Christmas and Forever by Delilah Hunt Read Free Book Online Page B

sure. That is, until he had seen Liya, strolling and giggling with her male companion. He needed to get away. Eradicate her from his mind. The lure of the mountains and quietude would help him get back on track with his emotions.
    “I’m going to lock up now,” Liya remarked as she entered the back room.
    Aidan took a second from the shelf of immunization vials he was organizing and gave a brief jerk of the head. It was best to keep conversation with her at a minimum, to avoid lashing out at her for his perceived betrayal.
    She cleared her throat and regarded him fiercely, although her words carried an air of acceptance. “I should stop coming here, shouldn’t I?”
    His heart hammered. Her question made perfect sense. “That’s up to you. You’ve been a valuable member of the staff here—”
    She snorted loudly. “Am I? Then why do you treat me like I don’t exist anymore? This week, for example, I can count on one hand the amount of times you’ve spoken to me.”
    Tension straddled Aidan’s shoulders. What did Liya wish to hear from him? “I haven’t had much to say to you. I’m not sure what you expected, were expecting, from me.”
    Her eyes rounded out into orbs before she pursed her lips. “Then I guess it’s settled. I won’t be coming back after today, Dr. Keegan. I hope you can find someone else to replace me after the holidays.”
    Aidan fought back a guffaw. She was dead serious, that much he could see. The new year had yet to kick off, and already it was looking worse than the previous one. Last year he didn’t have anyone he looked forward to seeing during the weekdays. Now all that was to be taken away from him when she left.
    He grappled for control and something to say to mask the vulnerability. “I suppose that’s understandable. I’m sure you’d like to have more time for your…personal life.”
    “You don’t know anything about my personal life, Aidan. Let’s not pretend.”
    His ears perked up. She had switched to his name again. He wished she would stick with it and stop the Dr. Keegan crap whenever she became angry, as well as the more heinous, “Sir”, as she had called him in front of her boyfriend. Once again the reminder of the other man in Liya’s life reeled in another wave of fury. Aidan stared her down, the anger smoldering into arousal that refused to be quelled. His cock hardened painfully. The provoking female standing before him was one hundred percent, all woman.
    There was nothing girlish about her, no matter how hard Aidan tried to tell himself she was simply a woman-child. Liya’s luscious curves made him pine to stroke his hands along her hips and plunge his cock into her over and over.
    Voice low, Aidan asked, “Would your boyfriend approve of me calling you to talk, as you suggested? Or does he also think I’m harmless after seeing me last night?”
    She tilted her head and parted her bow-shaped lips, peering at him with a mixture of confusion and something else he couldn’t identify. Tenderness? Pity? He hoped it was the former.
    “Is that what this is about? You saw me outside of work and you’re upset that I was with someone?”
    He gritted his teeth. Why hadn’t he kept his mouth shut? Bitter old man . “Upset? You’re an employee here, Ms. Emerson, why should I be upset about your personal life?”
    She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay. Does that mean you planned on calling me, then? I want the truth. No games.”
    He wanted to lie to her, tell her not even in his darkest hour would he reach out to her.
    “Yes.”
    She gave a slow nod and advanced a step closer. “If it makes any difference, he’s not my boyfriend. You’re not the only one who’s lonely, Aidan and you’re not the only one who has been hurt. The only difference is I don’t wear my pain like a badge. You do, and I suppose my greatest wish for you is to toss it out.” She pressed a hand to his chest. His entire body went taut at the electrifying touch. “Would Sarah have