Touched Read Online Free Page A

change in our hierarchy but I wanted to be aware of any area of possible concern.
    I jotted down a few questionable figures that required Adam’s elaboration before grabbing my tablet and heading across the hall to the conference room. 
    I wasn’t expecting Aiden to have already arrived, therefore I was taken aback to see him standing near the front of the room in conversation with a sharply dressed dark-haired woman.
    I stopped dead in my tracks.  It wasn’t like I didn’t know he would be here … but knowing I would see him and actually seeing him were two entirely different things. I could feel the quickening thump in my chest and the butterflies! Fuck, they were fluttering so fast that I inadvertently placed my palm on my stomach in an attempt to banish them.  I appraised his magnificent frame from head to toe; he was as provocative and breathtaking as I remembered. He looked up and stopped mid-conversation when his eyes found mine. For a small moment, everyone else disappeared. I swallowed the lump of trepidation and took a few seemingly involuntary steps forward.  I stopped short when he began walking towards me. He moved with a leopard-like grace. Lacquered and emblazoned by the Raine name, he radiated dominance and privilege with each step.  The power and control he exuded was practically immobilizing.
    “Good morning Miss Cason,” he said, as he stopped in front of me.
    His standing only a few inches away elicited feelings for which I was utterly unprepared. The feelings of betrayal, confusion and hurt all quickly migrated to the background, only allowing the desire I’d always felt to spring forward. 
    “Good morning Aiden,” I replied. I was sure it was more appropriate to refer to him as Mr. Raine but I wasn’t going to do that, at least not at this moment.
    Those eyes! I was at a momentary loss as I stared into them; they were brimmed with vigor, sparkling like two green jewels atop a bed of snow. His cheekbones appeared chiseled by a master craftsman; sculpted and pared to perfection. My heart hurt just looking at him. My memories of him were flawed; they didn’t capture the gloriousness of this man.  The memories of our closeness, of his voice, of his touch, of the precious gifts that were his kisses, of his hard deep plunges inside me … it was all suffocating.
    He must have sensed my temporary loss of speech.
    “I’m sure Raina alerted you to my arrival.”
    “Yes, of course,” I replied.
    I tried not to gape at him but fuck it was like asking me not to breathe. His demeanor was just as appealing as it had always been but I couldn’t allow that to draw me in any further. I wouldn’t do that to myself. I needed to keep my glances brief. I didn’t want to remember any more and I didn’t want to get pulled back into the maelstrom of emotions and yearning which were destined to appear if I continued to appreciate him the way I desperately wanted to.
    “It’s so good to see you,” he said, his eyes focused on my mouth.
    He was too close.  I needed to move. “If you’ll excuse me, I want to grab a seat. I’m sure I’m about to be amazed by your brilliance and I want to get a good seat.”
    My satire didn’t go undetected; he smiled but I couldn’t return the exchange. I stepped past him and walked toward the table. I took a seat near the front of the room, leaving the chair at the head of the table for Aiden.
    He walked over and assumed the seat beside me.
    “How are you?  Are you settling in?” he asked.
    “I’m well and yes, I’m quite settled. How are you?” I asked, reverting my attention to my tablet … swiping the screen. His smell was filtering its way to me and I slid slightly to the left but it was of no use. I found myself fighting the urge to lean closer to him. I never understood how he smelled that way. It was as if he showered in pheromones and then dashed on I want to fuck you aftershave. It was too much. It had always been too much.
    “Just as you, I’m