Page 104 of Playing For Keeps
“Are you in any legal trouble?” I turn his way and give him a supportive message with my gaze.
He rests his hip against the counter as the hot liquid percolates through the filter. “No. I made a deal with them. I can’t go into the details due to the legal agreement in place, but I’ll never work for a government agency again.”
“Are you okay with that?”
“Yes. Despite what you believe, Dori, I didn’t enjoy being an agent. I was always undercover and doing things that didn’t align with who I’ve always envisioned I would be.”
I do as Jami suggested and step into my power. “Does that include working for Dad?”
“Yes. I never wanted to be a part of that. And before you make assumptions, you need to understand I didn’t know what I was involved with until I started digging.”
“But you knew it couldn’t be good if he was having you bury tips coming into the department.”
Aiden turns, hiding his eyes, and pours us some coffee. He prepares them in silence exactly how we’ve always made them. My heart warms that he knows how I like my drink. It’s little things like this that make me miss him the most.
He brings a steaming mug to me. I reach out to take it from him, and my bracelets slide down my arm. As I cup my hands around the drink, his eyes narrow on my wrists.
Crap.
My bracelets were hiding the red irritation the material left after being tied up, but now the marks are easily noticeable.
I place the mug on the table, and he’s grabbing my arms within seconds. He turns them over and assesses the damage.
He forces a breath of disgust out through his nose as he flings my arms away. “Everyone thinks Jami’s this great guy, yet he leaves injuries on your skin. Can’t he figure out a way to show you he cares without causing pain?”
I shrink into myself as my cheeks flood with embarrassing heat. “It’s not that bad.”
“If you show me your back, will there be marks?” Aiden deadpans.
I want to crawl under the table. This is not how I wanted to start this conversation. I push my bracelets down as I hang my head.
“You don’t have to answer. I know what Jami’s into. That’s another reason you’re in danger being with him.” Aiden growls and stomps back to the coffeepot.
I whip my head up to fight for the man I love. “Jami would never hurt me. Not that it’s any of your business, but if you need the details so you understand, you should know I asked him to do this to me. These marks aren’t a sign of abuse. They’re a sign of a profound level of trust.”
Aiden turns and flashes me a look like he’s going to prove me wrong. “Maybe you should ask him about the girl whose shoulder was dislocated. She was suspended at the time, so it took a while to get her unrestrained and get her the help she needed. If that’s the kind of trust you want in a partner, then who am I to care?”
My blood goes cold, then boils as my stomach rolls over. I’m sick about the girl’s injuries and jealous as fuck. Images of Jami and another woman doing what we did scramble my brain.
Aiden has put me in my place, and I haven’t been here for more than five minutes.
“This was obviously a bad idea.” I push out of my chair and gather my belongings off the table.
Aiden rushes over to me and places his hands on my shoulders. “Please don’t go. I shouldn’t have brought that up. It has nothing to do with us.”
I inspect his gaze for sincerity. He shrugs and waits for me to respond.
I relax my stance. “If you can leave what I do with Jami out of this, I’ll stay.”
“That’s fine. I shouldn’t have said anything in the first place.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.” I sit again and regroup.
Aiden brought that up to throw me off, and he succeeded. I remember Jami’s words. I have the power I want; I just need to own it.
Aiden gets his coffee off the counter, comes back to the table, and sits across from me. He takes a drink while staring at my hand. I can’t help but think he’s searching for more marks.
I bring my arms under the table and rest my hands in my lap. “Hunter told me you were doing some work for him.”
