Tending Their SECRET Page 3

  I look at Ellie, and see that’s she’s looking at the floor. I hurt her by keeping my parents from her. I know it, and I also know I was wrong to do it. I’ve spent so long protecting myself from the fame and the hangers-on, but that’s not her. She’s always wanted me for me. “I should’ve told you, El.”

  She shrugs. “You have a right to your secrets.”

  “You wouldn’t have cared.”

  “No,” she says, shaking her head. “I love you for you. Your parents don’t matter to me. I wish you could’ve trusted me with that, but that’s your choice.”

  I want to pull her to me, but I can’t. I use my words instead to try and convey how much she means to me. “You are my everything, Ellie. Every fucking thing. It’s not about trust. I just…I want to be me. Not the son of the VP or the gay VP or one of the richest men in the world. Just Aiden. I needed to be just a guy with you.”

  “But you’re not ‘just a guy.’ You’re my everything, too. Not because of who you’re related to, but because of you. I want to move forward—slowly—with you. We need to let go of the past. Can we do that?”

  I nod, because the lump in my throat is too big for me to speak around. I love this woman so much, and even after I let her down, she’s willing to give me another chance. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure she doesn’t regret it, even if I can’t let her all the way in yet. I’ll give her everything I can, and hope that it’s enough. That the part of me that’s not already destroyed will satisfy her for now.

  “Okay, enough of the warm feely stuff. My crew will be back any minute now, and we need to go over some logistics,” Faith interrupts “Oh, and if Ellie can forgive you, the rest of us will, too. Just don’t fuck things up with her again, or I won’t miss the next time I throw.”

  “Got it.”

  And I really do. I know I’m lucky that every single one of the Society women isn’t here right now, taking a shot at me. It’s a testament to their loyalty and respect for one another that they’ll forgive me if Ellie does. Or at least they won’t kill me. Forgiveness may be pushing it a little.

  Chapter 2

  Ellie

  Everything went pretty well at the bar tonight. Faith’s food was a hit, and Theo and his team kept everything under control. There were a few drunk guys who tried to make a grab for my ass, but I dodged them, and thankfully, they got the hint. I really didn’t want to deal with anyone touching me, especially after my mini freak-out with Aiden earlier. It’s because of that interaction that I’m making this late night call. It’s not so late in Vegas, but it’s still outside of normal office hours for most doctors. Luckily, my shrink is employed by the Society and her hours are flexible.

  “Hi, Ellie. How was your first day?”

  “You mean, how was my first time seeing Aiden, don’t you?”

  “We can go that route, or you can tell me about the bar and the other employees. I have a feeling you didn’t call me about them, though.”

  “No. I need to talk about Aiden.”

  “Did something happen?”

  “He touched my back. When we were walking. He’s always done that, but tonight…I didn’t handle it well.”

  “Did you tell him you don’t want to be touched?”

  “Not at first. He seemed to know.”

  “Yet he still touched you.”

  “It was automatic for him, I think. And also a way to try and dissuade the other women who work in the bar.”

  “I get the automatic part. As for the rest, well, he is a very handsome man. I’m sure there are quite a few women who would love to take him home.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be making me feel better?”

  She chuckles before answering. “No. You’re the only one who has control over your feelings. I’m here to help you explore where your feelings are coming from, and learn how to heal.”

  “Go all shrink on me, why don’t you?”

  “That is my job. Now back to Aiden and the women.”

  “There’s no Aiden and them. I mean, you’re right, tons of them were hitting on him, but he dodged them all.”

  “Okay. That’s good, right? Now back to the touching. What happened?”

  “Yes. Watching him ignore women who dress like I used to, and have bigger boobs, made me feel good. Especially because he kept smiling and winking at me. As for the touching, I freaked out.”

  “Define ‘freaked out’ for me.”

  “I froze. I mean, I let him keep his hand on me, but it was awkward.”

  “Were you having a flashback?”

  I sigh, knowing I need to be honest. I rush the words out as fast as I can. “No. I-I liked his touch. I know I shouldn’t, but I did. I felt bad about that.”

  “Ellie, we’ve talked about this, but I feel like I need to tell you again. You were abused by some horrible men, but that doesn’t mean you’re not still a woman. It’s only natural for you to like having the man you love touch you. It doesn’t mean you need to act on those feelings before you’re ready—and only you will know when that is—but I don’t want you feeling guilty for liking it.”

  “Even though...,” I say, unable to say the words out loud.

  “Yes,” she tells me in a firm voice.

  “Thank you,” I tell her. I mean it. I need to hear that it’s okay to want Aiden, even if I’m nowhere near ready for that yet.

  “Now, I’d like to hear more about the comment you made about the women dressing like you used to.”

  “You saw me before. I worse corsets and short skirts, or tight dresses. They were like that.”

  “Do you miss the way you used to dress?”

  “I miss the confidence I had.”

  “Let’s work on getting that confidence back. No matter what you’re wearing.”

  I’m not sure if I’ll ever feel like the fun-loving, confident in her sexuality woman I once was, but I want to try. I need to try. Aiden said he’d wait forever, and I believe him, but I don’t want to wait. I’m not ready now, but I want to be soon.

  We talk for another hour, and while I don’t feel a lot better, I feel a little bit that way. I hang up, and my phone rings almost instantly. It’s Ainsley.

  “Is he out?”

  “Yep. We just got facial recognition on him in Washington Highlands. He’s tracking someone, but he hasn’t initiated anything yet. You can reach him in twenty minutes if you follow the speed limit.”

  “I’m on it. Can you let Faith know I’ve got this one?” We’d decided to take turns following Aiden, because one of us is going to be less obvious than two. If I need her, I know she’s only a call away.

  “Yep. Initiate your comm unit and we’re good to go.”

  I hang up, grab my keys, and practically run down the stairs to the garage. I already have a small cross body bag with a gun and a couple of knives waiting on my bike. I throw on my helmet and am out on the road in under a minute.

  Ainsley was cute to think I’d stick to the speed limit. Or maybe she was being sarcastic—her humor is usually too dry for me to get all the time. I’ll get to Aiden in under fifteen minutes, which means I need to contact Isa and Jake now. They already had a trip planned to visit his parents, so it’s not suspicious for them to be in town.

  “Hey,” Jake says when he answers. “Are we a go?”

  “Yep. Washington Highlands. Not sure who he’s tracking, but Ainsley has him and is trying to find out who he’s following is.”

  “Shit. That’s a bad place, El. You want me to come down early?”

  I appreciate his concern, but there’s more than me to worry about tonight. “No. We need to stick to the plan. I’ll keep whoever he’s after safe while you look for the victims Aiden’s trying to protect.”

  “Promise you’ll call us if anything goes sideways.”

  “I will. Thank you. Tell Isa that, too.”

  Ainsley comes over my comm unit, telling me that Aiden has started his beat down on a local gang leader who’s shaking down small businesse
s. I’m not sure how he got the guy alone, but he did. I park a few blocks away and activate my alarm. I dare anyone to try and take the bike. They’ll be in for a shock—literally.

  Once I’ve climbed up a nearby building, and crossed over to one that borders the alley Aiden’s in, I see that things are almost over. Aiden is holding the guy by the throat and eliciting a promise of staying away from some people. I have my mic on so Ainsley can catch it all and send Jake and Isa over to where they need to be. When Aiden’s satisfied that the guy has gotten the message, he leaves him on the ground, and runs out of the alley.

  Less than a minute later, the man behind all of his problems enters from the other direction. I have the element of surprise, because I was expecting him, and know how he fights. He doesn’t know who I am—yet—but I’m still pulling a ski mask over my head. There’s a very good chance that we’ll be meeting soon, and I need to make sure he doesn’t know me until we have enough evidence against him.

  I see the glint of a knife, and launch myself off the building. I’m able to kick the knife from his hand as I swing by on the high tech cable Darcy and Ainsley’s teams collaborated on. It’s doing its job as I arc back up onto the fire escape of the building on the other side.

  “Who the fuck are you?”

  I don’t answer, readying myself to jump down again, and have some fun. That’s going to have to wait as I hear yelling. I look over and see some gang members running down the alley. I pull my cable tight, and then let go, allowing it to pull me back to my original perch. The bastard I’m after manages to climb onto the fire escape I just left and get himself up before the guys below reach their leader. I make my way back to my bike, and take off, hoping Jake and Isa make it to the business owners before he does. I have faith in my friends, and honestly, after even just this little victory tonight, I have a little faith in myself again.

  * * *

  Aiden

  I checked all the news sources today, but there was nothing about the punk ass gang leader I fucked up, or the guys I told him to leave alone. After the first rounds of people ending up dead, I’d dialed back on my hunting, fighting my natural urges in order to save lives. Then I realized that I had enough money to hire some guys I knew. They’ve been keeping the innocents safe. My “victims” have been on their own. Some have escaped from my stalker, and some haven’t. At one time, I would’ve been the one killing them, so I don’t feel too much remorse. I feel some, though. That’s new, but not completely unwelcome.

  The bar is opening in an hour, and I haven’t seen Ellie yet. I’ve spent most of my time here shooting down the overzealous waitresses who seem to think that my girl is a challenge, and not a deterrent. Tieny’s been laughing at me as I dodge their hands and continuously tell them I’m not playing hard to get. I honestly don’t want anyone other than El.

  Ellie walks into the bar wearing a white dress with blue lace over it. She’s still covered to her neck, but the skirt is a little shorter. It may seem small, but I’m taking it as a sign of her feeling a little better. I won’t pretend that it’s all me, but I hope I had something to do with it.

  She’s smiling as she walks over to me. As she gets closer to the bar, she crooks her finger at me. I lift up on the bar and lean towards her as she stops on the other side. I keep still as she moves herself forward and touches her lips to mine. I want to grab her and haul her over the bar to me, but I know I can’t. I let her kiss, sip, and nibble at my lips as I kiss her back. She’s in charge, and we both know it. I’ll take whatever I can get, and kissing Ellie has never been anything less than spectacular. Even with no tongues involved.

  After more than seven minutes of Heaven, she pulls back to smile at me again. “Sorry. I had to do that.”

  “You’re not seriously apologizing for kissing me, are you?”

  “Yes. I don’t have that right.”

  “The fuck you don’t. Since you need to be reminded, let me tell you again. I am yours, Elletra Gallagher. All of me. Body, mind, soul, and everything in between. You can have any or all whenever and wherever you want. Forever.”

  “Forever?”

  “Yeah,” I tell her, realizing for the first time that the thought really doesn’t scare me anymore.

  “I-I’m yours. But I can’t give you all of me yet.”

  “I already told you, I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

  “We can kiss whenever you want.”

  “Yes, please.”

  I cover those few inches again and take her mouth. It’s a little more passionate this time, but still in the PG-13 range. I need to show her I can be satisfied with this, because I truly am. I’ve always been a very sexual person, especially after a kill with all the adrenaline flowing through me. But with Ellie, I’d probably die happy just knowing I kissed her for the rest of my life. My dick might fall off, but I’d still be good with it. Well, I mean as good as a guy can be when he’s dickless.

  “I better go check on everything,” Ellie tells me, moving back a little again.

  “Wanna hang out during my break?”

  “Are you asking me out on a 30 minute break date, Aiden Ford?”

  “For now. I’d like a much longer one when you’re ready.”

  “I’m ready…for a date. Like dinner, movie, whatever. Not whatever, but you know.”

  “Do I look like a guy who would take you on a dinner and movie date?”

  “Um, yeah. We’ve done that quite a few times.”

  “We’re not doing that for our new first date.”

  “We didn’t have an official first date before.”

  “Because I’m an idiot. I’m an evolving idiot, though, so I’m doing things right this time.”

  She gets serious then, reaching out to stroke my cheek. I lean into her hand, and close my eyes. “Thank you, Aid. Come find me when you’re ready for your break.”

  “I won’t need to find you. I always know where you are.”

  “I know,” she says, giving me one last peck on the mouth before walking away.

  “You won’t even look twice at any of us, but you’re seriously locking lips with her?” Norma, one of the waitresses asks me.

  “All day, every day.”

  “There’s no chance at all that you’ll change your mind?”

  “Nope. None. But thanks for playing.”

  “Bastard.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Still leaving a string of broken hearts in your wake, huh Aid?” Tieny says with a laugh.

  “There’s only one heart I worry about breaking.”

  “She’s ‘it’ then for you?”

  “The One? Yeah. Without a doubt.”

  Chapter 3

  Ellie

  It’s been a week since I went out, following Aiden as he stalked his latest “victim.” Faith has had her turn, and she got to actually fight the guy we’re after. She said he was a worthy opponent, and he almost got the upper hand on her. Reina called me after that, and said that she doesn’t want us going out alone again. I don’t like it, but I know our safety has to be important. We’re no good to Aiden, or anyone else, if we get seriously injured—or if we’re dead. Jake and Isa have had an easier time, because we figured out that Aiden has guys watching the people he’s protecting, too. They still go out, but they’re able to hang back, and just observe what goes down.

  Tonight, the bar is closed and Jake’s mom insisted on having us over to her house for a small get together with some of her close friends and allies. Aiden’s dad will be there, and this will be a little bit of a test, pretending that we’ve never met. I’m trained for it, but keeping things from enemies, and keeping things from the man you love, are two very different things. Most of my friends have had to do it, and no one’s ever said it was easy. Because, it’s really not, even if it’s to protect them from a threat they don’t understand.

  My doorbell rings, reminding me that it’s five minutes from when Aiden said he’d pick me up. Trust him to be here early when I’m still barefoot
and haven’t put my lipstick on yet. I pad down the stairs and throw open the door to see him in a suit, looking like every woman’s hottest fantasy man. I gesture him inside, and he catches me checking out that fine ass of his when he turns back around to face me. His eyes twinkle and I roll mine. We both know how good he always looks.

  He’s got his dark blonde hair styled up higher in the front, which makes him almost look like he has half of a Mohawk with his closely shorn sides. He usually makes it less obvious, but he’s playing it up tonight, wanting to look like he didn’t grow up as Virginia royalty. His face is darkened by the stubble covering it, and I feel myself getting wet just remembering how those whiskers used to feel on my most sensitive areas. I bite my lip, and see his eyes flare before he schools his features back into a blank mask once again. I’m sure I’m hiding nothing, as I take him in.

  The suit he has on has been tailored just for him leaving his muscular arms, trim waist, and strong legs showcased to their full potential. As long as I’ve known him, Aiden has always dressed to enhance what he’s got, and the only thing better than him in his clothes is when he’s naked. I realize I want him that way—naked, and letting me run my hands and mouth all over him.

  “What are you thinking about, Doll?” he asks, using the nickname he gave me when we met, and he said the same thing everyone else does—that I look like a brunette Barbie.

  “You haven’t called me that since I’ve been here,” I remind him, happy that he’s feeling comfortable enough with me to use it now.

  “I wasn’t sure I could. I thought maybe it was okay now.”

  I know he means that it might be okay because we now kiss every time we see each other, and we spend every break together at work. Tonight is the first time we’ll be together outside of work, and I’m looking forward to having him next to me all night. If he wants to be, I mean. Maybe he won’t want to, the little voice inside of me that still thinks I’m too damaged to deserve him calls out. I shake my head, trying to dispel the negative thoughts.

  “El, where are you? What’s wrong?”