Touched (The Untouched Trilogy #2)(81)

“You know what thing,” he said.

“Whatever,” I replied, as I took another forkful of my salad. It was delicious; definitely restaurant quality, but then again who could mess up a salad? Before the girls came to live with me, I couldn’t recall the last time I’d cooked. I had to do so much of it as a teenager that I grew to abhor it because of the memories associated with it. Tonight was different. The time I’d spent shopping for and preparing the meal had actually been exciting. That was because I was cooking for him. He made everything exciting. Each moment with him was an adventure. One never knew where the day would lead when he was involved.

“So how was your trip?” I asked.

“It was not without its challenges but I handled them,” he replied.

“Did Brooklyn go with you?” I asked.

“Yes, she’s with me pretty much everywhere I go.”

“Where is she now?” I asked.

“At the hotel. Why?”

“Just wondering.” As much as it appeared to be necessary, I didn’t like her being with him.

“Why are you wondering?” he asked.

“I thought she was at the penthouse.”

“Aria, I’ve told you. No one goes there. You were the first woman, other than family that I’ve ever invited there. That hasn’t and will not change.”

“What about Nadia? The night of the gala? You f*cked her. Did you do it in the same bed that you f*cked me in?”

His temples flexed. “Aria, why do you do this?”

“Forget it. I already know the answer.” I knew that she was a family friend and she would’ve stayed there regardless if sex were involved. It just so happened, that sex was involved and although he and I technically weren’t together when it happened; it bothered the f*ck out of me. I also felt silly. I didn’t want him to think I didn’t trust him but I did have a few trust issues when it came to anyone, regardless of gender. That was a scar I couldn’t conceal, another by-product of my childhood. It wasn’t fair to subject him to my crap. I couldn’t help but wonder when he would tire of it … of me. I’d never had a committed relationship with a man so, of course, I wondered about longevity. Did I have what it took? Did he? Was he even thinking along those terms? This was an entirely new world for me and no amount of reading or reviewing of reports could prepare me for it. I had to feel my way through this and I hated the insecurity it evoked. I was always very confident and strong … but with him, I was in a whirlwind trying desperately to grasp something familiar to guide me but there was nothing familiar here. Even the sex, in which I was quite experienced, was beyond my comprehension. What he did to my body made me feel things I didn’t think possible.

“Nadia didn’t stay at the penthouse the night of the gala. I know how she feels about me and I didn’t want to do anything to encourage it so I insisted she stay at a hotel.”

And f*cking her didn’t encourage her? I could see he was agitated; but I was surprised and relieved to hear that at the very least he hadn’t f*cked her in the same bed as he had made love to me. “Are you ready for the main course?” I asked, rising from my seat.

“I thought you were the main course.”

“Nah, I’m the dessert baby,” I added, bending to place a soft kiss on his lips. I grabbed his plate and headed toward the kitchen.

“Can I help with anything?” he asked.

“No. I’ve got it. Just stay where you are and I’ll be right back.”

I grabbed the two bowls from the warmer and walked back to the dining room. I placed Aiden’s bowl in front of him and took a seat.

“This looks and smells amazing Aria,” he said.

“Don’t sound so surprised … but thanks. Let’s see if the taste measures up to the look and smell.”

I nervously watched as he picked up the spoon and tasted it.

“This tastes amazing. If you continue to cook like this, we’ll never eat out again,” he said, smiling as he took another spoonful.

He took a third spoonful and drank some water. Tom Yam Goong has a fierce spiciness, which is partly why I chose this meal. It had the intense fieriness of the man I was cooking it for.

I laughed. “No thank you. I would much rather spend the little time that we have together doing other things.”

We continued talking over dinner about Raine Industries’ most recent acquisition and his plan to bring in Sloan to manage the project despite Connor’s resistance. I was somewhat surprised that he would do that considering his buy-in to the fact that he was the only one his father wanted handling matters at that level. He went on to explain that Sloan had handled the finishing touches of the Soshibi acquisition remarkably well. He’d turned it over to her so that he could be with me after my mom’s passing. I’d felt guilty about taking him from his work during that time but knowing that it gave Sloan a chance to shine and prove herself was a great outgrowth of that. I knew how much she wanted to contribute to the company and share more of Aiden’s responsibilities, as did Nicholas.

After dinner, we cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. It was still so very odd watching him do things like that. I never gave much thought to how a multi-billionaire handled domestic things like shopping or cleaning. But then again, Aiden has stated that he wasn’t rich, his father was… but I saw it as one in the same. He was a man of great power and affluence but at times he was so down to earth that it was easy to forget that he was a man that dominated the business industry.