Unraveled (Love in Salem, book 2) (10 page)

“He made me feel so beautiful.  The way he looked at me…”  Atayla shook her head in wonder.  “I’ve never had a man want me so much.”

“He treated you like a man should treat you.”  Ava smiled.  “Like a Goddess.”

Abby shook her head emphatically in agreement.  “Yeah, I always told you a real man would treat you right.”

“Oh, he definitely treated me right.”  Atayla boasted.  “Multiple times.”

Carla sighed.  “I remember when Bill and I first started out.  Damn virile man used keep me exhausted all the time.”  Chuckling, she admitted.  “Actually, he still does, and no I’m most definitely not complaining.”

“Yeah, yeah.”  Abby mocked.  “Go ahead and brag to all of us who don’t have a steady diet of sex.  You know, it just isn’t right rubbing your sex life in to all the single girls.  It’s like waving a chocolate cupcake in front of a diabetic.”

All the women laughed except for Claire.

“Yo, Claire!”  Snapping her fingers in front of Claire’s face, Ava asked.  “What’s up?  You zoning out on us?”

“Who is that guy over there by the slot machines?” Claire asked.

All the girls turned and looked in that direction.  “You mean the big guy with the dark hair and the white muscle shirt and the tattoos?”  When Claire confirmed he was the one, Abby stated “That’s Knox.  He works for Aidan at Skinz.”

“Damn, looks like I’m getting a tattoo.  All the beefy hunks seem to work there, and I’m missing out.”  Ava snickered.

“Knox.  Is that his real name or a nickname?”  Claire inquired.

“Real name.  He’s like Aidan’s cousin or something.  Want me to introduce you?”  Abby wiggled her eyebrows.

“Good lord, no.  He looks like more trouble than I want to get into.”

“Ah, but see that’s where you are wrong silly girl.  He’s the best sort of trouble, and he looks like he could remind you of that many times over throughout the night!” Laughter erupted as Carla put her two cents in.

Knox stood at the bar with his brother Liam, listening to the game on the big screen.  The bartender, Jules Brown, sat another pitcher of beer down in front of them.

“Can I get you boys anything else?”

“Yeah.”  Liam responded, patting the seat next to him.  “You can bring your beautiful ass right around here and have a seat.  Spend some time with a real man instead of that weasel I’ve seen you with lately.”

“Mm, as tempting as that is, handsome, I’m going to have to pass.  I’ll stick with the weasel.  He doesn’t have quite as many notches in his bedpost.”  She winked as she went to help another customer.

“She’s got you there, bro.  You have been going through a lot of women lately.” Knox goaded.

“Shut up.”  He gave his brother a playful shove.  “You’re just jealous because you’re not as pretty as me.”

Female laughter erupted from one of the tables behind them.  Both men turned and looked in that direction only to catch many lovely eyes directed their way.  Ah, a man did love attention from beautiful women.

“I think we’re the topic of conversation over there.”  Knox remarked with a grin.

Liam laughed and waved towards the ladies.  “I do believe you’re right, bro.  I’m not about to complain though, they sure are pretty.”

Catching a glimpse of a striking brunette, Knox asked.  “Hey, isn’t that Abby?  The girl Eddie works on?”

“You mean the girl Eddie is half in love with?  Yeah, I think that’s her.  And the blonde there,” He nodded his head in the direction of the woman sitting next to her.  “She is the one who went home with Aidan from The Den last night.”

“No kidding?  Damn, lucky man.  She’s gorgeous.  Maybe Aidan could introduce me to that raven haired beauty on the left there, you think?  I sure wouldn’t mind taking her for a spin.”

“Don’t even think about it.  No way would she want a tool like you.”

Both men jumped and spun around towards the new voice.

“Damn, Aidan.  Don’t just sneak up on us like that!”

“Yeah.”  Liam agreed.  “I almost pissed myself.  How am I ever going to get Jules in the sack if she sees I’ve pissed my pants?  Not cool, man.”

Jules leaned over the bar and tapped it with her fingers to get their attention.  “Piss yourself all you want, you will never get me in the sack regardless.”

“Ah, sugar, come on now.  You don’t know what you are missing.”  Liam smiled charmingly.

Granting him a thorough once over, she interjected “Not much judging by what I’ve seen so far.”

Snickering, Aidan slapped him the shoulder.  “She’s clearly got your number, bud.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a pretty lady to pick up and take home.”

“Lucky son of a bitch.” 

Knox agreed.  “Yeah, but it’s about time.”

“Oh, my God!  A really hot man walking this way and his eyes are fixed on you Tay.”  Ava exclaimed.

Looking in his direction, Atayla smiled brightly.  “That would Aidan, here to sweep me away and take me to heaven.”

“I’m so jealous.”  Ava and Claire sighed in unison.

Atayla watched as he ambled towards them.  She loved looking at him, the way he moved was a sinuous predatory glide.  That on top of his appearance, he presented the world with a dangerous aura.  Luckily she knew differently, knew he would never hurt her.  It made being with him even sweeter.

She knew this thing between them couldn’t last.  There was no way a man like Aidan would want to hold on to someone like her for long.  She was nothing more than a passing fancy.  That was okay though.  She would take him for as long as she could have him.

The look in his eyes was smoldering, his gaze never leaving hers.  Atayla swore her panties were melting by the time he reached her table.  Without acknowledging the other women, he leaned in and captured her lips in a toe curling kiss.

When the kiss ended, Atayla smiled against his lips.  “I still have twenty minutes of girl time left.”

“Maybe, but I couldn’t wait another second to kiss you.”  To prove his point he kissed her again.

When he broke away the second time, he put on his most charming smile and addressed the ladies at the table.  He introduced himself to each one of them before focusing his attention back on Atayla.

“Why don’t you pull up a seat and join us?”  Atayla offered.

Aidan glanced at the womenfolk and asked “Is it safe?”

Barking a laugh, the ladies all answered honestly.  “No, probably not.”

Smiling at their candor, he scooted a chair next to Atayla and wrapped his fingers around one of her hands.  “I do love to live dangerously.”

The conversation continued to flow.  Questions and comments were volleyed back and forth.  They were a very easy going group and seemed to have their shit straight.  It was nice to know that there were women in the world who were mature and respectful.  Most women he came across were spoiled brats and bar whores.

He never realized just how corrupt his exes were until he got a taste of Atayla.  She was refreshing, like cold water in the desert heat.  And he didn’t want another day to go by without her presence in his life.

Funny how, even when he had always told himself he was in love, he never knew love until now.  He admitted it to himself before she ever came back into his life, and every minute they spent together only cemented the truth of it.

He knew he was a romantic, and a hopeless one at that.  He had been teased mercilessly by his friends and family because of it.  Deep down, though, he knew Atayla would someday cross his path.  Now she had, and he knew it the second he pressed her up against that dingy bar wall and inhaled her scent.

Ava broke him out of his contemplations when she asked “So, that guy you were talking to over there.  Knox, is that what you said his name was, Abby?”  She looked to Abby for confirmation.  “Is he single?”

Aidan immediately looked at Claire since Knox had been drooling over her and noticed she was blushing. 
Interesting.
  “Yeah, he’s single.  He’s a good guy too, not that I’m a good candidate to extol his virtues or anything, but I know he’s honest and treats the ladies right.”

“Is he a one woman kind of man or does he like to play the field?”

Aidan laughed.  “He’s not smooth enough to play the field even if he wanted to.  But the answer to your question is yes, he is definitely a one woman man.” 

Ava elbowed Claire, and the two whispered to each other for a few minutes while the conversation changed to yet another subject.  Eventually, they began inquiring about tattoos and his shop.  Not that he minded, word of mouth was as good advertisement as any.

“You know, Tayla was thinking about getting a tattoo.”  Abby stated.

Aidan looked to Atayla, surprised.  “What are you considering?”

“I’m not, really.  I mean, yes, I’ve thought about it, but I haven’t actually made any decisions yet.”  She blushed, and he smiled.  He loved when she blushed.

“Maybe you could give her some ideas.”  Abby encouraged.

“Yeah, I have some books back at the shop you could look at.  From experience, though, the best tattoos reflect the individual receiving it.  You should think about what would best resemble your personality and then narrow it down from there.” 

It wasn’t too long before another man joined the table.  He looked Aidan over critically before offering to shake his hand.

“Bill Bradshaw.  You must be the mystery man Atayla was talking about.”

“Aidan Aiello, and there is nothing mysterious about me.  I’m just a simple man looking for a good woman to love.”  He squeezed Atayla’s hand reassuringly.  The man was a lawyer and a friend of Atayla’s so he would expect nothing less than an interrogation.

“Aiello did you say?”  He questioned as he put an arm around his wife.

Nodding in confirmation, he added “You are helping my brother, Paxton, with his custody case.”

Recognition lit in his eyes.  “Yes, Paxton.  A sad situation.  Usually it’s the other way around and I’m going after the dead beat dads instead of saving children from worthless mothers.”

Aidan shook his head vehemently.  “Cassie never wanted that kid.  She got pregnant as a way to tie Paxton down.  When that didn’t work she used Hayden as a paycheck.  My nephew has never known security or stability, and he needs to be with us where he will be loved and taken care of.”

“And he will be Aidan, mark my words.  The judge will see the truth behind the situation.  No lawyer in the world could make her look like a good mother, not with all shit I have against her.”

After Bill walked to the bar to order them all fresh drinks, Atayla looked at Aidan.  “Sorry about that.  He is very protective of us.”  She indicated the women around the table.

Kissing her forehead he said seriously “As he should be.  I’m glad he looks out for you.  Not to sound chauvinistic, but I was raised to look out for women and protect them no matter how capable they are.”

“Amen.”  Bill interjected as he sat down, obviously hearing the last part of their conversation.  “Drinks will be here shortly.”

Leaning in, he stole a kiss from his wife.  “Mm.”  He hummed, licking his lips.  “I’ve missed you today.”

“Boo!”  Abby threw a napkin at them.  “Go home and play kissy face!  We don’t want to see it.”

“You didn’t ‘boo’ Aidan when he kissed Tay. 
Twice
I might add.”  She defended.  

“Yeah, but we don’t get to see Tay play kissy face and we were curious.  You two do it all the time and make us green with envy.”  She stuck out her tongue.

Laughing she rubbed it in a little.  “Well, just think about all the kissing we will do when we get home.”

“And all the places I plan on kissing you.”  The heated look he gave her told them everything.

Abby groaned and leaned back as the bartender began setting drinks down on the table.  Aidan dug out his wallet and handed her enough money to cover the drinks plus a generous tip.  Jules smiled brightly.  “Thanks Aidan!  I brought you a soda.  I heard you tell numb nuts over there you would be leaving soon and I figured you wouldn’t want any alcohol.”

“You’re the best Jules.”  He grabbed her arm as she turned to leave.  “You know if you keep turning him down then one day he will stop asking.”

Jules stiffened.  “Then maybe he shouldn’t parade all his conquests around in front me, you think?”  Storming away, she shot Liam a menacing look.

“What was that all about?”  Atayla asked.

Shaking his head, he looked at her and smiled.  “My cousin is a fool.  I just hope he wizens up before it is too late.”

“Hmm.  He will.  I can tell by the way her looks at her.” 

“Yeah?  And how is that?”

“Like she hung the moon and the stars.”

A few minutes later, Bill and Carla excused themselves for the night.  The way they clung to each and hurried out the door left no doubt in anyone’s mind what they would be doing shortly.  It was exactly what Aidan wanted to be doing.

“Any of you ladies need a ride home?”  He asked around the table.

“Since our ride forgot about us in his haste to get his wife naked, we would love a ride.”  Ava replied sarcastically.