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as fear gripped her, but she needed to know. “What do you want, Aiden?”
Aiden paused, then took a surprisingly deep breath. “I want what I thought I was headed for before. I want a wife I can cherish forever, kids, lots of kids, a home filled with love and a little chaos, like the one I grew up in.”
Her heart sank. They didn’t have so much as a sandbar of common ground. “And you want to stay here.” It wasn’t a question.
He looked into her eyes, his tinted with an odd shade of regret. “I left once. I won’t do it again.”
“Nor should you have to.” She meant it. Aiden Rourke deserved the kind of woman he wanted. He’d obviously thought this feeling through.
His eyes took on an almost flinty edge. “Any woman I marry will have to want the same things I do.”
She gazed deeply into his eyes, now as unfathomable as the ocean outside their door. “It sounds like maybe we want different things.”
CHAPTER TEN
SAM STEPPED FROM the shower, dried off, then with the towel wrapped around her damp hair, slipped on her robe and headed to her room. Melancholy weighed on her, heavier than her terry robe.
She heard dishes clattering in the kitchen. After breakfast, Aiden had offered to clean up while she took a shower. They’d shared a quiet breakfast, neither saying much. When they had talked, it had only been about packing and making sure the house was in good shape for Lisa and Sean. A tacit understanding seemed to hover over them as they’d eaten—what they’d shared these past days had been as fleeting as the storm.
With sadness still clinging to her, Sam entered her room, closed the door, then slipped off her robe. Somehow she’d hurt Aiden. She hadn’t meant to, but she’d read the disappointment in his eyes. He seemed to want more from her. But did he really? And what did she want from him?
She’d worked hard to make a name for herself in the legal field. London could solve her work problems, for a while. But it would be a long time before she saw Aiden again, if ever.
She turned to stare at herself in the full length mirror. There was something different about her. She took off the towel around her head and shook out her damp hair, running fingers through it. She studied herself again. Her breasts looked fuller, the nipples pinker. With gentle hands, she caressed her breasts. They were tender to the touch, a heated reminder of Aiden’s hands and mouth. Her skin almost seemed to glow. She looked sexy, contented. Aiden had awakened something in her, had shown her the depths of her sexuality.
Remembering how she’d slept spooned against him, warmth curled through her, settling in her most private parts. Her feelings involved more than sex, though. She knew that now. How could she leave him, but how could she stay?
She dressed quickly in jeans and a sweater, and headed for her mother’s room. Aiden had occupied her mother and Sean’s bed only a short time that first night. He’d spent every night since with Sam in her bed. While Aiden straightened the kitchen and living room, she’d change the sheets on her mother’s bed.
She needed the ritual of housework to clear her head. She’d come here to be alone, but that hadn’t worked out the way she’d planned. Entering the room, she inhaled the familiar scent of cinnamon. The scent seemed to sharpen her melancholy. She sat on the bed and tried to make sense of the jangled mess of her thoughts. It would probably have been easier to make a decision if this time with Aiden had never happened. But she didn’t know if she’d have given up what they’d shared. In her heart she knew she’d cherish these days always.
Once the Coastal was clear she’d head back to Richmond. Her assistant had texted that the firm sent someone else to the conference in Philadelphia as the storm had caused Sam to miss the first day. Sam pushed off the bed. She had work to do.
Later, dirty sheets in hand, she turned to leave. On the bureau top, where
Aiden paused, then took a surprisingly deep breath. “I want what I thought I was headed for before. I want a wife I can cherish forever, kids, lots of kids, a home filled with love and a little chaos, like the one I grew up in.”
Her heart sank. They didn’t have so much as a sandbar of common ground. “And you want to stay here.” It wasn’t a question.
He looked into her eyes, his tinted with an odd shade of regret. “I left once. I won’t do it again.”
“Nor should you have to.” She meant it. Aiden Rourke deserved the kind of woman he wanted. He’d obviously thought this feeling through.
His eyes took on an almost flinty edge. “Any woman I marry will have to want the same things I do.”
She gazed deeply into his eyes, now as unfathomable as the ocean outside their door. “It sounds like maybe we want different things.”
CHAPTER TEN
SAM STEPPED FROM the shower, dried off, then with the towel wrapped around her damp hair, slipped on her robe and headed to her room. Melancholy weighed on her, heavier than her terry robe.
She heard dishes clattering in the kitchen. After breakfast, Aiden had offered to clean up while she took a shower. They’d shared a quiet breakfast, neither saying much. When they had talked, it had only been about packing and making sure the house was in good shape for Lisa and Sean. A tacit understanding seemed to hover over them as they’d eaten—what they’d shared these past days had been as fleeting as the storm.
With sadness still clinging to her, Sam entered her room, closed the door, then slipped off her robe. Somehow she’d hurt Aiden. She hadn’t meant to, but she’d read the disappointment in his eyes. He seemed to want more from her. But did he really? And what did she want from him?
She’d worked hard to make a name for herself in the legal field. London could solve her work problems, for a while. But it would be a long time before she saw Aiden again, if ever.
She turned to stare at herself in the full length mirror. There was something different about her. She took off the towel around her head and shook out her damp hair, running fingers through it. She studied herself again. Her breasts looked fuller, the nipples pinker. With gentle hands, she caressed her breasts. They were tender to the touch, a heated reminder of Aiden’s hands and mouth. Her skin almost seemed to glow. She looked sexy, contented. Aiden had awakened something in her, had shown her the depths of her sexuality.
Remembering how she’d slept spooned against him, warmth curled through her, settling in her most private parts. Her feelings involved more than sex, though. She knew that now. How could she leave him, but how could she stay?
She dressed quickly in jeans and a sweater, and headed for her mother’s room. Aiden had occupied her mother and Sean’s bed only a short time that first night. He’d spent every night since with Sam in her bed. While Aiden straightened the kitchen and living room, she’d change the sheets on her mother’s bed.
She needed the ritual of housework to clear her head. She’d come here to be alone, but that hadn’t worked out the way she’d planned. Entering the room, she inhaled the familiar scent of cinnamon. The scent seemed to sharpen her melancholy. She sat on the bed and tried to make sense of the jangled mess of her thoughts. It would probably have been easier to make a decision if this time with Aiden had never happened. But she didn’t know if she’d have given up what they’d shared. In her heart she knew she’d cherish these days always.
Once the Coastal was clear she’d head back to Richmond. Her assistant had texted that the firm sent someone else to the conference in Philadelphia as the storm had caused Sam to miss the first day. Sam pushed off the bed. She had work to do.
Later, dirty sheets in hand, she turned to leave. On the bureau top, where
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