Spark (22 page)

“I’m so glad you’re here.” I turn my head to kiss him softly on the cheek.

“Me too. Now, go to sleep.” He yawns. He circles one arm around my waist, and holds me. It feels like heaven, just to be held. It’s something so simple, yet I’ve never had it. Not with someone like him.

“Okay … good night.”

“Night.” He nuzzles into the back of my neck. In no time, we find sleep.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Light streams relentlessly through the open curtains in my room, and I can’t sleep any longer. It must be late, as I feel reasonably rested, which is surprising given the gorgeous specimen of a man lying next to me. Aidan is still asleep, his body facing me. His breathing is slow—he must still be in a deep sleep. He looks so peaceful, and I almost feel like a stalker as I watch him. His hair is even more unruly than it was last night—seriously, this guy could have a frickin’ bird’s nest in his hair, and he would still look hot.

I sneak off to bathroom to brush my teeth. I don’t want to expose him to morning breath, because no one should have to endure that. I check my face and hair in the mirror, not wanting to frighten him off. Although,
his
hair is a mess, so I shouldn’t be too worried. Messy hair is a reality in the morning.

I return to bed, trying not to wake him, but as I slide under the covers he stirs. Aidan reaches out, wrapping his arms around me, squeezing my chest against his as he moves to lie on his back.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Aidan whispers as he slowly opens his eyes, adjusting to the bright light. Once he has his bearings, his eyes fix on mine.
See! That’s how I deserve to be greeted of a morning
.

“Ditto.” I wriggle onto one elbow, and lie on my side. I can’t help but smile at him. This time yesterday, I never would have believed I would wake up to this.

“Somethin’ funny?” Aidan asks with a wicked grin, tucking my hair behind my ear.

“So, how did you get in here?” I ask cheekily, poking him in the middle of his chest. He moves as if he’s ticklish, which tempts me to do it again.

“I was invited,” he says, still grinning.

“Invited, huh? Lucky you.” I raise my eyebrows.

“Yeah, lucky me. In fact, as I recall, I was practically dragged in here,” Aidan teases.

I poke him in the chest again. He squirms—yes, he’s definitely ticklish.
Note to self
—
use this against him as needed
. I remember leading him up the hallway to my room.
I so did not drag him into my bed! He’s probably trying to get a reaction out of me.
His sense of humour certainly has me intrigued.

“Not against your will I hope,” I reply innocently, putting one hand over my heart.

“No, definitely not,” he says as he pulls me close, softly kissing me on the lips. “Brushed your teeth already.” His kisses move leisurely down my neck.

“I didn’t think you’d appreciate morning breath,” I say, trying not to let my imagination get carried away with his kisses.

“Makes no difference to me, just as long as I can kiss you.”
Mmm, good answer. Funny and smart
. He moves onto his side so our hips rub together, the bulge in his boxers pressing against me. Instantly, the tension is back, as it was last night outside the club.

“It looks like
someone
is pleased to see you,” Aidan mumbles as he moves his hips. He stares at me, a wide grin splitting his face. I didn’t think I would be confronted with this so early today. I’m gonna need a lot more willpower than I’d thought.

“Mmm … yes,” I whisper, back-pedalling, trying to think of my next move.

“Yes what?” Aidan asks. His jaw goes slack and his brows bunch together.

“Yes … it does look like someone is pleased to see me.” I smirk.

“Oh.”

“What did you think I meant? Yes as in permission to proceed?” I poke him in the ribs, and he squirms again. Then he shrugs his shoulders and flashes me a dazzling smile, which sends a shiver down my spine, my heart skipping a beat.
How can just a smile do this to me?

“I can dream, can’t I? In fact, I dreamt about you last night.”

“Oh, really? Care to share?” My interest is piqued.

“A gentleman never tells, although let’s just say, there was nothing gentlemanly about it.” Aidan bites the inside of his cheek.

Dear God.
If it was anything like the wet dream I had that night …
fuck
. Between the two of us, in our dreams, we’ve already done it. I wonder if it was as good for him as it was for me …

“Well, as much as I’d like to lounge around all day, I think if we stay in here much longer I’m going to get myself into trouble,” I joke, trying to make light of his morning glory, moving my hips away.

Aidan swiftly moves, and I find myself on my back with him sitting on top of my hips. He holds my hands above my head with one hand.

“What kind of trouble?” Aidan asks quizzically, as he runs the fingers of his free hand down my cheek and along my jawline.
Good trouble.

My breath catches in my throat. “I think you know,” I say, trying to twist my hips in an attempt to push him off me. He runs his fingers over my lips, and I kiss his long index finger as it lingers around my mouth. He then pushes the finger inside my mouth, and much to my surprise, I bite it, harder than I intended.

“Ooh, she bites,” Aidan says, and chuckles.

“Yes, she does,” I reply baring my teeth. He leans down, and kisses me softly on the lips. He sits back up, and his free hand continues to softly touch my neck, over to one of my bra straps.

“You wore a
bra
to bed?” he asks, tugging at the strap.

“Yes.” I frown.
I can’t believe he’s teasing me.
“I wasn’t ready to go bra-less in front of you yet.”

“Mmm, yeah. That would’ve been very distracting.” He runs his index finger gently from the dip in my throat, down my sternum, and to my belly button. Not wanting to struggle any longer, I give in … for now.

“Well, speaking of distracting, maybe you should put some clothes on.” I grin.
Or not, whatever, I’m happy taking in the view.
I am dying to run my hands over his perfect chest, but I can’t move my hands.

“Oh, distracting, am I?” He raises his dark eyebrows. He pokes me in the ribs, and a giggle escapes me.

“Well … yes,” I admit.

He tickles and squeezes the delicate skin beneath my ribcage. I giggle and squirm with as much strength as I can muster, managing to free one of my hands. I poke him hard in his side. As if wounded, he gasps and falls off me and onto the bed. My hips turn cold. I miss him being there already. I jab him again and he lets out a deep sexy-arse chuckle, so of course I can’t help but laugh too.

“I can’t believe you’ve discovered my weakness so soon,” he says as he lies on his back, breathing deeply. I lie on my side next to him, and warily outstretch my hand and place it in the middle of his chest.
I am so playing with fire here, but I can’t help myself.
What woman wouldn’t want to run their greedy hands over the dips and lines of this gorgeous body?

“Yes, and I
will
use it against you.” I gently rub my hand over his smooth, golden chest, brushing one of his nipples. It puckers under my fingertips. His chest rises as he draws in a stuttered breath.

“Careful,” he warns, with that glorious smile again, “you touch me, I touch you.” Mmm. A threat and a promise, rolled into one. I best tread carefully … for now. I move my hand up to his face, running it along the stubble on his jaw.

“I’ll remember that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to have a shower, and then I think we should go out for a breakfast.” I sit on the edge of the bed.

“So I can’t tempt you to stay in bed all day?” he says, swirling his fingers on my lower back. His touch is driving me fucking insane. He’s practically naked, and those boxers do little to hide what’s underneath. Suddenly, I am aware of the wetness between my legs. I need to get out of here before he notices. I would be mortified if he saw a wet patch.

“Well, you probably could, but I might faint from lack of food.”

“Yeah, I’m starving.” Aidan sits up and shuffles to the edge of the bed.

I put on my glasses, and pick out underwear, a tank top, and denim shorts from the cupboard. It would probably be too tempting for me if I were to walk around here with just a towel on. I need to think with a clear head.

“Nice glasses,” he says.
Oh
. He wouldn’t have seen them on me before. I hope he means it. I’m paranoid enough about them.

“Thanks. I don’t really like wearing them. I usually wear my contacts out.”

“You should wear them more often.”

“How come?”

“You’ve got that whole sexy-librarian thing goin’ on.” His tongue darts out over his bottom lip.

“What?” I giggle. “I don’t know what the librarians were like at your school, but I
never
would have described any of the ones at mine as
sexy
.”

“You know what I mean, Eevie.”

“Yes, Aidan, I do, and you’re very sweet to say. Now, I’m off to take a shower.”

“Are you into saving water?” Aidan asks.

What an odd question.
I frown.

“You know, shower with a friend, save water.” Aidan smirks at me. A loud laugh escapes me.

“You’re funny.” I poke him in the chest and stand up. He attempts a serious face.

“Saving water is a serious issue, Eevie.” He frowns, the corner of his mouth curling up.

“Yes, you’re absolutely right, so I’ll make it quick.” I shake my head, and giggle as I head into the hallway and grab two towels from the cupboard, throwing one back at him.

****

After a nice breakfast at a little café a few blocks away, we leisurely walk back to my apartment. As it’s so hot, we decide to take a dip in the apartment complex pool.

We head back into the bedroom. Aidan has no problem getting changed in front of me, stripping down to his boxer briefs, and pulling on a pair of board shorts. Once he’s dressed, I can barely take my eyes off his torso, and am grateful when he walks out of the room.

“The beach towels are in the hall cupboard, if you wanna get them while I get changed,” I say, as I rummage through my cupboard for my red, triangular bikini.

“Sure thing,” Aidan says from the hallway. “Let me know if you need help getting changed. I’m
really
good with my hands.”

Gulp, and gulp.

“I can manage, but I’ll remember that. While you’re out there, do you wanna grab a couple of beers and put them in the cooler bag that’s under the sink?” I reply loudly, hoping to keep him busy while I take off my panties and hurriedly put on my swimmer bottoms. They’re not ideal, as they tie into bows at either side of my hips.
Very easy to get out of. Perhaps I should tie double knots.

Beer bottles clink in the kitchen, and I figure it’s safe to take off my dress and bra, and put on the top half of my bikini. I look at myself in the mirrored wardrobe doors, straightening up the top. The triangular-shaped cups do their best to hold me in—I’ll have to be careful not to fall out. I run my hands over my stomach, moving side-on to check out my reflection, happy with what I see.
I wonder what Aidan will think …

I tie my hair up in a ponytail, slip on my sunglasses, and grab a bottle of sunscreen from the bathroom. Sitting on the armchair of the couch, with beach towels over his shoulder, Aidan does a double-take as I walk into the room. His smile transforms into a blinding grin that almost stalls my heart. He drops the towels and swaggers over to me, his wanting eyes not knowing what to focus on first.

“You look … amazing. Red is
so
your colour,” he says as his stubble grazes across my shoulder, leaving soft warm kisses on my neck. The warmth of his strong arms circling behind my bare back has heat spreading like fire from my cheeks and across my chest. I got the reaction from him that I wanted, and as a result, I’ve turned into a blushing mess.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” I reply as I run my hand along his collarbone and rest my hands on his firm, broad shoulders.

“Mmm, just as I suspected,” he says, standing back and holding me at arm’s length. His eyes travel up and down my body.
What is he talking about?
“These legs
do
go all the way up.”

I can’t help but laugh out loud. It’s gonna take me a while to get used to his sense of humour. I have to learn to not take everything he says so literally.

“Come on, let’s go cool down,” I say, knowing we’d better make a move outside before things heat up … and I’m
not
talking about the weather. Aidan nods his head in agreement, and I pick up my keys on our way out.

****

The pool area is deserted. I’m grateful we have it to ourselves, and besides that, I usually don’t strut around the complex in my bikini. Too many apartment windows have a prime view of the outdoor pool. The sunshine bounces off the crystal-clear water in the kidney-shaped pool, not a ripple on the surface.

Positioned near the sunny end of the pool are two timber lounge chairs, which are reclined almost all the way down. Aidan lays our towels down over them, and sits the cooler bag under the adjoining table. I start applying sunscreen on my legs and arms. Aidan watches me intently as I slowly rub in the sunscreen. I rub some on my face, neck, in and around the front of my bikini, and lay back onto the chair as I squirt the cold liquid onto my stomach. I daringly watch Aidan as I rub it in.

“Can you rub some on my back?” I ask as I sit up and hand him the bottle.

“Fuck, I thought you’d never ask … but don’t get me wrong, I was enjoying the show,” Aidan raises an eyebrow. He straddles my chair and sits close behind me, his legs hanging off either side.

“The show, huh?” I respond cheekily. “I’m glad I entertain you, Aidan.” Aidan leans in behind me, his teeth grazing my ear.

“Me too,” he replies, and bites my earlobe. Mmm, that hurt but strangely felt … good.
Cosmo
said ears were in the top ten erogenous zones. I now get why.