Run (27 page)

Whenever Foster would stop by for a visit, she wanted to ask him how Dare was doing but was too scared to do so. She was afraid he might have moved on with his life and forgotten the declaration of love he’d made to her.

Aya finished cleaning the bar and made sure the security system was on before heading upstairs to the apartment. She wanted to shower and go to bed. The work, though rewarding, was exhausting. As she walked into the living room, her uncle was in his recliner watching holovision, as he usually did until he fell asleep.

“Hi, Uncle Arthur,” she greeted as she walked past him.

“Aya, wait,” he called to her. “Off.” The holovision image disappeared. “If you have a minute, I’d like to talk with you.”

“Umm, sure. What about?”

“Could you have a seat?”

“Okay.” She sat down on the two-seater closest to him.

“You can’t go on like this,” he began without preamble.

Aya frowned. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

“I think you do, but if you want me to spell it out, you can’t keep up with this pace. You insist on closing up every night and then when you finally come up for the night, you’re so bone weary all you want to do is go to bed. And then, you’re up early in the morning before I get up so you can set things up and open. You barely leave anything for me to do. You’re going to work yourself into an early grave.”

“Uncle Arthur, you know I don’t mind doing it, besides, it makes things easier for you.”

“Aya, I’m not an invalid. I’m capable of running the business myself. I must admit, I let you, at first, because I thought maybe you needed to keep yourself busy to get past the ordeal you must have suffered through. But now, I get the impression you’re never going to get past it because you’re pining for that man, aren’t you?”

She laughed uneasily to dismiss his statement. “That isn’t it. Things have just been busy since
Arthur’s
reopened. And you’ve taken such good care of me most of my life, I want you to relax and let me take care of you.”

“Aya, don’t lie to me, girl. Look me in the eyes when you say that.”

She met his gaze and opened her mouth to repeat the lie, but the stern look on her uncle’s face halted her. Aya bowed her head. “I’m not sure what you want me to say.”

“How about the truth? Do you have feelings for that man?”

“Yes.” For months, she tried to deny it and then rationalize it, but the bottom line was she loved Dare. “I’m sorry if you don’t want to hear this. It surprised me, too, because this isn’t something I expected but it happened.”

“Did he brainwash you in some way? Did he beat you? What?”

“I don’t know. After what he did to us, I hated him. I’d never hated anyone as much as him. And when I was there, he was so jealous and possessive, it was suffocating. But somewhere along the line, I learned that the uncaring tyrant was just a mask he wore to hide who he really is, someone he’s been afraid to show the world. It was that Dare that I fell for.”

“You promise me, he didn’t hurt you in anyway?”

“I’d be lying if I said he didn’t, but not in the way you think. Uncle, I know this might be upsetting to you but I promise it holds no bearing on our situation. I’m not going anywhere and I think he’s moved on. I haven’t heard from him in all this time so the likelihood of a reunion isn’t possible.”

“As you pointed out, it’s been a long time since you’ve seen him but you’re not eating properly and you’re working way too hard despite all the help I’ve hired. Aya, you’re slowly killing yourself and I can’t stand to see you like this anymore. I...I have something to confess.”

She furrowed her brow wondering what it could possibly be. He sounded so serious. “What?”

“He came to me when I was at that fancy apartment. You were still with him. That’s when he gave me the deed to this place and told me about all the credits he was giving to me. I basically threw them back in his face and told him I wasn’t interested in his guilt money. He asked me what it was I wanted and I told him I wanted him to let you go.”

“You were looking out for me, Uncle Arthur.”

“He told me he loved you.”

Her heart raced. “He did?”

“Yeah, but I told him you wanted to leave him, that it was all you talked about. I wanted to hurt that son of a bitch and make him pay. I couldn’t let him have you. There were other things I told him you said. In my own way, I was trying to save you from him because I still blamed myself for not doing something more to save you from your predicament. He paused as a look of contrition crossed his face. “Are you angry with me?”

That explained the pain she’d seen in his eyes that night. “Oh, uncle,” she sighed, getting out of her seat. She closed the gap between them and knelt in front of him. “I’m not angry. I’m a little disappointed that you’re just telling me about this now but I know you only wanted to do what you thought was best for me. I love you and I appreciate you trying to look out for me.”

He raised a bushy gray brow glancing at her skeptically. “Are you sure?”

“Of course, I am. And don’t worry about me, okay? If you want me slow down at the bar, I will. Maybe, I’ll ask Mac to come in earlier to open up. He knows the operation pretty well.”

“Aya, you’re deflecting. You know I’m not concerned about how much you’re working but your reasoning behind it. Even if you cut down on your hours, you’re still going to be thinking about O’Shaughnessy. Admit it.”

“Do we have to talk about this? It isn’t important.”

“It is, if you’re hurting. I don’t want to see you like this. I think you should go to him.”

“What?” She couldn’t have heard him correctly. There was no way her uncle would condone her meeting up with Dare again.

“Go see him. Arrange a meeting. Do what you need to do, because you won’t get over this funk you’re in until you see him again.”

“But what if he doesn’t want me to leave again?”

“If he was sincere about really loving you, he’s not going to keep you against your will. And whatever you decide, I’ll be fine. I may not be a young man anymore, but I still have plenty of life in me yet.” He took her face in his hands and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Don’t live your life for me, baby. Live your life for yourself and do what makes you happy.”

Having her uncle’s blessing didn’t ease her anxiety. What if she took that step toward happiness only to discover it was too late?

Dare paced nervously back and forth as he waited for Aya’s arrival. He’d sent his driver to pick her up over an hour ago and she had yet to arrive. She’d contacted him! Aya had simply sent him a message through Ronald that she wanted to set up a meeting with him. She didn’t say what she wanted to talk about but he didn’t care. She could be coming for the simple exercise of punching him in the gut, but he didn’t care as long as he got to see her.

He was very close to contacting Steven to find out what was taking them so long when the house announced their arrival. Dare waited at the front door for Aya to come inside, having dismissed the servants for the night. He watched hungrily as she stepped out of the car. His breath caught in his throat. She was just as beautiful as he remembered. Her hair had grown out. It was now a halo of curls framing her lovely face. She was dressed modestly in a flowing blue dress that looked fantastic against her skin.

As she got closer, his body grew warmer and his cock twitched. It had been so long since he’d touched her or been this close to her. He was hungry for her. He kept his hands folded behind his back to keep himself from grabbing Aya and pulling her into his arms. He feared if he did this, he wouldn’t be able to let her go.

“Aya,” he whispered her name, loving the way it rolled off his tongue. He had avoided saying it for months, and being able to speak it again was like a sweet release to his soul.

“Dare,” She greeted. Her full lips curved into a small smile. There was something different about her besides her appearance. It was almost as if Aya seemed unsure of herself. He wasn’t used to seeing this side of her.

“Please come in.” Dare opened the door wider and stood back far enough to allow her entrance but just enough where their bodies still touched. He couldn’t help himself.

“I thought when you agreed to see me, we’d meet on more neutral territory, like your office building.”

“I’ve been working from my house a lot more in the past several weeks. This isn’t a problem, is it?”

She shook her head. “No, this is fine.”

“Let’s go to the sitting room. I think we’ll be more comfortable there.”

Once they were settled, Dare kept himself stiff in his seat almost too nervous to breathe. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue and his dick lengthened into a full-fledged erection. Dare shifted in his seat so she wouldn’t notice. “I, uh, wanted to see you.”

“I’m glad because I’ve wanted to see you, too.”

“Then, why haven’t you come by the bar? Foster comes by every week.”

“Frankly, I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see me and I didn’t feel that I could just stroll in there like I had a right.”

“You told Uncle Arthur you loved me. I figured…did you really mean it?”

“Of course, I did. I might not know a lot about love, but I know I feel it for you. And can I just say, love isn’t the kind, flowery, beautiful thing poets go on about. It hurts and it keeps you up at night longing for someone who doesn’t want you back. It makes you forget you have a business to run when you lose focus in the middle of an important meeting. Love demands that you make the object of your affection happy, even if it tears you apart in the process. So yes, Aya, I love you and I may be a fool for telling you this, but I’m not going to stop anytime soon.”

She exhaled. “I’m glad.”

“You are? So you can laugh at my pain?”

“No! Of course not.” She ran her hand over her curls in a nervous gesture. “Um, I wanted to say, I know what my uncle told you, about what I said.”

“Yes, how you couldn’t wait to get away from me.” He was still raw from that.

“I wanted you to know that it wasn’t true. I never said any of those things to him. In fact, whenever I’d visit my uncle, I never brought you up. I mean, he asked questions but I refused to answer until he stopped questioning me about you.”

“You didn’t? Then why—”

“He was trying to protect me. Part of it, of course, was because he was still angry at you for what you’d done but mostly, it was for my sake. He believed it was what I wanted. And it was what I wanted…in the beginning. But somewhere along the line, my feelings for you changed.”

Was it possible? Dare pinched himself to make sure this wasn’t some cruel dream. “Are you saying you return my feelings?”

She nodded.

Dare was out of his chair and quickly closed the gap between them before yanking Aya to her feet. She looked like she might have been on the verge of saying something but he captured her lips before she could speak. He pressed his tongue forward wanting to taste her. Aya sighed in his mouth as she twined her arms against his neck.

She pressed her soft body against his and he tightened his hold on her almost afraid to let her go. Aya returned his kiss with her own enthusiasm, pressing her tongue against his. Her taste was as delicious as he remembered, that hint of spice mixed with raw honey.

He dug his fingers into her crown of curls to deepen the kiss. He was a man starved, denied for so long the one thing his soul needed for nourishment. His Aya. He’d never gone this long without physical contact from a woman since he was a teenager. He’d been propositioned by numerous women these past months but he’d turned them down. None of them was Aya. There was no other woman for him and having her in is arms, again, only confirmed it.

It was only when Aya placed her hands on his chest to give him a gentle push, as she twisted her head away, was the tight seal of their lips broken. She gasped for breath. “Whoa. Slow down.”

“I’m sorry,” he reluctantly loosened his hold on her but he didn’t completely let her go. “I got carried away. Tell me you love me again.”

She tilted her head backward to meet his gaze, her big beautiful brown eyes shimmering. “I love you, Dare.”

He bent over and pressed a quick hard kiss against her lips. “I didn’t think it was possible, especially after all I’d done. But I vow to you right here and now, I will never hurt you again. And just so you know, I’ve shut down The Run. No woman will ever go through what you and Macy went through again.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’m ashamed I let it go on for so long. I shudder to think of all the countless women who I’ve wronged. I tried to justify it by saying they had volunteered and were well compensated, but I’ve come to learn there’s no price you can put on one’s dignity and I took it from them and you. And, I hate myself for it.”

“I’m glad you’ve gotten rid of that game. It was horrible, sadistic, soul-wrenching. It’s spirit breaking but that you realize how bad it was, counts for a lot. No one is perfect and you’re well on the road to redemption.”

Dare leaned his forehead against hers. “So, where does this leave us? Where do we go from here?”

“I’m not sure. I know I want to be with you, but I have my uncle to think about. I can’t leave him.”

“You don’t have to. There’s no reason why you can’t work at the bar, if you still want to. And at night, you can come back to me.”

She seemed hesitant. “I don’t know…”

“When you were here before, you were bored. I know you’re not interested in spending your time idly or shopping, so this way, you can still help your uncle out and be with me.”

“How about we ease into this? Let’s spend some time together first and do things properly this time before we discuss living arrangements,” she countered.

What Aya suggested was reasonable but he was impatient to have her by his side, again. There was no way, however, that he’d ruin it with her again and if she wanted to take things slow, then he’d wait for her. “Okay. If that’s what you want. But, it doesn’t mean I’m not going to try to do my best to persuade you to live with me again.”

She smiled. “And, I look forward to you trying to convince me. Care to show me how you’re going to do that?”

“Oh, I think I can,” he growled. And with that, he lifted her in his arms and carried her out of the room. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he took the stairs two at time and he headed for his room. Once there, Dare took her to the bed and gently placed her on her feet.

He framed her face with his hands and locked his gaze with hers. “Once we start, I’m not going to be able to stop.”

Not long after her conversation with her uncle, Aya broke down and contacted Mr. Briggs. She hadn’t been sure if Dare would be receptive of a visit from her because the last time they had seen each other had seemed so final. Maybe he’d be angry after what Uncle Arthur had told him. But after she’d come to the realization of her feelings for him, she had to at least try and tell him how she felt, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to move on with her life one way or the other.

She was pleasantly surprised that he was amenable to a visit from her. Aya had come only to talk and confess her feelings but when she was in Dare’s arms, she wanted more. So much more. His kiss was everything she remembered and more, but there was something different in the way he touched her, like he was holding something special and dear to him.

She didn’t know what the future held for them, but she did know she wanted to explore that future together with Dare. “I know,” she finally answered. “I want you, too.”

Dare brought his mouth down to hers once more and this time she was ready for him. She thrust her tongue forward to meet his, tasting and savoring him as he tasted and savored her. She missed his kisses and caresses. Being in his arms, again, felt natural and right.

He sucked her tongue into his mouth as he dug his fingers into her hair. Her body flamed with desire only Dare could inspire. She moaned as that decadent heat seared her core and sent shivers, shimmying up and down her spine.

Aya twisted her head away to gasp for air, but Dare took her lips again as if he couldn’t get enough. They held each other with their lips tightly together until time seemed to stand still. When the kiss was broken again, they both gasped for breath.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured before burying his face against her neck. He licked tiny circles of delight on her sensitive skin, making her moan with pleasure. She was so hot she could barely stand it.

Dare pushed the straps of Aya’s dress off her shoulders and slid the dress down until it pooled at her feet. Her nipples pebbled when they were exposed to air. Dare cupped her breasts in his palm and bent over to kiss each tip. “Everything about you is perfect, meant to be worshiped. I’m going to make love to you like you deserve, Aya.”

To her surprise, Dare went to his knees making him eye level with her breasts. He ran his hands along her ribcage and over her stomach. His fingertips tickled her skin. The reverent way in which he caressed her brought tears to her eyes. He gripped the sides of her panties and pulled them down her legs.

Once she stepped out of them and kicked them aside, he wedged his hand between her thighs, making her spread her feet apart. Dare nuzzled the curls guarding her treasure with his face before swiping his tongue along her slit and inadvertently bumping the sensitive bud that peeked out.

Aya grabbed his shoulders to hold herself upright as her knees grew weak. “Throw your leg over my shoulder,” he instructed softly. Without hesitation she obeyed his command, exposing herself to him. Parting her nether lips with his fingers, he examined her pussy as he licked his lips. He stared at it as if it was a delicious meal he was about to partake of. “So pretty. Missed this,” he groaned before sucking her clit into his mouth.

“Dare,” she whispered his name. “Yes. Just like that.” She was so turned on, Aya doubted she would last long against his sensual ministrations.

He sucked hard, pulling and tugging on the sensitive nubbin, until she didn’t think she could take anymore. They might not have been together for months, but he remembered every spot that made her moan and shiver with ecstasy. Aya dug her hands into his shirt, and threw her head back as wave after wave of pure ecstasy rolled through her body.