Crossing the Line (15 page)

He sits down beside me and squeezes my leg.
“What’s wrong?” His hand is distracting. My body instantly wakes at the
contact.

Talk first. “Why didn’t you tell me all
that stuff?”

“All what stuff?”

“About the business.”

His smirk makes me want to stab him with a
real sword. “Amelie, after five seconds after officially meeting you I knew
none of that stuff would matter to you or even go in.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“What did I say about the business?” Hmm,
what did he say? Something about the investors injection of money meaning he
can grow the business quicker and then something about seeing new bands? Aden
smiles smugly. “Exactly. You couldn’t care less about all that stuff, Amelie.”

Arsehole. “You don’t think I care about
what you do?” That’s what they all think, and I’m sick of it.

“Maybe care is the wrong word. Are you
interested in hearing about it?”

“Of course I am.” He raises an eyebrow
sceptically. “Okay it might not be the height of what excites Amelie, but I do
want to know everything. I don’t understand why you don’t want to talk to me.”

“Alright I’ll give you that. I suppose I’ve
not gone into detail because things between us are different to the
relationship I’d usually have with a PA. Sometimes I feel like there are other
things we should talk about, like what we’re going to do that night.”

“So we crossed that line and now there are
grey areas.” I guess it’s half my fault too; I never asked. Isabel did.

“Yeah I guess that’s a pretty accurate
description. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make you feel like I don’t want to talk
to you.”

I scoot closer and he holds his arm out,
wrapping it around my waist. “I’m sorry I never asked, Aden. Can we try harder
to keep things professional at work?”

“I think we need to,” he replies.

He kisses the side if my head, and it’s
like a hotline to my groin. I pull back, and his eyes are smouldering. He’s
looking at me as if he can see everything as if I’m everything. My breath
catches in my throats and my heart soars. I love him. I really do love him, so
much its winds me. How could I let myself fall in love with him so quickly?
I’ve given him the power to break my heart.

“We should get back before they come
looking for us.” I say, not hearing my own words because I’m so consumed with
the force my love for him has.

“No boom boom?” he asks with a pouty lip. I
burst out laughing and slap his chest. Boom boom now? What is he, fifteen?

“Nope, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
I stand to leave my room, and he follows.

“Screw tomorrow.” Aden grabs my arm and
pushes me against the wall. I don’t even have time to be shocked as his lips
instantly claim mine. He moans in the back of his throat as I slip my tongue in
his mouth.

I know I should stop this, but I can’t push
him away. I want him too much. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I grip his
hair, clamping myself to him. He lifts my dress up, and I’m lost. His finger
brushes against my thong rubbing my clitoris. I dig my nails in his hair as my
toes tingle.

He pushes inside me, and I don’t even remember
him undoing his trousers. I cry out into his mouth as he fills me. He feels so
good I can barely stand it. His thumb rubs against me as he thrusts
relentlessly. It’s as if he’s possessed; we’re possessed, neither of us
able to get close enough but desperately trying to anyway.

I feel him stretching me, forcing me
towards and orgasm that I already know is going to turn me into jelly after.

Aden groans in my ear and fingers dig into
my thigh the way they usually do – I really like it. He doesn’t know he’s
doing it and the closer he gets the more they cut into my flesh. It’s sexy as
hell. “Millie.” He pants and I feel his breath on my neck, making me too hot.
I’ll never get used to how incredible he feels.

I close my eyes and surrender to his
rhythm, matching him thrust for thrust. I’m building quickly. My toes curl, and
my heart flies. His lips brush against the base of my neck as he kisses me,
dragging his tongue along my skin.

I want more. I need more. We’re not close
enough, but we physically can’t get any closer. “Aden,” I call out,
desperately. My body takes over and I throw my head back, gripping onto his
shoulders and tightening my legs around his waist. “Please,” I beg, not sure
myself what I want.

“I know,” he whispers against my neck and
places a hand on the small of my back. His lips find mine, and he thrusts
harder. The hand now on my back holds me still while he pounds inside me. We’re
lost, kissing wildly and clinging to each other for dear life.

My body tightens and I know I’m going to
come soon. Should I tell him I love him? I want to shout it out. He grunts and
his tongue caresses mine, kissing me deeper. My toes curl, and I dig my nails
in his back as I explode and convulse around him, moaning into his mouth.

Mumbling something incoherent against my
lips, he stills and lets go. Wow. I pant, lying on his shoulder when we stop
kissing for air. I love him. I’m completely in love with him. What a fucking
idiot I am.

He pulls out and sets me down on my feet,
kissing my forehead. I smooth dress and hair. “Couldn’t wait, huh?” I tease.
It’s pure luck that no one came upstairs and caught us. That would have been
beyond embarrassing, and I would have to move to Hawaii, dye my hair red and
changed my name to Martha.

Aden smirks and shrugs one shoulder. “No,
never can with you. There’s something about you, Amelie. You drive me wild. I
want to be inside you all the fucking time.” Well that sounds good to me. I
step forward into his embrace. “You’re so beautiful, Millie.” And you’re hot as
hell. “A friend from college, Marcus, is having a barbeque tomorrow. Come with
me and meet my friends. I want to be able show you off to some people at
least.”

I pull back, beaming at him. I didn’t
expect that. “Okay, I’d love that.” Wow, we’re going to be a real couple tomorrow.
No holding back or hiding. I want to do a cartwheel after I’ve been to the
bathroom to deal with the little swimmers issue I’m going to have very soon.

Aden strokes my cheek. “See you downstairs,
babe.”

Chapter Fifteen

I wake up way too early. Six in the morning
on a Sunday just shouldn’t exist. I roll onto my back, now wide-awake. There’s
no way I can go back to sleep, today is the day me and Aden get to just be me
and Aden. I’m also looking forward to seeing how he around his friends.

I squeal in excitement and grab my phone,
dialling his number. He answers on like the fifth ring, and I have a feeling
I’m his wake up call. “Millie, what’s up? Are you okay?”

“Hey. Yeah, I’m fine. Listen, what should I
wear today?” I want to make a good impression. “Is it casual or…?” Silence. I
can barely even hear him breathe. “You there?”

“Are you serious, Amelie?” Whoa he called
me Amelie. He’s mad.

“I need to know what to wear.”

“Casual. Don’t call before nine on a
Sunday,” he mumbles and hangs up. Wow, and I thought I was a bad morning
person.

I get out of bed and head straight to my
closet. Okay, casual. Smart casual or just regular casual? Can I call Aden
again? Well he’s awake now so why not.

“This better be good,” he says down the
phone.

Ginning at his sleepy, grumpy voice, I pull
out a red shirt and decide instantly I don’t want that one. “Just one more
quick question. Is it smart casual or just casual?”

Silence again. “What’s the difference?
They’re not going to care what you wear.” The phone cuts off again. Waking him
up is fun, and I have to throw my phone on the bed to stop myself calling
again.

Right, smart casual. I don’t want to look
like a tramp, but then I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard. Jesus
it’s impossible to choose something to meet the friends for the first time.
It’s times like this I wish I had a normal family and could ask Isabel’s
opinion, maybe even Mum’s too.

In the end, I decide on dark denim skinny
jeans, a light peach loose fitting tank top and black leather jacket. I look
fine. Not too dressed up but not like a hobo either. Before I can second-guess
my choice, I run a bath.

As the bath fills with hot water, I start
to worry about his friends not liking me. I mean they’re nothing like my
family, so there’s a good possibility they won’t but I really want to get on
with them. Will it matter to Aden if they don’t like me? I don’t think it
would, but it’d be awkward for him, I’m sure.

I sink beneath the hot water that’s going
to make me look like a lobster and the lavender scented bubbles and close my
eyes. Baths are calming, so this is a good idea. I need to relax and stop
worrying so much. Everything is going to be fine.

After I’ve washed my body and my hair, I
step out and wrap a fluffy towel around my body and walk back into my room.
“Amelie?” Mum shouts through my door.

“Yeah?”

“Your father and I are now leaving for your
grandparents’ for a few nights. We’ll see you on Tuesday.”

“Okay, have a nice time,” I call back. “And
say hi to Grandma and Grandad.”

“I’ll say hello for you. Goodbye, Amelie.”

“See ya.” Ha, she will definitely be
shaking her head at my use of ‘ya’. So I’m free until Tuesday. Just me and
Isabel, who is less stick up arse-ish with Mum and Dad gone. Maybe I should try
corrupting her while they’re away? She needs a proper life and to have some
real fun.

When I’m dressed, have my face on and tamed
my unruly hair, I head downstairs to eat something. I need to settle the
butterflies in my stomach. I know I don’t have much hope of Aden’s parents
genuinely liking me, but I have a chance with his friends, and I’m terrified
I’ll pull me and ruin it.

Isabel is sitting at the table eating a
bowl of muesli and sipping a mug of coffee when I walk in. “Morning,” she says,
giving me a smile.

I grab a banana as it’s all I can face
eating. “Morning.” As she tucks into her breakfast with a happy little grin, I
feel guilty. Aden is mine and yet I’m feeling guilty.

She’s happy because she thinks things
between her and Aden are going to go somewhere. As much as her mini mum-ness annoys
the hell out of me I don’t want her to get hurt.

“Isabel,” I start, gulping as I don’t know
what to say. She glances up, waiting. “How is everything?”
You fucking wuss, Amelie!

“Great, thank you.” No, it’s not. “Can I
ask you something? You work with Aden, does he ever say anything?”

“Yes, he often talks.” I wince. Okay, maybe
I shouldn’t have said that. “Sorry. No, he’s never mentioned you to me.” Well,
he has, but it’s not the type of thing she needs to hear.

“Oh, okay then.”

Just
say it, Amelie.
“Look, Isabel… I…”

“You?” she prompts

“I don’t think Aden is interested in you
like that,” I blurt out.

Her face falls and turns into a frown.
“What? Why do you say that?”

Because he’s mine, bitch! “Has he asked you
out? Tried to kiss you? Given you any indication that he’s interested?”

Isabel sighs. “Amelie, Aden isn’t like the
boys you hang around with.” Ouch. “He’s a gentleman. Jumping into bed with
someone isn’t his style. He has style.”
Don’t
tell her, don’t tell her, don’t tell her.
The urge to shout it out is
overwhelming. Aden Ford is no gentleman – in that respect anyway.

“He’s a guy, Isabel,” I mutter through
clenched teeth, and she rolls her eyes. Cow. “Fine then. I was just trying to
help, so you don’t end up feeling like an idiot. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Oh, for goodness sake, Amelie. Why can’t
you just be happy for me, or anyone else for that matter? I don’t understand
why you feel the need to sabotage everyone else’s happiness.”

“Sabotage? You’re being a little dramatic.”

She stands up, and for a second it looks
like she’s going to offer me outside. “No, I don’t think I am. The things you
just said are to put me off. You hate this life; we all know that, but I
don’t. This is what I want. Aden is a great match for me. He’s intelligent,
successful, and good-looking and has good sense of humour.”

“Do you actually like him or is it because
he has money?”

Taking a deep breath, she picks up her
bowl. “Yes, I have feelings for him too, not that it’s any of your business.”

Feelings? She has feelings for him. My
heart sinks. This isn’t going to end well. What the hell am I supposed to do
now? Isabel is an annoying, delusional, shallow cow, but she’s still my sister.
I don’t want her to humiliated when it comes out the guy she likes is with me.

My mobile vibrates in my pocket, making me
jump. “Hello?” I say, without looking at the caller ID. What am I going to do?

“Hey, Millie.” Aden’s voice makes my heart
do a little jump.

I smile. “Hey. You’ve cheered up then?”
Isabel watches me with curiosity all over her face. Oh, God, don’t say Aden’s
name while you’re on the phone.

“Woken up,” he says. “Are you nearly ready
to come over?”

Already? “I thought I was meeting you in an
hour?”

“Change of plans, I want you now.”

“Hmm really?”

“Not for that, pervert…. I miss you,” he
says quietly as if he’s admitting some embarrassing secret.

I bite my lip, doing a dance in my head.
“I’m sorry what was that?”

“Amelie,” he says warningly. “I miss you.
You’re not missing me?”

“Hmm, might be.”

“You’re being strange, well stranger.”

If Isabel wasn’t standing in the room, I
would have freaked at him. Stranger? “Mmm?”

“Someone’s there.”
Oh, well done Einstein!
“Just answer yes or no, do you miss me?”

You have no idea how much. “Yes.” He’ll be
smirking now. “Anyway, I need to go. I’ll see you later.”

“Soon,” he corrects. “Bye, Millie.” I hang
up the phone and grin wide like a teenage girl in love. Whenever I’m around him
or talking to him, I feel like a teenage girl in love. It’s hard to hold back
and pretend we’re just friends when I just want us to be public.

Isabel tilts her head. “Who was that?”

“Santa.” Turning around, I walk out of the
kitchen. Any more time around the stuck up cow and I’ll just end up telling her
the truth now. When she’s acting like a bitch I want her to find out publically
or through Facebook, but I know we have to tell her face-to-face. That’s going
to be an awkward conversation.

“Hey,” he calls, smiling wide and walking
out to meet me. Without saying a word, I grip hold of his shirt and pull him
into a hug. His strong arms hold me tight, making me feel safe. “What’s wrong,
Millie?”

“Sister,” I mumble in response.

“What’s she done?”

I pull back. “Apparently I’m bitter and
jealous of you and her. You do like her, and I’m just trying to sabotage your
relationship because I can’t stand seeing anyone else happy. Pretty much.”

His frown becomes more pronounced as he
thinks about what I’ve just said. Why can’t I read people’s minds, it’d be a
lot less frustrating than waiting. Finally, he makes eye contact again and
says, “I’ll talk to her and explain that I’m not interested in her that way.”

“Whoa.” I didn’t expect that. “Really?”

“Of course. I don’t want to lead her
on and I don’t want you getting annoyed every time you talk to her. I’ve
not shown any romantic interest in her, but that’s obviously not enough. I’ll
sort it out, okay?”

I smile and tuck my head under his chin.
“Thank you.” We still have another problem, though: telling her we’re together.
Although, if Aden tells her he’s not interested she’ll move on and
then when I announce we’re together it won’t be a big deal. Hopefully.

Aden lets go and grabs my hand as he pulls
me into the house. “Forget about that now. Are you ready to meet my friends?”

“I am…”

He raises his eyebrows as he picks up his
wallet and keys from the side table beside the front door. “But?”

“What if they don’t like me?”

“They will. They’re as crazy as you are.”

“I’ll ignore that. What if they don’t,
though? What if they hate me?”

“Millie, if they hate you I’ll get them
some help. If you’re worried about what that would mean to me, then don’t.
There’s no one that could make me not want to be with you.”

“Aww.”

“Don’t start that aww crap either. Let’s
go, I want to show you off.” No one has ever wanted to show me off before. When
I was a kid Mum, would show Harriet and Isabel off. They were her perfect
daughters with blonde hair and a love of pink dresses. I have the same dark
hair as Dad and Oliver and preferred ripped jeans and climbing trees.

We’re going to be really early, but they
start things early. I like them already. Apparently a barbecue for them starts
with breakfast bacon cooked outside, then lunch and dinner followed whenever.
Eating barbecue food – and apparently they have plenty of ‘veggie’ things
because I’m not huge on meat, which is sweet of them – and drinking all
day is just what I need.

“So Marcus is the guy you shared a room
with in Uni, and he’s engaged to Renee? You also went to Uni with James and
Danny; you were on the same course as Danny but didn’t live with either of
them?” I repeat, trying desperately to remember the things he’s told me.

“Yes. James is married to Sophie and
Danny’s girlfriend is Orla, but I don’t know her that well, we’ve only met a
few times.”

“Okay. I think I got all that.”

Aden glances at me out of the corner of his
eye and smirks. “You’ll forget. I’ll introduce you, though. It’ll be fine,
Millie. Please stop stressing.” Yes, I really should stop stressing before I go
grey. “You want to do something tomorrow night? Dinner at mine?”

“Are you going to cook for me again?”

“Yes, but you can help this time.”

“Do you enjoy your kitchen burning down?”

Aden chuckles. “I’ll take my chances. I’d
like to cook together.” Like a proper couple. My heart swells. “We’ll have to
go shopping after work, though. I don’t have much in.” Shopping is a couple’s
thing too. I wonder if I can get him to argue over what food we get?

“Okay.”

“Oh do you think you could try not to make
a complete fool out of yourself today?” When I turned to glare at him, he
bursts out laughing.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m joking. I love it when you make a
complete fool out of yourself. Though, I’m not sure if you can surprise me
anymore. I pretty much expect anything now.”

Hmm, we’ll see about that. Can’t surprise
him anymore. I pull my top up and sprung the clasp on my bra open. His eyes
widen, and mouth drops open as he does a double and then triple take.

“Jesus,” he hisses, knuckles whitening as
he grips the steering wheel.

“Surprised?” I ask, silently thankful that
there’s no traffic. He nods in response. “Well what I’m going to do next is
going to give you a heart attack then.”