Thirty Nights (American Beauty #1)(77)

He starts strolling toward me, eyes on fire. He stops only when he is close, so close that there is no space for air between us. Then, slowly, he dips me over his arm so that my throat is exposed and presses his lips there once.

“You look so beautiful.” His voice is almost pained. I know the feeling—the sense that you are beholding something so wondrous that it could not have been meant for you.

“As do you,” I whisper. I feel his smile against my skin as his lips start fluttering over my collarbones and my exposed shoulders. Suddenly, the corset is too tight. I want to rip it open.

“Do you want me to beat up whoever was making you upset on the phone?” I start babbling so that I don’t tear off my dress and undo all my hard work.

He chuckles against my skin and pulls back. “No, I don’t want you to beat him up. In fact, I don’t want you anywhere near him because he has a really filthy mind.”

“Jealousy from you, Aiden?” I smile, wondering when jealousy became attractive to me.

“Only where equally dirty-minded bastards are concerned.” His affection for the unknown dirty bastard coats his harsh words.

“So who is this dirty-minded bastard so that I can have my skunk spray ready?”

He laughs. “James Callahan. He was one of the Marines in my squad.”

“Oh, is this the trip you were planning earlier?”

“Yes.”

“But now you’re not sure if you’re going?”

He shakes his head. “No. I’d like to be around in case Bob needs something.” His eyes are tight, careful. The warmth of his kisses starts draining out of me. It’s not to spend time with me. It’s to see my green card through so he can let me go.

“Is that the only reason?” My voice is too soft for the sharpness of the feeling.

He smiles and drops his hand from my waist to my behind. He squeezes it hard.

“That, and your ass. Although at the moment it’s quite eclipsed by this dress, I’m afraid.”

Well, it’s something. “Thank you. A U.S. Marine bought it for me. You should steer clear of him. Jealous bloke. Descendant of dragons, that one. Ghastly big too.”

“I’ll be on my guard. Although I hope you have better sense than to be involved with such a brute.”

“I like brutes, I’m finding. Seriously misunderstood creatures.” I reach on my toes to kiss his scar. He looks like he is about to press his case against brutes everywhere so I move on.

“Do you see the other Marines often?” I’m afraid of the answer. I don’t know if that would make the PTSD worse or better.

“At least once a year. We meet at the end of May at my cabin on the Rogue River for a few days.”

At the end of May—when he returned home. “Aiden, you should go see them. I’ll be okay with Bob,” I say, even though the idea of not seeing him for a day, let alone several, suddenly dims even the green card for me.

“We’ll see.” He shrugs.

“Who comes to visit other than Callahan?”

“Hendrix and Jazzman.”

“What about Marshall? Is he a Marine too?”

“Once a Marine, always a Marine.” He caresses my jawline.

“Oh, so why isn’t Marshall coming?” I don’t know why but I really want to meet his best friend.

“Because of me,” he says evenly. He wraps his arm around my waist and starts walking to the library door, but I barely notice over the strange tightening in my chest. I want to ask him what he means but this is one line I don’t know if I can ever cross. What if Aiden attacked Marshall too? I shiver, my brain rejecting the idea. No, it’s more likely that Aiden is pushing Marshall away for his safety, like he is doing with me. How can I ever ask him about this without it being either the grossest of accusations or the most painful of reminders? I kiss his neck as I begrudgingly concede that this information has to come from him.

“What’s with the big doe eyes, Elisa?”

I shrug. “Just thinking about you…and your military service.”

“What about it?”

Hmm, what question can I ask that won’t hurt? “Why is it not in your CV?”

He gives me an indulgent smile. “Elisa, with my dragon behavior as you call it, how long do you think it would take the world to suspect I have a defect if they knew that information?”

“It’s not a defect, Aiden. It’s a wound. And nothing to be ashamed of.”

He rolls his eyes. “That’s a cliché, Elisa.”

“That doesn’t make it less true.”

“Can we go now?”

He sounds like Anamelia when she is at the dentist’s office. I kiss his scar. “Yes, although I wish you would tell me where we’re going.”

He smiles. “It’s a surprise.”

I’m abruptly excited. Maybe this will be a fun night for him too, away from old memories and forming new ones. For my part, I will do my best to make those memories brilliant.

“Chemists don’t like surprises,” I pretend to grumble, even though I’m only referring to myself.

“Then this should be an easy success.”

Success? Success at what?





Chapter Thirty-Five