip her ass. “What I see is that your ass cheeks are like blocks of ice.”

“Then maybe you should heat them up for me. Or…you could go in search of something warmer.” She shifted her body up and down his entire length until he lost nearly all semblance of control. “Then again, there’s also something to be said about friction, since it seems to do a pretty damn good job, too.”

“Chloe…you’re killing me here.” Here he was trying to do the caring and chivalrous thing of not attacking her before she was fully recovered, and she was making it nearly impossible for him to say no.

“May I?” Her words danced over his skin as she nuzzled him and kissed his neck. She may not have been terribly specific, but he knew exactly what she was asking by the way her body shifted against his with her slick heat slipping along his length.

The fact that she was asking for permission when she could so easily just take him, nearly did him in. When he spoke, his voice was thick with need. “What is it you want, love? Tell me.”

She let out a small moan in protest, but didn’t elaborate further or answer his question. He knew it wasn’t always easy to verbalize such things or own up to one’s needs and desires. Yet speaking the words out loud, especially to another person, meant claiming that part of yourself, and that could be empowering. “I’m still waiting for an answer, sweetheart. Come on…you can tell me. You know I’ll happily oblige you.”