Page 80 of My Irresistible Enemy

“Jesus. Did he—do you think he gave you something? Or that the other guy—”

“I don’t know,” I said fiercely. “I was too embarrassed to ask. Too ashamed to admit that I didn’t remember. And I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to know. I mean, which is worse—getting roofied, or just drinking so much of your own accord that you black out?”

“But you didn’t just black out, you were—” Aiden broke off, looking horrified.

“Yeah. Yeah, I was.”

“Oh no. So last week, after the festival. When you woke up here, and you didn’t remember anything, with me in your bed…”

I nodded. “Not a great feeling.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“I know—Iknownothing happened between us that night. And please believe me when I say that I’m grateful to you for making sure I was okay. But do you see now, why I…I mean, I’ve beenso careful. I don’t drink alcohol when I don’t know what’s in it anymore. I don’t get drunk around people I don’t know. I don’t get drunk, period. But you can do everything right and still get screwed.”

I shook my head. “When I see you, when I see how carefree you are about sex, it just—it scares me. I don’t want you to get hurt. Trust me, it’s not a lesson you want to learn the hard way.”

Aiden was quiet for a moment. Then he knelt on the carpet in front of me and took my hands in his.

“I appreciate that. I do. And I don’t want you to think that I’m making light of the dangers or anything. But what happened to you isn’tnormal. I’m not saying that to make you feel bad. I’m saying it because I don’t think the lesson you should take away from it is that it was your fault for not being more careful. I think the lesson is that that guy—all those guys—were assholes who took advantage of you, and that you should beangry.”

“You think I’m not angry?” I said incredulously. “Of course I’m fucking angry. I’m mad as hell. But that doesn’t change what happened. It doesn’t change the fact that the world we live in is fucked up, and that you have to be careful.”

“So that’s your solution? To be pissed, and closed off, and let those guys ruin sex for you forever?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“I know it’s not that simple. I know trauma exists. I get that. I’m not trying to push you to do anything you don’t want to do. I’m just saying that, you know, if youwantedto hook up, I hate that you feel like you can’t, just because some absolute pieces of garbage made you feel like you can’t trust anyone.”

“It wasn’t just them,” I said with a bitter laugh. “Believe me, that was a lesson life taught me nice and early. Those guys were just a reminder that I’d gotten sloppy.” The look Aiden gave me then was so gentle, it broke my heart. I slipped one hand free and brought my thumb to his chin, tilting it up just slightly. “It’s not you, okay? I need you to know that. It’s just, like I said, it’s hard to let go of control.”

“So be in control then.” Aiden stared back at me, his blue eyes intense. “Do whatever you need to feel comfortable.”

Did he have any idea what those words did to me? What his eyes did to me? His lips, his face, his everything?

I cleared my throat. “I’m not really sure I could pass for stepdad material.”

“For stepdad material?” Aiden looked confused, until I looked over at his phone. “Oh. That. Forget that. Who cares about that?”

He stood up, marched over to the dresser, and turned his phone off, flipping it face down before coming back to the bed. He was kneeling at my feet again so quickly that it was hard to believe he’d ever moved. He slid a hand onto my thigh, and every cell of my body caught fire.

“You can have me however you want,” he whispered. “However you need it to be.”

His hand slid inward. He had to see how hard I was—it was unmistakable. He stopped before he reached my cock, though, waiting for me to tell him it was okay.

“I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with,” he said, his lips quirking into a smile. “All I’m saying is, are you really going to leave me in your orgasm debt forever? I owe you two at this point.”

His eyes were so blue. I wanted to say yes. I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anything, but I was frozen. Transfixed by this mercurial, impossible man who bulldozed through every one of my defenses, and had me liking it.

Would it really be so bad to let go? To let him see me unguarded?

He lifted his hand, found mine, and brought it to his mouth. Uncurled my index finger and slid it between his lips. Swirled his tongue around it. A tiny moan escaped me, unbidden. Aiden’s eyes flashed in triumph.

He pulled my finger from his mouth, dripping now. “I’ll beg if you want me to.”

The words unlocked something inside me. My free hand fumbled for my zipper, and his smile grew even bigger.

“I just want to taste you,” he whispered. “I’ve wanted it for so long.”

---