Best of My Love (Fool's Gold, #20)(67)

He thrust in just a little deeper and she felt herself going over the edge. It was different from before—it was from the inside rather than the outside. The contractions of her muscles were more in her belly. She grabbed his hips, urging him to keep the rhythm going. He kept pace with her for a few more seconds, then he shuddered his release and groaned her name.

She had no idea how many minutes they lay there, tangled, trying to catch their breath. Aidan finally moved off her and reached for a tissue. When he’d gotten rid of the condom, he rolled back on his side and looked at her.

She had no idea what he was going to say. What she didn’t expect was him to start laughing. But the combination of relief and happiness was contagious and she began to giggle, then laugh. He collapsed back and she snuggled up next to him. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.

“Well, damn,” he murmured.

“I knew we’d be great together.”

He kissed her forehead. “We are that.”

“Friends with benefits,” she told him.

“Wasn’t that a movie? Or a book?”

“Probably. But it’s still what we are. We can make it work. You’ll see.” She half sat up. “Unless this was a one-time thing.”

He looked at her for a long time, then smiled. “Do you really see me being able to resist you again?” He pulled her on top of him and kissed her. “Now, for round two.”





CHAPTER SIXTEEN

AIDAN HAD TO admit it—he felt good. Better than good. He’d awakened with that feeling of smug contentment combined with being a god. He was the man. Conqueror of worlds, or at the very least, conqueror of his world and pleasurer of Shelby.

They’d spent the rest of the night together. After their second amazing session of lovemaking, they’d surfaced long enough to dress, collect Charlie and grab some take-out for dinner, then had spent the evening snuggled together on his sofa before retreating to the bedroom to continue putting a dent in his condom supply.

He leaned over and absently rubbed Charlie’s ears. “Hey, guy,” he murmured. “How you feeling?”

Charlie wagged his tail.

“Yeah? Me, too.”

Aidan leaned back in his chair. Part of him was still concerned that everything could fall apart now that they’d crossed the line, but he wasn’t about to feel anything close to regret. Being with Shelby had been great. Right.

He turned his attention back to his computer. He had a spreadsheet that detailed the activities the company offered, separated by season. He’d already started work on the scheduling, but kept going back to the list.

There were lots of fun things for people to do. Everything from the very traditional walking tours to the more adventurous whitewater rafting and parasailing. In between were hikes and campouts that could be adjusted for the skill and fitness level of the group. But it was all so predictable.

He walked into the front office, where Fay was printing out passes for the day’s tours. Charlie trailed after him. Fay looked up from her work.

“What?” she demanded. “You’re thinking something.”

“How do you know that I’m thinking? Is it a woman thing? Or that we’ve worked together for a long time?”

“Both. Now talk.”

“I’m looking at the schedule. We have a lot of things for families and for guys and couples, but nothing for women. Nothing female-based.”

“Like?”

“I don’t know.” He opened the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out a yellow ball, then tossed it down the hall for Charlie. The little dog raced after it. “Something from the Máa-zib, maybe. This town was founded by a group of powerful women. There’s the festival where the guy gets his heart cut out. What if we did a ladies’ weekend around that? With a bike ride and an afternoon of shopping. Maybe some spa stuff. We could approach the businesses in town to co-op with us.”

Fay nodded slowly. “That could be fun. It wouldn’t have to be around the festival, although that’s great. What about bachelorette weekends?”

He grabbed a pad of paper from her desk and started making notes. “That would work. We could do packages or something. Include meal vouchers.” He looked at her. “What about more couples stuff? A romantic sunset kayak for two with a picnic? Ana Raquel has her food truck all summer. She could put together the food and wine. We already have blankets and kayaks. We’d give a quick lesson for the novices, send them out with a map and GPS locator.”

Fay grinned. “Unless they don’t want to be found.”

“They’ll want to be found eventually. The food will run out.” He chuckled as he wrote.

“I’m impressed,” she added. “Usually when you want to make changes, you’re only interested in going faster or making the ordinary more dangerous. This isn’t like you.”

“I want to mix it up,” he said, when what he was thinking was that this was Shelby’s influence. She’d forced him to do “girl things.” While he’d resisted at first, he had to admit there was value in having a conversation. In learning to listen and offer encouragement without offering advice. He would always prefer doing over sitting, but there was a time and place for both.

“Women either influence or make all family vacation decisions,” he continued. “I need to keep that in mind.”