Chapter 7

He knew Charlie was there, even before he saw her ruby red hair shimmering in the lights as she stood at the bar. His eyes wandered over her hourglass figure, lingering at the handles on her hips. Aiden instantly had a mental image of pulling those hips to him so he could bury his face between her thighs. He had always been drawn to a woman with a larger body. In his eyes, skeletons and bones were made for graveyards, not bedrooms.

Aiden found a table that offered a good view of the club floor and kept his eyes on Charlie. The failed attempt the day before had left him perplexed. He had always been a bastard when it came to a contract. There had been countless times he had heard the screams of women and the pleading of men but he had never cared. He had adapted his skills, learned to get things done before his victims even knew what was happening and had never let his feelings get in the way, until now.

Get your hands off her…

Aiden almost choked on his beer as something dark and monstrous growled from within him. The hair on the back of his neck rose, warning him that something was about to happen.

She’s mine…

Clenching his jaw, Aiden gripped the sides of the comfy chair he was sitting in. He had no control over the growl that burst from his throat or the way his mouth twitched in anger as he watched Charlie. The man she was talking to placed a hand on the small of her back and it was all Aiden could do, to sit still. Every ounce of him fought to go and rip out the man’s throat.

“What!” he said into the phone that had started to vibrate against his leg.

“Sorry, Raf, but now isn’t a good time… No, I’m not clubbing… There’s been a delay but it will be done… No, it’s not a problem... I said it will be done so it will be done… I’m working now, leave me to it!”

Shoving the phone back into his pocket, Aiden downed his bottle and walked to Charlie. You’re not winning. Not now, not ever, he told the voice as he reached the bar. Aiden felt a low rumble vibrating in his throat, begging to be released. Shaking his head, Aiden inched closer to Charlie. He was already close enough to smell her perfume and hear her conversation with the flirtatious gentleman.

“How about your number? Sure you wouldn’t mind giving me that since it’s already in the phone book, under stunning?”

Aden fought the urge to tell the man that Charlie was his. He wanted to tell him to fuck off and take his sleazy chat up lines somewhere else before he sank his teeth into his throat, but he didn’t. He couldn’t get caught up in their conversation.

He needed to focus.

“I'd like to say that would be nice, but it would be a lie. You’re definitely not my type now how about you go and try your horny little luck with some other chick who ain’t me. Who knows, you might even pull it off and if not, I’m sure your hand has had plenty of practice.”

Aiden couldn’t help but smirk as he took in the man's visibly wounded ego.

“Off you pop,” Charlie said, waggling her fingers in a sarcastic wave.

Aiden sprang into action, accidentally bumping into the gentleman Charlie had knocked back. “Chin up, mate. You win some you lose some, besides, she would probably eat you alive, anyway,” he told him, grabbing the man's hand.

Spotting an empty stool next to Charlie, Aiden took it. She smiled as he sat down and suddenly every other person in the club seemed to disappear. He didn’t need to force the smile that sprang to life, or the hello that flew from his lips before he had a chance to stop it. Instead, he forced himself to look away from her caramel eyes and focus. It was either that or smack himself in the face for the sudden husky growl that was starting to work its way through him.

Talk to her…

For the first time, Aiden had every intention of listening to the voice inside him. He needed to talk to her if his plan of luring her outside was to succeed. Rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger, he thought of something to say.

“You're going to burn your brain out with the steam coming from your ears if you carry on. I’ve seen steam engines make less of a cloud,” Charlie said.

Trying to ignore the urge to fall into her smile, Aiden laughed. “I was thinking of a way to start a conversation but all of a sudden…”

“Let me guess, I stole your words like I stole your heart? Words failed you as soon as you saw me?”

“Not exactly. Well, maybe the second one but only because I couldn’t stop thinking of burying my head between your thighs.”

Aiden felt his face warm as his words registered in his ears, then warmed some more as the voice inside him roared with laughter. “I'm sorry. I’m not usually so blunt,” he said.

What the hell is going on with me?

“I bet you’re not usually so red in the face, either, are you? It’s a good look though. You kind of match my hair, now,” she laughed.

Her eyes are even more beautiful when she laughs…

“I wanted to say thank you, again, for offering to help load my shopping. You don’t get many people offering help.”

Aiden shook his head. “I'm surprised you recognised me.”

He smirked as her face flushed to a shade that her hair would envy. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked, but he had to focus.

“Let’s just say you made a lasting impression. I’m Charlie, by the way. Fancy getting out of here and going somewhere quieter?”

“Aiden,” he said. “How about a walk along the beach?”

The beach was as Aiden suspected it would be: dark, deserted and out of sight from the main road. Slowing his pace, he let himself fall back slightly as they walked.

“I love the beach at night,” Charlie said. “It's so peaceful, just the ocean waves and the moonlit sky.”

“Yeah, it is. It kind of feels like a different world, doesn’t it?”

Charlie, engrossed with watching the sea as she walked, hadn’t even noticed that Aiden had left her side. Raising his hands, he reached for the sides of her head. The voice inside him howled in anguish as Aiden’s hands hovered. She won’t feel a thing, he told it, nothing at all. It will be over before she has a chance to know what is happening.

The moment his hands were a breath away from her, he knew that he could never complete the contract. His senses seemed perceptive like never before as he listened to her breathing as she walked and the smell of her floral perfume did nothing to mask the sweet, irresistible scent of her skin as it called to the beast inside him. His entire body screamed to touch her in ways that made her quiver in ecstasy as the beast inside him awakened and vowed to claim her.

His hands hovered for what seemed like an eternity of pure bliss before he lowered them in defeat. Stepping up beside her once more, he took her hand in his, welcoming the chills that shivered down his spine.

“I’d like to do this again,” he said. “What do you say?”

“I would like that, Aiden.”