Page 30 of Recipe for Romance

Chapter Fifteen

~Aiden~

The red glow from the clock on Aiden’s nightstand wasn’t the reason he was awake at one in the morning, but it was just about the only light source in the room and what he’d chosen to focus on instead of the myriad of emotions coursing through him. His body was tense both from a lack of sexual release and from too many thoughts taking up residence in his brain. Aiden imagined it was what Nic felt like most of the time, and he had a newfound appreciation for her ability to be the happy, chipper person she was when it was already driving him mad.

Why had he kissed her again? They’d found their new normal, and it was good. Nicole joked with him, he cracked the occasional smile, his sour demeanor lessening with each moment spent with her. But how could he not have kissed her? His dour mood was back in full force now in the face of the mistake he’d made, but oh, he would make it again in a heartbeat.

When he’d turned around to see Nic looking like the sexiest version of the Neverland fairy come to life, he started to believe in magic, or at least the magic of her, and he nearly fell to his knees to worship her beauty. There was so much delicious, golden skin on display that his mouth watered more than when he’d dined at famous chef’s tables around the world. Aiden wanted to kiss, lick, and nibble every inch of her gorgeous body, then ravage her while she screamed her pleasure out into the night until her voice was hoarse.

But more than that, Aiden wanted to care for her after, draw her a hot bath in the tub she loved so much, and make her favorite breakfast for her the next morning. He wanted to do all of that and more, repeatedly for as long as Nic would allow him the pleasure. Looking after someone else wasn’t something Aiden had ever considered a pleasure before. Perfunctory and polite, sure, but never something hewantedto do. With Nic, he wanted everything.

With a heavy sigh, he rolled over in bed, staring at the space that could so easily have been occupied by Nic if she’d felt as he did. Aiden had tried to tell himself he saw her at most as a colleague and friend, but nothing more. That was no longer true, if it ever even really was. The more time they spent together, the more Aiden started seeing Nic as something else entirely: family. If he played his cards right, that is. It would be a huge concession on her part, letting go of her need to train with only him and putting up with his moods, but he wanted it so badly he could taste it more strongly than any spice he’d ever known.

Picturing her with him in the future was something he tried very hard not to do, but sometimes, like now in the wee hours of the morning when it was quiet and he couldn’t sleep, he gave into the urge. Aiden imagined her in bed next to him, smiling softly in her sleep, at his family lunches, laughing along with his family while they all teased him and he stared at her pretty face, and at his new restaurant in whatever capacity she wanted. Thinking of it had his heart soaring before it came crashing back to Earth, knowing that his fanciful imaginings were never likely to come to fruition.

Aiden wasn’t a fool. He knew that Nic would eventually get everything she needed and go back to LA to pursue her dreams. She should, but where would he be then? He would most likely be heartbroken. Even if Aiden hadn’t really been in love before, he could tell that was where his heart was leading him when it came to Nic. She was everything he wasn’t, light to his dark, sunny to his grumpy, but he enjoyed that and wanted nothing more than to keep her all to himself.

With each interaction, each beautiful smile she bestowed upon him, he fell more in love with her. He wanted to hoard those moments, bottle them up and store them forever, but that wasn’t fair to her, or to anyone else who should get to know the amazing person she is. Nic had told him that she would think about trying something, but Aiden knew what her answer was likely to be. Even if it hurt like hell to not be with her, to eventually let her go, he would do it. There had been plenty of times in the past where Aiden had needed to suck it up to help people who were much less worthy than she was, so certainly he could do it again for someone he actually cared for.

The clock ticked forward as heavy thoughts of the future continued to plague Aiden, his skin hot and itchy from the discomfort of having so much of his headspace taken up by something other than food or business. Those were two things he knew like the back of his hand, yet not once since the kiss they shared by the door had he thought about his restaurant plans except in terms of how Nic fit into them. Her skills were still lacking, and she was a definite safety liability, but he wanted to find a way to make it work if it meant she could stay. Having her as a part of his brigade of chefs would be better than not having her around at all. It was too early to be thinking of such things, but Aiden couldn’t help it.

Frustrated beyond measure, Aiden tossed his sheets aside, the cool air of his room doing little to quell the heat radiating off his bare skin. He’d been so worked up after that kiss that he was too hot to sleep in anything other than his trunks, but even those felt like too much. Everything was too much when all he wanted was to feel her next to him.

Burying his face in his pillow, Aiden tried one last time to banish Nic from his mind, only to hear her whispering. “Aiden. Are you awake?” He must have been hearing things, but when the words repeated, he turned to see Nic peeking into his room from the doorway. Even in the dark, she looked as bright and beautiful as she always did. Her hair was tussled, wild-looking, and his fingers twitched with the need to bury themselves in the golden strands. Another part of him twitched with need, but he pressed himself against his bed to stave off the desire.

Aiden turned toward her, pulling the sheet up enough to cover his lower half. The room was dark but not enough to hide the indisputable evidence of his arousal. “Is everything alright?”

Nicole nodded as she stalked closer to him, looking like a lion careful not to alert its prey. Aiden’s gaze followed the gentle sway of her hips, drinking in the sight of her in the silken robe she had wrapped around her petite frame. “I hope so.” A slight tremble in her breathy voice was the only indication she gave of any nerves as her body language spoke of nothing but confidence. “I’ve finished thinking.”

“And?” The fact that she was here in the middle of the night to talk to him had hope blooming like the pure white flowers on the trees of the tart apples that had always been his favorite. Aiden tried not to get ahead of himself, but he wanted her so badly that he couldn’t quite help it.

Looking up at her face, he watched as a sly smile appeared while her hands worked the ties of her robe. “I don’t know if I can keep things separate,” she confessed. His heart stuttered, but not with disappointment, for her actions belied the true meaning of her words. Nicole parted the sides of her robe, revealing her naked body to him. Aiden’s eyes nearly popped from his head, not knowing which stunning part of her to look at first. He settled on her eyes, the brown shining visibly as she stepped from the pool of silky fabric at her feet, before it darkened into a ravenous near-black. “But I want you too badly to care about any consequences.”

Aiden opened his mouth to ask if she was sure, but when Nic placed her hand on his chest and pressed him back into the bed, his mouth went dry and the words turned to dust. As she moved to straddle him, his eyes roamed over the dips and curves of her body before his hands joined in. His thumb traced over the slope of her cheek as it blended smoothly into her jaw. Her shoulders were covered by her hair that spilled over them and her perfect breasts like a golden curtain, so he slipped his other hand underneath to cup one of the mounds, enjoying the heavy weight of it in his palm. A contented sigh whooshed from her lungs just as he dipped his hand lower, his fingertips brushing against the soft pale skin over her ribs, then her stomach, and finally her hip before he pulled her down to him.

Nic’s breath hitched, her face mere inches from his as they continued to stare at one another. It felt like déjà vu, a repeat of the moment earlier in the doorway just before they’d broken their promises of strict professionalism again. Aiden had the feeling that they could make those promises a million times and always end up back at the same point, caught up in a gaze so charged that sparks were nearly visible in the air surrounding them. There could be more discussion of the repercussions of their actions, of how they would navigate their relationship from here on out, and thereshouldbe, but he was tired of talking. With a silent promise to clear the air later, Aiden closed the distance between them.

The first touch of their lips gave him the tiniest taste, but Aiden wanted the whole meal. Licking her lip, he drove into her mouth, a flavor that was uniquely her bursting onto his tongue. Aiden was gray clouds and stormy weather, but she was just the opposite, and he absolutely loved that no matter the time of day, no matter what she ate, and no matter her mood, Nic always tasted like sunshine and spring days. A low moan of pleasure rumbled in his chest as his hand slipped down to her neck, the rapid beat of her pulse palpable beneath his fingers. The knowledge that it was him causing this reaction in her ramped up his own desire tenfold, so when Nic ground her hips down against his rock hard cock, he nearly came undone.

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