Page 19

Suddenly, I liked her eyes on me and wanted her to ask me questions and tell me all about her wants and dreams. I didn’t want to fade into the background with her. I wanted her to see me. Well, the parts of me I was comfortable with, not the ugly, scarred, trauma-suffering parts that needed to stay hidden to not scare her off.

“Sorry about that,” Aiden announced as he fell into his chair with a grunt. Angrily swiping his half-full beer off the table, he tipped the bottle back and downed a long drink. “Oliver said for us to stop by tomorrow to officially file the restraining order paperwork. There’s no way in hell she was here by chance.”

“Do you think she followed you here?” Aspen questioned, peeling the label on her bottle.

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Aiden grumbled, studying her working fingers.

She nodded and blew a raspberry. “Okay, so what exactly happened with her? What made her so… that?” She waved her hand in the direction where Jessica had stood.

Aiden and I exchanged a knowing look, and I nodded, giving him the go-ahead to tell her.

“She was a guest at The Nest, a frequent one. We saw her around town a few times, took her out on a couple of day ATV treks when she hired Uplift.” Aiden ran a hand through his long hair, tugging at the ends. “One thing led to another. The attraction was there, and she understood our unique… needs.”

“Needs as in how you and Miles share women,” Aspen added with a smirk.

Aiden spit out the sip of beer he’d just taken, shocked at her comment and no doubt at the teasing quality of her tone. He wiped the mess from his lips and gaped at her.

“I had my suspicions after a few things you said, and Miles confirmed them just now when I asked him about it.” She shrugged like her accepting this part of us wasn’t a big deal. I eyed her suspiciously. No one accepted our relationship style that easily. “Listen, you’re both big boys?—”

“Oh, Aspen, you have no idea how right you are.” Aiden shot her a cocky smirk.

She attempted to hide her smile as she rolled her eyes. “If your partner is into it, then you do you. Though I do have questions.” She glanced at Aiden before giving my upper body a deliberate once-over. “Alotof questions,” she mumbled around a yawn.

I checked my watch, noting the time. “It’s getting late, and I’m sure you’re exhausted from traveling. I heard you had to put up with Langston during the trip. Let’s order the nachos?—”

“Fuck yes,” Aiden said, punching his fist in the air. “Love their nachos.”

Aspen smirked and shook her head at his antics. “Well, now wehaveto get them with that kind of response.”

“I’ll go to the bar and order.” Palms to the edge of the table, I shoved my chair back and stood. Her eyes traveled down my body in a slow, sensual sweep. Desire slammed into my gut, making me suck in a tight breath. “We need to get you home before it gets too late.” Her dark eyes widened, making me realize my wording. “Home as in you to your cottage at The Nest and us to our place.”

For tonight, at least.

Forcing myself to walk away from her, I headed toward the bar to place our food order and use the time to get this surge of need under fucking control.

This woman was dangerous in all the ways that mattered, and that scared me.

I thought being a SEAL prepared me for anything and everything.

And I was.

Until Aspen walked through that bar door and I knew…

I was in so much fucking trouble.

7

ASPEN

Metal groaned as I tugged the heavy door; the force of it slamming closed shook the late-model F-150. Though the movement could also be from the massive dog sitting on the bench seat beside me as she panted, tongue hanging out with strings of drool dripping from her loose jowls. As if sensing my attention, that massive head swung my way to steal a sneaky lick up my cheek.

“Jubie,” Miles admonished with zero heat in his gruff tone. I shivered, just like I’d done all night when he talked. His voice held a gravelly sound that made my thoughts go straight into the gutter. “You need consent from people before you put your tongue all over them.”

Holy hell, did he really just say that?A tight breath caught in my throat, a fresh wave of heat now flowing through my veins. I pitched forward to see around Jubie to where Miles sat behind the steering wheel.

Earlier, when I first met Aiden, I thought he was the most attractive man I’d encountered in person. With his longish floppy hair, easygoing personality, and body of a Greek god, anyone with eyes would be going weak in the knees around him. Then entered the giant of a man, Miles. Holy Hades. The moment I laid eyes on him, I wanted to climb onto his lap, wrap both arms around his neck, and beg him to hold me. There was a presence about him that made me feel utterly safe.

Not only because of his massive size, but there was a steely look in his eyes. The way he constantly scanned the room silently spoke to how alert he was. Every time his thick arms flexed as he lifted his drink, stretching the cotton of his long-sleeved shirt, I wanted to lean over and take a bite.