Dirk: A Stepbrother Romance(71)

“Lunch,” she said, doing her best to hedge. “I don’t want to be out too late.” She cocked her head and returned a playful wink of her own.

“As you wish,” Aiden bowed congenially.

“And nothing too fancy,” she smiled, “I didn’t exactly bring a huge string of outfits and you know what us girls are like…”

“No problem,” he squeezed her hand before signaling to the waitress for the check.





6.



Aiden walked her back to the hotel and spoke to someone behind reception. He arranged for her to stay another night free of charge and waived the fees for the previous evening as well. She was beyond grateful for his kindness. It was helping to take the edge of the previous day’s events, and then some.

When she got back to her room she couldn’t believe her eyes, there was a bouquet of flowers waiting on the dressing table. She walked over to them and touched them. The petals were like silk. Blood red roses. She picked one up and breathed in its lovely scent. There wasn’t a card, but she knew who they were from, of course. She smiled to herself. Twenty-four hours earlier and she had still been trapped in a horrific life with a man she had grown to hate. In such a short space of time so much had happened, she had met someone new and seemed to be in the process of being completely swept off her feet. Of course she didn’t want to get too far ahead of herself. She had to keep her head.

She turned to the wardrobe and pulled her bag out from the bottom so she could hang up her clothes. She was going to have to drag out the iron for sure if she was going to look anything near presentable.

She had told him nothing fancy, so she settled on a pair of denim cut off shorts, a bikini top with a white t-shirt over the top and a pair of sandals. It was a pretty small town after all, and there weren’t exactly any super fancy restaurants they could go to anyhow. She retouched her make-up and shook up her hair so it was bouncy and full of volume. She looked at the clock on the wall and realized she only had ten minutes before he was picking her up in reception. She grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

“Okay Laurie,” she said to herself, “Time for an adventure.”






7.



As she walked into the cool, sleek, modern reception, her eyes fell instantly on Aiden. He was leaning against a red leather arm chair, his dark hair falling delicately down around his eyes. Her heart pounded as she saw how incredible he looked. He wore a pair of scruffy jeans that hung low on his hips and a tight black t-shirt which showed off his huge, muscular arms and abs. The only thing giving him away as the billionaire she now knew he was, was the huge flashy Rolex adorning his wrist. She realized she had stopped to take him all in. Aiden raised his head and smiled at her from across the room.

He held out his arm like a gentleman as she walked over to greet him, wrapping her arm through his.

“You look beautiful,” he whispered as they walked towards the door of the hotel. “I’m glad you decided to stick around. Despite the circumstances I am very glad I got to meet you, you know.”

Laurie knew she was blushing and as they stepped out into the street she turned her face to meet his and said, “Thank you for the flowers.”

“You don’t have to say thank you,” he grinned, “Beautiful flowers for a beautiful girl. But, you know, it is not just your looks that I like. I mean, I do like them,” he laughed. “It’s just that I like the way I feel when I am with you.”

Her heart pounded as she got the feeling he was going to kiss her. She felt shy though, and turned her face away, concealing a broad smile on her face.

“Well, they were stunning flowers,” she said.

“And I find you to be a stunning woman,” Aiden squeezed her arm with his other hand.

“So where are you taking me?” Laurie said playfully.

“Well,” he slowed and pointed across the road, “I thought we could head out to the lake and go out on the boat.”

“Oh, that sounds perfect!” she said, “I’d love to.”

Aiden unhooked her arm and took hold of her hand, leading her across the road to his Red Z06 Corvette, which he had parked across the street. He opened the door for her and she slid in. When Aiden started the engine the car practically jumped to life.

“How did I not hear this coming last night?!” Laurie laughed over the sound of the 650 horsepower that issued from under the hood.

“I wasn’t in this last night,” he said mysteriously as he flashed her his amazing smile and pulled out into the slow trickle of traffic winding its way down Main Street.

As they drove around the quiet country roads, Laurie found herself recognizing some familiar spots from her childhood visits. There was Larson’s Grocery on the corner, just as it had always been there. The familiarity and good feelings she had once associated with the place were beginning to come back, and she began to relax even more. The sun was shining brightly overhead and the shadows from the trees cast patterns across her skin. She couldn’t take her eyes off Aiden and his strong hands gripping the wheel. She thought about what it would feel like to have them gripping her. It had been such a long time since she had been with a good man, or even with any many with such strength. Even before she had gotten together with Brad, she hadn’t been with anyone for a couple of years. She had become so disillusioned by men that she had simply lost interest in them all together for a time. Until Aiden had burst into her life and made her think about sex again, she had assumed another sexual ice age was upon her. She bit her lip as her eyes ran down his torso to the bulge in his jeans. She felt her heart flutter and a heat beginning to build underneath her own jeans.