Page 17 of Clear Shot (Lauderdale Knights #9)

Hana

The rain starts around two in the morning, right around the time we decide to call it a night with poker. I stare out at the dark sky as the guys lock up the patio and turn to Flora.

“Is there anything I can do before we go to bed?”

Flora shakes her head. “I have oatmeal in the slow cooker, and it’ll be done around eight. Even if we lose power, the generators will kick in. I’ve got rolls and cold cuts and different salads for lunch, and there’s a lasagna prepped for dinner. We should be good, but I appreciate the offer.”

“I guess I’ll see you in the morning then.”

I wander up the stairs and start getting ready for bed, brushing my teeth and changing into a T-shirt and sleep shorts.

Aiden and I have slept in the same bed since we got married, but this feels different somehow, and I’m suddenly a little nervous.

Not that he’ll do something I don’t want him to do—the real worry is that he won’t.

Ugh.

I hate this internal war I’m waging.

Protect my heart by depriving myself of something that I’m positive will be really good? Or throw caution to the wind and enjoy the opportunity I have, even though I know there can’t be a happy ending for us.

Normally, I wouldn’t think twice because you only live once and the attraction between Aiden and me has been off the charts since we met.

This is different, though.

We’re married.

He’s my husband.

I can try to pretend it’s just a piece of paper—because that’s really all it is—but it means something.

It may not be permanent, but it’s legal and binding.

And he offered. He didn’t ask for concessions or money or anything else.

I signed a prenup, which was my idea in the first place, and that was it.

Deep down, I believe he wants this too.

We’re just dancing around the logistics of being together, neither of us willing to make the first move because… well, there are a lot of reasons. Most of them valid.

“Hey.” Aiden comes in and the door clicks shut behind him.

“Hi.” I turn and run my hands up and down my thighs nervously.

Why am I nervous?

Aiden is never going to hurt me.

Not physically, anyway.

“Starting to rain pretty good,” he says after a moment. “But the house is sealed up tight.”

“Okay.” I’ve just taken a step toward the bed when a crash of thunder startles me and a yelp escapes me, my hand flying to my chest.

“Easy, baby.” Aiden is next to me in an instant, hand at my waist. “Just some thunder.”

“I wasn’t expecting it to be so loud,” I whisper, shivering a little.

What the hell is wrong with me? I’ve never been through a hurricane but it’s not like I’ve never heard thunder before. We get thunderstorms here all the time. In Philadelphia, too.

“You think it’s going to be as bad as they say?” I ask, leaning into his touch.

“If it hits as a category 5, yes. It will be devastating to the entire community.”

I shudder again, this time with genuine concern.

Not for myself so much as the rest of the city because like most large cities, there are quite a few poverty-stricken areas, trailer parks, and people who live on the coast who don’t have the protection we do here at Remy’s multi-million-dollar estate.

“Let’s try to rest,” he says. “The worst will probably be in the morning.”

“Okay.” I slide into bed and he disappears into the bathroom.

I must have dozed off because a crack of thunder loud enough to shake the house wakes me with a start. I sit straight up in bed, heart pounding against my ribcage, and I feel Aiden stir beside me.

“It’s okay.” His voice is raspy from sleep but he reaches out a hand, resting it on my thigh.

“Scared the crap out of me,” I admit.

“Come here.” He holds out his arms and without hesitation, I lie back down and curl against him. “I’ve got you,” he whispers, lips against my forehead. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

There’s nothing he can do if the wind rips the roof off the house, but I believe him anyway. He might not be able to save me if something like that happens, but I know he would probably die trying.

With my head in the crook of his shoulder and his arms around me, I feel safer and warmer than I have in a long time.

I can tell by his uneven breaths he’s not sleeping, and neither am I.

I’m calm now, no longer frightened by the howling wind, cracks of thunder or flashes of lightning I get glimpses of through the slits in the shutters.

There are a million other places I could be right now, but for some reason, this is the only place I want to be. I couldn’t imagine leaving Aiden here and flying off to safety when the opportunity presented itself. No matter how much it annoyed my brother.

I shift restlessly, suddenly finding it difficult to sleep.

Aiden’s strong, muscular body is a whole new level of temptation, and though I’d love it if he made the first move, I know he won’t. If there’s a move to be made, it’s going to have to be me who makes it.

Slowly, I run my hand down the side of his chest, fingers light against his warm, bare skin.

I slide one of my legs between his and I’m aware the moment he realizes what I’m doing.

His body tenses for a moment, and then strong fingers curl into my hair, tilting my head back just enough for him to look at me.

“What are you doing, baby?”

“I think you know.”

“I thought we decided…” His voice trails, and I nod.

“I changed my mind.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Hana.”

“I’m a grown woman. And this is something I want.”

Neither of us moves, eyes locked together, as the storm rages outside. Wind and thunder and the rattling of shutters are the background music to whatever is about to happen between us.

“Aiden.” My voice sounds funny—thick with sleep and emotion and lust. “Kiss me.”

“If I start, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop,” he whispers, golden eyes boring into mine.

“If I wanted you to stop, I wouldn’t have started this. I need you, Aiden.”

“Fuck.” The curse is soft but powerful, because he uses both hands on the sides of my face to drag it closer to his. Then he kisses me.

His lips are warm and gentle, but firm and possessive, like he’s taking something that’s his. Like this was inevitable.

Maybe it was.

From the first time we met, there was a spark.

Our eyes met on a crowded beach at a team event, and my heart started racing.

He sauntered over, full of bad-boy bravado and the kind of confidence a man has when he always gets what he wants.

It wasn’t until he found out I was Johan’s sister that he back pedaled, and I did too, of course, because I didn’t want to do anything that might embarrass my brother.

After that, every time we saw each other was a lesson in restraint, until we finally talked about it, decided it would be safer for us to keep things friendly even though we both wanted to explore more.

Now he’s exploring my mouth with interest, kissing me the way I’ve imagined a thousand times.

“I don’t have any condoms,” he whispers abruptly.

I pause. “You got snipped, right? So I can’t get pregnant and I haven’t been with anyone else in months.”

“I haven’t had sex without a condom since my divorce.”

“Then we’re good.”

“ Fuck .” This time the word is more a proclamation of passion than a curse, because he digs his fingers into my hair and his tongue tangles with mine like a man on a mission. He’s no longer tentative or simply exploring—he’s literally taking what belongs to him.

And I’m here for it.

My body molds to his as we kiss, and it feels like my own personal playground as I survey the landscape of his beautiful body. He’s lean but muscular, every inch of him hard and sinewy. His biceps bulge and his shoulders are broad, so there’s a huge canvas for me to touch and fondle and kiss.

When his lips drift down, skimming my chin and throat, my head falls back and I momentarily forget all about what I was doing. His mouth is wickedly delicious, pressing kisses and tiny bites along the skin.

“No marks while we’re here at Remy’s,” I murmur.

He chuckles. “But marks are okay when we get home?”

“Maybe.” I sigh as his tongue glides along the edge of my ear and he nibbles the soft spot behind it.

“I’m going to kiss every inch of you,” he growls, pushing me onto my back.

“Yum.” I wrap my arms around him when he covers my body with his, lips never leaving my skin.

“Off,” he whispers, tugging at my top.

I sit up enough for him to pull it over my head and then our torsos are skin-on-skin, warmth and heat spreading through me like a brightly burning flame. His touch is electric, bringing every nerve ending alive, so that I can’t think, can’t breathe, can’t do anything but enjoy.

Our mouths fuse together again and now I’m giving as good as I take, pull after pull of his tongue, until we’re so intermingled I can only imagine one other way we could possibly be closer—and based on the erection pressed against me, it won’t be long.

“I need you,” I pant. “Inside me. Now. Please .”

He grunts, shoving at his boxers as he yanks them down.

I simultaneously wiggle out of my shorts and panties, my legs opening of their own volition. He presses against my soaked entrance and then pauses.

“You’re sure, baby?”

“God, yes. Please, Aiden—fuck me.”