Sinful Ever After - Vivian Wood Page 0,31

like to tumble over the side, to feel weightless for a moment, despite the danger.

My heart is beating as frantically as a frightened rabbit. My whole body feels like it’s made of lead. I take one step toward him, then another. Pulled by some forces I cannot understand, I slowly cross the room.

But I want badly to comprehend them. And there is some kind of answer within him. I know it.

As soon as I am close enough, he reaches out and grabs me by the waist. I can’t breathe as I stare up into his face. I feel so small compared to Aiden, especially when he pulls my hips against his.

Finally, a part of me thinks. I’ve been waiting to feel his lips against my skin for so, so long.

When he cups my jaw and looks down at me with the fiercest expression on his face, the same part of me melts into his rough touch. I start to push up onto my tiptoes, my lips parting ever so slightly, my eyes beginning to close.

Yes. Finally. I’ve been waiting for this moment for years.

Aiden angles my face just so, leaning down close. I feel his breath fanning my lips. Everything slows down, except for my racing heart.

He whispers four words to me, four words that strip me to my very core. “I see you, Olivia.”

He sees me.

He thinks I’m attractive.

I’m not invisible to this man who I’ve loved since before I knew what love was.

Pushing myself up another inch, I find his lips. I barely brush mine against his; his lips are softer and warmer than I had imagined. In contrast, I’m pulled against his hard body. I think I feel the faint outline of his cock through his jeans.

Yes, I think. You want me? Take me.

Right here, right now. Show me all the things I’ve been missing.

I start to open my mouth, to explore his lips more. A growl bursts from deep in Aiden’s chest.

Maybe he needs this every bit as much as I do.

Then Margaret’s voice interrupts us, calling from downstairs. “Olivia, dear? Can you hear me?”

We both jump apart, my heart pounding. I stare at Aiden with wide eyes, and he glances away.

“Shit,” he mumbles.

What does that mean? I know a moment of lovesickness as I wonder whether he cursed because of the interruption or because he was doing something that he knew he shouldn’t have been doing.

I am Grayson’s little sister, after all. Grayson would be beyond livid if he found out that we had kissed.

“Olivia?”

Another voice, this one younger and more masculine. Carter, if I had to guess.

I clear my throat and raise my voice. “Yes?” I call to the door as I head toward the landing.

There is the sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs. In a heartbeat, Carter climbs the steps, taking me in. A second later he frowns as he looks between me and Aiden.

“Aiden.” He rumbles Aiden’s name like it’s a curse word.

I see one side of Aiden’s mouth kick up into a cold smile. “Carter. We were just talking about you.”

Carter’s eyebrows rise. “Is that right? Well… I wasn’t thinking about you. I was, however, thinking about Olivia.” He has just a hint of a sneer on his lips. “Olivia, my great aunt wants to know if you’d be interested in joining us for dinner in Port Angeles. That way you can catch her up on what you’ve found out.”

“Oh, well…” I frown, glancing back to Aiden. “We were just… working on a project. You know, Aiden was doing, um… handyman stuff…”

“I think we’re done,” Aiden says, his tone flat. His eyes bore into mine. “You had better go on ahead to town, Olivia. I’m alright being by myself.”

Flustered, I don't know what to say. I feel like he’s talking about more than work, but I can't ask him with Carter here.

Would I even ask him if it was just the two of us? Probably not.

“Okay,” I say, straightening my dress. I walk toward Carter, looking back at Aiden. “I’ll be back.”

Aiden just shrugs, his expression humorless.

“Come on,” Carter says, ushering me down the stairs. “Aunt Margaret loves this place in Port Angeles and they close at four.”

I head downstairs, my thoughts in a mess.

I kissed Aiden. Not fully, but enough to make him growl. And I desperately want to kiss him again.

But if his expression at the end was any indication, I shouldn’t count on it happening. I feel such jubilation and yet such disappointment, all at once. I