Read Online The Awakening: Aidan by Abby Niles - Free Book Online Page B

farther, as if she were scared he’d snap.
    Fan-fucking-tastic.
    As they walked into the living room, Aidan went to his leather chair, placing his laptop on the table beside it, and sat. Frowning, Jaylin froze, then made a nasty noise as she shook her head. “One day I’ll learn. This is your office, isn’t it?”
    He shot her a cocky smile he didn’t feel. “Work here a few hours a day, five days a week.”
    “And what exactly is it you do?”
    “I’m a consultant.”
    He didn’t elaborate. If he made her too curious about what he did, it’d only take a quick Google search of his name for her to realize exactly who she was dealing with.
    “What kind of consultant?”
    He shrugged. “I have a knack for helping failing businesses turn around.”
    “Really?”
    She didn’t have to sound so damn surprised. Yeah, he’d embraced his laid-back persona pretty fiercely after he’d retired, but he wasn’t some shifter that flitted from job to job as she apparently thought. Man, she was going to be shocked when she learned exactly how much he was worth.
    “Yeah, Aidan is pretty sought-after. Who wouldn’t want the bad—”
    Aidan sent a warning look to Liam, who’d just come to stand inside the living room. Liam snapped his mouth closed.
    “Bad what?”
    Liam scratched his head. “The badass Aidan to work for them.”
    Aidan suppressed a groan and rolled his eyes. Yeah, like that wouldn’t arouse some curiosity on her part.
    Jaylin glanced between them before turning her attention to Liam as he lowered himself onto the couch. “I wasn’t aware that Aidan’s office was in the living room. Would you like to do this in your room instead?”
    Aidan’s beast immediately growled, but he covered it with a cough.
    “No. I’d rather do it in here. I’d prefer Aidan to stay anyway. I think he needs to hear this.”
    Aidan scowled at his friend, understanding the hidden meaning in his last words—the warning.
    Jaylin hesitated, but she eventually sighed and perched on the couch next to Liam, who situated his body on the cushions so he was facing her better. Aidan didn’t like how close they were, knees almost touching, but he clenched his mouth shut. No reason to be jealous over Liam. Besides, his friend had enough problems without adding Aidan’s irrational behavior to it.
    “So where do we start, doc?”
    Doc? He didn’t like the nickname either. Aidan rolled his shoulders, and again rubbed his chest.
    “I want to ask a few questions first.”
    “All right.”
    “Right now what do you feel?”
    “Nothing out of norm for a bonded shifter.” Liam looked down at the floor as he folded his hands together and let them hang between his knees. “No spikes. She’s just there, you know?”
    Jaylin nodded. “Do you feel anything right before a Bahrraj episode?”
    “No. It blindsides me. I’m sitting there and everything is fine, then I’m just lost in her feelings. I can’t stop it.”
    Jaylin reached over and squeezed Liam’s hands. The growl from Aidan’s beast filled the air before he had time to cover it. Both heads slowly turned toward him with eyebrows raised. Liam tugged his hands out of Jaylin’s grasp.
    “Are you serious ?” she asked Aidan.
    He shrugged, refusing to apologize. Liam scooted back a few inches from her, and Aidan’s beast sniffed in approval.
    “Mr. O’Connell, I need for you to leave the room.”
    He scowled at the use of his last name, but stayed sitting.
    Liam shook his head. “I’d really like for him to stay, please.”
    Pursing her lips, she studied Liam. “Fine.” She pointed at Aidan. “I hear that again and you’re out. We clear?”
    He held his tongue, but he wanted to tell her exactly how she could stop the behavior. She had the ability to. She was just being a pain in the ass about it.
    “Okay, Liam, from what I’ve observed, when in the throes of an attack, you’re oblivious to your surroundings, which means you’ve completely lost control. What we