Her Canadian Dream [Her Canadian Dream] (Siren Publishing Classic) (9 page)

“We…well no, he…oh God. How can I put this?”

The words came out in a rush as she went through all that had taken place last night. She told Jan everything, including the fact that she had backed out at the last minute. She told how she was deeply ashamed of leaving Aiden in the lurch. She also told her how understanding and sweet he had been about it and how he had put her to bed.

Jan whistled.

“I’ve never known Aiden to lose control like that before. And I’m glad he took the responsibility for the mistake he made. I’m not surprised though. He’s a good man and as far as I know he’s a good Dom. Brett and he have been friends since school. They grew up together and started the firm after learning their trade. I know he’s lonely. He rattles around in that big house and apart from going to the club on a Saturday, he rarely goes out.”

“He’s not going tonight.” Aly explained what he had told her this morning.

Eyes wide with surprise, Jan exclaimed, “Well, that’s a first as far as I know. He’s been to the club every weekend since I’ve known him. Did he say why?”

Aly looked slightly scared as she answered, “He wants to talk.”

Jan smiled inwardly. She could imagine what he wanted to talk about but she wasn’t going to let on to Aly.

“Well, hun. You are the only person who can know how you feel about this. If you think this is right for you, then go for it. But you have to understand that Aiden is a Dom and he’s not going to be happy with a ‘vanilla’ relationship. So if you have any doubts you need to say so before you get in too deep. I can tell you, though, that he has been interested in you for a while but he wouldn’t do anything about it until Sean was out of the picture.”

To Aly, this was no more than she was already aware of. He had been so dominant last night, but rather than put her off, it had thrilled her to the core. But a thrill was different to the real thing. She would hate to lead him on again as she did the previous evening. But that was exceptional, wasn’t it? She had been tired, overwrought, and scared. Everything had just taken over and swamped her. And she still found it hard to accept that he was interested in her.

“Jan. What if I go for it and then find it’s not for me? I don’t want to lead him on and I’ve only got another four months here anyway. It might not be a good idea to start something that might only last that long. Oh…what do I do? I want to try this…I’m almost sure it’s what I want…need! Is it fair to just have a short-term relationship?”

Jan sipped her coffee and considered the question.

“The fact is, Aly, you won’t know unless you try. I am sure that Aiden is aware of the time limit on this. He must accept that if he is still interested in pursuing you. To be honest…can I be blunt?”

Again, Aly nodded.

“Well. Er…honey, you might not realise it, but you are, I’m sure, a natural submissive. I see loads of them in the club. I’ve seen Aiden play with some of them, but I have never known any of them to interest him the way you do.”

A flash of jealousy ran through Aly at the thought of Aiden playing with any of the subs in the club. She knew she had no reason to be jealous. After all, she had only just met the man. But it still didn’t sit right with her.

Pushing her thoughts aside she told Jan, “Well, he’s making dinner tonight and he wants to talk, so maybe I’ll be in more of a position to make a decision after that.”

Aly’s tiny smile broadened into a grin as Jan said, “Lucky you! Although Brett is, at this minute, starting off the casserole we are having later. At least…he’d better be!” They both laughed, knowing that Jan would forgive him even if he hadn’t.

A glance at the clock showed that it was almost time to close up for the day. Thankfully the rain had eased off, although the sky was still dark and overcast.

Locking up the store, Jan walked through to the back room where Aly was donning her coat.

“Sweetie, just do one thing tonight…be yourself. Aiden wouldn’t want you to do anything you’re not happy with. He’s too good a Dom, as I think he proved last night. Tell him how you feel. Tell him that although you are interested, you need to go slowly. He will be more than happy with that, I’m sure. And then…just go with the flow! Let yourself go a little. Have fun!”

Aly then left through the rear door and Jan climbed the stairs to the apartment to see if dinner had indeed been started as promised.

Driving home, Aly didn’t dare let her thoughts drift. The roads were slick after the rain, so she had to really concentrate. She almost missed the turning down to Aiden’s house and once on the little lane, she slowed down as the surface was a lot muddier than it had been this morning.

Pulling up outside the house, she sighed. It was so nice to have somewhere like this to come home to. It was the type of house she had always dreamed of living in. Everything fit. The décor, the furnishings, and even the quilts on the bed were just what she would have chosen herself.

Giving herself a mental shake, she climbed out and headed for the front door. She opened it with her key and then remembered that she hadn’t had another one cut today. She must get that done on Monday.

The house was warm and inviting as she stepped into the hall. The smell of something Italian drifted from the kitchen and she sniffed in appreciation.

Taking off her coat and kicking off her shoes, she sighed with pleasure as her feet recovered from her busy day. Walking through to the kitchen she stopped at the doorway at the sight in front of her.

Aiden stood at the cooker stirring something. He turned as he heard her come in.

“Hi there. You look tired, sweetheart. Sit yourself down and I’ll make you some tea. Dinner will be about eight if that’s OK with you? I’ve made a lasagne and I’ll do some garlic bread with it if you like that? If not I won’t bother. Don’t you think it’s awful if a couple eat supper together but only one has garlic?”

Aiden almost kicked himself at the way he was babbling on, not giving her a chance to talk.

“Anyway, how was your day? Was it as busy as you had thought?”

What the fuck was wrong with him? When had he turned into a gibbering geek?

As usual, she answered shyly, her nervousness around him still very much in evidence.

“It was busy. We almost sold all the Halloween stuff in stock, despite the awful weather. That’s good for Jan because it means she isn’t left with tons of stock to store. It was so busy we didn’t even eat lunch, just the doughnuts that Brett bought us this morning. And even then we didn’t have them until after one. I have to admit that I am very hungry and that smells wonderful.” She indicated the pot that he was stirring.

Leaving his stirring, he went across to the fridge. Her nerves went on alert as he passed her. He pulled open the fridge door and grabbed something from inside which he put on the table in front of her. Although his closeness flustered her somewhat, she looked down at the plate and her mouth immediately started to water.

Placed in the centre of the plate was a muffin.

“Eat,” he urged.

She looked up at him through her lashes and knew that he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Pulling the wrapper off, she took a small bite, almost groaning with pleasure as she realised that it was blueberry, her favourite.

Aiden went back to his stirring at the cooker.

“Supper is a couple of hours away so that will keep you going until then.”

As Aly savoured the sweet treat she asked, “Where did you buy this? In town? Blueberry is my favourite and this is great.”

Somewhat embarrassed, he confessed, “I made it.”

She blushed. “What? Oh sorry, that was rude of me. Did you really make this? Today?”

Nodding, he continued with the dinner preparation as he admitted, “I enjoy baking when I get a chance. Today has been wet and windy so I just thought I would knock these up this morning. There are more if you’d like. Just help yourself.”

Without thinking, she blurted out, “A good cook as well as everything else,” then blushed as she realised what she had said.

He grinned at her. “Everything else?”

Aly got up and crossed the room to slap his arm playfully.

“Well you are good at construction I heard.”

He laughed. “Quick catch, sweetheart.”

The atmosphere, which, up until then, had been slightly tense, eased as he teased her, causing her to blush even deeper. She quickly changed the subject.

“Do you need a hand with supper, or is it OK for me to pop up and shower before we eat? I’d like to get out of these work clothes and into something nicer.”

Again, teasing, he raised his eyebrows.

“I’m good with supper, thanks, but you getting out of those clothes sounds good to me, baby.”

Before the blush took over her whole body she rushed out of the room to the sound of his soft laugh.

Heading up the stairs, she thought about the evening ahead. Would they be able to sort things out after the previous night’s disaster? She really hoped so. Never had she felt this way before. Her interest in BDSM had always been in the back of her mind but it had always been a bit of a guilty secret. Sean’s disgust had only reinforced that idea. Now she knew about Jan and Brett and knew that Aiden, too, was into the lifestyle, she didn’t feel too badly about it.

What to wear this evening though?

She didn’t want to wear anything too revealing because she didn’t want Aiden to think she was trashy, but she wanted something to make her feel good. Going through her clothes in the large cupboard, she despaired. Clothes had always been bottom of her list of essentials whilst she and Sean were saving for the wedding. Now she realised that her wardrobe was sadly lacking. The majority of her clothes were casual. She had loads of jeans and sweaters, but not much in the way of skirts or dresses. She finally settled on a dress she had brought over with her but not yet worn here. A pleasing shade of teal green, the skirt softly flared around her knees whilst the top fitted her tightly, dipping quite low at the front, leaving an ample amount of cleavage on show. She felt good in it though, so after showering and washing her hair, she started to dress.

One of her passions, and something she did spend her money on, was good lingerie. Most of what she had she had brought over from England, just like her dress.

With care she selected a black lace bra and matching thong. Her breasts, which she had always been embarrassed about because of their size, spilled slightly over the top of the lace, increasing her cleavage in order to maximise the dress’s effect.

Slipping the dress on, she twirled. Happy that she was looking the best she could, she spritzed her perfume and walked through the mist. She made her way back down the stairs, apprehension causing butterflies to flutter in her stomach, in anticipation of the evening ahead.

Aiden had chuckled as Aly raced from the room. He finished off the lasagne sauces and assembled the dish, placing it in the oven before starting on the garlic bread. She hadn’t told him whether she wanted it, but he would make it anyway and if she didn’t want it then he would just ditch it.

Her blushes had been endearing and strangely erotic. His dick had been on alert from the minute she had walked in and he was glad that she hadn’t seemed to notice. She might have been living with a man but she still seemed to be a bit of an innocent, certainly when it came to the BDSM scene. She seemed to be interested and she knew a bit about what it meant, but he was wary about pushing her into something she wasn’t ready for.

Switching the oven down a little, he himself went up the stairs to shower and dress in something nicer than the sweats he had worn all day. As he passed the family bathroom he could hear the shower running and could visualise her in there, naked and slick with shower gel. His poor dick didn’t know what was going on lately!

Please let us be able to sort something out tonight!

* * * *

When Aly arrived back in the kitchen, Aiden was nowhere to be seen. The aromas coming from the oven made her mouth water and her tummy grumbled in sympathy. He had already set the table with cutlery and glasses. A candle was in the centre, ready to be lit. In the background, coming from the lounge, was soft music, something by Adele if she wasn’t mistaken.

Similar musical taste.

On the countertop was an open bottle of red wine, some of which she poured into the two glasses on the table, taking one for herself and sipping at it as she walked through to the lounge.

She settled on the sofa, the fire having already been lit earlier. The soft glow lit the room so she didn’t bother to switch on any lamps. Slowly she relaxed, curling her feet under her. Sipping her wine, she started again to think through what Aiden might want to talk about. She had now made up her mind to go with the flow and see where it took her. After all, she knew she had safe words which she could use if things got too intense.

She heard Aiden come down and go into the kitchen. Then he appeared in the doorway through to the lounge, holding the wine she’d poured. He had on a pair of soft denim jeans which hung low on his slim hips. A white polo shirt clung to the muscles on his chest, showing Aly proof that he didn’t just sit in an office all day, but worked manually, too. Lifting the glass up in salute to her he said, “Thanks for this. Supper will probably be another half hour. Hope you’re still hungry?” As he spoke her tummy gave a delicate rumble and she giggled.