Aiden: Military Heroes (The One I Want Series Book 1) Read online

  “Luv, if you do that, there is only one way this is going to end.”

  He pressed his forehead against hers and those piercing blue eyes of his seared her soul. Warmth enveloped her wrists as he gripped her hands. She gave a whimper as he tugged.

  “As much as I’d love to strip you out of your clothes, there are men back there who might be wondering what’s taking us so long. I’m sure your crew is eager to know if they’re prepping for a flight or are hunkering down for the next forty-eight hours as this thing blows over.”

  She relinquished her hold and allowed him to lift her hands to his mouth. His lips pressed against her knuckles as he gave each a kiss.

  “Fuck,” he said with a growl, “but you taste like sin.”

  With the power of the kiss fading, a sense of shyness and uncertainty overcame her. Was this regret? Did she feel bad about that kiss? Her brows scrunched together as conflicting emotions rushed through her mind.

  “Hey,” he said, “penny for your thoughts? Don’t shut me out. After a kiss like that, you can be damn sure I’m barely getting started. I don't like the way your brows are pinching together. Don't regret what just happened.”

  “What does that mean?” But she knew exactly what he meant. Getting started? Yeah, he’d get started, work her up, use the betrayal of her body to get what he wanted, and that’s when he would leave. She was such a Goddamn fool. At least he wasn’t touching her anymore.

  Raw desire filled his words. “It means I want to know if your pussy tastes as good as your lips and how it’s going to feel when I slam my cock in real deep. I’m not a slow as you go kind of guy, Ariel.” He gave a smirk. “At least, not once things get started. When we fuck, you can be damn certain you’ll never forget me. Isn’t that what you want?”

  Actually, it wasn’t what she wanted at all. A quick and hasty fuck? It might feel good in the heat of the moment. If he fucked with any of the devastation of his kiss, it might be worth it, but she would regret it every day for the rest of her life. Her heart wasn’t wired for a one and done fling. As silly as it sounded, she believed in true love, romance, and finding the one she wanted.

  “About that…” She could barely look at him.

  “Shush,” he said.

  “It’s just, I don’t think—”

  “If the next words out of your mouth are that you don’t think we should’ve done that, then you and I are going to have a problem. I don't regret that kiss, and I damn well plan on doing it again."

  “Why’s that?” She had every right to say no, even if that’s not what she wanted at all.

  “You and I are going to finish this. My balls are going to ache like hell until I can slip deep inside you, but we’ve got shit to deal with first. Like the others.”

  See! All he wanted was a quick fuck. A shiver raced down her spine, making her jump. The residual heat of that kiss still burned in her blood. Her entire body ached. Maybe not in the way he said. Women didn’t suffer blue balls and all, but—she rubbed her thighs together—she ached.

  Then his words finally made it through the haze of lust shrouding her mind. The others.

  Her eyes widened. How long had they been away? Andrew and Larry had a good idea of how long it should take to check the weather. If they knew what she had done with this guy, she’d never hear the end of it. Not to mention her reputation would be shot. The worst thing a woman in her field could do was sleep around, and here she'd been practically dry humping the leg of a man she'd just met. That’s all they would see.

  “Um…we need to get back.” She rolled her lower lip and bit at it.

  “Yes, luv, we do, but don’t think for a minute we’re not finishing this.”

  “We’ll see.”

  His eyes narrowed as he stared her down. “I don’t think you’re understanding me here.” He gestured between them. “This is far from over.”

  “Consider it a one-time thing. Besides, I don’t even know your name.”

  He tilted his head back and let out the deepest laugh. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. I had my tongue down your throat and you don’t remember my name? I think I'm offended.”

  “Why is that? Besides, I was a little distracted.”

  His eyes glinted with mischief and he pulled her tight to his side. “I can accept that, but not the rest. Although I see it in your eyes. Go ahead and try to run away. I’ll enjoy the chase.”

  He leaned down and planted another devastating kiss on her lips. Her nerves lit up and her stomach tumbled about.

  She was flying. No, she was falling. The entire room spun and tilted beneath her feet. A hand placed against his chest did nothing to settle all the spinning and dropping and floating, and boy did he taste good. The slow beat of his heart pulsed beneath the palm of her hand. An island of calm amid the chaos of that kiss, did she not have the same effect on him as he had on her?

  He pulled back and gazed down at her. “My name is Aiden Cole, and it has been my pleasure making your acquaintance.”

  She tried to steady herself on her feet. He held her by the waist until her wobbling stopped.

  “There’s something you need to know about me,” he said.

  Still trying to regain her composure, she rocked back and avoided looking at him. If she did that, she’d fall under the spell of his amazing eyes.

  “What’s that?” She gathered her hair at her nape and quickly reformed it into a bun, securing it into place on the back of her head. Anything to keep her distracted from his next words.

  “I always get what I want.”

  “Is that so?” He gave a nod and she shook her head. “I think we need to head back and give everyone the bad news.”

  “After you, ladies first.” He wiggled his eyebrows, and the subtext wasn’t lost on her. He wasn’t talking about leaving that room and that promise had her holding back a groan. It was going to be a long couple of days.

  Chapter 6

  Aiden

  The female pilot put Aiden's entire body on high alert. Hard as a rock, he reached down to adjust his frustration, a feat made worse with the knowledge it would be days before he could slake his thirst.

  It was going to be one hell of a rough ride; both the storm and chasing Ariel. Something had happened and he didn’t understand the switch that flicked in her head. Puzzles intrigued him, however, and he determined he would get to the bottom of this one. Hot and heavy one instant—she’d practically climbed on top of him during that kiss—then a cooling off that ventured toward near frigid? It didn’t make sense.

  That didn’t bother him. The best things were worthy of determined pursuit, and he had a feeling this was one woman who warranted a chase. This was going to be fun, and already the gears in his mind churned with all the ways he could torment her until she had no choice but to surrender. Determined to peel back all of her layers, he would get in her head and dig in so deep it would be impossible for her not to think about him. That’s all he needed to win her over. Get her to where she couldn’t stop thinking about him, and the battle was all but won.

  He gave a chuckle as she stiffened her spine, fisted her hands, and tried to storm out. A violent shiver stopped her in her tracks, reminding him to make a detour. Hell, if he brought her back to his quarters, they would never leave. Sensitive to the difficulties women in his world faced when it came to earning hard-won respect and keeping it, he wouldn’t jeopardize what she’d worked to build by taking her to his room for a quick fuck. Maybe a detour wasn’t the best option. He would take her back to the others and then get her something to change into, preferably something of his. The thought of her wearing his clothes had his dick twitching.

  When she reached the sickbay, he held the door open while she slipped inside.

  “It’s a no-go for the flight,” he announced to his crew.

  Ariel’s men glanced up and looked to her for confirmation. He appreciated their loyalty and it spoke much to what they thought of her.

  “Winds are too high to take off
,” she explained. “Aiden assures me we can wait out the storm here.”

  “Is it safe?” Andrew turned to Aiden. “Why evacuate when you could’ve kept everyone here. Seems expensive to offload an entire crew.”

  “Right now, staying is safer than trying to fly ahead of a hurricane. As for standard procedures, it’s safer to ride out a storm on land than on the rig. We can repair equipment,” he gestured to his two wounded crew, "but people are our greatest investment and their safety our highest priority. I’m not going to lie. It’s not going to be a picnic, and we’re in for a rough ride, but the rig hasn’t sunk yet. Sorry guys.”

  “Well, shit,” Larry said.

  “What about them,” Ariel went to Jeffery and examined the splints they’d placed. “Can they wait?”

  “Thought you said we didn’t have a choice,” Andrew replied.

  “We don’t,” she answered.

  “Well, it would be best if we could get them to a hospital, but they’re not critical. It’s going to be rough. Jeffery’s legs are broken, but the pulses are good in his feet. I don’t think there’s any internal bleeding. Without x-rays, there’s no telling. We’ll just have to keep a close eye on him. I can try to keep him as comfortable as possible.”

  “And the other?” She asked. “What’s his name?”

  The way she focused on Aiden’s injured crewmen increased his growing respect for the pilot. Her compassion made her sexier if that was possible.

  “Caleb has a concussion,” Andrew answered. “There’s no way to know if there’s anything more serious going on in his head. I’m most concerned about him, but we were able to get him to wake and follow commands. He’s not going to like us at the end of this.”

  “Why’s that?” Aiden asked, curious about the comment.

  “We need to wake him every hour. Although, there’s nothing we can do if he doesn’t rouse. We’ll just have to hope for the best.” Andrew glanced around the sickbay. “Do you mind if I have a look around?”

  “Our sickbay is modestly equipped, but whatever you need is yours. Sadly, there aren’t any x-ray machines, but we do have the ability to call back to shore if you want to check in with our doc remotely.”

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Ariel chimed in. “Maybe you can call their doc while I call our transport coordinator and give them an update.”

  “On it.” Andrew turned to Larry. “Why don’t you poke around and see what you can find. Y’all have a pharmacy on board?”

  “We do,” Aiden said. “Not sure what all is there, basic stuff I’m sure. Antibiotics and painkillers mostly.”

  “Well, that sounds perfect.” Andrew stood and pressed his hands on his thighs. “Where’s this phone?”

  Aiden had his men help Ariel’s crew. With the evacuation, most station personnel left their belongings behind, which would help to find them all dry clothes to wear. He gestured to Duncan. “Hey, come with me.”

  “Sure thing, boss,” Duncan said. “What’s up?”

  “Since our guests will be staying, let's scrounge them up some dry clothes, and we should probably take stock of the galley and figure out food.”

  Duncan smirked. “Ever ridden out a storm on one of these?”

  “Once.”

  “And?”

  “It’s not something I look forward to repeating.”

  “How about that pilot? She might make things easier.”

  “If you lay a hand on her, it’ll be the last thing you do.”

  “Hey, that’s not what I meant.” He pointed to the ring on his finger. “I got a sexy as fuck wife with a kid on the way. I was talking about you. It's about time you break your dry spell.”

  “What?”

  “Well, it just seemed y’all were gone for a bit, and from the way she’s most definitely not looking at you, I was just wondering.”

  “Don’t. There’s nothing going on that concerns you.” It wasn’t a complete lie but skirted the truth by a wide margin. “Speaking of, let’s figure out quarters. I want everyone to stay close.”

  “I can handle that. So, quarters and food. Anything else?”

  “Who is about the same size as Andrew and Larry? We need to find them something dry to wear, and should probably wash what they have.”

  “Great, getting ready to ride out a storm and you have me on laundry detail?”

  He laughed. “I know, we’re living the high life. Now, who in the crew is closest to the pilot in size?”

  Women were rare on oil rigs. Unfortunately, their rig didn’t have any female crew.

  Duncan scrunched up his face. “I think there’s one or two.”

  “Okay, you do that. Find her some pants. I’ll grab her a shirt and sweatshirt now. She’s shivering and nearly hypothermic, although I don’t think she’ll let that stop her. Change of clothes for them all, food, then quarters.”

  “Gotcha boss,” Duncan said with another smirk. “On it.”

  Aiden separated from Duncan and headed to his quarters. While living conditions on the rigs were austere, improvements to crew facilities over the years made things more livable. Personnel lived in modular living facilities. Depending on position, they bunked two or four to a room. He was one of the few who enjoyed a private room.

  He headed there now, needing a moment to relieve the pent-up energy inside him. Ariel and her men were safe inside the sickbay with Randall there to help them with anything they needed. This gave him a moment to unwind, call his bosses, and take care of a very pressing need.

  After he informed his supervisors they would be forced to wait out the storm on the rig, Aiden dialed his mother-in-law.

  “Aiden!” Her bright eyes stared out of the screen at him. A lot of people thought oil rigs were remote, but they had high-speed satellite internet, which meant he kept in touch with his daughter nearly every day. “When are you getting home? Hurricane Julian has picked up speed. They say it’s going to be a direct hit.”

  “Is Callie still awake?”

  “I just put her down. She wanted to wait up until her daddy got home.”

  “About that…” He explained the injuries to his crewmen while readying the rig for the storm, the arrival of the medevac crew, and how Ariel made the call, grounding the helicopter. “So, we’re not going to be able to fly out. Do you have everything you need?”

  “Yes, of course. I keep everything on your list just in case. We’re official preppers! Bring on the apocalypse.” She raised her fist in mock salute.

  “Mary…”

  “Hey, you’re the one with the lists and the storage closets filled to the brim with everything and anything we might need. And before you ask, I’ve already cleaned and plugged the bathtubs. They’re filling up as we speak.”

  “Look, I’m sorry I won’t be there to ride out the storm with you and Callie.”

  “Aiden, this isn’t my first hurricane, and this is nothing like the super typhoons Richard and I endured in Okinawa. We’ll be fine. Two girls partying it out. If we’re lucky we’ll lose power and will have to light the candles. Callie made me put one by her bed…just in case. Don’t worry about us.”

  Samantha’s mother was a rare jewel. He counted himself lucky when he married into her family. Mary welcomed him like a son, and he had had the best relationship with his father-in-law. Richard had been in the Marines, which meant Mary spent most of their marriage raising their two daughters alone and often overseas.

  Nothing scared Mary, and she passed those traits on to her daughter, and her granddaughter. Callie had the best role model in the world to raise her, a fearless woman who embraced everything life had to offer, even when faced with tragedy.

  “Well, I wanted to blow Callie a kiss.”

  “I can take you to her if you want.”

  “You said she’s asleep?” He really wanted to see his daughter’s shining blue eyes and mop of blonde curls. It hurt to be separated from her, especially with a storm on the way. He wasn’t worried about Mary and Callie. They lived far
enough inland that they should only face the outer wind bands and heavy rains. Nevertheless, it would be hard not being with them.

  “She’s dead asleep, but I can wake her. It’s been a busy day prepping for the storm.”

  “Don’t wake her, but tiptoe in. I want to see my baby doll.”

  Mary brought the phone into Callie’s room and held it where he could see his daughter sleeping. She was curled up in bed, snuggled beneath a camo-pink comforter. That bedspread embraced her tomboy, rough and tough attitude, as well as her love for all things pink. He blew her a silent kiss.

  “Sweet dreams,” he said in a whisper. He could worry about his daughter, but there was no need. Callie had the best protector on the planet in a grandmother who wasn’t afraid of anything. He hoped Callie grew up with the same take charge attitude.

  The screen shifted and he stared at the floor while Mary walked him back into the kitchen. She propped the phone on the counter and folded her arms across her chest.

  “So, tell me about this pilot.”

  “What about the pilot?”

  “Oh, Aiden, you think I was born yesterday? The helicopter pilot? The only one you mentioned by name.”

  “I didn’t—”

  “Son, first off, I know the sound a man makes when a woman has caught his eye.”

  “But—”

  She held up her finger, shushing him. “Second, you don’t have to feel guilty about being attracted to another woman. Samantha didn’t want you to waste your life pining away for her. It's okay to be interested…”

  “I never said—”

  “I’m not saying this Ariel is the one you want, but I am saying it’s been far too long since you took a chance on any woman. You’re stuck out in the middle of the Gulf, getting ready to face down a beast of a storm, you really should loosen up a bit and see what happens. You might lose power there too and need to snuggle—”

  “Mary!”

  She snickered. “Oh, you know what I mean.”