Hard to Handle

Chapter 14

Sadie’s steps aligned with her heartbeat as she walked hand in hand with Aiden out the side door and down the sidewalk. So wound up in the passion preceding their little jag, she didn’t notice he was leading her to his motorcycle until they stopped in front of it.

Sheila sat under a streetlamp at the front of the lot, her orange paint gleaming. Sadie ground to a complete halt, blood freezing in her veins. She met Aiden’s sea green eyes and shook her head. “I can’t.”

He took her face in his palms. “You can.” There was his easy smile again. “Trust me, Sadie.”

She did trust him. She trusted him implicitly. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have lost herself in his arms moments ago. For once, she hadn’t tried to hide behind her inner wall of safety. And it’d been so worth it, the freedom of it, like rolling around on decadent cotton bedding—

What do you have to lose?

They could wreck. They could get injured…And in the banquet hall, they could have been caught. They could have been kicked out. But they weren’t. It was a risk, but in a way, a safe one.

Again, she was struck by how she hadn’t overthought it. About how she had zero regrets now. She’d experienced something exhilarating she’d never experienced before. It was worth it, and it felt wonderful letting Aiden take care of all the worrying for her.

Her eyes tracked to the bike.

Aiden would take care of her. He would make sure she was safe. And maybe this would be exhilarating, too…and lead up to the most exhilarating time of her life. After what just happened, how could tonight be anything less than mind-blowing?

She looked into Aiden’s familiar, handsome face. Of course it would be. Instead of giving him an answer, Sadie pulled her skirt high on her thighs and approached Sheila. “Think I can ride in these shoes?”

“Sadie,” Aiden said, pride evident on his face, “I think you can do anything in those shoes.” He pulled a helmet from one of the saddlebags. It was pink.

She opened her mouth to ask how long he’d had it. He must have seen the question in her eyes. He answered before she had the chance to ask. “Bought it the day I dropped off your phone. I thought I might try and convince you to ride with me then.”

“And you kept it,” she murmured as he settled the helmet onto her head.

“You never know.” He adjusted the strap on her chin and laid a soft kiss on her lips. “You’ll be fine.”

“I trust you,” she said. But just in case, she closed her eyes and said a quick backup prayer.

Aiden put his own helmet on. “You need instructions?”

She opened her eyes. “Hold on tight, lean into the curves, and keep my legs away from the tailpipe.”

He shook his head, his answering smile spreading warmth through her entire body. “I didn’t think so.”

Aiden got on first and Sadie climbed on after him, settling against his back and snuggling in. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he backed them away from the curb. Before he sped off, he clasped one of her hands in his and lifted it for a kiss. Sadie smiled against his back and closed her eyes.

They’d get safely to wherever it was he was taking her. After waiting thirty years to lose her virginity, they had better get there safely.

Or Saint Peter was going to get an earful when she reached the pearly gates.

* * *

She said yes.

Aiden felt like throwing his arms in the air and whooping for joy. Granted, she didn’t say yes to his proposal, but Sadie had given in an inch in that darkened, empty room back at Diamond Crown Hall. And she’d given in another when she climbed onto the back of Sheila.

Wind beat Aiden’s cheeks as he took the side streets to get home. No way was he draining Sadie’s limited well of trust by zipping down the highway at seventy miles an hour. Despite wanting to get her home as quickly as possible.

She felt good nestled against him, her hands at his stomach, her body warming his back. He liked her there, liked her conceding control and letting him take care of her. That’s why he’d proposed. That’s why he’d asked her to ride. He wanted to take care of her. Wanted Sadie to see she could trust him. With her body…and with her heart.

One step at a time, he reminded himself. Even if they were slightly out of order.

Stubborn as she was beautiful, Aiden shouldn’t have been surprised when Sadie ran from his proposal. He’d stood and assured the crowd, “That was a maybe.” He’d been vaguely aware of his scowling siblings, and Shane and Crickitt’s looks of concern. No doubt they’d ask for an explanation later.

Well, they could wait.

He’d run after Sadie, understanding too late he’d pushed her too far. Understanding that Sadie wasn’t the kind of woman who reacted well to being pushed. He’d known that about her, but had thought maybe she was ready and didn’t know it yet.

Wrong.

He could only hope her languid, agreeable nature would continue after he got her home. Because getting Sadie into bed was only the start of what he had planned for her. After he got her to shout yes followed by his name at least a dozen times tonight, he intended to propose again…eventually…and get a similar response.

They were meant to be together. And if he hadn’t thought so before he’d made her come and mewl and grip on to him moments ago, seeing her guard drop so solidly at his feet would have convinced him.

And because Sadie was who she was, Aiden realized it may take longer for her to arrive at the same conclusion. Hell, Aiden, on some level, had known he wanted her for forever the first night he met her. All he needed was her undivided attention for a little while and he knew he could get her to see it, too.

It wasn’t as if he was coercing her. Sadie was the one who wanted to take him to bed, who’d made it her mission to seduce him tonight. He couldn’t think of a better way to show her how serious he was than to prove their connection was way beyond friendship, way beyond physical. To show her just how much he loved her. And he did. God help him; he loved her until it hurt. Tonight, he planned on peeling back her layers until she saw the same undeniable truth.

That she loved him, too.

He pressed a remote to open the garage and pulled the bike in. He parked and kicked the stand as Sadie let go of his middle.

“Where are we?” she asked

He allowed Sadie to climb off first, then he followed, pulling off his helmet.

“My dad’s,” he told her as she pulled off her helmet and smoothed her hair. “But not for long.”

* * *

Aiden unlocked the back door and Sadie slipped off her heels and followed him in. The kitchen was dark save for a light on the range above the stove, the only sound a ticking clock counting away the seconds.

Seconds until she’d be in Aiden’s arms again. A shiver of hair stood on her nape.

“My room’s through the den,” Aiden told her, his voice hushed. “Bathroom, too. Give me a minute.” He kissed her forehead and Sadie clutched her shoes to her chest.

Give him a minute to what? Find his dad and tell him he’d brought a girl home? There was a thought. She cringed, feeling sixteen and unsure of herself all over again.

Sadie scurried into the den, decorated in deep, forest-green carpeting and burgundy and cream plaid wallpaper. A rolltop desk and bar stood on one side of the room, a large leather wraparound couch and fireplace on the other. It was a guy’s space, furnished by Aiden’s dad, she guessed, given the deer head mounted on the wall. Ew. She made a face and entered the adjoining room, closing the door behind her with a quiet click.

This looked more like Aiden’s space. The furniture was more feminine than it should be—picked out by his late mother, she assumed—but Sadie could tell Aiden spent his time here. His shoes were lined against the wall, workout clothes tossed over the back of the desk chair, and a sleek black laptop rested next to a lamp near his bed.

His bed.

Never before had an unmade bed—with rumpled black bedding—looked so inviting. If Aiden could make her eyes roll back into her head in the corner of a banquet room, what could he do with all this space and a closed door?

Tonight she’d find out. She dropped her high heels on the floor and padded over the neutral gray carpet to the attached bathroom to freshen up. After she used the facilities, washed her hands, and repaired her helmet-head with damp fingers, Sadie stepped back into his room.

Aiden was sitting on his bed, but stood when he saw her, rubbing his palms down his suit pants in a nervous gesture. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“I have everything ready.” He pointed to a rolled sleeping bag and duffel on the floor.

Sadie approached the pile of gear as warily as she would a cobra in a basket. Camping? Please, not camping. Sadie’s idea of camping was a cheap motel.

Aiden lowered his eyebrows as he studied her. “What’s wrong?”

“This makes it look like we’re braving the elements.” She gave him a pleading smile. “Can’t we just stay in here?”

He shook his head, stalking toward her with dark intent in his eyes. He glanced at the ceiling. “My dad’s room is over this one,” he said, keeping his voice low. “And I do not want your screaming to wake him up.”

Sadie’s eyes went wide. “Screaming?”

Aiden leaned forward and kissed her, a rough, possessive kiss as he slid his hands beneath her dress. His palms cupped her bottom and he lifted her, settling her onto his lap as he sat on the edge of the bed. She clutched his neck as she straddled his legs. “You don’t strike me as a girl who can keep it down during sex,” he whispered, his hot breath in her ear sending trails of goose bumps down her arms.

He moved his lips to hers.

“I can control myself,” she breathed against his mouth.

He kissed her again, deeper, with tongue.

“I mean, I think I can,” she breathed when he pulled away.

“Think so, huh?” Challenge flared in Aiden’s eyes. There was nothing she liked seeing more. He reached behind her and unzipped her dress, sliding her top to her waist. Sadie’s breaths came rapidly as he revealed her breasts. He stared for a few seconds before running his hands over her nipples. They peaked in response.

“Beautiful,” he murmured, leaning forward and laving her skin. His tongue circled one nipple, leaving it to cool as he moved his head to work on the other.

Sadie’s head dropped back on her neck. His fingers gently pinched one nipple as he suckled the other. It was too much. It wasn’t enough. She wiggled against him, aware of the high mewling sounds emitting from her throat as he tongued and pulled her. The pulse between her legs grew to a painful throb.

“Aiden,” she whispered. Or squeaked. She couldn’t quite get her vocal cords to do what she wanted them to.

He extracted her nipple with a soft pop, then darted his tongue around the bud, biting her ever so softly. She pressed her lips together to keep the cry from pushing out of her throat. Aiden smiled against her skin, knowing he had her, and did it again, this time pinching her other nipple in tandem. She bucked against him and let out a brief whimper she was powerless to hold in.

He took the sound as encouragement to continue and dove back in, pinching, licking, suckling, and pulling as Sadie clutched on to the back of his head for support. Then she was flying apart, releasing his head to cup her mouth with both hands to keep from wailing Aiden’s name at the top of her lungs.

She collapsed against his shoulder, one arm holding on to his neck, one palm secured over her mouth. She dropped her hand only when she was sure she wouldn’t yell the word more!

Aiden swept his hands up her back and held her against him. When she finally had the strength to lift her head, she found him grinning to beat all.

“Fine,” she said, giving in. “Let’s go camping.”

* * *

Aiden had brought Sadie to the tree house behind his parents’ house last year. She hadn’t seen what he’d done to it since and he found himself excited to show it to her.

But he was more excited for what he’d get to do to her after.

She climbed the wooden slats to the top, commenting they were easier than the rope ladder she’d scaled the last time she was here. He let her go ahead of him, shouldering the duffel and sleeping bag as he kept his eyes securely fastened to her butt as she climbed.

Every inch of this woman was more beautiful than the last. Aiden could hardly wait to have her completely nude and beneath him tonight. And on top of him. And in front of him. He didn’t want Sadie in any way…he wanted her in every way. Heart, soul, body, and mind. With any luck, this trip to the tree house would pave the way for getting what he wanted long-term, too.

She entered through the floor and he heard a soft gasp and climbed in behind her. “Oh my God, Aiden.”

He could get used to hearing that a lot tonight.

Aiden stood to his full height, the recently remodeled tree house easily six inches over his head. He dropped their effects on the smooth wooden floor as Sadie took in the room. She swiveled her head toward the windows, the ceiling, the floor that latched and locked, to the mattress, easy chair, and footrest. It wasn’t expansive—he could walk the width of the room in five steps—but what it lacked in space, it made up for in privacy.

“The last time we were here, this was a dusty, cobwebbed shell,” Sadie said.

He and his brothers and father had originally built the ramshackle hideaway when Aiden was twelve. It hadn’t aged well.

“When I moved in, Dad and I made the remodel of this place our project.”

After Mom passed, his father was at loose ends. And since Aiden couldn’t get the man to talk about her, Aiden suggested they redo the tree house for Lyon so Dad had something to do besides watch television until he fell asleep in his chair. After the place was rebuilt, Aiden had spent a few nights out here himself. Nights when the house felt a little too familiar, or the grief a little too oppressive.

“We’d come out here every night after work until the weather got too cold,” Aiden told her, referring to the brief, miserable stint when he’d worked at the factory with his father. “We finished it in the spring.” He smoothed a hand along the wall until he found the switch for two small sconces on either side of the bed. They blinked to life, bathing Sadie in a soft, yellowish glow.

She quirked a brow at him. “Impressive.”

“Has everything but a bathroom.”

She wrinkled her nose. “But the house is so far away.”

He crossed the short distance between them and clutched her hips. “Yeah, which means you can be as loud as you want.”

Sadie tucked her fingers in his belt loops and pressed against him. “Yeah, well, so can you,” she purred up at him.

He bent forward and took her waiting mouth, backing her to the bed before forcing himself to stop. “You probably want a blanket on that bare mattress,” he reminded himself aloud. He could have thrown her down on it as is. He made quick work of spreading out the sleeping bag and propping open the windows. A cool breeze and the soft chirp of crickets wafted through the screens.

This was her first time. He wanted it to be as perfect as possible. He didn’t think it could get more perfect for him. Especially when Sadie sat on the edge of the mattress and unzipped her dress.

Aiden knelt on the floor in front of her and watched. There was such a vulnerable, open light in her dark eyes. She kept her focus on him as she shimmied out of her dress, revealing the breasts he hadn’t gotten enough of and the triangle of black panties he’d felt but hadn’t yet seen. Scalloped lace edges swept over her hips—beautiful, curved, rounded hips that lead down to a pair of creamy thighs. Hips he’d kneaded beneath his palms, but until just now had never laid eyes on.

She reached for his shirt and unbuttoned it, one button at a time, keeping her eyes on his. He didn’t dare look away from the openness of her face; the sheer look of trust that would have brought him to his knees if he wasn’t already on them. This was all he wanted. Sadie. One-hundred-percent willing, pure Sadie.

She ran her fingers along his chest, exploring him with her eyes and hands while his breaths shortened. When she tugged the shirt from his waistband, he stood and joined her on the mattress.

She worked his belt, sliding it aside and unbuttoning his pants. “This is where you stopped me last time,” she whispered, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

“Not going to happen,” he rasped.

She snort-laughed and he fell a little more in love with her. He hadn’t even known that was possible. She slid the zipper down and Aiden made quick work of shucking his pants, underwear, socks, and shoes, leaving them in a ball on the floor. He hovered over her and reached for her panties. She leaned back on her elbows and lifted her hips and he pulled them down her legs.

Finally, he was seeing Sadie in all her nakedness. His heart collided with his ribs like a battering ram. His hands shook. His brow broke into the tiny beads of sweat. How long had he waited to have Sadie in his bed? How long had he wanted her? How many times had he gnashed his teeth over the thought that he’d lost her forever?

Yet here she was.

Gloriously naked and spread before him, trust and desire mingling in her eyes. And she was his.

Almost.

He slid up her supple body, taking a nipple in his mouth as his finger found her center. She was wet and warm and ready for him and he groaned around the tight pink bud on his tongue. Sadie’s hands went to his short hair and she guided him, arching her back and squirming beneath him. He lifted his head, laving first one breast then the other, mentally promising to return to them later.

But for now, he had to kiss her.

Aiden slanted his mouth over hers and Sadie raked her fingernails through the hair at his nape, causing him to shudder. She could turn him on completely clothed, with just her nails against his scalp. When her hand left his neck and found his cock, he was surprised the top of his head didn’t shoot into the stratosphere.

“Now,” she breathed into his ear. “I need you now.”

Her lids were at half-mast, her mouth damp from his kisses. He held her gaze as he brushed a hand down her body and slid a finger inside her, thrilling as those same eyes grew wide and dark. Then he added another, moving gingerly within her, preparing her for him.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, closing his lips over her neck. As badly as he wanted to be inside her, be encased in all her warmth, Aiden would sooner die than cause her any pain.

“You won’t.” She lifted his face and kissed him softly, her words coming out on a heated breath. “I trust you.”

Her trust was an elixir for his soul and all the encouragement he needed. He left her body with an apology and dug a condom out of his discarded pants. There were five more in the duffel bag he’d carried up, and if he could physically walk—or crawl—after making love to Sadie, he intended to spend as many of them as she’d let him use.

He knelt beside her on the mattress and rolled the latex on.

Sadie watched him hungrily. “Wow, I had no idea you were…wow.”

He grinned. A feral, ego-driven grin he couldn’t help. “I’ll go easy on you.”

She chuckled, a throaty sound, then arched an eyebrow and said, “I hope not.”

Aiden hovered over her, feeling the happiest he’d felt in…God. Ages. Just being with her like this, completely bared, and joking, and smiling—it was all he could ever want.

He coaxed her legs open with his knee and leaned into her, massaging her entrance with the tip of his arousal. Sadie clutched on to his shoulders, her smile fading as she pulled in a short breath. Aiden leaned on his elbows, threaded his hands through her hair and watched her closely as he slid in an inch.

Sadie closed her eyes and threw her head back. Her cheeks were pink, her lips swollen from his kisses. She was the most beautiful thing he’d seen, maybe ever. Aiden pulsed within her, gritting his teeth and wondering how the hell he’d hold out long enough for her to come first. He was halfway there already.

Clenching his jaw, he slid into her another inch and Sadie gripped his shoulders, her nails digging into the flesh of his back. He held himself tightly in check, grinding his teeth into dust and reminding himself that a gentleman should last longer than a few hot seconds. He slid in a little farther…then a little farther, agony and excitement merging into one.

Sadie emitted a soft cry, her eyebrows pinching together, and Aiden halted, afraid he’d hurt her, gone too fast too soon. He loved her too much to go any farther if she was ready to stop. He cradled her face in his hands and through a harsh breath managed to ask, “Do you need me to stop?”

Sadie’s eyes flew open, fire sparking in their dark depths. She grabbed on to the back of neck and hauled him closer, and gave him the best warning of his life.

“Don’t you dare.”

* * *

Sadie didn’t think a dimple could cause an orgasm…until Aiden’s mouth curved into a half smile and the divot appeared on the side of his cheek.

But before she could unravel, he sealed his mouth over hers and kissed her. Distracting her with his tongue, he slid in to the hilt in one, smooth motion, effectively shifting her focus to the sensation of the absolute fullness, the absolute rightness of Aiden being inside her. It was nothing like she’d ever imagined. Nothing like she’d ever dreamed.

He’d been right about one thing. This wasn’t “just sex” at all.

Aiden froze above her, his breathing high and tight. “Okay?” he asked, nodding his encouragement. She wondered if he could speak more than that one word, because she didn’t know if she could speak any.

Sadie nodded instead. She was more than okay. The slight pain had faded, replaced with so much pleasure she wouldn’t ask him to stop if the tree house caught fire. Not right away, anyway.

He backed out slowly and, just as slowly, slid back in while Sadie made noises she hoped sounded like approval. She didn’t know how Aiden had been so sure, but she was beginning to think he was right. She was a screamer.

She dug her heels into the backs of his solid thighs, urging him forward at every thrust. Gauging her reactions, he kept his eyes on hers, his hands on the side of her face as he pumped into her, quicker and quicker. She lifted her hips to accommodate all of him, knowing on some basic level that no one else could have felt this good, this right. Knowing she’d waited for the right moment, the right man. This man.

Aiden’s handsome face contorted, his eyebrows pulled together, teeth bared as he tried to hold out. She couldn’t wait any longer. The friction, the smell of his sweat, seeing the pleasure she’d given him evident on his face…It was all so hot. It was too much.

He thrust again, hitting a spot deep inside her, and Sadie came undone, clasping on to Aiden with her arms and her inner muscles as she let out a sound she was pretty sure, by anyone’s standards, was a scream.

His chest hair brushed her nipples and the sensations continued to ripple through her. His breathing grew shallow, labored, as he thrust into her once more, twice more, then shouted his own completion in her ear before falling silent and sucking in one harsh breath after the other.

Aiden braced himself on one elbow to keep from crushing her and dropped his forehead onto his arm. She clasped his bicep, feeling the quake in his muscles.

I did that.

What a completely heady, amazing idea…that with only her body, she’d brought this Adonis to a shuddering halt.

Aiden laid there, head down, for a few breaths, while Sadie stroked his short hair, his shoulders, and ran her fingers over the ridge of the scar on his back.

The scar. The tangible reminder that Aiden wasn’t bulletproof. And a reminder to Sadie of just how precious he was, how very much she cared for him.

With everything I have. But she couldn’t let him become everything, she reminded herself. Everything was too much.

Aiden’s lips pursed against her shoulder and he kissed his way up to her neck, unaware of the direction of her thoughts. He pulled out of her and Sadie felt more empty than she had in her entire life. Even when his lips closed over hers. Even when his fingertips stroked her hair.

Some part of her told her she was past the point of no return.

She met his sea green eyes only to find them brimming with emotion. “I love you, Sadie.” He kissed her again, breathed her in. “I love you so much,” he whispered.

She’d heard him proclaim it once already. It meant so much more now. Now it meant everything. And that’s what scared her down to her toenails.

Everything was too much to trust to any one person.