Plié (Lost Birds Book 2)

Part 39 Interests

The air outside was crisp and cool. I could see a bit of fog from my breath when I breathed out through my mouth. It was refreshing compared to how stuffy it had been indoors with so many people. I sat on the porch swing and closed my eyes to enjoy the feeling of the cool air around me. Chills sprouted up on my arms after a few minutes but I didn't care. It wasn't cold enough to make me shiver yet.

I kept my mind blank and focused on breathing instead of thinking. Being engaged to Stephan made it feel like I was drowning. Finally after months I could breath and it wasn't tiny gulps of air in between the crushing waves.

"Are you ok?" Aydan's warm gravelly voice pulled me away from my focused breathing.

I smiled and gave him a quick nod.

"What happened?" I asked.

I shifted over on the bench so that Aydan could take a seat next to me. He unbuttoned his jacket and slid it off before sitting next to me. He flipped the jacket over my shoulders and shook his head.

"Some of the kids in the frat house were willing to testify against Stephan. Apparently he was providing them with drugs in exchange for intel on potential girls." Aydan said.

"So he's not just going to jail for the drugs? He's going to get busted for the missing girls as well?" I asked.

Aydan tilted his head and let out a heavy sigh.

"Right now it's very circumstantial. If anyone changes their story or any new evidence comes up then the case with the drug charges may fall apart. As for the girls..." Aydan shook his head. "The only evidence we have against him would be the pictures. Unfortunately we don't think it's enough to prove that he is responsible for their disappearances."

"Wait... not enough to prove in a court of law or not enough to prove it period?" I asked.

"We have no doubt that he had a hand in what happened to these girls." Aydan said.

"But..." I knew there was a but from the way he hesitated.

"But he's not working alone. He couldn't have done this alone and we know that he is not the one that took you from school which means someone was helping him, maybe several others based on the volume of disappearances." Aydan said.

"So we're kind of back to square one?" I sighed. 

I dropped my head into my hand and rubbed at my forehead. It was frustrating that after everything we went through we were still no closer to finding these poor girls.

"Are you sure you're ok baby?" Aydan asked. His hand came up to rest against the back of my neck and began tracing circles with his fingers.

"I'm fine." I said looking back up at him. "I just thought... I don't know. I think I thought that if we were able to get Stephan then we would be able to find those girls."

Aydan nodded slowly. The corner of his mouth was tilted up as he looked at me and I couldn't help but feel that he was laughing at me.

"What?" I asked biting my lip. Maybe I had something on my face.

"You're just using a lot of 'we's. It's a nice change." Aydan said.

"Oh." I whispered. I darted my eyes away from him and pretend to look around to hide my blush.

"As for the girls... we are still making progress. We have removed a chunk of threats which means that either the disappearances will significantly decrease or who ever else is out there will try to over compensate. Over compensating will likely lead to mistakes and mistakes usually lead to getting caught." Aydan said.

I nodded. That made sense. Since I was sure my blush had faded I turned back to focus on him.

"So what happened with my parents?" I asked.

"Well..." Aydan sighed leaning back against the bench. "We are considering the potential of a mutual arrangement. Basically, there will be a lot of meetings and discussions regarding what could be which means a lot of extra travel and time away." Aydan said with a wink.

"How did you do that?" I asked breathless.

"Just a few carefully placed words and a phone call baby." Aydan said.

"That's really it?" I asked.

"Mostly." Aydan nodded slowly. "They also wanted to know what interest I had in you because they were concerned with mixing business with pleasure."

"Oh..." I said. "What- uhm- what did you say?" I asked.

"I told them that I am very interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with you so if they intend to honor your engagement with Stephan or create a new one with someone equally distasteful then they could forget about any potential business ventures with my company." Aydan said.

"You didn't!" I gasped.

"I absolutely did... And they agreed." He shrugged.

"Ohh my... Aydan..." I shook my head. I couldn't believe that he lied for me.

"I'm so sorry." I sighed.

"For what?" Aydan asked cocking an eye brow at me.

"For... that... that you had to lie like that." I said shaking my head again.

Aydan reached up grasping my chin. It stopped my head shaking and forced me to look at him.

"What exactly do you think I lied about?" He asked narrowing his eyes at me.

"The uhmm... Your... interests." I muttered. I knew my face was changing shades as I looked up into the jaded green.

Aydan shook his head and a smirk flickered over his face.

"The only interest I lied about tonight would be the one regarding business." Aydan said.

He shifted on the bench, sitting up. The movement put him closer to me and I had to crane my head back even more to look up at him. Aydan's fingers on my chin pushed forcing me to turn my head slightly and he lowered his mouth to place a burning kiss just bellow my ear.

"My interest in you, baby, is very real." He whispered.

I inhaled sharply and held my breath. Aydan's soft lips brushed across my jaw along with the scratchy bite of his five o'clock shadow. The unfamiliar sensation left a tingling path all the way up to my lips.

"Breath baby." He whispered and kissed me.

Aydan's kiss was controlled and demanding. Every press of his lips against mine urged a response that my body readily provided. His hand tilted my chin just slightly before sliding back into my hair. His grasp in my hair was strong but in no way painful. He deepened the kiss. His tongue pressed past my lips to take control of my own. I relented. My mouth and body molded to his and I relished in the sense of not needing to be in control. There was none of the fear or uncertainty that I'd had with the others. Aydan knew exactly what to do. He knew what he wanted me to do and he showed me exactly how to do it.

When Aydan released me from the kiss I was breathing hard and the butterflies in my stomach were trembling with energy.

"Woah." I whispered

Aydan smirked and gave my lips one more quick kiss.

"You should go in and get some rest. The next few weeks are going to be... interesting." Aydan said.

His voice sounded even deeper than before and the quivering in my stomach sank even lower.

"Uh... ok..." I managed with a gulp.

"Goodnight baby." Aydan said.

"G-goodnight." I croaked. 

End Book 2