PROLOGUE
SKYE
Nine years ago . . .
“I love you,” I murmured to Aiden Sinclair as he held me tightly against his body in another good-bye hug that was breaking my heart.
The fact that I’d just said those words probably surprised me more than it did Aiden.
After all, I’d given him my virginity over the summer we’d spent together, so he had to know that he made me feel things I’d never experienced before.
He was a piece of myself that had always been missing. I just hadn’t known it until he’d started to look at me like I was his, like we belonged together.
I’m not a romantic. Far from it. Maybe I was only eighteen years old, but I’d had to grow up early, and my life was far from a fairy tale. The only exception had been the time I’d spent with Aiden over this magical summer that was now coming to an end.
Reluctantly, I let go of the tight grip I had around his neck as he pulled back. But I was rewarded by seeing the face of the man I loved more than I’d ever loved anyone.
His beautiful blue eyes studied me as he said huskily, “I’ll miss you, sweetheart. But I’ll be back in a little over eight weeks. Are you going to be okay?”
For a moment, I was disappointed that he hadn’t told me that he loved me, too. But maybe it was just too soon for him.
Not that I didn’t want to hear those words right now, but we had only been dating for a couple of months.
I shot him a small smile. “Of course. Are you afraid I’m not going to wait for you? If you are, I have to tell you that you’ve kind of ruined me for any other guy.”
Aiden and I joked like that. We’d started off the summer as friends. His sister Jade, my best friend, had left for the university early, right after our high-school graduation. And yeah, I’d seen Aiden around, but I was pretty sure he’d taken pity on me once his sister had left, and hung out with me because I’d missed Jade so much. Not that the insane attraction between us hadn’t been there at the beginning of the summer, but he hadn’t acted on it until recently.
“Stay safe,” he demanded.
I nodded. Aiden knew my background. And it was no secret in Citrus Beach that my mother was eccentric, which was a nice way of saying she was actually certifiable at times.
“I’ll be fine,” I reassured him. Aiden was overly protective, but it was kind of nice because I’d actually never had anybody who worried about me or my safety. It was . . . comforting. He made me feel safe. “I’m starting classes in a couple of days.”
Unlike Aiden’s little sister, I hadn’t gotten an amazing scholarship at a prestigious college, so I’d settled for taking classes at our local junior college. But I was okay with that. I wasn’t gifted like Jade was, and I didn’t aspire to huge heights for my future. I just wanted a job I liked so I could get the hell away from my lunatic mother. And I knew I needed an education or trade to truly break away from her and the insanity in our house. Southern California wasn’t a cheap place to live, so getting a decent job that actually paid well was a must.
“I wish your mother would pay you for working your ass off at her restaurant,” Aiden grumbled.
I shifted and leaned back against his hard body. We were saying good-bye at the local park, taking a whole bench to ourselves. Since it was very early in the morning, there weren’t many people in the public place. There was nobody else in sight.
His arms wrapped around me from behind, and I let out a sigh of contentment as I rested my head against his chest, wishing he wasn’t due to leave for an eight-week commercial fishing job within the next fifteen minutes. But I knew he was doing it for his family. He still had a younger brother and sisters to support.
I’d never met a man who worked as hard as Aiden did for his family. Maybe that was partially the reason I’d fallen for him so hard.
Finally, I answered him. “In my mother’s mind, she does pay me. She feeds me, and she lets me live in her house.”
“That’s bullshit,” he rumbled. “You’re her goddamn daughter, not her slave.”
“I just have to deal with it for a couple of years,” I explained to him patiently. “Once I finish the nursing program, I’ll be able to get out on my own. It’s not a problem, Aiden. Really, it’s not.”
I’d dealt with my mother my entire life. I could handle a couple more years. I’d just have to keep thinking about the future instead of dwelling on how much I needed to get out of crazy town. I didn’t have a whole lot of choice.
Yes, I’d worked in my mother’s run-down café for years, but since I wasn’t an employee, I technically had no work experience. What I needed was an education. Even if I could land a waitressing job that paid, I couldn’t support myself on that income, or go to school to get a job that would get me out of my mother’s home for good.
As long as I was living with my mother, I’d be forced to continue being her free labor.
But it was a means to a much happier end if I could finally be free.
“Baby, if I wasn’t so goddamn poor—”
“Stop,” I interrupted him. “I’m not your responsibility, Aiden.”
God knew he had way too many of those as it was. He and his two older brothers, Noah and Seth, had held their family together and raised their three younger siblings. To me, he was a hero who’d put his own needs aside for his family for years. I didn’t want him putting himself down. Ever. Being poor wasn’t something he should be ashamed of. Keeping the Sinclair family together, in spite of the fact that they didn’t have much money, should make him proud.
Aiden and I had both grown up poor. Maybe that was why we understood each other so well.
“I want you to be my responsibility, sweetheart. I want you to be mine,” he said in a low, dangerous tone that always made me melt. “I know you’re probably too damn young for me, but I’ve given up fighting that.”
There was a six-year age gap between us, but it wasn’t something we’d ever really noticed. I was pretty sure we were both old souls and had acted like adults for as long as we could remember.
“I am yours,” I told him. “But that doesn’t mean you have to support me. My heart is yours.”
I turned and put my palm against the scruff on his jaw, trying to make him understand that I didn’t want to ever be a burden to him. He’d sacrificed so much. I just wanted to be with him.
Seeing the conflict in his gorgeous eyes made my heart ache.
“Your heart better be mine, because I’m not letting you go,” he finally grumbled as his head swooped down to capture my mouth.
The feel of his gorgeous, hot, silken lips on mine set my body on fire. As usual, it started with an electric spark between my thighs that turned into roaring flames within seconds.
I wanted to claim this man as mine right now.
I wanted to know he’d always be with me.
I wanted so much more than just an intense summer romance.
I knew I’d have to wait. Aiden’s family would come first until they were all raised and educated. I loved him for his family loyalty and drive to see all of his siblings independent. So I was more than willing to tamp down my instincts until he was free of those obligations. Aiden was worth it.