Partners (Fire & Lies - One) (8 page)

“
No, Aiden.
I’m scared of how you make me feel.”

He glanced
over at her. “And how is that?”

“
Like I
might burst into flames without you.” The moment she said the
words, she wished she could take them back. They sounded silly and
dramatic, but they were true. Being around him made her feel
combustible. Her chest swelled and her skin heated until she felt
that she might burst if she couldn’t have him. “But there are
rules, and we shouldn’t be breaking them. It’s not worth
it…”

He looked over
at her–at her flushed cheeks and her pink swollen lips–and all
reason left him again. He had to have her.

“
Rules?
Fuck the rules,” he murmured, reaching his hand out, gently grazing
his thumb over her cheeks. Her head tilted into his hand and her
eyes closed as the pleasure of his touch filled her body. “There’s
no one here to see.”

Opening her
eyes, she forced herself to speak, her voice but a whisper as she
struggled to say the right words. “Fuck the rules, Aiden? You know
what will happen. How is this going to work?”

“
I don’t
know. But I want you, Chloe. I want you more than any woman I’ve
ever met. You’re all I can think about–all I can dream about. And
it’s driving me crazy being so near you, but never being able to
touch you for more than a moment. I need you.”

His other hand
moved to cup her other cheek, his thumbs moving over her skin as he
leaned toward her, causing her mouth to open in a soft,
anticipatory gasp.

“
Rules are
made to be broken,” he murmured, their eyes locked, his mouth only
millimetres away from hers.

Then, moving
that final distance, he brought his mouth to hers, her lips parting
immediately, allowing him to deepen the kiss as his tongue slid
over hers. They groaned, a hunger coming to the surface that had
nothing to do with food and everything to do with each other. And
when they finally parted, each of them felt ruined. Looking into
each other’s eyes, they knew they belonged together and that they
had to find a way.

Feeling
shaken, Aiden cleared his throat and sat back in his seat. “I need
to get you home,” he said, his voice bewildered as his mind swirled
with the emotions that kiss brought out in him.

Chloe nodded
in return. It was all she could do.

PRESENT,
13 days before the job

“SO, YOU want
to tell me what happened with that girl last night?” Marli asks the
next morning when she just
happens
to drop by the office
with bacon and egg wraps and a tray of coffee. My sister knows I’m
more likely to talk if there’s food involved, and she even brings
something for Jared so he’s too busy eating to interrupt.

“Not really,”
I reply. “Thanks for breakfast though.” I give her a wink and kiss
the top of her head when I see the disappointment flash across her
face.

“Well that’s
not very nice,” she responds. “Next time I’ll just send a text
instead of making a special effort to talk to you in person.”

“I wouldn’t
have answered your text either, but I do like that you dropped in
with meat products and caffeine.”

For a while we
sit quietly and eat. But I know my sister. She’s not about to let
up.

“Come on,
Aiden. Who was she–an old fling of yours? Although she was a bit
young for you, so that can’t be right–or is it? You reacted so
weird when you saw her face…who the hell is she?”

I smile at my
sister’s rambling. “She’s just someone I used to know–nobody
important.”

A burst of
laughter erupts from inside her. “Aiden, that’s the biggest line of
bullshit I’ve ever heard come out of your lips. I saw the way you
went hunting for her after you helped break up that last fight.
Then I saw how shitty you were for the rest of the night when you
realised she was gone. You wouldn’t even look at that girl who was
trying to get your attention, and she was a hottie. So this girl is
someone
to you. You’re just not admitting it.”

I stand up and
walk over to my office door. “Thanks for breakfast, sis. I’ll see
you next time I’m at the club.”

“Which will be
when? Are you going to avoid it now and palm it off on your lackey
out there?” she asks.

“Depends on if
you’re going to get into my personal business again,” I state,
challenging her with my eyes. I love that Marli cares, but she
should know by now that I don’t talk women with her. I never have,
despite her insistence.

Shaking her
head, she gives me a smile that tells me she still thinks I’m full
of shit as she collects her purse and stands to leave. She stops
beside me and rises up on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek.

“You can lie
to yourself all you want, Aiden. But don’t forget, I know you.
Perhaps even better than you know yourself.”

I roll my
eyes. “Get out and go harass Jeff.”

She laughs,
never one to take me seriously. After our mother passed away, Marli
kind of took on all the mothering duties, even though she’s younger
than me.

“Leave my
husband out of this. At least he knows who’s warming his bed at
night, unlike you big brother. But I expect that one day you’re
going to find a way to be happy too.” She reaches up and hugs me
tightly before leaving.

“I doubt
that,” I say to myself, as I watch her walk past Jared’s office and
wave goodbye. Then I close my door and head back to my desk,
burying myself in work, so I can stop thinking about those fucking
eyes of Chloe’s that seem to bore into my soul. I barely slept a
wink last night after she left my place. Every time I closed my
eyes, I saw her face, and the memories of her surged to the front
of my mind like it was all only yesterday.

Three years
ago, I had one night with Chloe Donovan.
One night
that
ruined me for every woman since then.
One night
where she
promised me the world.
One night
where I felt whole…

She gave me
one night,
one,
before she ripped my heart from my chest and
set it on fire. Chloe was the one woman I ever allowed myself to
care for. The only woman I’d ever considered saying the ‘L’ word
to. And she fucking left me without so much as a goodbye, my life
turning to shit in her wake.

During our
brief relationship, she had spoken of need and want and a desperate
longing–all things I had felt alongside her–but it had been a lie.
Without warning, she left, and never returned to me. I have spent
the last three years trying to hate her for leaving. But I’ve never
been able to hate her. Mostly, I was just angry that I couldn’t
stop wanting her. That woman owned my heart and soul whether I
wanted it or not.

I’ve tried to
move on. I’ve fucked more girls than I can count, trying to get her
out of my system. But it didn’t make one fucking bit of difference.
The moment she walked back in my life, I knew I was fucked. I’ve
been pussy whipped by her from the very moment our eyes met. Of
course I was going to end up helping her. I just couldn’t make it
easy. After all, I still have my pride–even if that pride is shit
where she’s concerned and only lasts twenty-four hours. But like I
said, that woman owns me.

Tired of
fantasising about our past, I open the file on my desk that Jared
had prepared after having her followed yesterday. It contains her
street address, the licence number of the car she was in, and
whatever information Jared could get on her from his various
sources. Some of it is interesting and some I already know. Nothing
gives me a hell of a lot of insight into exactly what position
Chloe is in right now, and I highly doubt she’ll be able to pay
anywhere near the sum she suggested to me…

Shutting the
file, I grab the phone on my desk and hit Jared’s extension. He
answers on the first ring.

“Boss,” he
states.

“Hold the
fort. I’m heading out for a while.”

“Anything I
need to know?”

“Not yet. I’ll
fill you in when I’m ready.” Hanging up the phone, I lock the file
in my desk and grab my keys, nodding at Jared as I walk past him to
leave the office and head to my car. Chloe isn’t the only person
who can show up unannounced.

WHEN I wake
up, Leah has already left for work. I didn’t see him when I got
back from Aiden’s last night, and after a night spent tossing and
turning I ended up finally falling asleep when the sun had come up
so I missed him again at breakfast.

Leah works as
a mechanic a couple of towns over. It’s one of the very few
privately run mechanics that are left these days. Most of the small
ones have shut down due to big chains coming in and taking over the
clientele. But in an area like ours, there’s always room for a
mechanic with a record, who’s willing to do things a little
differently for cash on the side.

I, personally,
don’t have a job. I’m still living, very carefully, off the money I
received when my farce of a marriage stopped being of benefit to my
supposed husband and his scumbag father. They had paid me
handsomely to go away quietly, but the press had gotten a hold of
the separation news anyway. It was made to look like I had some
sort of involvement in my father’s predicament and for a while, it
was difficult to live amongst the class of people I had spent my
life with. So, I changed my name and kept a very low profile,
living well below my means as Leah’s flatmate.

I shuffle into
the kitchen, still wearing the oversized shirt I sleep in and a
pair of thick socks that probably used to be white but they’re grey
now. I pull the coffee pot out of its warm little home and pour
myself a cup of the steaming hot liquid. I’d add milk, but I’m
pretty sure we’re out of it. Neither of us is very good at shopping
for anything besides beer to go with our staple pizza diet, and the
coffee that wakes us up every morning. So, I’ve learned to like the
bitter taste of black coffee. In a way, it suits me
perfectly–bitter to my very core.

The one
shining part of my life was my time with Aiden. He is far from
perfect in anyone’s eyes. But he is my version of perfect. I just
wish things could be different between us. I wish we had a
chance…

My mind
travels back to the night before, to the anger, the passion and the
grief we both carry because of the pain I’ve caused. I wish…I let
out a sigh, stopping my thought from progressing. Wishes are
pointless things that help no-one. Wishes can’t change what
happened. They can’t change the fact that lies were told, and that
the very thing I was trying to avoid, ended up happening to him
anyway. He lost everything, and it was my fault.

Powerless. It
is how I’ve felt for most of my life. Always following rules.
Always doing what I was told. And for what? The company is gone. My
life is gone. My family is ruined and the one man who looked at me
and saw my soul, now looks at me with hurt in his eyes. Hurt that I
am responsible for. I hate that I did that to him.

Feeling
overwhelmed, I place the coffee cup in the sink, tears burning my
eyes as I lean on the sink and look out over the power lines and
the pigeon covered roofs that have become my view.
This is not
my life. This is not how it should be.
My body shakes as I grip
the cold steel and force myself to breathe, refusing to let a
single tear flow.

I become so
lost in my thoughts that I almost don’t hear the knock on the door.
Letting out a slow breath, I wipe at my eyes and sniff back,
trudging across the cold linoleum floor to open the door a crack as
I inspect who it is.

“Aiden,” I
gasp, surprised when I see him standing in the hall on the other
side. I step out of the way as he pushes the door open and walks
in, striding past me like he owns the place, and stands in the
middle of the floor looking around at our Spartan
accommodations.

“Not the kind
of place I imagined you living in.”

“A lot has
changed,” I reply.

“I can see
that. Interesting how the mighty fall.”

I drop my
eyes, my hands rubbing together nervously in front of me, as I feel
rather exposed in my shirt and socks. I contemplate excusing myself
to change, but I don’t know if he’ll stay if I leave the room. So,
I stand, and I stare. Both of us silent as my eyes revisit every
beautiful line in his face and body. He hasn’t changed a bit over
the years. He’s still tall, lean and gorgeous, like a fighter in
peak condition. I could spend forever looking at him. Although,
Aiden obviously doesn’t feel the same way, as he’s the one who
breaks the silence and finally speaks. Ending what, I felt, was a
very enjoyable standoff.

“Well, you
piqued my interest, and I’m here. Are you going to talk or are you
just going to stare at me with your mouth open all day?”

My eyes go
wide and I clamp my jaw shut, an embarrassing heat flushing my
cheeks at my obvious indiscretion.
I can’t believe it was
actually hanging open.

I clear my
throat, wringing my hands together as I fight to find my words,
reminding myself that he’s here to talk about the job. He doesn’t
want me, like I want him. And I don’t blame him. If the roles were
reversed, I wouldn’t want me either. I find my voice, and gesture
toward the couch. “Take a seat, Aiden. There’s a lot you don’t
know.”

TAKING A seat
on her worn couch, I watch her as she positions herself on the
chair across from me, being sure to keep her distance. I don’t
blame her after what happened between us last night. And I can’t
guarantee that it won’t happen again. I’m having a pretty fucked up
reaction to seeing her again. I’m trying to act as though I’m in
control but I’m feeling pretty messed up. I want her. I want her so
badly that the thought of burying myself cock-deep inside her is
the loudest thought in my mind. Except, I don’t want to be stupid.
If I’m this fucked up after three years, I know that another dose
of her would make me even crazier. I need to control myself around
her. I just don’t know how the fuck I’m going to do that when my
dick is aching just by being in the same room as her.