Bottom Line: Callaghan Brothers, Book 8 (13 page)

Lexi laughed at the totally shocked look on Aidan’s face.  “Great idea.  I’ll work on that.  See you later tonight?”

“You got it, sister.”

Lexi disconnected the call and looked at Aidan with a smug expression.  “Now do you believe me?”

Well. 
Damn
.

* * *

“I
t’s pornography, that’s what it is,” Fiona McFarland said, her voice a harsh whisper that was easily heard over the back of the booth where Mary sat, waiting for Aidan.  It was just her luck that the one day she came into Pine Ridge for lunch, the Birch Falls Book Club had to be meeting here.  Fiona was Esther Shaughnessy’s sister, and held the unofficial title of “Biggest Town Gossip”.

“You mean you actually read it?” Celia Davenport asked, her voice filled with mortified awe.

“Well, naturally I was curious,” Fiona sniffed.  “Why, you can’t pass a bookstore without seeing Fifty Shades in the window.  And now they’ve made it into a
movie
.”

“And?”

“And it’s filth, pure and simple,” Fiona said emphatically.  “One would have to be depraved to enjoy that sort of thing.  Bondage and sensory deprivation and spankings, for heaven’s sake!  Like any decent, self-respecting woman would ever allow a man to do such things.  It’s unimaginable.”

Thankfully, the waitress arrived with their orders and Mary was no longer forced to listen to Fiona’s blanket condemnation.  Mary had read the trilogy and loved it so much she read it twice more.  Admittedly, she felt a little shocked at first to realize that she was fascinated by the types of things she’d read about, but those feelings quickly gave way to others. 

The very idea of having a man take control like that thrilled her.  She wasn’t into pain, and she definitely didn’t want to be hurt, but to surrender total control to someone, just once, and not have to be the one in charge?  It was something she fantasized about often – in secret, of course.

Then, with Aidan, she had actually experienced it, and it was better than anything she could have dreamed.  Her cheeks flushed as she remembered the light sting of his leather belt, the way he had taken charge of their lovemaking, carrying her so far into ecstasy that she would have done just about anything he’d asked for a little more.  While he had pushed her to her limits, he hadn’t once hurt her.  On the contrary, she could honestly say that she had never felt more treasured than she had in those few hours.

If she had the chance to do it again, she wouldn’t think twice.

“Hey, beautiful,” Aidan said, sliding gracefully into the booth across from her, looking good enough to eat in a navy suit that accentuated his lean, muscular form.  Up to that point she’d only seen him in casual jeans and shirts, but he cleaned up mighty nice.  She wondered again what exactly he did at the Goddess, then he smiled and she forgot her own name.

She’d been so absorbed in her thoughts she hadn’t seen him approach.  She was probably the only one, though.  Throughout the restaurant, nearly all female eyes were on him.  Poor Fiona was probably going to need a trip to the chiropractor’s office, she was rubbernecking so hard.  Fiona’s eyes grew as big as saucers when she noticed Mary sitting there.

Mary sighed inwardly.  No doubt she’d just provided them with exclusive fodder for their next scandalous tale, but Aidan was worth it.

“Tell me.  What kind of thoughts make a woman’s eyes glow like that?”

Her answer was a smile.

“Ah, I thought so,” he said, his eyes twinkling.  “It’s a good look for you, Mary.  I suggest you keep doing whatever it is that puts it there.”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” she teased.

“God, I hope so,” he murmured so only she could hear.

The waitress came to take their orders.  She was a very pretty young woman, probably college age, and made no effort whatsoever to hide her appreciation for Aidan.  Mary fought back the sudden urge to scratch her eyes out.  Thankfully, Aidan barely glanced at her as he ordered for the two of them.

“Careful, Mary,” he chuckled softly when the waitress left.  “Your claws are showing.”

Mary dropped her eyes to her lap and blushed, which only made him chuckle more.  “Relax, baby.  You are the only woman I’m interested in right now.”

She wasn’t sure how to interpret that.  There was no doubt it sent delicious tingles through her to think that she, alone, held his interest.  It was the “right now” part that worried her a little.  She couldn’t help but wonder just how long Aidan’s attention span currently lasted.  In the end, it didn’t really matter.  After all, she might tire of him first.

Yeah, right
, her inner self laughed hysterically. 
Probably about the same time you get tired of chocolate.

“So, how did your appointment go?” he asked.

“It’s over until next year, that’s all that matters,” she said, blowing out a breath.  She hated her yearly GYN exam, but at least Dr. Whitney was nice.  More importantly, the female doc didn’t know Mary personally, which was why Mary chose to drive over to Pine Ridge instead of setting up an appointment closer to home.  The only OB/GYN in Birch Falls was the father of her high school BF, and Mary would have been mortified to have him do her exam.  She’d gotten her mammogram out of the way, too, as the diagnostic imaging center was in the same complex.  She dreaded both every year, but always felt a measure of relief afterwards.

They kept the topics light and appropriate for their public location.  He asked about her family, but Mary wasn’t about to scare him away with the likes of Cat Murphy.  Since her mother lived so far away, she figured she had plenty of time.  Assuming he was still around, that was.  She certainly hoped he would be.

She tried to divert his questions by asking a few of her own, but he didn’t seem any more interested in talking about his family than she was of hers.  She couldn’t help but wonder if he, too, had some issues. 

“I was telling my friend Lexi about you,” Aidan said at one point.  “She’s very anxious to meet you.”

“Me?” Mary asked, genuinely surprised.  “Why?”

“She knows me well,” he said obliquely.  “She asked if we might be interested in joining her and her husband for dinner and maybe a late movie this weekend.”

While she liked the idea of going out on an actual date with Aidan, Mary felt a slight pang of disappointment.  Secretly, part of her had been hoping they might replay some of the events of the previous Saturday – minus the un-decorating. 

“Of course,” Aidan said quietly, leaning in so she could hear him, “I was thinking that perhaps we could have some time to ourselves before or after, or, optimally, both.”

Mary sucked in a breath.  Damn if the man hadn’t read her thoughts.  “Sounds perfect.” 

“Great,” he beamed.  The flash of pure hunger in his tiger eyes made her wish it was already the weekend.  No one, not even Cam, had looked at her like that.

Aidan paid for their lunch and walked her out to her car.  “Thanks for meeting me,” he said.  “I don’t think I could have made it till the weekend without seeing you.”

“Yeah,” she grinned, “I’ll admit, I needed a fix myself.”

“I picked up a couple of things for our alone time together,” he told her, his voice dropping down so low it resembled melted chocolate.  “Are you feeling adventurous, Mary?”

His voice, his scent, the sexual promise in his eyes had a shiver running down her spine and her nipples hardening almost to the point of pain.  “I think I’m willing to try just about anything with you, Aidan,” she answered truthfully.

His nostrils flared and his muscles tensed.  He closed his eyes for a brief moment as if struggling for control.  When he spoke again, his voice was a whiskey-smooth whisper.   “Ah, Mary, you have no idea what you’ve just done.”

His eyes were practically glowing with wicked intent.  It frightened and excited her at the same time.  “What have I done?” she murmured.

He growled deep in his chest, a sound that had her sex throbbing and preparing itself for him.  Then he grinned, a feral, sexy smile that would haunt her for the next few days. 

“Until Friday, Mary,” he said, opening her door for her.

* * *

C
olorful oaths in no less than three different languages spilled over Aidan’s lips as he hurried to his car.  His day was not going anything like it was supposed to.

He’d planned to start his weekend early.  He was going to go back to his place, shower, shave, and pack an overnight bag with a change of clothes and a couple of his favorite toys.  Then he would head over to Mary’s and ravish her a little, enough to take the edge off and begin preparations for the serious stuff later on. 

Right before they left for dinner, he’d give her the small silvery, egg-shaped wireless device (of course he would keep the remote control in his pocket), and maybe some flat, nearly invisible nipple clamps, too, if she wasn’t wearing anything too form-fitting up top.

They’d have a nice dinner at a cozy, out of the way place that was supposed to have excellent Thai food, then hit the Cineplex where they’d sit in the back and make out like teenagers.  He’d make her wait until the final credits rolled before taking her home for a marathon session of fucking her senseless. 

He knew all the ways he was going to do it, too.  He’d been fantasizing about it all week until he had it perfected in his mind.  Oh yeah.  By the time Saturday morning rolled around, Mary would be the most sated woman in the county.  Maybe the state.

That was what
should
have happened, but unfortunately, life had a way of biting him on the ass.  At noon, he received a frantic call about problems with their Mediterranean suppliers.  At one, he got pulled into an emergency board meeting when one of the accountants discovered that an account exec in Chicago had been siphoning funds to the tune of a cool million or so. 

And at four, when he was finally making his escape, he was snagged by his PA telling him that he’d had an urgent call from his mother with the unwelcome news that his father had been rushed to the hospital earlier that day.

Now it was six o’clock, and he was rushing like hell.  He’d managed to find alternate suppliers until a new manager could be sent over to Agrinio, Greece, and sort that out.  The situation with the shady account exec was handed over to Legal, and, thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as they had originally thought.  And by the time he got in touch with his mother, his father was already home from the hospital.  They thought he’d had a heart attack, but thankfully, it turned out to be something much less serious, and with a few days of rest and medication he’d be as good as new.

As it was, he’d barely make it back to his place to change and get to the restaurant in time for their reservations.  There was no way he’d be able to head all the way out to Birch Falls and back.  He felt like a real ass calling Mary and asking her to meet him there. 

Thankfully, she hadn’t seemed angry, just disappointed.  But that was okay.  It meant that she’d been looking forward to some private time before dinner, too, and how could he find fault with that?  Besides, he planned on making it up to her later.

By the time he got to the restaurant, everyone else was already seated.  The moment he saw Mary’s eyes light up at the sight of him, he forgot all about his crappy day. 

“Hi,” he said, apologizing for being late as he leaned over and kissed Mary on the cheek.  Warmth spread throughout his body, and the day’s stress began to melt away.  He hadn’t realized just how tense he’d been until then.  Just being around her made him feel better. 

He greeted Lexi (who was grinning widely) and Ian (who seemed amused).  He would deal with them later.

“Sorry, Aidan,” Lexi said.  “We ordered some appetizers.  I was starving.”

Aidan glanced at the table and realized there was nothing in front of Mary.  “You’re not having anything?” he asked, frowning slightly. 

“She wanted to wait for you,” Lexi answered with a knowing smile.  Aidan felt his chest swell.

Mary wasn’t familiar with Thai food, so she gladly deferred to Aidan and let him order for her.

Lexi sipped her herbal iced tea.  “I hope you don’t mind, but when Aidan told me about your flower shop, I went online and checked out your website, Mary.  I was impressed.  Your designs are beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Mary said, obviously pleased with the praise.  Aidan silently cursed himself.  Why hadn’t he thought to do that?  Then again, when he thought of Mary, he was usually thinking of things besides her job. 

“Andrew did a great job with the site, didn’t he?” Mary asked.  “He makes me look better than I am, though, I think.”

Andrew?  Who the fuck was Andrew?
  Before he could ask, Lexi did it for him.  Except what came out of her mouth sounded a lot nicer than what he might have said.

“Is he your partner?”

Aidan choked on his drink.  Mary automatically reached over to rub his back.  “Yes.  Andrew and I have equal shares in the business.”

“I didn’t know you had a business partner,” Aidan commented when his throat cleared.

“Oh, yes.  Andrew is wonderful; I couldn’t do it without him.  He handles the business side of things and lets me concentrate on doing the stuff I love – working with the plants.”  She grinned shyly.  “I guess I never quite grew out of the joy of playing in the dirt.”

Aidan made a mental note to check up on this Andrew guy.  In his mind, he was already trying to think up ways to buy him out.  Lexi, as always, was one step ahead of him.

“Are you contracted with any businesses?”

Mary blinked.  “Um, I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Do you do special designs and arrangements for professional businesses?”

“Oh, well, no,” she said, seemingly surprised by the question.  “Just the usual.  Local weddings, funerals, that kind of thing.”

“But you did the arboretum at the new corporate complex over in Dunns River, didn’t you?  And designed the hanging gardens at the Birch Falls Retirement Community Center?”

What the hell?
  Aidan glanced over at Lexi.  The twinkle in her eye was as plain as day, and yet she very deliberately refused to look at him.  Ian’s arm hung casually over the back of his chair, watching Aidan and looking more amused than ever.  It all became clear.  Lexi probably had Ian “research” Mary the moment Lex found out about her.  Lexi was every bit as protective of Aidan as he was of her, he realized.