“An ex got it for me,” he said with a smile, and I immediately put the book back. A surge of jealousy spread through me at the thought of him and another woman trying out the moves in the book.

“I’m joking, Alice.” His hand rubbed my lower back. “Scott bought it for me when I was twenty-one.”

“Oh, funny.” Suddenly, I felt cheerful again. “What’s this?” I picked up a smaller black book with the title The Marquis De Sade.

“It’s a biography on the Marquis.”

“Oh, are you interested in him, then?”

“Do you mean am I interested in sadomasochism?” he asked in a light tone, and I nodded.

“No.” He shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong, I can do a little candle wax, but that’s as far as I’m willing to push it.”

“Ooh, okay.”

“Bondage and Dominance is another story, though.” He winked at me and my jaw dropped as he walked back over to the coffee table and opened the bottle of wine. “Here you go.” He handed me a glass of red wine and I took a large gulp as my heart was racing and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to keep my hands off of him for much longer.

“Thank you,” I said and watched as he took a small sip of his wine.

“Music?” he asked and walked over to his TV stand and pulled out his phone. “What would you like to listen to?”

“Garth Brooks, please.” I smiled at him sweetly, and he laughed.

“Sure,” he said, and I looked at him in surprise as he placed his phone on his iPhone dock and the strumming of guitar strings boomed out from his speakers. I felt my body react in shock when I heard Garth’s voice crooning into the room as his hit song “Friend’s in Low Places” played.

“You actually own a Garth Brooks song?”

“Why, of course.” He winked at me and moved closer towards me. “Would you like to dance?”

“To this?” I was shocked once again.

“You don’t think I can hoedown?”

“No,” I laughed.

“Well, you’re wrong.” He handed me his glass and started moving back and forth. I watched as he danced to the song, and my jaw dropped as he did a spin around.

“Oh my God, Aiden Taylor, you surprise me every single day.” I laughed.

“Put the glasses down.” He grabbed them from me and placed them on the table and then grabbed my hands and started moving with me around the room. “I got friends,” he sang and looked at me and my heart thudded. And this time, it was not in a sexual way. This time it was the blooming of love in my heart. This time, my heart was racing because the moment was so perfect and Aiden was the perfect man for me.

“Okay, my choice now.” He broke away from me and I watched as he walked over to his phone and selected another song. I stood there in anticipation and waited to hear which one he had chosen.

“Sam Cooke?” I said with a smile as the singer’s smooth voice crept into the room and caressed our ears. “‘Only Sixteen’?”

“Yes.” He grabbed my hands again and pulled me towards him so that we were slow dancing. He sang into my ear and we moved along to the music, our bodies pressed into each other. “Only sixteen,” he sang along with the song and suddenly I was transported back to when I was sixteen.

“Do you remember when you taught me how to waltz?” I asked him softly and he looked down at me with a grin.

“How could I forget? You almost broke my toes,” he teased.

“No, I didn’t.” I laughed. “You almost broke mine.”

“I wasn’t sure why you were asking me to teach you how to waltz.”

“I wanted to know in case a guy asked me to dance at Homecoming.”

“You were sixteen and in high school.” He laughed. “No guy was going to ask you to waltz.”

“I didn’t know that.” I laughed. “That was my first dance. I thought it would be like Dirty Dancing.”

“You must have been disappointed, then.” He grinned and swung me back.

“Just a little.” I nodded. “But only because Patrick Swayze wasn’t there.”

“Oh no, how could he stand you up?”

“I don’t know,” I said and he held me closer to him. “He didn’t even get to see the new skills I’d learned.”

“Skills I was happy to teach you, by the way.”

“You didn’t seem happy.”

“Oh, I was very happy.”

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow at him and he stopped moving and looked at me.

“Oh, I was very, very happy.” He grinned. “Almost as happy as I am now.”

“Oh? Why is that?” I asked and moaned slightly as he brought me into him even closer. I could feel something hard next to my stomach and I wasn’t sure if it was his belt buckle or something else. Well, if I’m honest, I was pretty sure it was something else. Something just waiting to have some fun with me.

“I’m happier now because we’re both adults.” He leaned into me as his hands moved down to my ass and cupped my butt cheeks.

“Why is that?” I asked again, moving my face closer to his and closing my eyes. I was so anxious to feel his lips on mine that I moved my arms up and hung them loosely around his neck.

“So I could do this,” he said and my eyes popped open as his hands lifted my dress up and ran down my bare ass. “You’re wearing a thong.”

“You got me.” I grinned, and he groaned as I shifted against him.

“Oh, Alice.” He grunted and then kissed me hard, his tongue seeking instant entrance into my mouth. The taste of wine on his lips was intoxicating as I kissed him back. My hands reached into his hair, and I tugged at his silky tresses as he continued to squeeze my ass.

“Aiden,” I groaned as his hands moved up my body and he stepped back and caressed my breasts.

“You’re so beautiful, Alice.” He palmed my breasts and then played with my nipples through the thin material of my dress. “So, so beautiful.” His voice was husky as he pulled me towards him and just held me for a few seconds.

“Take your dress off,” Aiden said and stepped back away from me. My body missed the warmth of his next to mine and I tried to move back towards him. “No.” He shook his finger at me. “No touching. Not yet.”

“Oh.” I pouted.

“Take your dress off.”

“What’s the magic word?” I asked with a small smile.

“There is no magic word required.” He growled and grabbed my wrists and pulled me towards him. “You do what I say, when I say.”

“Or what?” I breathed out, my body throbbing in excitement at his aggressive tone.

“Or this.” His fingers ran down the side of body and back up again, rubbing the sides of my breasts roughly. He pulled me towards him and carried me towards the tall floor-to-ceiling glass window.

“Put your hands against the window,” he growled as he faced me toward the window and stood behind me. I placed my fingers against the glass and stared at all the lights in front of us.

“No one can see us, right?” I asked softly as he reached in front of me and grabbed my breasts.

“I don’t know,” he said huskily as he hands slid up my arms and held my hands against the window. “Do you care of they can?” he whispered into my ear as he moved up closer behind me. I could feel his hardness against my ass and I closed my eyes and mumbled something incoherently. This had gotten a lot hotter and sexier than even I had anticipated.

“I’m going to have you tonight, Alice.” He kissed my neck. “I’m going to have you screaming my name and doing things you never thought you would do.”

“What things?”

“Take off your dress first,” he growled and stepped away from me. I turned around slowly and looked at him. His eyes were dark with desire, and I could see a nerve throbbing in his throat. His tie was slightly undone and he looked like the sexiest unkempt man I’d ever had the pleasure of seeing. I stood in front of him silently and slowly pulled my dress off and threw it at his chest.

I heard his loud intake of breath as he stared at my almost naked body. I was wearing a red thong and red lace bra to match my red heels. I knew that he could see my nipples pointing out because my bra was practically see-through.