Page 57 of Hard Knock Hero

Then she came over to me, stepping carefully. Like she didn’t want to rile the large man in the room. “I’m guessing you’re ready to close for the afternoon?”

“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “Thanks Scar. You’ve been a huge help.”

“What about cleaning up?”

“Aiden and I can handle it.”

“You sure you’re…” She gestured vaguely at Aiden.

“I’m fine. I promise.”

She grabbed her jacket and gloves, gave me a hug, and left through the back. I locked up. Set a few dishes in the sink.

Then I came back to the dining room, where Aiden hadn’t moved. He was still leaning against the bar counter. But the calm he’d displayed earlier was gone. His nostrils were flaring, and his chest heaved as he breathed. His hair looked like he’d been digging his hands into it. He hadn’t even taken off his outdoor coat.

Yet I felt strangely relaxed. Like some inner tension I’d been holding for a long time had finally released. I stopped right next to him, and he stepped back, putting more distance between us.

“I don’t get like this,” Aiden said, so quietly I felt his words more than heard them. “I’m not an angry person. I’m not someone who gets caught up in emotion and just…reacts.”

“You didn’t seem that angry when Jeremy was here. If that’s what you mean.”

“Well, I was. I was so furious I couldn’t see straight. Owen was right that I wasn’t helping you. I’m still pissed, and I don’t think I should be around you when I’m like this.”

“Are you saying you would hurt me?” I asked, already knowing the answer. This was nothing like when Jeremy had gotten high on jealousy-fueled rage. I knew those warning signs. Aiden wasn’t remotely like that. I knew it all the way down to my bones. He was respectful. Careful with me. I wouldn’t have been standing here with him otherwise. I’d come too far for that.

“I would never hurt you,” he said firmly. “But I’m not always polite. I have a tendency to say whatever I damn-well please without caring how it’s received, and that’s on a good day. Right now, polite is the furthest thing from what I feel.”

“Whatdoyou feel?” I asked.

Every time I’d seen Aiden fight, he had been eerily calm. Cold even. But that wasn’t the way he looked at me now. His gaze was an inferno of heat and desire and even uncertainty. A chaotic mix of emotions. As if he didn’t know how to deal with what was happening inside him.

“Same thing I did when I saw Jeremy’s hand on you. Like I needed to defend what’smine.”

Warmth bloomed in my belly. I edged closer to him. Reached for the zipper to his coat and tugged it down. I rested my hands on his chest, which still moved up and down with his labored breathing.

“But you don’t need to defend me right now. I’m safe. In fact, I was about to slap Jeremy across the face before you tried to choke him. I’d already dumped a glass of water on his head and told him to leave.” I got even closer. Until my breasts were pushing into him through his long-sleeved tee. My mouth was an inch from his.

Aiden swallowed. His eyelids were heavy. “I know that. But the issue is that you’renotmine. I have no right to you. I’m leaving in two days, Jessi. Youcan’tbe mine.”

There was frustration still in his voice, but it had ebbed into resignation. Like maybe, just maybe, he wished that things could be different, like I did. Oh, I wished. Even though what he’d said was true.

“Then make me yours while you’re here,” I whispered. “Take me upstairs.”

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

Jessi

Aiden grabbedme by the hips and lifted me. My legs went around him, my arms at his neck. Someone could’ve seen us through the remaining windows or the glass door, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything except the fire in Aiden’s eyes. This soul-deep ache inside of me.

I wanted him, and it was long past time that I got to have what I wanted.

My lips found Aiden’s jaw as he carried me through the kitchen and upstairs to my apartment. The door slammed open, and Aiden brought me straight to my bed, standing at the foot of it.

He crushed our mouths together. I was still in his arms, clinging to him as his lips and tongue claimed mine. Firm strokes. Nips of his teeth. His strong hands squeezed my hips, and I could feel each one of his fingers as they gripped me through my jeans.

Then he forced himself to break the kiss. It seemed to take a lot of effort. “You’re gonna need to tell meexactlywhat your limits are, Jessi. Because my mind isn’t sharp enough right now to puzzle it out.”

I carded my fingers through his hair. Sucked his earlobe. “What about you? What doyouwant?”

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