17

Aislinn shook her head. “I can’t. Please I just need to go to the restroom. I’ll be fine.” She sounded so defeated. Cullen knew how she felt.
“Aislinn,” Meghan said in a sympathetic tone, “I need to tell Liam something. I know you told Rissa that you had to go to court today. Is this about that? What happened?”
“Rissa told you?” Aislinn was scared to death she was going to lose her job. God she had just been to court and found guilty of battery. Never mind that it wasn’t her. She would have done it herself if she had been capable. But as it was it didn’t matter who had done it. She was the one who was found guilty and the Taigh-oèsda wasn’t the kind of place that employed people with a record.
“Hey, don’t be like that,” Meghan said softly. She reached out to Aislinn again. “She was just trying to help. We’re on your side here.”
She shook her head. Well what was she going to say? It was public record. If she lied they could look it up. “Fine,” she said with that defeated tone and more tears. “Remember when I first got here and I said that Cul- Lord Arnauk had helped me out with something?” Cullen felt his stomach turn.
“Yhea,” Meghan smiled. “You’re entrance here was kinda hard to forget.” She was trying to be lighthearted about it but it obviously wasn’t helping.
“Well my last boss had attacked me and Lord Arnauk stopped him. He ended up in the hospital and decided to sue me for battery and he just won. I got fined and he came after me again on my way out of the damn court.” Aislinn’s voice broke at that point. “I can’t lose this job Meghan. If I do I’ll never pay off the bills I had before and now there’s this fine. I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
Cullen almost went into the room. He stood there growling under his breath. That piece of coach. He had one hell of a nerve. Cullen thought. Wait ’til he sees what I do to him when I get my claws on him again. Cullen was nearly of a mind to go back to the Blood Pit and burn to the ground when Aislinn and Meghan came out of the break room and saw him standing there.
Aislinn’s eyes went as wide as saucers and the tears started again. Meghan saw the standard Cullen Arnauk dismissal stare and gave Aislinn a reassuring glance before she hurried off down the hall. Aislinn looked like a scared animal about to bolt. Cullen took hold of her before she could run and led her down to the office further down the hall. When they walked in Liam looked up from his desk and upon seeking Cullen stood up.
“Lord Arnuak?” Liam looked between the two. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” Cullen said shortly. “Can I use your office a moment?”
“Of course,” Liam said in confusion and quickly let himself out.
Aislinn was still staring at him as though he was about to do something awful and that cut through him worse than anything else that had recently happened. He could handle any one being afraid of him. But not her. “It’s alright,” he said gently. “You’re not losing your job or getting yelled at or anything else.”
It was the look in his eyes that calmed her down more than anything else. This past week had been worse than any in her life. Perhaps worse than her time with the Circle. She couldn’t understand her need for his approval or touch but being so close was more than she could handle right now. Aislinn stepped toward him, tears of frustration and embarrassment burning their way down her cheeks, and buried her face in his chest as she wrapped her arms around him. She didn’t really know why she did it. She had refused any comfort from Meghan. She just need to be close to him.
Cullen wrapped his arms around her automatically and leaned into the hug so that his check rested on the top of her head. They stood there feeling the warmth pass between them and feeling the need for more growing relentlessly. When she had finally calmed down he managed to pull back a little. He placed his hand under her chin and brought her face up to his. Slowly he kissed away the tears. Then placed a small gentle kiss on her lips. At least it meant to be small and gentle, but as she kissed him back the intensity grew. They melted into the kiss and hands began to roam.
As Cullen felt his wolf beginning to stir he knew he needed to slow this and find out what he could do to actually help. Seducing her in this kind of state was just not a possibility. He gently pushed her down. Aislinn tried to lean in for another kiss but he managed to catch her and stop it before she caught him again and his wolf became unstoppable.
“Aislinn,” he said softly. “We need to talk. I need you to tell me why you left me out of this court business.”
She looked away from him. Her arms dropped and she stepped away. Suddenly he wished he hadn’t asked. “I didn’t think you should get involved.”
“I was the one who beat the guy up. You shouldn’t have taken the fall for that,” he said with concern.
“I was certainly part of it, the cause of it, and I did hit him before that,” Aislinn was sounding indignant and Cullen could see the argumentative side of her emerging. He knew if that happened there was no way that he’d be able to resurrect this conversation.
“You’re right. You were part of it. But so was I. I could have helped you. I would have helped you.” He thought about it a moment. “Maybe we can get it overturned.”
“No, I just want to pay it and have it all go away,” she said sadly and the tears started again.
He couldn’t handle that. “What if I managed to make it go away without you having to be involved anymore?”
She looked at him uncertainly.
“Money could do a great deal,” he said trying to sound as off-hand as he could. “Let me help you.”
“I still don’t understand why you want to,” she said shaking her head. “I mean that night, this job, now you want to make this court case disappear.”
“Can’t you just let me? Do I have to explain it? Besides, I really didn’t need to beat him up as badly as I did. I was pissed and drunk.”
She nodded and walked over to him again. He pulled her the last couple steps to her and held her again. Nothing had ever felt so right to him. He nuzzled into her hair and took in her scent, still wondering at the amazing way she smelled to him. “What are you,” he whispered into her hair, entranced.
“I could ask the same of you,” she responded just as softly. “What does it matter? I learned some time ago that who and what are completely separate from intention. Whenever I look into your eyes I feel… safe.”
Cullen held her tighter, stroking her hair and breathing in her scent. “I’ll take care of it. Just don’t do anything until I tell you. Okay?” He finally pushed her away far enough that he could look into her face and she nodded. He let the air in his chest out, not even realizing that he had been holding his breath. “Now, Liam needs his office back, I want dinner, and you’re going to eat with me.”
“I can’t. I have to get to work. I was already late,” she said, sounding upset again.
“You can’t wait on tables in this kind of mood. You won’t make any tips,” he smiled. “You’ll eat with me and then you can get to work. You’ll feel better by then. Besides,” I’m in charge around here. If I want my waitress to sit and eat with me,” he shrugged and smiled again trying to get her to smile back, “then I get to have her sit and eat with me.”
Aislinn was about to argue some more but she didn’t have the energy to. He took her by the hand and led her out to his table. Only realizing that he’d left the records sitting there when he saw them spread about the table. This woman is going to be the death of me, he thought. He had never been so easily distracted by anything before. He pushed the records aside and motioned for her to sit.