Her Canadian Dream [Her Canadian Dream] (Siren Publishing Classic) (8 page)

As rain started to batter the windows and the wind howled across the lake, Aiden finally drifted off into a fitful sleep, visions of a dark-haired beauty filling his dreams.

Aly woke with a start and for a moment was confused as to where she was. Recollection of the previous day’s events had her jumping out of bed and grabbing her robe. Running along to the bathroom she quickly brushed her teeth and showered, wrapping her wet hair in a towel before starting back to her room. As she walked out of the bathroom she almost ran headfirst into Aiden who was on his way downstairs.

“Whoa…where’s the fire?”

He reached out to steady her as she almost fell into his arms.

Shock made her jump back in alarm, the towel on her head sliding off, releasing her long dark hair around her face and down her back.

Aiden’s first thought was wow!

He had only ever seen her hair up in a ponytail and the sight of the long, dark, reddish-brown curls had him staring at her.

“Sorry. I wasn’t looking,” she apologised.

She was highly embarrassed at being caught out like this and even more so after the previous evening’s happenings.

He put up his hands in front of him.

“No need to apologise, sweetheart. You’re a beautiful ray of sunshine on a wet and windy morning, that’s for sure.”

He chuckled as she escaped his hold and raced into her bedroom, closing the door forcefully behind her. Sitting on the side of the bed, she attempted to stop her hands from shaking, enough to get herself dressed.

Ten minutes later she walked into the warm and cosy kitchen, her nerves hopefully under control as she went across to the kettle in order to make herself a cup of tea.

Aiden was sitting at the table and he pointed toward the counter.

“Tea’s made, Alyssa. I looked out the teapot for you.”

Aly was touched at his thoughtfulness. “Thank you. You must be a mind reader. I’m no good in the morning until I have had at least two cups of tea.” She attempted a smile and tried to keep her tone light as she put milk into a mug and then added the strong, hot tea.

Looking out the window across the lake she could see that it was indeed a wet and windy day. The lake was steel gray with small waves rippling over it. Aiden’s small boat, which was tethered to his dock, was being tossed back and forth by the rough water.

“Nasty day out there. Do you think it’s in for the day?”

He smiled. “What is it with you Brits and the weather?”

Aly smiled back. “Well we have the most awful weather most of the year so it sort of takes over our lives. Is this forecast to stay for long? Halloween is on Wednesday and the kids won’t be able to go out if it’s like this.”

He recalled an earlier radio weather bulletin.

“Far as I know it’s only set for today. Seems it’s going to get colder and maybe even snow by the end of the weekend.”

Aly’s face lit up like a beacon. “Snow? Really? By Monday?”

Her childlike delight at the thought of snow warmed his heart. Snow was normally a pain in the ass for him and Brett because they had to suspend work for a month or two. However the idea of showing Alyssa the lake and surrounding area when it was covered in snow had him, for once, looking forward to it.

He chuckled at the look of anticipation on her face.

“I take it you haven’t seen much of the white stuff? Once it starts here you’ll soon be moaning like the rest of us about cold feet, slippery roads and having to clear your windshield every morning.”

She was almost jumping with excitement at the thought.

“Never! I love it! I can’t wait for it to snow…although I’ve never driven in it so I’ll have to go careful for a while until I get used to it.”

“You’ve never driven in snow?”

She shook her head. “We never had enough to worry about back home. I used the bus most of the time because it wasn’t worth having a car. The bus took me right to work and back and I didn’t go out much so it was a cheaper option overall. I did get winter tyres on my car here though because Jan said I had to.”

His tone was firm as he stated, “Well, I think I would prefer to take you to work if it snows. The road out of here up to the highway can be quite treacherous. Your car would probably struggle with it anyway because it’s not built for icy roads. I can drop you before I go on to the office.”

Before she could say no he went on. “And I’m not moving on this, Alyssa. You will not drive that tin can out there if it snows and that’s final.”

His voice, although soft, was firm, telling her that there was to be no argument but she had to say, sweetly, and somewhat sarcastically, “I accept your kind order…I mean offer. I have to admit that I am a little nervous about it.”

Aiden couldn’t help but smile at her attempt at being a brat. Normally, brattish behaviour would annoy him, but with Alyssa it went straight to his dick. His imagination went into overdrive as he visualised how he could punish her. In his mind’s eye, he could see the soft skin of her butt turning a beautiful shade of pink as he spanked her.

Aly continued to sip her tea but soon realised that Aiden was watching her. His expression sent shivers down her spine. She turned away. Her nipples had puckered to hard pebbles and she was sure he wouldn’t miss the fact that she was turned on. As she turned, she noticed the clock above the window and gasped.

“Oh my God, I’m going to be late. I forgot I’m not in the centre of town now.”

As she rushed toward the door it suddenly occurred to her that Aiden wasn’t dressed to go out. His gray sweat suit was more suited to lounging than working.

“Oh, don’t you work on Saturdays?” He shook his head.

“Not today, sweetheart. The weather’s too bad. Happens a lot come fall. We can only work when it’s safe and the wind today isn’t good for climbing around on scaffolds. It’s when I catch up on my chores and reading.”

She looked slightly envious as she looked at the weather outside the window but just said, “Well, I’ll be home around four thirty as it’s early closing today, but please don’t worry about supper for me. I’ll grab myself a TV dinner on my way home.”

Aiden’s arm shot out and stopped her leaving the room.

“Supper will be on me tonight. You cooked last night so it’s my turn today. I have all day free, so no arguments, OK?”

“Well, if you insist.” She smiled shyly.

“I do,” he confirmed.

His arm moved to run his hand down her arm and she felt the zing right down in her pussy. Like a startled rabbit she stared at him until he took pity on her and let her by.

“I haven’t forgotten last night, baby. But you need space so I’m holding back. I won’t go to the club tonight. I presume you haven’t got plans?”

She shook her head dumbly.

“Good. We need to talk. I don’t want things left as they were last night. You already had enough worries and I added to them.”

As she went to speak, he placed a finger over her lips.

“Shhh…tonight. We’ll have a nice supper, a glass of wine and then we’ll discuss the things we skirted on and maybe find some answers. Now, Jan will have my hide if I make you late for work, so scoot.”

He rose from his chair and planted a swift but firm kiss on her lips and then swatted her ass as he pushed her toward the door.

Fazed by the touch of his lips, she put on her coat, went out to her car and climbed in. The wind and rain didn’t really register, as she was still reeling from the kiss and the way it made her feel.

There were no words for the way her pussy clenched and her nipples puckered as he had kissed her. He turned her on like no other man ever had.

How am I going to concentrate on work all day knowing he’ll be here waiting when I get home?

She finally started her car and drove along the lane. Out on the highway, she took less time to get into town than she thought and she was in good time to start work before the store was due to be opened at nine.

Parking her little car around the rear of the building, she stepped out into the squally weather and ran to the back door, which opened straight away as Jan heard her pull up.

Shaking the rain from her hair, she pulled off her coat and hung it behind the door.

“Sorry, Jan, I forgot the coffee! I thought the drive in was going to take longer so I didn’t stop, for fear of being late.”

Jan waved away her apology.

“That’s OK, hun. Brett is going down to the drive-thru in a while so he can fetch some for us. It will give him something to do, seeing as he can’t work today. I might even get him to bring us doughnuts.”

Grinning she took hold of Aly’s arm as they walked through to open the store.

“How did you get on with Aiden? Do you think you’ll like living there? He didn’t frighten you too much, did he?”

As she didn’t answer Jan stopped. Looking at her friend she saw that Aly had gone beetroot.

“What? What happened? Come on, tell.”

Aly shrugged. “Nothing much.” She made an effort to dismiss what Jan was saying.

“Liar!” Jan laughed and spun Aly around to face her. “Come on. What happened?” Her face became serious. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Horrified that Jan would think that about Aiden, she shook her head vigorously. “No, no, no! Of course he didn’t. It’s embarrassing though. I’d rather not talk about it.”

Jan looked at her thoughtfully. There was obviously something going on between her and Aiden but she respected Aly’s privacy so didn’t push it.

“Well, hun, you know I’m here if you need to talk. But for now we’d better get this store open before we start getting people banging on the door.”

Jan walked across the store and unlocked the door, turning the sign around to
Open
at the same time.

From the time they opened, they had a steady line of people coming in for the makings of Halloween decorations and costumes. At around ten, Brett popped in with coffees and a doughnut for each of them. A double, double from the drive-thru coffee shop was the only coffee she could drink. It was another thing she would miss when she went home. And the doughnuts were the best she’d tasted.

Although they managed to drink the coffee, it was after one before the crowds slowed enough for them to eat the doughnuts. It was only then that Aly realised how hungry she was. She had been so flustered with Aiden before work this morning she had forgotten to have anything to eat.

By three o’clock the rain had become a loud drumming on the pavement outside. Looking out of the front windows, they watched as people scurried along, intent on getting their chores done before getting home and into the warm and dry.

Jan brought through drinks from the small kitchenette and they sat on the comfy stools behind the high counter. Tea for Aly, coffee for Jan, as usual.

With nothing else to do and no customers to speak of, they settled down to enjoy their drinks and have a chat.

After a few minutes savouring their beverages, Jan asked, “Have you heard from Sean today? Wasn’t he going to the apartment to collect his things?”

Aly nodded. “Yes. He texted me earlier to let me know that the flat was now clear of everything and he’s handed the keys back. We’re officially over.”

She pulled a face. Maybe it was wrong, but it was only relief that she felt that things were over between her and Sean. Guiltily, the events of the previous evening and this morning were burned into her mind and she couldn’t get the vision of Aiden in his sweats out of her head. He had been unable to hide his burgeoning erection. She also felt somewhat guilty that he had been left so frustrated from last night’s farce, after looking after her needs so well.

Jan watched the emotions play across her face and knew that there was more to the blush this morning than Aly had let on.

Still talking about Sean, Jan went on, “I think you will be better off without him, honey. You weren’t really happy, were you? Not deep down. You were clinging to him for security, not because you loved him. And he didn’t love you. That was no way to build a relationship.”

Aly shrugged and nodded again.

“You’re right. I know now that we weren’t going anywhere. To be honest we didn’t have a lot in common either. We didn’t see eye to eye on loads of things, including music, TV shows, food…and you already know we weren’t that good in the bed department. And I can now confess I hated his button-down, shirt-and-tie look! He never dressed casually…ever. I don’t think he even possesses a pair of jeans!”

Jan observed, “Well, you are already happier. You have a glow on your face that I’ve never seen before.”

Ducking her head, Aly tried hard to avoid her friend’s searching look. Jan, however, wasn’t going to let go now. “Would that glow have something to do with a certain landlord that we know?”

More than ever, Aly felt that she needed to talk to someone about her feelings and who better than her best friend?

“Something happened.”

Jan lifted an eyebrow, but waited patiently for Aly to gather her thoughts and kept silent as her friend struggled with the words.