Page 33 of Crossed Up

We’ve been in the air for over an hour now and the views are absolutely stunning, but I’m slightly anxious about the direction we’re headed. I haven’t been this close to my home state in over a year, and a small part of my brain is terrified we’ll run into Sebastian somewhere.

He laughs, intertwining our fingers and placing a sweet kiss on the back of my hand before he brings them to rest on his muscular thigh. “I’m terrified of airplanes. You’re in a giant metal tube thirty-thousand feet in the air with hundreds of other people breathing recycled air. Helicopters are totally different.”

He trails off, a shy smile lighting his handsome features. “Plus, this was the fastest way to get to our destination. And I don’t want to waste a single moment with you.”

I can’t find the words to express how that makes me feel, so I squeeze his hand tightly. His shy smile transforms to a blinding grin when I do, making me feel breathless. He’s easily the most attractive man I’ve ever seen.

“I guess since we’re already above the city, I’ll tell you we’ve got reservations in Washington DC for this evening.” One side of his pillowy lips pulls up into a smirk. “But I’m not telling you for what until we get there.”

The last fifteen minutes of the flight are incredible as the sun descends in the sky, casting a golden glow over the devastating man next to me.

I should be in awe of the way his icy eyes turn transparent in the waning light or the way his hair glows and creates a halo of light above his head, but how can I be in awe of his looks when Aidan continues to prove he’s also golden on the inside. Over the last month, there were so many times he could have cornered me about my past or the inconsistencies in my story, but he didn’t.

Aidan Black is kind, smart, beyond attractive, and such an incredible father. I can’t help but feel like me and my issues are going to drag him and his sweet son down to the gutter with me when this blows up in my face.

I want to believe I can make this work. I want so desperately to take the happiness and family Aidan and his son are so freely offering. But how can I when I know Sebastian will never let me go?

When I realize what I’m going to have to do, my thoughts are so consumed by turmoil and sadness that I don’t even notice when we touch down until Aidan squeezes my hand tightly. I paste on a smile, unwilling to waste even a minute of the time I get with this perfect man being sad.

“You ready for this, angel?” he asks with a wide grin after hopping out of the now silent helicopter.

The way he reaches for me as he uses that nickname brings a genuine smile to my face, even as I make a mental note to ask him where it came from later. Taking a deep, steadying breath, I grab his much larger hand and let him help me out. “As ready as I’ll ever be."

15

AIDAN

Seeing Lyla bathed in the golden light from the sunset on our helicopter ride with her hair all wild around her face was a goddamn religious experience. She doesn’t know it yet, but I snuck a picture of her when she was looking out at the Washington skyline, and if I thought it wouldn’t creep her out, I would make it the background on my phone in a heartbeat.

I keep a tight hold on her hand as we stroll around the Tidal Basin, enjoying the smell of the cherry blossom trees. We went on a murder mystery dinner cruise on the river and had the best time, taking us both out of our comfort zone. Seeing Ly open up and have fun with me is a core memory I’ll never forget.

Not to mention that hot-as-hell British accent she pulled out of nowhere for her character. I’ll definitely be asking her to role-play with that sometime soon. She sounded like a sexy boarding school teacher.

Needless to say, I’ve been painfully hard since dinner. “So,” I murmur, placing my lips against her ear. I track the shiver that runs across her body with immense satisfaction, even as her cherry perfume threatens to undo me.

Lyla can sometimes be so hard to read with how she locks her emotions down, so seeing physical evidence that I affect her is a great feeling.

“We can either fly back to New York tonight and stay at the hotel with the team…” I trail off, skimming my lips over her neck lightly, loving the tiny gasp she gives me.

“Or?” she breathes.

“Or, I can have the driver take us ten minutes down the road, where I have a reservation for a suite at Sofitel.” I pull her to a stop and move us off the main pathway, backing my sweet angel up against the nearest cherry blossom tree.

“There’s no pressure here, Ly. I know we said one weekend, but that doesn’t have to mean anything more than us going on a couple of dates and getting to know each other. If you’re uncomfortable with how fast things are moving, pull the brakes. You are in control, always.”

Her eyes are slightly glassy from the themed drinks we had at dinner, but her response is clear as day and has me going from rock-hard to nearly busting in seconds. “I think… I think I want to lose control with you, Aidan. I mean, it wouldn’t be a real trial run if we didn’t try everything, would it?” she whispers with a shy grin just barely tinged with nerves.

I groan, watching her teeth dig into her plush bottom lip, and yank out my phone to text the driver, ushering her over to the meeting point as fast as I can without looking too eager.

I’m not saying I’ve been a saint or anything since Crew was born, but it’s been nearly two years since I was last with a woman, and I’m genuinely worried I might embarrass myself here.

Her quiet giggle does nothing to help the uncomfortable situation behind the zipper of my jeans right now, so I reach down to adjust myself as discreetly as possible.

My tongue ring clicks against my teeth when I clench my jaw, and a dirty smirk crawls its way onto my mouth thinking of all the ways I can make this as good for her as I know it will be for me.

We make it to the hotel and up to our room in record time, and not one minute goes by that we aren’t touching or sneaking heated kisses. The second the heavy door closes, I grip her face between my hands and back her up against the door, slanting my mouth over hers with a sigh.

The scent of her perfume surrounds me as I sweep my tongue into her hot mouth. A loud groan emanates from deep in my chest when I realize that somehow, she tastes even better than she smells.

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