Hotter Than Ever

“I’d better be,” he muttered.

Another male voice boomed from behind as a man with a dark buzz cut and the body of an action hero strode inside. “Where’s Jane?” he demanded. “I’ve been waiting downstairs for twenty min—oh you’ve got to be kidding me.”

The newcomer stared at Matt’s and Aidan’s faces and swore. “For the love of Jesus, do you guys require twenty-four hour supervision? Every time I turn around one of you gets into a brawl!”

Jane pushed her way through the group and threw her arms around the man’s neck. “Oh, relax, Beck. They were doing it for fun tonight. Now say hi to Claire. Claire, this is my husband, Thomas Becker.”

Claire eyed the imposing man for a moment, wondering how someone as easygoing and boisterous as Jane had wound up with someone so intense. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, extending a hand.

“Claire is Aidan’s girlfriend,” Jane told her husband.

“Nice to meet you.” Becker shook her hand before turning to his wife. “I’ve been waiting downstairs for a while. I tried to call to let you know I was picking you up early, but you weren’t answering your phone.”

“Oh, shoot, it must have been on silent. Sorry, hon.” Jane leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed his square jaw. “How much longer do we have the sitter for?”

Becker’s dark eyes flickered with heat. “An hour and a half.”

The next thing Claire knew, the couple was practically sprinting out the door with the quickest of goodbyes, which made everyone laugh.

The other women stuck around to hug Savannah and thank her for having them over, and a few minutes later, the group descended the narrow steps leading to the ground floor of Savannah’s building. Outside, the night air was brisk, making Claire wish she’d brought a coat. Goose bumps rose on her bare arms, and she shivered as she followed Aidan to his SUV.

“Call me,” Jen told her when they reached the curb. “We’ll have lunch this week.”

“Sounds good,” Claire answered.

She hugged the blonde goodbye, then did the same with Miranda, Holly and Annabelle, who all piled into the Jeep waiting at the curb. Claire didn’t recognize the dark-haired man behind the wheel, but from the big kiss Annabelle gave him as she slid into the passenger side, Claire deduced it was Ryan Evans, Annabelle’s fiancé.

“I can’t believe you and Matt got into a fist fight tonight,” Claire grumbled once she and Aidan were alone in the car.

“Well, technically it was more of boxing match.”

She glared in the face of his dimpled smile. “I told you you’re not allowed to use those dimples to distract me.”

“What about my mouth? Can I use that to distract you?”

Before she could blink, he leaned over the center console and kissed her. His tongue slipped through her parted lips, teasing and exploring and successfully making her forget all about his brawling—at least until she tasted blood in her mouth.

She broke the kiss and sighed. “Why are boys so dumb? How is kicking the shit out of each other an enjoyable pastime?”

“Sometimes it feels good to release some aggression,” he said with a shrug.

“Well, I’d prefer you release it in a way where there’s no possibility of you actually getting hurt.”

“I didn’t get hurt.” He smiled. “But it’s nice to know you care.”

“Of course I care.”

Aidan started the engine and steered away from the curb. “You think Dylan and Jackson are still wrapped up in their video game?”

“God, I hope not.” Her hand covered his over the gearshift, and she seductively stroked his knuckles. “But if they are, then it’s his loss, because the second we get home, you and I are locking the bedroom door and f**king each other senseless.”

He gave a husky laugh. “Sounds like a plan.”

“And we should be extra loud so Dylan knows exactly what he’s missing.”

They came to a stop at a red light, and suddenly the mood in the car shifted from lighthearted to serious as Aidan turned to her with imploring dark eyes. “Are you happy, Claire?”

She wrinkled her brow. “Of course.”

“Really, truly happy?” he pressed.

“Really, truly happy,” she said softly.

His gaze continued to probe her face, and then a sweet smile tugged on his lips. “So am I.”

“Good.” She smiled back. “Now let’s go home.”

Chapter Seventeen

Three months later

“Did Natasha make her flight?”

Claire slid under the covers and nestled next to Aidan, who slung his arm around her and began stroking her hair. The only light in the bedroom came from the red numerals on the alarm clock, which showed that it was nearly one a.m.

“Yeah, I managed to get her to the airport on time,” she replied. “Barely.”

“I told you going to that late movie was a mistake. You cut it way too close.” He grinned. “I was totally expecting to have a hot lesbian in our guest room for another night.”

Claire laughed. “Nat wouldn’t have minded that at all. She absolutely loved you guys. I really wish she’d gotten to spend more time with Dylan, though.”

“Next time,” Aidan said lightly. “She already promised she’d be back in June.”

“Yeah, but June is so far away.”