Authors: Aliyah Burke
Aida stood at the counter, frosting cinnamon
rolls. She wore another colorful skirt, knotted up on one thigh and
a black ribbed short sleeve shirt. Her hair sat piled, up off her
neck, on top of her head in a haphazard way. She continued to
chatter away, laughing in an enticingly arousing way.
He walked into the room and strode toward
her. She turned to him, a phone at her ear, and her eyes grew wide.
Aida stammered a few more things and hung up. Her eyes darkened
while they roved over his near naked state. He could feel himself
hardening beneath the towel.
“
Am I interrupting?” he
asked, staring without shame at her.
“
Nnyaa
.” He raised a brow. “No, you’re not.”
“
Okay.”
“
How…how are you
feeling?”
“
Much better now. Almost
one hundred percent.”
“
Good. Help yourself then
you can get some sleep. After which, your clothing should be dry,
and I may just want an explanation.” She paused. “Although, I doubt
it.”
He stepped up flush to her
curvaceous body. She swallowed hard, and her nose flared. With one
hand, Dane grabbed her hair, releasing it to flow down over his
hand, and tugged her head back. Then he kissed her. He plundered
her mouth, seeking her submission. Demanding it. Dane closed his
eyes with the powerful wave of emotion that hit him. She felt so
perfect pressed against him. So right. So
his
.
Tearing his mouth off hers, he stared into
her eyes. The gold in her twin orbs shone more prominently in them
all of a sudden. Her tongue snuck out to lick her lips, and he
stiffened even more.
“
Now, I feel one hundred
percent,” he uttered softly although his tone was lined with
conviction.
“
Hu…hungry?” she managed
to stutter.
Dane raked his gaze over her, loving the
shivers she couldn’t successfully keep from him. “Starved.”
Aida took Dane’s dry clothes off the line.
Her body blazed for him hotter than anything. Running her hands
over the well worn denim, she sighed.
“
What are you doing here,
Dane Sidorov? And how is it you showed up in handcuffs?”
Casting a glance to the house behind her,
she sighed again. At the moment, Dane lay, injuries tended to,
sleeping in there. Naked. Aida whimpered, and her hands shook. Her
mouth grew dry at the memory of what they shared. Never had a guy
made her feel more satisfied. Ever.
“
Get a grip, Aida,” she
admonished herself.
Going back inside, she placed his folded
clothes on a chair in the room he slept in. Dane lay sprawled on
his back, the sheet barely at his waist, one leg free and clear of
the white cotton, allowing her one mouthwatering look at the
rippling and powerful muscles he had poured under the golden skin.
His black hair was tousled but his expression seemed almost
peaceful. Lust and desire slammed into her, and she found herself
walking toward him before she managed to tear herself from the
room.
Aida changed and headed to the front door,
both dogs rising to meet her. Taking a knee, she took hold of
Ruger’s head and stared into his eyes. “I have a bigger job for you
right now, Ruger. I need you to stay here and keep Dane safe.” Her
scarred boy glanced back to the doorway, leading to Dane’s room and
back at her. “Please, Ruger.” He turned and lay down before the
door to the dark room. “That’s my good boy. Guard well.”
He lay his large head down on his paws, eyes
holding hers, then Aida left with Kamau. Closing the front door
behind her, she saw Kees riding up.
“
Morning,
Aida.”
“
Morning, Kees.” She took
the reins of the horse he’d been leading and easily swung up in the
saddle. “How are you?”
“
Good, good. Where’s
Ruger?”
Gesturing back at the house, she lifted a
shoulder. “Leaving him home today.”
“
Everything
okay?”
“
Yes. Just a precaution.”
She didn’t want to tell him about Dane being there. Leastwise not
until she leaned a bit more about what happened to him and why he’d
showed up as he did.
Talk about putting a
wrench in my plans for the day.
It had
been one hell of a shock to open the door to him this
morning.
He grinned and said, “Let’s ride.”
With Kamau easily keeping pace, they rode
off. It was late afternoon when she returned. Hot, sweaty, dirty,
and tired. Kamau ran for the water and shade, tongue lolling.
Dismounting, Aida removed her hat and smacked it on her leg,
sending a cloud of dust up around her.
“
Thanks for coming along,
Aida.”
“
No problem, Kees. Glad to
help. Come get some water before you go.” She pumped some water
into a pail and gave a bit to each horse, then she held the bucket
up to Kees. He took off his hat, filled it with water and flipped
it back on his head. The droplets rolled down his dark
skin.
“
God, that feels good,” he
said with a grin.
She laughed and waved as he rode off, the
bucket in her other hand. “Come on, Kamau, let’s get inside.”
Placing the bucket down, she headed for the house. Aida opened the
door and found Dane sitting shirtless in her living room, a scowl
on his face. “Hey,” she said, trying unsuccessfully to ignore his
chiseled chest. Ruger came to her, and she rubbed his head
affectionately. “Missed you, boy.” She placed a kiss to his broad
head. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“
Where were
you?”
Aida raised a brow at the anger in his tone.
“Out. I need to get cleaned up. Then I’ll fix some food.”
She walked to her bedroom, tossed her hat on
a chair, and toed off her boots. Aida had just undone the button on
her jeans when she felt Dane’s eyes on her. Turning slowly, she
came face to face with Dane who lounged in her doorway.
“
Yes?” she asked, yanking
her shirt free from her pants.
“
Where?”
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Aida
sighed. “Dane, I’m really looking forward to my shower. Can we do
this later?” She faced away from him.
“
No,” he whispered in her
ear. She jumped in surprise of having him so close.
He placed his hands at the curve of her
waist and pressed into her. Shivers shot through her, and her pussy
creamed.
“
Just because you showed
up out of the blue outside my house this morning didn’t mean I
would cancel my plans.”
Dane began to pull up her shirt, and she
stepped forward out of his grasp. Without looking at him, Aida went
to the bathroom and got into the shower after removing the rest of
her clothes. Her body was killing her. It felt hypersensitive, and
she couldn’t stop the mental replay of Dane’s hands in place of
hers on her skin. With a frustrated whimper, she got out and dried
off.
“
Shit. I have no clean
clothes in here,” she muttered right before a stack of clothes on
the closed commode caught her gaze.
Despite her confusion on how he managed to
put them there without her knowing, Aida still smiled. Until she
realized what he had put there. With a groan, she lifted up her
black and white pleated plaid mini crinkle skirt and slid it on.
Then she tugged on the pale pink tank top.
With a big sigh at her reflection, Aida
stepped out of the bathroom and froze. The smell of cooking food
reached her. Heading for the kitchen, she found Dane, still
shirtless, chopping vegetables. She could smell the steak
frying.
“
What’s going on?” she
asked.
“
I’m cooking. This way you
can tell me what you did today.”
“
How about instead
you
tell
me
how you ended up
showing up at my door in handcuffs.”
“
And if I tell you, you’ll
tell me where you were?” He speared her with his stare. It heated
up as he dropped his gaze down and moved it slowly back up her
body. “Nice,” he said with a wink.
She wanted to preen at his words. As it was,
her body temperature skyrocketed a few hundred degrees. There
existed something sinfully sexy about wearing clothing he’d picked
out for her. “Yes, I’ll tell you.”
Dane lifted the cutting board and scraped
the veggies in the skillet, covered them and readjusted the heat.
She watched him take a drink of water and clean up the counter
area. Swallowing, Aida walked to him. Her body rippled with
heightened awareness the nearer to him she got. Without hesitation,
she touched his arm and turned him toward her. His incredible eyes
stared at her. They were haunted, and no matter how he tried, Dane
couldn’t hide that from her. And him being in pain of any kind tore
at her gut.
“
Tell me, Dane. Let me
help you.”
He reached out and stroked his thumb along
her cheek. “You were right when you pegged me for military. I am
active duty. Special Forces.”
Aida heard no male arrogance in his tone.
This was not about impressing her. She lifted herself up onto the
counter and said, “Go on.”
“
My unit was sent to
Siberia to…to… Anyway, it all went to hell. We were betrayed, and
everyone was killed.”
She wanted to reach out to him, comfort him.
She didn’t, realizing that wouldn’t be the best course of action
for the moment. “Except for you.”
“
Except for me.” Anger and
pain flared in his eyes. “And the traitor.”
She gasped. “He was one of your own?”
“
Unit
commander.”
Aida felt her gut churn.
“
I left Siberia and came
here, just to Africa first then to South Africa, to heal. I did and
called back there to let them know I was alive. General Herbert
came to get me.”
“
You mean apprehended
you,” she ground out.
Dane checked the stuff cooking. “Yes. I
escaped going from the containment cell to the transport. That’s
why I was in cuffs.” He moved to stand before her. “Now, I’m going
after the traitor.”
Aida fought back a shiver
at the deadly edge to both his tone and gaze.
This is not a Dane Sidorov I would like to face.
“Why did you come here instead of going home to
heal?” she asked, looking over the faded scars on his torso. “Why
not seek out your family?”
“
At the time, my first
priority was protecting them.”
Aida knew there was more to it than that.
“And now?”
“
You are my first
priority.”
She arched a brow, unable to hide her shock.
“Me? Why exactly?”
Dane went back to the
stove and checked the food. “Because we belong together,
solnyshko moyo
.”
Had she not already been seated, Aida would
have collapsed. The words were spoken in such a straightforward
manner it was like he truly believed them. She closed her eyes and
struggled for a few seconds to regain some control. He stared at
her when she opened them again.
“
I fully believe my words,
Aida. It’s the truth. We belong together.” He dished up a plate of
food for each of them. “Come eat.”
Remaining on the counter, she turned her
head to watch him. He looked at her, causing her belly to flip a
few times. Dane arched one black brow and pulled out a chair before
looking pointedly between it and her. Aida obediently slid off the
counter and walked to him, allowing him to seat her.
“
No more questions, Aida?”
he asked sitting across from her.
“
Oh, I have plenty more,
but…not really sure I want to know the answers.”
“
Then tell me where you
were today.”
“
Out with Kees.” She could
feel his body tense immediately. “We had some branding to do.” Dane
stabbed a piece of steak and ate it. She held his gaze calmly
before asking one of her own. “Does your family know you’re alive?”
He remained silent. “Dane?” She pointed her fork at him. “You need
to tell them.”
He sighed. “Okay.”
Aida frowned. “Okay? Just like that?”
“
Just like
that.”
“
Are you worried they may
be in danger?”
“
No, my family is…very
capable of protecting themselves.”
“
Then what is it?” Aida
drummed her fingers on the table. “What gives, Dane? I have a right
to know since I’m in this with you.”
“
I would
never
let anyone hurt
you,” he said on a low timbre. A sound which brought her boys to
full alertness.
His protectiveness warmed her deep in her
body. “Not what I meant. I’m harboring a wanted man, if I’m to
believe what you’ve told me, which given the handcuffs I’m inclined
to do. I’d really like as few more surprises as possible. So do you
want me to pass along a message to them?”
“
I don’t want them to get
involved.”
But involving me was no
problem? Not sure how I feel about that.
“I see.” Aida focused on her food.
“
Look at me,
Aida.”
She refused, instead keeping her gaze on her
plate. Her breath hitched when she heard a chair slide back across
the floor. In her peripheral vision, Aida saw him crouch down
beside her.
“
Aida,” he murmured. Dane
moved her head so he could see her eyes. “Don’t think for one
second I value your life less than theirs and that’s why I’m
willing to involve you and not them. Your life is the most
important thing to me. My family can be…difficult at times for me
to deal with.”