Claire watched them all leave with a satisfied look on her face. She liked the quick progress she was seeing. Aiden on the other hand, stared at her in silence for a while. He noticed the deep in thought expression she had. She was obviously happy and he didn't want to be the one to interrupt her moment.
Instead he took a quick scan of her body. But not in a lustful or hungry kind of way.
Judging by how tired everybody in the room looked when he came in, and the fact that Anna had mentioned how it was a full day of training, he wanted to make sure she wasn't hurt. Her earlier abilities were incredible, but that didn't mean she didn't get grazed once or twice.
After making sure she was without a scratch, he finished closing the space between them. In one fluid movement, he bent down and picked her up bridal style like he had done before. Earning a surprised yelp from Claire.
"Wait put me down!" She started to say as she attempted to push his chest away from her with her forearm to avoid touching him with her palms.
"Why?" He asked while his eyebrows knotted together in displeasure. She hadn't ever complained about him touching or picking her up before. Even when they had just met each other. Why was she doing so now?
"I-I'm..." She stuttered as she tried to keep creating space between them. And miserably failing at that too.
"You're what?"
"I-I'm...dirty. And sweaty too." Her cheeks started to heat up as she admitted the reason behind her reluctance to let him touch her. "I've been training all day. I must smell horrible."
Aiden's felt his heart squeeze. Not ten minutes ago she was completely dominating two bear like men without a hint of hesitation, yet now she was blushing from embarrassment due to her non-existent body odor.
'Adorable.' He thought to himself.
A hearty chuckle rumbled out of his chest as he pressed her even harder against his body. He then nudged his face in the crook of her neck and kissed her there. "You smell wonderful Angel. No need to shy away from me." Claire's face immediately turned a dark shade of red as a flustered smile spread across her face. Pulling his face back he continued. "Besides that, I'm tired of seeing you standing barefoot on this dirty floor." He said making Claire's heart flutter.
She hesitantly began to lift her hands to hold on to him, but stopped before actually doing so. "But it's a nice suit. I don't want to get it dirty."
"Having you in my arms is nicer than worrying about a suit." He said while smiling at her. "Clothes can be washed."
Seeing as he wasn't going to put her down anytime soon, Claire simply sighed and placed her arms around his neck to hold onto. She gripped onto him tightly as she hugged him close to her. Pressing her lips against his, she kissed him lovingly to which he happily complied.
After letting his reassuring words ease her hesitation to dirty him, she simply let herself enjoy being in his arms. Separating a bit from him, she gently smiled. "I'm glad you came."
Aiden tightened his grip around her. Lucas was completely right. He couldn't wait to see her. Giving her forehead a sweet kiss, he replied. "I'm glad you invited me."
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Following Claire's directions, Aiden carried her all the way to what seemed to be her sleeping quarters. He didn't let her feet grace the ground even once to which she didn't object. She was extremely happy since it was one of her favorite days, but it didn't mean she wasn't tired.
Claire had been training new recruits since sunrise. Only taking a handful of breaks for food and to use the bathroom every few hours. Her body was exhausted even though her face didn't show it. She was more than willing to let Aiden take the burden of walking off of her shoulders. Even if it were just for a bit. It wasn't until Claire finished with the routine security protocol to open the door she had guided Aiden to, that she finally asked to be let down.
Aiden inspected the floor and noticed it was white tile unlike the training room. He didn't like that option either making his eyebrows knot in dissatisfaction again.
"It's cold. Where are your slippers?" He said as he refused to let her feet touch what he knew would be ice cold floor tiles.
"I don't want to ruin another pair by dirtying them. It's okay." She said as she chuckled. It amused her that he had watched her fight in hand to hand combat with two burly men without worrying or disagreeing with it, yet was reluctant to let her touch the cold floor. It was was so contradicting that it felt funny to her.
Aiden scanned the room and noticed a kitchen area with an island surrounded by highchairs. "Please excuse my intrusion." He said to her as he stepped further inside and closed the door behind him with his foot. Reaching the island, he sat her down on one of the high chairs to avoid her touching the floor.
Claire simply shook her head with a silly grin on her face. Being treated with such overwhelming care was new to her. Colton had always been protective of her, but not to that extent. Even so, she was enjoying every second of Aiden's willingness to pamper her.
"Satisfied now?" She asked him with a small giggle. A man his size treating her so delicately was beyond entertaining.
Aiden's heart skipped another beat when he heard her. The soft expression on her face and the sound of her cute giggle was like being told he was special to her. And seeing as how she was doing so because of something he did, made him feel like he truly did posses otherworldly abilities that could grant him such a view.
He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek. Using his thumb to caress her, he silently watched her smile up at him.
"What?" She asked him. His eyes were so concentrated on her face that she thought she had dirt somewhere on it. "Do I have something on my face?" She saw him nod, but before she could lift her hand to attempt cleaning herself, he bent down a bit to be at her same eye level.
"You have a pair of amazing eyes." Aiden said in a whispered tone.
Claire blushed hard. She didn't expect the sudden complement. Her earlier tiredness, the fact that she was dirty and everything else was forgotten as she held her breath. He was looking at her so intensely that she couldn't find how to avert her eyes. Not that she was truly trying to anyway.
Aiden slowly closed the space between them and kissed her lips. He kissed her once, twice and by the third time, she had wrapped her arms around his neck. A clear signal for him to not stop. Something he had no plans on doing so soon. Moving both his hand to her waist, Aiden lifted her from the chair and sat her on the island counter top. Hugging her close by the waist with one arm and using his other to cup her face, he stared down at her lips with hunger.
"I really want to kiss you senseless right now Angel." He said as his hot breath fanned her face. Claire felt her heart's pace speed up. It was starting to beat so hard she was sure he could feel it on his own chest thanks to how close they were. "Can I?"
Claire heard him ask and nodded slowly. Not a second later, Aiden made her mind go blank.