3 Roughneck Bears One - Part 3

Juliette took a deep breath when she saw Aidan leave. He'd been staring at her all evening, just like always. She'd grown to know the special tingle against her skin that would come whenever he was watching. She had a love/hate relationship with the feeling. It was driving her crazy. Every time she thought she had herself under control, he would say something or linger a little too closely, and her mind and body would go all haywire again. In the two weeks that she'd been here, she'd been more aware of her attraction to him than she'd been to anyone she'd ever dated. Their business relationship was starting to feel like a work hazard. Juliette had no idea how to respond most days.

At first, she'd thought that he hated her, then it was obvious there was mutual respect growing, and now whenever he was near all she a felt was lust. Juliette tried to chalk it up to her dry spell. It had been months since she'd been laid. She considered that maybe if she could get a nice orgasm tonight, she would be able to go back to work without Aidan weighing so heavily on her mind. Even as she thought it, she knew it wasn't what her body wanted. She wanted his hard, stone chest on top of her as he drove deep into her wet pussy. She wanted his piercing eyes staring into her, his large hands clasped in hers above her head as he took his time.

"I would have had the salad too if I knew it would make me feel whatever has you blushing," said Liam as he plopped down into a seat next to her.

He was wearing that goofy grin that she'd come to playfully loathe.

"Sorry, I don't think what I was thinking would really work for you," said Juliette as she stabbed at a piece of lettuce.

"The two of you should really just have a go at it and get it over with," said Liam with a laugh.

"What the hell are you talking about you jerk-off?" asked Juliette.

She squinted at him through her glasses which only made him laugh harder.

"I'm talking about you and Aidan. Both of you are tiptoeing around each other trying not to admit what everyone else knows to be true," said Liam.

"I don't know what everyone else is suspecting, but things between Aidan and me are strictly professional," said Juliette.

She didn't miss the look on Liam's face as she wiped her full lips. He'd made a pass at her once, on one of his by weeks' home. He'd been simultaneously flirting up her best friend and her at the same time. When they'd found out, Juliette gave him a tongue lashing before graciously offering to bow out of his three-way. They'd been good friends ever since.

"Julie, I know you have a thing for Aidan, and I've never seen him so aware of any woman. Ever. It's practically unheard of for Aidan to be love struck, but you've put a spell on him. You can tell me that you didn't' notice, but I wouldn't believe you," said Liam.

"It's just because I'm the only woman here," said Juliette in a low voice. She didn't mean to sound sad when she'd said it, but she knew that had to be the only reason he would want to go after her.

"You don't know my brother. You don't know the clan we come from. He's not suppressing his interest in you because you are some randomly available woman. If he weren't interested, he wouldn't care about your feelings," said Liam.

His tone had become more serious though there was still amusement in his eyes. Juliette wondered what he was shielding her from exactly. She wouldn't get the chance to ask, yet.

* * *

Juliette pushed her glasses up her nose as she read the file over and over again. She'd seen those account numbers before in several other papers but didn't have a place for them to go. It was all starting to make sense. Originally, Aiden suspected that Andrew had just siphoned the money and splurged it on expenses for his life at home. From the looks of things, Andrew had gone a simpler route. He'd just rerouted the funds and had them sent to an alternative bank account. If they were lucky, they could get a little swift justice and have those funds transferred back. It would be a long shot, but she had to share the news with Aidan.

Juliette rushed to the living quarters. She pounded on Aidan's door but opened it before he could answer. She'd barely laid eyes on him before she started speaking about what she'd found. When Juliette finally looked up from the paper, Aidan was standing naked in front of her, using a towel to wipe his damp hair. Of their own accord, her eyes roamed over his body and the more she saw of him, the warmer she grew. He had to be chiseled from stone. His muscles carved out spaces in his body from his broad shoulders to his rock hard six pack. She followed the narrowing of his hips down to the thick blonde tuft of hair over his semi-hard cock. Juliette's breath staggered. Her body roared to life suddenly too aware of how long it had been since she'd had a decent lay. Her hands started to tremble as his muscled thighs came into view. Jesus, the man, looked sinfully good, and all of her noticed.

"I uh… I'm sorry. I should have waited for you to tell me to come in…" She mumbled before rushing for the door again.

"Juliette it's fine. Come in, you obviously have some important news for me," Aidan said as he wrapped a towel around his narrow waist.

It didn't matter that the barrier was suddenly there. Juliette still had the image of his cock in the root of her thoughts, and she was having trouble navigating around it. Her dreams were bad enough to have to fight through, throughout her day. Now this was going to be impossible to forget. She took a deep breath and tried to start over. This time, she kept her eyes firmly on the paper in front of her. He still was not dressed, and she was already flushed. She didn't want to get trapped in her fantasy where she stumbled into his arms.

"I think I may know a way for you to get your money back. It isn't completely lost but seems to be just sitting in a private account rerouted from your main accounts.In essence, I don't know why Andrew would, but if you could talk to him maybe he would release the money to you. You could get it all back," said Juliette.

It was a long shot that Andrew would just willingly send the money back, and highly improbable. However, something told Juliette that if there were a way to make that happen, Aidan would be the one to do it.

She bit down on her bottom lip as she waited for him to speak. The sooner he acknowledged her, the sooner she could get out of there and into the safety of her room. Aidan approached her, and she took a step back. She didn't know that she could be so close to him without reaching out to touch his perfectly chiseled body. She wanted him so badly it was tortuous to breathe. Juliette chided herself for not just waiting until the morning. She could have saved both of the heat of this moment, but her excitement had gotten the best of her. She'd wanted him to know she was taking her work seriously and looking for a solution. She'd never expected to find him half naked and looking good enough to claim. It was crazy of her to even fall into those thoughts, but she couldn't do anything to stop them.

Aidan took the paperwork from her trembling hands. He looked it over intently. His penetrating gaze followed every line, and she watched him in silence. He was so ruggedly handsome, so deliciously masculine that Juliette couldn't understand where the separation had happened with Liam. Had Liam been a little more Aidan and a little less womanizer, then Juliette would have had a hard time giving him up. An impossible time really, but that was another lifetime ago. In this one, Aidan barely recognized her as a woman with an eye for him. It was enough to shrink Juliette, but then again she'd been careful to hide her affinity for him anyway. She'd continue to do so as best she could, but her desires were starting to take over her emotions. The more she learned of Aidan Lawerence, the more she wanted him, and the physicality of it was becoming less her problem.

"This is great work. I want you to look more into this for me. Find any more information you can about this account without trouble. Andrew intentionally tried to hide this money, so I don't think he's going to give it up easily," said Aidan.

"I'll see what I can do," said Juliette in a soft voice. She was happy he acknowledged her work, but part of her felt a little let down by his professional response.

She didn't even know what else she wanted from him, but whatever it was she hadn't gotten it. Juliette took a deep breath. She looked down at the paper and found solace in the fact that she was earning her keep around here. Surely, that was what she'd wanted. She turned toward the door, content to call it a night. She needed to sort her feelings anyway.

"Juliette," said Aidan as her hand hit the doorknob.

"Yes," said Juliette. She turned back to him, and his gaze was on her in the most interesting way.

"I need to ask you something, and I don't want you to take it the wrong way," said Aidan.

"Okay," said Juliette confused. She wasn't sure what he would need to ask her that would require a disclaimer.

"What's your relationship with my brother Liam?" Aidan asked poignantly.

Juliette blinked twice. She didn't know where the question was coming from or why it would matter. Aidan was waiting for an answer, the look in his eyes questioning and defensive. Juliette opened her mouth to make a clever remark but thought better of it. Something in her told her it was important for him to know. She dropped her hand from the doorknob.

"He and I are friends nothing more. We met at a bar, he seemed to like my best friend and me, and I bowed out of the equation. We've been good friends ever since " she said.

"So the two of you have never mated?" He asked.

"Ugh … What?? No. Mated? That's an odd way to ask it," Juliette said with a chuckle.

Aidan didn't laugh. For a second, he looked embarrassed, and she wondered why. When his eyes found hers, Juliette's heart skipped a beat.

"why do you ask?" She found the nerve to question.

Aidan took a step back. He sat on the edge of his bed and stared at her. His eyes roamed over the soft curves of her body, and Juliette felt like she had nothing to hide from him. She turned to face him completely. Taking two steps, she started to close the gap between them. Aidan didn't tear his eyes from her. Instead, he cocked his head to one side and that amused smile she'd grown fond of pulled at the corners of his mouth.

"Do you really have to ask?" He countered her question.

"I'm not a woman who likes to assume anything. So if there is something you would like me to know Aidan Lawerence, now is the time to tell me," Juliette said.

Her heart would nearly jump from her chest when he stood over her. His arms, the size of mighty pythons wrapped around her waist and pulled her in. He tilted her head up to his and Juliette dropped the paper to the floor. Her hand found his chest, and the warm, smooth, surface of his skin warmed her to the core. His mouth found hers.