Page 61 of Reclaimed

Aiden flicks his gaze to the corner of his eye. “Yes.”

“Then we need to keep on selling it, don’t you think?” I smile at him. Sliding my hands from his pectorals, I trace the planes over his collar bone until I cup the sides of his neck. My thumb strokes the light stubble on his cheek.

“Do you want me to kiss you?” he murmurs, his eyes zeroed in on my lips.

My tongue darts out, tasting the strawberry gloss. Inhaling deep, I’m surrounded by his citrusy cologne. “Yes.”

He dips, his eyes fluttering closed so hard a crease forms between his brows. I watch until the very last second, where the warmth of his breath ghosts across my lips, the spice of themints he ate in the car tickling my nose as his mouth softly touches mine.

It’s quick. A sweet peck, but the effect rips through my torso like a bomb. Tingles erupt from my stomach, racing down my limbs to the tips of my fingers and toes. His tongue sweeps out just long enough to taste my gloss before he’s pulling back.

“Convincing enough?” His voice is rough.

“Mhm.” I act unaffected as I swipe my finger beneath my lip to fix my gloss. “I think so,” I answer breathlessly.

Aiden smirks and retakes my hand.

“Enough games, starshine. Before you give me a heart attack.”

My own heart beats a wild rhythm. “Don’t worry, Powell. I’ll make sure you get out of here in one piece.”

“Aiden.” He leads me around him with his hand still clenched around mine. The table of our friends is dead ahead.

“What?”

His mouth hits the shell of my ear. “Call me Aiden after I kiss you.”

“O-okay.”

Lips touch the side of my hair before he raises his head. “Hey, everyone.”

Refocusing on the group in front of us, I blush. The attention is heavy and every female is staring at me from one half of the twenty-person table.

“Girl,” Juniper says.

“What?” I hiss as I hug her with one arm.

“Girllllllll,” she repeats, raising an eyebrow.

“Shut up,” I mutter. Aiden yanks out a chair beside Juniper and I ease into it. He slips into the empty one beside me and rests our clasped hands on his thigh.

This is fake. This is fake. This is fake.

“How are you doing?” Bree leans across the table. “I heard about what happened at the club last week.”

“I heard about that too,” Whitney pipes in.

Aiden’s thumb brushes across the back of my hand. He’s engaged in a conversation with his brothers, but the small act lets me know he’s paying attention.

“I’m okay. It was scary at the moment, but I’ve almost forgotten about it at this point.”

“Has there been any more news about the…” Cortney looks around and leans closer. “You know.”

Aiden’s hand squeezes mine. “No, unfortunately. I haven’t heard anything else.”

“That sucks.” Frankie’s eyes are sympathetic. “I hope they find him soon.”

“Me too,” I answer.

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