Partners (Fire & Lies - One) (7 page)

“Sweet dreams,
sugar,” he says as I leave, causing that warmth to flood through me
again, putting a tiny crack in my heart where hope begins to
trickle out, threading itself through my body and tickling my mind
until my smile grows out of my control. It’s silly that such a tiny
word can bring me such joy. But it is undoubtedly the nicest thing
anyone has said to me for years, and it’s the one bright moment in
what has been an overly emotional day.

As I drive
back home, I’m still smiling and I find myself running through
every moment I’ve ever spent with Aiden. Every interaction is a
moment from my past that managed to define my future for the worst.
Despite that, they’re still my favourite memories in the world.

JULY,
three years ago

“
I NEED you
to stop working so late,” Aiden said from Chloe’s office
door.

She stopped
what she was doing and looked up at him, giving him a small smile
before dropping her head back to her work.

“
Then how
would I get to spend more time with you?” she asked, keeping her
head down as she spoke. With the cameras on them at all times, they
were more than aware that they were skirting rather closely to
breaking the rules with their flirtation. They were yet to cross
any lines that could cause problems for Chloe and her
responsibilities, or for Aiden and his position. But it was really
only a matter of time before a sly brush of bodies, a comment
filled with innuendo, and a hidden touch wasn’t enough anymore.
They were playing with fire and they both knew it.

Grinning
slightly, he shook his head. “Cute. But I’m serious. I won’t be
here to watch over you for a while.”

“
Where are
you going?”

“
Not
far.”

“
Not far?
What does that even mean?”

“
It just
means that my time off is personal.”

Chloe
lowered her eyes. Something about the way he said the word
personal
seemed to bother her. It made her realise that while
they spent a lot of time in each other’s company, she didn’t really
know anything personal about him.

“
Personal?”
she repeated, unable to hide the disappointment in her
voice.

“
Not that
kind of personal,” he said immediately, somehow sensing exactly
where her mind was going. He approached her desk, standing on the
other side as he spoke to her softly. “It’s family business. I’ll
be on leave for two months but I won’t be far… if you need me for
anything.”

“
Why so
long?”

“
Why do you
want to know? Will you miss me, Chloe?”

“
I’ll miss
being near you. I like having you around. It’s… it’s
calming.”

“
Calming?
That’s something I haven’t been called before.”

“
What are
you normally called?”

“
Intimidating, menacing, jerk, prick, dickhead – rarely anything
good.”

She shrugged.
“I guess I don’t see you the same way other people do.”

“
No. You
don’t. Do you?”

They locked
eyes for a moment. Aiden standing across from her with his hands on
his hips, his dress shirt open slightly after discarding his tie
hours ago. He didn’t have to stay there every night. But damned if
he could let someone else watch over her. He didn’t trust them not
to cross the line around her – he barely managed to restrain
himself…

“
Will you
do what I’ve asked?” he said eventually, forcing his mind to escape
that place it kept visiting where all of his fantasies involved
Chloe and her legs wrapped tightly around him.

Tilting her
head, she lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “I can’t promise
that. I need to work late, Aiden. I need to prove myself.”

Leaning
forward, he placed his hands on her desk and leaned toward her,
meeting her eyes. “You have years to prove yourself, Chloe. You
don’t have to do it all now.”

Her eyes
strayed between Aiden and the camera in the corner of her office.
She sat back in her chair before focusing on her computer screen
and typing within the open document. “I don’t have as much time as
you think,” she said.

He stepped
back, frowning at her comment. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Quickly, she
shook her head, dismissing her words. “Nothing. I just think I have
to prove myself sooner rather than later.” Feeling restless, she
shut the lid on her laptop and cleared her desk, sliding her
notebook and pens into her top drawer and placing her files back
into her bottom drawer where she locked them away to keep them
safe. “Listen, I’m feeling pretty tired actually. I think I might
go home now. Will you call me a car?”

“
Sure,” he
said, not forgetting the comment about her limited time, but
deciding not to push any further.

Aiden waited
quietly, wondering what had happened to change her demeanour so
suddenly. She had gone from focused on her work to wanting to get
out of there. He admired her work ethic but she worried him with
her relentless pursuit of her goals. As she stood and slung her
beige handbag over her slender shoulders, his eyes travelled over
her slim body. He had noticed that the endless late nights working
had taken their toll on her body. After almost six months at
Donovon Corp, Chloe’s curves were practically gone. She was wasting
away before his eyes.

As he did
every night, he walked her to the lift and while inside they
indulged in that tiny moment when it was all right to stand close
to each other. Their hands touched as Aiden gently brushed his
fingers across the soft back of her hand. This had been going on
for the last two months and while it was definitely moving their
relationship into dangerous territory, it was Chloe’s favourite
part of the day.

“
I’m
worried about you,” he murmured, as he faced forward but curled his
fingers around hers. He knew every angle of every camera in the
building and there were very few places they could get close
without it being picked up. “You’re getting too thin.”

“
I’m fine,”
she whispered back, letting her fingers move slowly against his.
“This is just really hard.”

“
It won’t
be hard forever,” he said, turning his head to meet hers as the
lift doors opened in the basement car park.

“
Whoa, what
is this, Aiden? I need to take the car service.”

“
I’m taking
you home,” he responded immediately, gripping Chloe’s hand and
pulling her out of the lift toward him.

Flinching, her
eyes widened and she pulled back. “What are you doing?” she hissed,
her eyes moving about wildly knowing that they were just seen by
the basement cameras.

“
This,” he
said, tugging at her arm so that she flew forward, landing solidly
against his chest.

He wrapped his
arms around her and looked down at her, inhaling her sweet scent as
he luxuriated in the fact that he finally had her in his arms.

“
Aiden,”
she protested meekly. “This is crazy.”

“
The
cameras are down,” he whispered, dipping his head and taking her
mouth in his. The moment their lips touched, lights exploded
dramatically behind Chloe’s eyes and all of her protests evaporated
into thin air as she seemed to melt into his body, her fingers
curling as she held onto him.

It was as if
she’d never been kissed before. Everything felt new and
undiscovered and in that moment, she too stopped caring. She
stopped caring about the cameras. She stopped caring about
protecting Aiden’s job. She stopped caring about protecting her
father’s company and she stopped caring about her promises. All
that mattered was that moment and the man who held her in his
arms.

Slowly, their
lips parted and they took in some air, their foreheads resting
against each other as they caught their breath. Chloe was shaking
with emotion; she wanted this man so much that she could see
herself leaving everything behind for him. And it would be worth
it. She couldn’t imagine not having him in her life. Especially
after that kiss, it would be torture.

“
I’m taking
you to get some food,” Aiden said suddenly. “You’re tiny.”

Taking a deep
breath, Chloe steadied herself and nodded, watching as Aiden
reached into his pocket and pulled out a key fob and directed it at
an Audi sports car. Depressing the button, the car lights flashed
and then the engine purred to life.

“
Come on,”
he said, directing her toward the car. Once again, she nodded, not
trusting herself to speak.

He held
open the door and Chloe slid into the smooth leather seat as he
gently shut her in. She then watched as he walked around the car
and slid into the driver’s side. Her heart beat fast in her chest.
Was she seriously going to do this?
Could
she do this? Could
she give everything up for a man she’d only known for six
months?

“
So, where
are you taking me?” she asked, finally finding her voice, as Aiden
steered the car out of the parking garage and onto the darkened
street.

“
Somewhere
that’s still open at this time of night,” he said, taking a right
before having to stop at a set of lights.

He kept his
head forward, his hands gripping the steering wheel as internally
he entered into a silent war with himself. What the hell was he
doing? In that split second where he grabbed her and kissed her, he
crossed a line. A line that would eventually cost him his job. And
he liked money. He really liked money.

Part of him
was telling him to stop being an idiot and take her straight home.
They could chalk it up to the moon and go back to wanting and never
having. But then the other part of him, the part of him that wanted
her so badly that he was willing to be a pauper if that’s what it
took–that part kept whispering about the way her mouth curved when
she found something amusing, how creamy and soft her skin was
beneath his touch, and how it would feel to dig his fingers into
her flesh and drive himself inside her–take part of her in his
mouth. And that smell, he loved the way she smelled. He didn’t know
if it was her perfume or her shampoo or just her natural scent, but
he couldn’t get enough of it and found himself craving it–craving
her. A kiss wasn’t enough and he’d be kidding himself to think it
was.

The fact of
the matter was, Aiden had been craving Chloe, and from the moment
he met her, he wanted her. Logically, he knew she was off limits.
And he’d tried to get her out of his head and tried to stop wanting
her. He’d told himself that it was because she was off limits that
he wanted her so much, and he even wondered if he could have her
just once, would his desire be sated? With most girls, he could
fuck them once and move on. But something deep inside him told him
that his reaction to Chloe wasn’t the same biological urge that
caused him to pursue other girls. He’d felt it before he even knew
who she was. There was something profound about that woman,
something that went deeper than her looks. Something he found
addictive–intoxicating.

For six
months, he had watched her, feeling like he was borderline stalking
her when she was in the office. He’d been the only security who
accompanied her to high-risk meetings. And when he did, they’d
stolen moments of touches and more than a few almost kisses. The
temptation was driving him to distraction and his insistence on
being her only guard has begun to raise questions. He’d explained
to his colleagues that his taking care of her was necessary because
she was Terry Donovan’s daughter. Whether they believed it or not,
they didn’t say. But they did back off and they stopped their
questions.

Of course, it
was more than that. He couldn’t stand the idea of another man alone
with her. It drove him insane knowing his men found her just as
attractive as he did. He didn’t trust anyone but himself with her,
and if he knew without a doubt that he could get away with it
before now, he would’ve had her everyway there was until his need
for her was sated.

But then,
would he ever be sated? A girl like Chloe gets under a man’s skin
and leaves him begging for more…

“
Aiden.
Aiden?”

Her voice
broke through his thoughts and he turned to her with a frown.

“
The light.
It’s green,” she stated, lifting one of her delicate fingers to
point at the traffic lights above them.

The muscle in
his jaw ticked as he clenched his teeth and accelerated through the
lights, berating himself internally for getting so caught up in his
thoughts that he didn’t notice the change.

Chloe had seen
the look on his face. She’d seen the war that was waging behind his
expression. And he was right to have doubts. This needed to end
before it went any further. “Just pull over, Aiden. We can’t do
this.”

“
We can’t
eat?” he said, knowing full well what she meant. He did as she
asked anyway, pulling the car to a stop on the side of the
road.

“
You know
exactly what I’m talking about, Aiden.”

“
Maybe I
need you to tell me, Chloe. What is it we can’t do?”

She looked
down, a blush creeping over her cheeks as she began to feel foolish
for even making the comment. Suddenly, she felt very young and
naïve. “We can’t… we can’t do this,” she said again, gesturing
between the two of them as they sat across from each other in the
dark car, the only light coming from the display on the dash and
the streetlights overhead.

“
Do I scare
you, Miss Donovan?” he whispered, asking the same question he’d
asked months ago as he kept his hands and eyes on the steering
wheel in an effort not to reach for her.