Page 29 of Heat Exchange
When the woman facing her met her stare and did a double take, as if the look on Lydia’s face had startled her, Lydia forced a smile and went to give the cook the burger orders.
She had no claim on Aidan and he was free to do whatever—or whomever—he wanted. So they’d kissed once and exchanged a bunch of text messages. On the relationship scale it was a lot moreteenage crushthangrown-up monogamy, so she needed to watch the death looks she gave paying customers.
As she waited for the burgers to be done, she leaned against the inside of the bar and watched a few minutes of the game. Or pretended to, anyway. If she listened hard enough, she could differentiate Aidan’s voice from those of the other men, and she liked hearing it. Text messages were quick and fun, but they weren’t the same as the in-person conversations she’d been looking forward to having tonight.
When the cook rang the bell to let her know the order was up, Lydia pushed away from the bar and walked down to the pool room. “Somebody come grab a few plates.”
Scotty and Rick were in the middle of a pool game, and the other guys were all seated at the tables, while Aidan leaned against the wall with his arms and ankles crossed.
“I’ll help,” he said, walking around the pool table. “At the rate they’re going, this game won’t be over until midnight, anyway.”
“It’s all about finesse,” Rick said. “Something you probably know nothing about.”
“Hey, I can do finesse.”
He followed her back behind the bar and down the short hallway that led past the restrooms before splitting off to the kitchen area and the office and storage rooms. Every once in a while somebody would frown over carrying food past the bathrooms, but it was an old building and the floor plan predated them by a very long time.
Before they entered the kitchen, Aidan put his hand on her elbow to stop her. “Hey. Hold up a second.”
“What’s up?”
He chuckled, then cast a glance back the way they’d come. “I’ve been waiting all day to see you. I couldn’t believe it when Danny suggested a trip to Kincaid’s.”
“I was a little surprised to see everybody. I was looking forward to seeing you, but I should have guessed they’d all be with you. If anybody can wreck somebody’s plans, it’s a group of firefighters.”
He gave her a mock frown and shook his head. “This isn’t a firefighter thing. It’s just a group of guys with really shitty timing.”
The bell rang several times, and Lydia knew she had maybe a minute before a very pissed-off cook came around that corner to deliver the food himself. “I was kidding. It’s fine.”
“Not really.” The bell rang one more time and Lydia took a step toward the kitchen. He didn’t let go of her elbow, but pulled her back so he could kiss her. It was fast and hard and over way too soon, but it left her breathless nonetheless.
“We should get those burgers now,” he said, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
She went into the kitchen and, after giving an apology to the cook, put four plates on the big tray. Leaving Aidan to carry the other two plates, she made her way back to the pool room and handed them out.
“Thanks for the hand,” she said to Aidan, and then she left them to their meals. Definitely not the evening she’d envisioned.
The women from the table paid and left without even making an attempt to flirt with the guys, which was a relief. Over the next hour, a few other firefighters wandered in and joined the group playing pool. She popped in a few times to bring refills and clear the plates away, noticing that Aidan managed to be busy every time she was in the room.
It looked like one quick, sneaky kiss was all she was going to get.
She heard a burst of laughter again and looked over in time to see Aidan leave the pool room. He was laughing and took the time to flip off somebody by the pool table, and then he was walking toward her. She watched him scan the barroom and take note of the fact she was just standing there doing nothing, and he tilted his head toward the hallway.
Okay, so it looked like she’d get two quick, sneaky kisses.
But he kept on walking, right past the kitchen and into the storage room, flipping on the light switch. Her pulse quickened, but as soon as she stepped inside and he closed the door, she held up her hand. “I am not making out with you in the storage closet. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m running a business.”
“Two minutes. I told them I had to take a leak, and customers will assume you’re in the kitchen and they’ll wait two minutes.”
“You put a lot of thought into being locked in a closet with me for two minutes.”
“Talking wastes time.” He tucked his finger in the front of her jeans and yanked her close.
There was nothing quick or sneaky about this kiss. It was hard and demanding, and she wrapped her arms around his neck so he couldn’t break it off. Not that he seemed to want to. His tongue dipped between her lips and she surrendered to his mouth.
When his right hand slid over her ribs and cupped her breast, she sighed against his mouth and struggled to keep their location in the front of her mind. Her desire for him kept trying to overwhelm that important fact, but getting caught kissing anybody in the storage closet would be embarrassing. Getting caught kissing Aidan would be so much worse.
Then his hand slid back to her waistband and she clenched her abs. He wouldn’t dare...
