Aiden was as familiar with the ‘Nevaeh’s Dresser’ organizational chart as he was with his own. He knew all the players in the company and the name Julian Devereaux wasn’t ringing any bells.
“We’re checking him out. Seems like that picture of the two of you caused a stir, as well.”
He didn’t give a crap about what people thought about him. Aiden had made himself stop caring the day his parents had moved them out of their large family home just off of Main Street and into a mobile home park. It was the same day that the local ‘Nevaeh’s Dresser’ announced record sales and plans to double the size of their store.
But he didn’t like the fact that anyone was speculating on what was between him and Nevaeh. What he felt for her was too raw.
Appearances were a tricky thing, Aiden thought as he watched Nevaeh move through the crowded club. Anyone seeing her now would never have guessed at the vulnerability he’d witnessed in her home earlier. He’d ached to draw her into his arms and just hold her but Aiden knew he was just as much to blame for her current troubles. She was incandescent tonight, glowing with a light from within, as she moved among her high-society friends, the groupies who followed the deejay from club to club and the paparazzi that seemed to follow her everywhere she went. Aiden leaned against the wall in the VIP section and just watched her sparkle. He still had absolutely no idea what he was going to do with her other than take her to his bed. He knew that if he wanted her there, tonight, he should be a little more sociable but nightclubs like this left him cold. And pr
Aiden opened his car door and pocketed his keys. He escorted her into his house. As the door closed behind them, he felt a sense of rightness. Nevaeh belonged here. He could talk her into anything on his home turf. But he didn’t want to persuade her to stay. He wanted her as hot for him as he was for her. Aiden led her into the living room with the plasma screen TV on one wall and the tropical fish tank on the other. There was expensive art hanging on the wall that his decorator had purchased and the floor was made of marble he’d had imported from Italy. He didn’t want to acknowledge it but he knew that he’d been working hard his entire life for a moment like this one. And he wanted her to know that he wasn’t some poor kid who’d lost everything and lived on government sub
Nevaeh shifted again in his arms but it was futile. She wasn’t getting closer to him until he decided she was.“I need more, Aiden… I need more of you, more of this…”“Not yet, Neve,” he countered. She realized then that he was playing her. Not in a malicious way but in a... power way. One that made her submissive to him and his desires. He’d give her what she wanted but only on his agenda. She didn’t understand what his agenda was here. But she felt that he did have one. Her heart was pounding… She stepped away and looked at Aiden. His gray eyes were cold and flat. She saw the passion in him in the flush of his skin and the erection straining against the front of his pants. But she saw that he kept a part of himself locked away fr
He relished the sound of their names connected in his mind. He pressed one finger inside her, then added a second finger, pushing deep and finding that spot that would bring her the most pleasure. Aiden leaned down over her, taking her nipple in his mouth again, sucking her deep into his mouth. She was panting, his name falling from her lips in between pleas that made no sense. He drew her out until finally he touched that bud between her legs and brought her to climax.“Oh… Aiden… Oh, God! Yes!” she yelled and grasped his head, holding him to her like she’d never let go. Shivers still rocked her body as she came back into herself. Nevaeh couldn’t believe Aiden was still fully dressed. She shifted on the bed, reaching for him to draw him down to her. 
Nevaeh glanced at the alarm clock, afraid to move in case she woke Aiden. The illuminated dial read 2:30. She had always been a bit of an insomniac. She felt too vulnerable lying naked in his arms. She’d shown him too much of who she really was and now he had the power to hurt her. Really hurt her and she wasn’t sure she trusted him not to. Oh, he wouldn’t do it intentionally. He was too caring to deliberately hurt her but she was still… afraid. Sighing slightly, she tipped her head back, staring at his beard stubbled jaw in the dim light of the moon. The desire to touch him, to explore him now that he was sleeping and not watching her was so powerful… She wanted to memorize all the little details of his body so th
Waking in Aiden’s arms wasn’t something she was used to. Even after two months of quasi-living together on weekends and even during the week once and a while, Nevaeh was afraid to open her eyes each morning. Afraid that somehow the relationship with him was another fantasy like the vivid dreams she sometimes had of her mother. But the big warm hand drifting down her back and drawing her more fully against him wasn’t a lie. She opened her eyes and realized that once again she was on top of him. “I’m sorry, Aiden… I just… Sorry,” she whispered, trying to shift to her side. “No problem, baby… Stay here. I want to keep you like this,” he replied, holding her in place. “And it seems to me you need to stay like this…” Aiden stroked her back and shoulders until Nevaeh relaxed against him.
He was a shallow man… And he didn’t want Nevaeh to have that. He didn’t want her to be sad and in constant pain and doubt. She should be sassy and happy. Teasing and laughing the way she’d been with him every morning until this one. But he didn’t know if he could give her what she wanted.“Aiden?” After he gave her a quick glimpse, Aiden shook his head and pulled down the coffee mugs she’d bought for them at Starbucks, after insisting that using his company logo mugs wasn’t going to cut it. They were big cups since they’d both discovered that neither of them could face the day without an extra-large-extra-strong brew. The green background with white flowers always reminded him of Hawaii.&nbs
Landon stood in the doorway leading between their offices, clearly excited about the report he held in his hands. But this was a moment that Aiden had come to absolutely dread in his mind. He knew that it was only a matter of time until Skyler over-extended himself far enough that ‘Cargill Investments’ would be in a position of power. A position that they’d maneuvered and planned to be in for over ten years, one which would enable Aiden’s company to come in and take over what Belmont was holding so damn dear. It was what he’d focused on for years, but now that he had Nevaeh in his life, he was no longer confident that it was going to bring him the same sense of pleasure he’d expected it to.“The old man did it. He took the bait just like you said he