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I can justify working with Tase despite a certain sexual attraction because the experience will help whether it goes on my resume or not.

Getting involved with Aiden is Off The Table.

Hopefully the life I want, the future I’m working toward, is stillonthe table after all of this.

I draw my finger in circles around my clit, thinking about Aiden, and climax with a shuddering sigh as I clench my legs together harder.

Eventually, restlessness turns into sleep, something deep and dreamless that leaves me with a small ache behind my eyes when I open them in the morning.

Rather than the slender beam of light I’m used to seeing at pre-dawn, full sunlight streams in through the curtains. I sit up sharply. My hair falls into my face as I fumble again for the phone I don’t have.

The analog clock shows it’s already after nine.

I blow out a breath and pat my chest over my rapidly beating heart.

I’m safe.Aren’t I?

Dressed in a long skirt and sweater, I head out into the kitchen. Aiden’s got the sliding glass doors open, and he’s sitting outside on the small patio. I busy myself with a cup of coffee before joining him.

Tendrils of mist curl over the lake.

“Morning.”

Aiden looks my way from the corner of his eye. “Morning to you.”

“Where’s Soren?” I ask.

“Out early. Seems like you weren’t the only one who wanted to get away. I think we ran him out of the house.”

“Good,” I mutter, and instantly regret it. I swipe a hand through my hair, pushing it out of my face. “Sorry. Look, Aiden?—”

He hurries to cut me off. “Don’t say anything.”

I swallow back a smirk. “You don’t know what I’m going to say.”

“I have a good feeling it’s about last night.”

“Yeah, well, it is. I’m sorry I was such a brat.” Shit, I’m not used to apologizing. “I was rude and a little stubborn.”

Aiden laughs before his features settle into his familiar crooked smile. “A little?”

“Very stubborn,” I correct as I gulp more coffee.

He stares at me for a moment longer before patting the empty seat beside him. “Come on, then. Better grab another sweater or something. You’ll get chilled quickly.”

I snag one of the blankets from the couch before I settle into the free Adirondack. “Where did Soren go?”

“Fishing,” Aiden answers, adjusting his legs and giving me ample room. “It’s what he does when he’s stressed. He never says anything. He just leaves. You know?”

I sniff and say, “We all have our quirks.”

But pretty damn hypocritical of him to throw my departure in my face when he did the same thing. A little female rage won’t hurt me, in this case.

Steam coils up from the heat of the coffee against the cool morning. I draw the blanket over my lap.

When was the last time I stopped and enjoyed a morning this way?

Usually I’m either up with the alarm for work or I’m tackling my list of chores and getting ready for the second shift. My alter ego online takes up more mental and physical space than I thought it would.