Page 19 of Sacrifice (Corrupt Empire 2)

“Next time, I’ll take you somewhere less pretentious, but getting to see you in that dress makes it worthwhile.”

Next time?

The thought of more dates with him gave me butterflies. This was a side of Aiden I never imagined I’d see.

“This dress, huh? I thought you preferred it when I wasn’t wearing anything.”

His eyes darkened and his smile turned devious.

“And you said my mind is always in the gutter.”

James turned up again with starters. I tugged my hand from his, shaking my head. My mind was definitely in the gutter after seeing him in that suit. Tonight wasn’t supposed to be about sex, but shit, did I want him to undress me slowly and have his way with me.

When I glanced up at him, I could tell he was thinking the same thing. I very much doubted we’d be able to keep our hands off each other for long.

We remained on neutral topics whilst we ate. He told me more about Ben and some stories from his days in the army. Like the time they duct taped a fellow soldier to a flagpole during basic training, which they were all heavily reprimanded for. And I told him about the time Gert, James and I accidentally set off the sprinkler system at our school. It felt nice to have a normal conversation with Aiden that didn’t consist of us arguing or talking about my family.

When we finished dessert, I was relaxed enough to play footsie with him under the table. Slipping off a heel, I ran my foot up his leg. His silver eyes burnt holes into mine. He caught my foot, holding it still before he ran his fingers along the inside arch. I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let me.

“Stop it, that tickles,” I hissed.

“Then behave yourself.”

“Spoilsport.”

He smiled and let go of my foot. I retracted it, scowling at him. Ruining my fun. I’d possibly had a bit too much to drink what with the two gin and tonics and the two large glasses of wine I’d consumed. I wasn’t much of a big drinker.

I was just about to say something more to Aiden when James shoved his way into the booth next to me.

“We have a problem. A huge fucking problem,” he said, his voice low.

Aiden looked on high alert immediately, his eyes darted out towards the restaurant. A moment later, his expression darkened.

“Frazier and Tristan are here,” James continued.

“We need to leave,” Aiden said.

“Yeah, you do because I think they might have seen me. If I’d known they were members, I’d have picked a different place.”

“Don’t worry about it. Not your fault. Put your coat on, princess,” Aiden said, his eyes falling on me.

I complied immediately, not wanting to get caught by the Shaws. I wasn’t embarrassed by Aiden calling me princess in front of James, but it did remind me of our conversation in the car. He was going to give me shit for it at a later date. He’d never let something like that go.

“Don’t worry, I’ll sort out the bill and all that business,” James said, giving my arm a squeeze.

“Thank you,” I said.

Aiden nodded at James before he eyed the room again. He put his hand out to me. I slid across the seat toward him. He wrapped an arm around me. James stayed where he was.

“We’re going to go out the back, okay?” Aiden said.

“Okay.”

Aiden looked out one last time and then he pulled me up with him. He tugged me towards the fire exit, which thankfully wasn’t armed. We left the dining room without looking back and found ourselves in a hallway. He looked left and right before he dragged me towards where we could see a sign for a stairwell.

“Aiden… Where are we going?”

“As far away from those fuckers as possible.”

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