Wild Chance (Wild Irish Universe)(15)

“Damn.”

“I know, right? And, I should be scared because from what he said, he isn’t very—PG in bed.”

“But you don’t want PG.”

“No—but…um…he’s the kind of man who claims his woman. He said in his bed, everything, every part of me will belong to him.”

“In his bed. Sweetie, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As long as he doesn’t whip out the flogger.”

“No, I’m not into that kind of stuff. There are people who are into it and that’s cool, but I’ve always been terrified of all that. I don’t need all that.”

“Then, on Friday, give yourself to this Irish yumminess and don’t regret any of it.”

“That’s what I’m going to do.”

“Unless, he is all talk and no substance.”

“You suck!” Mona accused.

Esme laughed.

But even after their evening out was over and Mona headed home for bed, her mind still wouldn’t quiet down. Instead of sleeping, she painted some and when she was finally exhausted, Mona collapsed in bed to text Aedan. He was working so his replies were a little sparse. A part of her felt guilty messaging him then, taking any of his attention from his customers. But another part of her wondered if he was really working or if he was with another woman.

Frustrated, she rolled over, told him she was going to sleep, and turned off her cell.

Eventually she fell asleep.

Those hours turned into more and soon it was Thursday night. All through the week they’d spoken but their deal never once came up. Mona was too afraid to breach the subject and she assumed he just didn’t want to pressure her.

On Friday, the day started out a little misty. It had rained in the wee hours of the morning and though it’d stopped, the sun remained hidden behind clouds. Before any of that, however, Mona Lisa had been awake, listening to the drops of rain hitting the earth outside her window. At one point she’d even gotten out of bed to stare out the window. Eventually she’d fallen back asleep only to be jarred up once more by her alarm.

At work, Mona only had one class. She spent the entire two hours on pins and needles, nervously glancing at the time. When it was over, she took a while to do her office hours and by the time lunch rolled around, she stormed through the teacher’s room like a tornado.

Esme stopped her to talk for a bit but soon Mona was on her way to get a few things out of the way before she could meet with Aedan that night. Those included getting some feminine grooming done and a trip to the lingerie store. That one visit took longer than she would have liked. It seemed she’d gained some weight and had to resized for brassieres.

Once she was finished, Mona stopped by her place to take a shower, packed a small bag the made her way across to Pat’s. By then it was well after eight at night and the place was buzzing. The diner beside it seemed busy as well. She grabbed her purse, jogged across the street and let herself in.

Someone tapped her shoulder and she spun to see Kiera. “Hey! Um—is Aedan around?”

“Yeah. He’s in the back right now.”

“Um—oh.”

Kiera pointed. “You can go on in.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’ll be our little secret.” Keira winked at her. “Go.”

Mona thanked her then followed the direction she’d pointed. When she stepped through the doors, the space behind was silent. A dimly lit hall faced her, and she followed it to the one open door with light pooling out. There, she found Aedan hunched over a table littered with rolls of paper.

“Um—hi.”

Aedan’s head jerked up. “Mona? What time is it?”

She checked her watch. “Quarter to nine.”

“Jesus. I’m sorry. I think I lost track of time—what are you doing here?”

“We had a deal, remember?”

“Mona—I’m not going to hold you to that.”

She cocked a hip and rested her hand on it. “I see.”

“You could have called.”

“No, because I know you would’ve tried talking me out of it like you’re doing right now.”

“Is that what you think I’m doing?”

“Isn’t it?” Mona asked. “I mean, you just said you weren’t holding me to our deal. Listen—it’s fine. I guess I read too much into this.”

“Come on, Mona.”

“No. It’s fine. I really shouldn’t have come here.” She turned to go back along the corridor and into the bar. “Tell Kiera thanks for me.”

“Mona…”

His voice stopped her and she faced him again.

“What?”

“You said you shouldn’t have come. How come?”

“Because I—I wanted to spend the night with you. Even after all of this I still want to spend the night with you.”

Aedan chewed on his bottom lips, his green eyes dancing dangerous fire. He didn’t move toward her. Instead, he stuck his fingers into the back pocket of his jeans.

“You’re thinking too hard about this, Aedan.” She stomped her foot in frustration. “It shouldn’t be complicated. It’s either you want me or not.”

“Are—”