Page 42 of A Man of Prestige

Aiden fights a smile and I quirk my head trying to figure out why he’s smiling.

“They did make a lot of comments about you. Mostly in jest. They wanted to cheer me up but they just ended up pissing me off. They stopped, and honestly, they haven’t said much since then. I think Conner’s comment was, ‘Damn, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde just got taken to a new level.’”

The mention of their nickname for Aiden makes me laugh. “Wow.”

“It was a long time ago. Things change. People change, Ella. They aren’t going to hold a grudge over something like that. God knows both of those men have slept with…well, a lot of women and had a lot of…indiscretions that haven’t ended well.”

“Jesus, you make them sound like the town whores.”

Aiden laughs a real laugh, one that reminds me of what he was like when we were younger.

“To be fair…they sort of are.”

I start laughing until I snort, which only makes me laugh more. My snort has Aiden laughing. We’re nearly in hysterics as we approach the marina. When the boats come into view, we both stop our laughter.

“I needed that,” Aiden says as he kisses my hand again, the same hand he hasn’t let go of for the entire ride.

“Me too,” I admit. I shake my head at the myriad of emotions we’ve had in less than twenty-four hours. What the hell are we doing?

He parks far away from the main parking area. Opting instead to park by the marina’s restaurant. The parking lot is empty at this hour.

“Aren’t we going to be conspicuous parked over here?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No, the morning staff will start to show up soon. The restaurant opens at seven.”

“Where are Conner and Sebastian?”

He pulls out his phone and calls them.

“We’re here. Right. Yep. Will do.”

Hanging up, he looks over at me. “They are already on board. Apparently, there is a suggested route to take so we don’t run into our fathers’ security or the Secret Service.”

“How many Secret Service are we talking about? Do you think they saw us come in here?”

“No. They said that’s the weird thing. It’s just a few guys by the slip and one on board. My dad doesn’t do the security thing. Conner’s dad has two guys on the slip. And Senator North has one guy there.”

“That’s weird,” I say slowly because it is weird. Typically, there are several cars of the Secret Service, at the very least.

“Something isn’t right,” Aiden murmurs.

“Do we stay here?”

“No, we’ll go over there,” he says after a few seconds.

We get out of the car and he ushers me the long way to a far pier and then doubles back to the slip where Conner’s boat is parked. Fortunately, it’s on the far side of the marina. Conner’s father has such a large boat that it’s parked in the farthest possible slip. No boats are near it. We’re forced to duck around several vessels on our way. There’s something exciting and sensual about the danger of it. It sounds weird, but it’s true. The way Aiden’s hand presses against my belly to keep me flush with a boat as we hide behind it. The way he guides me with his hand on the small of my back. The touches aren’t sexual, but they are intimate.

“Damn, that boat is huge,” I whisper as we board Conner’s boat and I get my first clear look at his father’s vessel.

“Theo likes his toys…extra large,” Aiden mutters as we make our way below deck.

There are no lights on and it’s eerily quiet, but when we get into the galley, I see Conner and Sebastian sitting on opposite sides of a small booth. Conner raises an eyebrow at me.

“I didn’t know we’d be a party of four this evening…er…morning,” he says.

“I…insisted. Maybe my military training will come in handy,” I reply as I look toward Aiden.

Aiden wraps an arm around my waist. “Where I go, she goes.”

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