Touched (The Untouched Trilogy #2)(11)

“Good, because Blaine has it pretty bad. I’m starting to worry about him,” he added, laughing.

“No need to be; from the sounds of it, they’re both on the same page.” I was inwardly relieved by Kellan’s admission. I didn’t want to see April get hurt.

Kellan and I had met during my vacation with my best friend, April Jensen. We’d ventured off to St. Barts in August and stumbled upon Kellan McClane and Blaine Davis. April and Blaine had quickly connected and had gone as far as making plans for a weekend get-a-way soon after our return from St. Barts.

Things didn’t click as quickly between Kellan and me. When we met, I wasn’t in a place to fully appreciate him because Aiden had suspiciously appeared on the island at the same time as I. I’d been too absorbed with Aiden to give much attention to Kellan, which I’d regretted both then and now … but Aiden’s arrival had done crazy things to my head. I was drawn to him and I didn’t want to be. I’d let him do things and say things to me that I’d never allowed any other man. I couldn’t comprehend the effect he had on me; it was baffling and overly-terrifying. Therefore most of my time in St. Barts was divvied up into two parts, thinking of Aiden willingly and thinking of Aiden unwillingly.

I did manage to have a couple of dates with Kellan during my short stay in St. Barts. And after spending only a small amount of time with him, I knew that I would have enjoyed getting to know him better but Aiden’s presence halted anything that could have developed. Before leaving St. Barts, Kellan and I exchanged additional contact information, which was something I never did on the escapes from my real world, but the nagging feeling that I was possibly excluding something potentially great, provided me the inclination to bend yet another rule. This was one I hadn’t regretted.

Within the last couple of weeks, Kellan and I had exchanged numerous texts and emails. We’d also had several long phone conversations. My end-of-day routine had become one of working out and talking to Kellan. He was in town for the next few days on business so, of course, we’d planned to spend some time together. Yet here I was again, straining to maintain focus on him.

“So how was your morning? Signing any new deals? Changing the world?” he asked.

I laughed. “Nothing as monumental as changing the world but we’re rolling out a few new projects that I’m pretty excited about,” I replied.

“Such as?” he asked.

“It’s top secret, if I told you … well you know how the saying goes.”

“Yeah, you’d have to kill me,” he replied, smiling.

“I can tell you this. We plan to employ a multi-platform marketing approach … utilizing all forms of social media so you’ll hear about it soon enough.”

“Sounds like something big,” he said.

“It could be,” I replied, smiling. This could utterly transform the publishing industry. I just needed to get Aiden to sign off on it.



*****



I arrived at my office shortly after 1 o’clock. Raina gave me a strange look as I approached her desk. Please … what now? I knew my serenity would be short-lived with Aiden lurking about. He seemed to somehow place a dark stain on every day for me. I slowed my steps but then decided not to ask. Instead, I would bask in the enjoyment of my time with Kellan a while longer. Although it had taken some time to remove Aiden from my thoughts, I finally did and it was a huge relief because I’d started to feel like a first class jerk for ignoring what was right in front of me. Kellan had a very soothing effect on me, in direct contrast to Aiden who kept me on edge more than I cared to think about.

I opened my office door and the look on Raina’s face instantly made sense. My office had been slightly enhanced during my short absence. Orchids were everywhere. As I glanced around, I was immediately taken back to the day I arrived home from St. Barts to a similar scene; Aiden had arranged for the placement of orchids throughout my condo with the most sentimental of hand-written notes. I remember having felt as if I was in the midst of a fairy tale. No one had ever adorned me with such sentiments. I suppose they would have if I had ever allowed my relations with men to go beyond the physical; but I never had. But Aiden, he penetrated every barrier. It wasn’t so much as I allowed him to break through, he just somehow did. I rejected every attempt, some more adamantly than others but eventually I succumbed to his every desire and I was still paying the price for it.

I took in the many vases, each one a delicate crystal-styled design overflowing with my favorite flowers. They were beautiful. I inhaled the sweet fragrance and I was suddenly livid; this shit may have worked when I initially agreed to an arrangement with Aiden, but it would not work now! The largest vase was placed on the center of the work table with a white envelope propped against it. I marched over to the enormous bouquet and snatched the note from the table. I didn’t bother to read it; I crumbled it and tossed it into the trash.

I went directly to my desk, grabbed the phone and pressed the button for Bailey’s extension.

“Yes, Miss Cason,” she said.

“Bailey, can you please have someone remove the flowers from my office? Immediately.”

She was silent.

“Bailey, did you hear me?” I asked, irritated by her lack of response.

“Yes ma’am but –”

“But what?” I asked. My patience was thinning.