Aria's Alpha

6. Aria

I returned to my hotel and threw my bag on the bed while I stripped off my jacket. I paced back and forth in the room. My emotions were jumbled. What had just happened? As a trained medical professional, I was the epitome of grace under pressure. Nothing phased me. But Xavier Stone phased me. In ways I couldn’t understand or explain upon the first meeting. One thing was certain, I was inexplicably attracted to and deeply affected by him. Tomorrow was going to be a fun day.

It was past 2 am and I was tossing and turning in bed unable to get comfortable. After a day filled with such contrasting emotions, I could not relax and sleep. I flipped on my back and stared at the ceiling. When I closed my eyes, I saw the haunting blue of Xavier’s eyes and his perfect lips. I started imagining his lips on mine and doing sinful things to my body. My hand traced down to my lower lips and I started stroking myself as I imagined how it would feel to have his hand or his tongue in that place. I clutched the bedsheet and felt my bud swell. Soon my back arched off the bed as my orgasm washed over me and I relaxed into sleep.

I was waiting in the hotel lobby a few minutes before nine the following morning. I was a bit flustered and curious if the chemistry I felt yesterday was real. I was wearing my favorite jeans which hugged my butt just right with a thin forest green sweater that brought out the green in my hazel eyes. My brown booties had a bit of heal since I was several inches shorter than Xavier. I was wearing a necklace handed down to me from my mother because it helped me feel grounded. I wasn’t sure if yesterday was real, but I wanted to look cute just in case.

For some reason I sensed Xavier before he walked through the door. That wasn’t particularly uncommon, I always had a really strong gut instinct or intuition upon which I relied. It rarely steered me wrong. As I laid eyes on him, my heart started beating faster. He looked mouth-watering with a smart plaid shirt rolled up to his elbows showing off his well-muscled forearms. His hair perfectly messy, but shiny and soft and I wanted to run my fingers through it. In his hands he carried two coffees. Once again, I was held captive by his indigo blue eyes that shimmered with emotion as he approached me.

“Good morning, Aria.” Sheesh, I loved the way my named rolled off his tongue, like it was sweet honey.

“Morning, Xavier.”

“I thought you might like a coffee but wasn’t sure of your preference. Latte or black?”

“Thank you! I do need a coffee. The latte is perfect.” He grinned as he handed it over to me. Our fingers brushed as I took the coffee and I felt that stunning electricity pass through my hand, up my arm, and down to my core, again. So, it was real yesterday!

"I was thinking we could grab some breakfast and talk about what sort of places you want to see today," Xavier suggested.

"Will waffles be involved? And bacon. Because if you tell me this cute little town does not have waffles, I'm turning down the job."

"There will definitely be waffles and bacon involved. Promise. Are you that confident you'll get an offer?"

"Who wouldn't want me? I'm qualified, l killed it in the interview, I have small town, community hospital experience, and I'm interested in living here. Plus, I'm fun."

Xavier looked at me with an intensity I wasn't expecting, "I know I certainly want you."

I gulped and felt heat course straight to my lady parts while I clenched my thighs. The air between us thickened and my breath came quicker. He leaned in just a little, "Let's get you some waffles to seal the deal."

I wordlessly nodded.

By the time we arrived at the breakfast cafe, I managed to recover my senses. The cafe did, indeed, have waffles and they were delicious. Several people at the café knew and greeted Xavier, which made me more comfortable. He greeted each of them by name, and I was impressed that he knew specific details about each of their lives. With Xavier, the conversation flowed naturally. He was interesting, funny, and humble. Halfway through our breakfast, I realized I was on a really good first date. That idea gave me pause; was it a date or just kindness from a devilishly handsome stranger? Deciding not to overthink it, I continued to enjoy our conversation.

Xavier looked across the booth, "So what sort of places do you want to look at?"

"I would love something with a view or a great porch. And a firepit. I prefer a small house, but I'm pretty open. It should also be close to the hospital because of the call schedule, should I get the job."

"Are you an outdoors sort of person?"

"If you consider sitting on the porch drinking wine outdoorsy," I joked. "Just kidding. I love being outside, hiking, camping, kayaking, hammocking. All of the beautiful nature and the proximity to the lake is one of the reasons I applied for this job."

"Hammocking?"

"You know. Where you string a hammock between two trees and lay in it while you look at the sky. Such a great way to relax and unwind."

"Sounds great. What about pets? Do you need a place where pets are allowed?" Xavier asked.

"No kids, no pets, no plants. Live plants, that is. I have a few fake plants. Hard to have a pet when you work some crazy hours and regularly have long days. I thought about a fish once but didn't do it."

"So, if you had pets would you be more of a dog or cat person?"

"Dog, definitely. Not a fan of cats. I had a not great experience when I was younger."

Xavier chuckled, "I am not a cat fan either."

Xavier paid for breakfast in spite of my protestations, further convincing me that this was maybe an actual date. We spent the rest of the day looking at several properties around the town, but none of them felt quite right. The day sped by, and it was one of the most fun days I had in a while. Xavier was a great tour guide and filled me in on all sorts of interesting and useful information about the town. Late in the afternoon, he looked at me. "None of these seem quite right to me. I have an outside the box idea, if you're interested."

"I agree. Each of these places has some charming qualities and things for which I'm looking, but none of them seem like a good fit. I'm definitely interested in outside the box ideas and would love to see it." I paused. We were resting against his Land Rover with our arms crossed in the driveway of the last house. It had been a lovely day and I felt like I had always known Xavier. Somehow, we were standing right next to each other, almost touching. Over the course of the day our proximity kept getting closer. I was drawn to him, kind of like a magnet, and I really wanted to keep touching him to see if the tingles were always present. I definitely wanted to spend more time with Xavier.

Looking up at him, "If you have the time, I would like to drive around the area more tomorrow and just get a better feel for the place," I asked.

His eyes lit up. "Absolutely, I will. But on one condition."

"What's that?"

"Have dinner with me."

"Tonight?"

"Well, tonight is a given because it's almost dinner time already and my favorite place in town is on the way back to your hotel. I'm talking about dinner, at a time of my choosing, in the future."

"It’s fairly presumptuous to think I will have dinner with you tonight just because it’s close to dinner time, don’t you think? What if I already have plans?” I asked.

He literally growled at me, and I was taken aback. “Do you have plans?” he gritted out.

“I’m not sure it’s any of your business,” I retorted.

He took a deep breath, “Aria, will you please have dinner with me tonight, and in the future?”

I shrugged, trying to play it cool even though I was secretly thrilled he wanted to continue spending time together and see me again, "You're not the worst company, you chew with your mouth closed, and you smell good, so sure. Dinner tonight, and a dinner date, with you, sometime in the future."

He laughed, and it was magical. I could listen to him laugh with me and never grow tired of it. "I smell good?! What do I smell like?" He raised an eyebrow and looked at me.

I faced him and stood on my tiptoes to lean in. But I lost my balance and his hands went around my waist to steady me. My body lit up with sparkling tingles everywhere Xavier touched, and I felt my panties dampen. How was I this turned on by a simple touch? He leaned in, and I could feel his warm breath on a sensitive spot under my ear. "What do I smell like to you?" he whispered into my ear.

I closed my eyes as I felt him gently lean in and I took a deep inhale. My mouth went dry with his closeness and I wanted his lips on my body. Everywhere on my body and all at once. I couldn't think about anything else in that moment, except Xavier being close to me and sharing breath with him. "What do I smell like to you?" he whispered again. I stammered, "You...you...smell like...You smell like the best tobacco I've never smoked with a hint of cedar forest. It reminds me of a childhood memory and makes me feel safe."

"I make you feel safe?" Xavier murmured into my ear.

I whispered, "I think so, yes," and swallowed again, my throat dry. Apparently, all the moisture in my body was pooling at my core.

Xavier inhaled deeply and leaned a hairsbreadth closer and placed the sweetest, softest, most gentle kiss just below my ear on a spot I didn't even know was erogenous. It was, perhaps, the most sensual thing a man had ever done to me. His soft lips lingered there like he was having some sort of internal battle as to whether he should continue kissing me.

I heard his phone ring and the spell was seemingly broken. We stepped away from each other and he answered the call. I leaned back against the SUV to catch my breath.

After a few minutes Xavier came back, "I'm so sorry. There's an emergency with my company. I need to go deal with the situation, so I will have to drop you back at your hotel now. But I will make it up to you."

"No problem. But you still owe me two dinners since you're bailing. I'm not letting you off the hook for that," I teased him.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He grinned in response as we got back in the car.