Chapter 10
10
“ H ere, Lovely, I thought you might like this bedroom.” Aedan opened the door to the bedroom he’d chosen for Natalya.
Much as he’d love to have her in his bed, he didn’t want to push. It was enough that she’d agreed to move in with him. Over the past eight weeks, he’d spent most of his time with her and Mateo. He’d had to shift some things around and delegate a lot of stuff, but it had been worth it. Mateo now ran to him, a wide smile on his face, and Natalya had become far less tense and stressed.
He’d found them both a counselor and he escorted them back and forth to their sessions so Natalya wouldn’t feel vulnerable and unprotected. Remarkably, last week he’d actually managed to get them both out to the park. Natalya had spent the whole time on edge, looking around her. After thirty minutes, she’d insisted they return to the apartment, but he’d taken it as a win.
“Your room, Aedy?” Mateo asked, tugging on Aedan’s hand.
His nickname wasn’t the most masculine, but he didn’t care. Reaching down, he swept Mateo up into his arms. “This is your mama’s bedroom. Mine is across the hall.”
“Oh.” Mateo seemed to think that over. “Okay. I play my room. Bye.” He scrambled down out of Aedan’s arms and raced off. They’d already shown him his bedroom and he’d been so excited.
Aedan chuckled. “Full of energy.”
Natalya smiled ruefully. “I know. Thanks for everything, Aedan. You’ve been wonderful through all of this. Mateo is thrilled about moving in here; he’s talked about nothing else for the last two weeks. He really likes you.”
He’d done all the research he could on raising a child. It had made for scary bedtime reading. Give him a horror novel any day. Surely it would give him fewer nightmares.
“You didn’t need to get all that stuff for his bedroom, though,” she scolded. But her lips twitched with a smile.
“Too much? I went overboard, didn’t I?” Crap. The woman at the store had sure seen him coming.
She patted his arm. “It’s okay. It’s just that I don’t want him becoming spoiled, especially when I can’t buy him anything like that.”
Damn it. He hadn’t thought about how his gifts might make her feel.
“I just wanted him to feel at home, and the woman at the toy store assured me everything I got was age appropriate,” he told her.
“It is. We’ll be lucky if he ever comes out of his room.”
“Oh, he will. I promised to kick a ball around in the yard with him.”
Natalya stepped over to glance nervously out the window. “You’re sure it’s safe?”
He wished he could do more to put her at ease, but he knew it was going to take time and plenty of reassurance.
“Declan has made it as safe as he possibly can. There’s a large fence surrounding the entire property. There’s an alarm system for the house and cameras throughout the yard.”
“Declan looks very capable.”
He snorted. “Don’t let his looks deceive you. This is the most work he’s done since I hired him. About a year ago, I had a crazy fan stalking me, so I hired Declan to take care of security for the house, and he travels with me out of town. But most of the time, he just eats my food, drinks my beer, and acts like this is his place.”
Before they had moved in, Aedan had made it clear to Declan that his main priority was now Mateo’s and Natalya’s safety.
“I want you to feel safe here, Natalya.”
“I know.” She spun to face him. “I’m being foolish.”
“No, you’re not. It’s completely understandable that you’re afraid.”
“But I feel like I should be getting better by now,” she said with frustration. “I feel fine when we’re inside, but whenever we go out, I feel like someone is watching me.”
He drew her into his arms. “That will pass. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Baby steps.”
She nodded.
“Now, it’s not just Mateo who gets some toys.” He strode over to the bedside table, opened a drawer, and pulled out a small monitor. “I’ve set up a nanny cam in Mateo’s room. When he has a nap or goes to bed at night, you can turn this on and see him.”
“Oh. That’s perfect. Thank you.” She laughed.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
He walked toward her, running a finger down her cheek. “Oh no, now you have to tell me. What is it?”
“Uh-uh.” She shook her head, taking a step back.
“I have ways to make you talk,” he said in his best Count Dracula voice.
Her eyes widened with alarm. “No, Aedan!”
She fought as he picked her up and threw her on the bed, tickling her mercilessly. He knew where all her weakest points were, and soon she was laughing hysterically, her legs curled up against her body as she tried to protect herself.
“Mercy! Mercy!” she cried.
“No mercy until you talk.”
“Sex toys!” she yelled.
He stilled, holding himself above her body as he panted, staring down at her in amazement.
“What?”
“I thought you were talking about sex toys.” A blush stained her cheeks.
Delighted, he grinned. “What kind of sex toys?” Arousal filled his body as the feel of her against him made his cock throb with need.
“The usual.” She avoided his gaze.
“Look at me,” he demanded. Fuck, she was gorgeous. She was slowly gaining weight with his care and attention. Her face now had some much-needed color, and that sparkle was back in her eyes.
“If I knew you liked toys, I definitely would have bought you some.”
“Well, I did live for quite a while without sex. I had to have some help.”
“So, what sort of toys would you like me to get you?” Aedan asked huskily.
Natalya shook her head, a blush in her cheeks. “Never mind, I was just joking around. Forget it.”
Uh-uh. No way was he just going to forget about this.
Natalya sat up with a cry. She placed her hand over her thundering heart, hoping like hell she hadn’t been loud enough to wake up the house.
She rolled over to the side of the bed, letting her legs dangle off the edge. Placing her elbows on her knees, she rested her head in her hands.
When were these nightmares going to end? She’d told the counselor about them, and the woman had assured her they were normal and to be expected, but she couldn’t tell her when they would stop.
She dreaded going to sleep each night, knowing she was going to have a nightmare. They seemed so real. For the first few weeks after Mateo had been rescued, she’d kept him in her bed. But the counselor had convinced her to attempt sleeping without him, even if she only managed it for a few hours at a time. Since Aedan had gotten her the nanny cam, she’d found it much easier to sleep. That was the most thoughtful thing he could have done for her. But it had been four months since Mateo had been kidnapped. She needed to be stronger than this.
But if she wasn’t in the depths of a nightmare, then she was stuck in a sizzling dream about Aedan. She’d wake up on fire, her nipples hard, her pulse racing, and her pussy clenching with need.
Having him so close and not being able to taste him, touch him
It was pure torture.
Not that he didn’t touch her. He did. Just not the way she wanted. Small brushes of his hand on her back or holding her hand didn’t count. She wanted him to take her, taste her, fuck her into oblivion. She’d almost worn out the vibrator he’d bought her. And wasn’t that embarrassing?
Natalya was over the whole “friend” thing. She was ready to move to the next level. The only problem was that all her subtle attempts to tell him had gone unnoticed. Short of knocking him to the ground and having her wicked way with him, which was fast becoming option number one, she wasn’t sure what to do. Sure, Mateo limited when and where she’d do the attacking, but he was a good sleeper. His nightmares were few and far between now.
Unlike hers.
With a sigh, she stood and walked into the attached bathroom to take a shower. She checked the clock as she moved back into the bedroom, toweling her hair dry. Just after five a.m. No use trying to go back to sleep. She dressed and, grabbing the nanny cam monitor, made her way to Mateo’s room, checking in on him before heading down to the kitchen. Moving in here had been a great idea, sexual frustration notwithstanding. She felt so much safer living here than she had in the apartment.
She made herself a coffee and sat on the window seat.
“You’re up early,” Aedan said with a smile as he walked into the kitchen.
What did he have to be so happy about? Obviously, he wasn’t spending his nights locked in erotic dreams about her. Bastard.
Okay, grouchy much?
“What do you want for breakfast? Eggs?” He opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs and some juice.
“I’m not hungry.”
“That wasn’t an option,” he said easily.
“I’m not in the mood to be handled this morning, Aedan.”
He paused and studied her. “You’re still not sleeping well.”
“What makes you think that?” Did she look that awful?
“You look exhausted.”
“So I look like shit?”
He frowned and moved over to her. Standing close, he folded his arms over his chest. “That’s not what I said. What’s going on?”
“I think I’d like to take Mateo to the park on my own.”
Wait. What? Had she really just said that?
Aedan took a seat next to her. “You sure you’re ready for that?”
No. But she was sick of living in fear and needed to do something to overcome it. To get her life moving again.
“Nope. But I’m not sure I ever will be.”
“You don’t have to push yourself into anything you’re not ready for. It’s only been four months. You need to take things slow.”
“I’m sick of taking things slow.” She banged her fist down on her thigh. “I’m tired of living with fear. I don’t want to wait anymore. I’m fed up with being the crazy woman who jumps at her own shadow!”
“You have to be patient, Natalya.”
“When have you ever known me to be patient?” she asked with a wry grin.
“Well, that’s true. But there is no point in pushing yourself into something you’re not ready for.”
“But I am ready.” She turned toward him. “I want you, Aedan.”
“What?” He looked shocked.
“I want you . I want to fuck you. I want to lick every goddamn inch of you and screw you until our brains explode.”
“Uh, I think I’ll come back later.”
Natalya turned to stare in horror at Declan, who was standing in the doorway. He winked at her.
“Get out,” Aedan said in a tight voice, not taking his gaze from her.
Declan quickly left.
Holy. Heck.
“Wow, that was embarrassing.”
“Don’t worry about him,” Aedan said impatiently. “Natalya, are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m damn well sure. I’m not fragile, Aedan. I know I must seem that way to you. But I know what I want, and I want you.”
“About fucking time,” he muttered before he took her into his arms and kissed her.
It was a soul-stealing, toe-curling, scorching kiss that turned her body to mush. He pulled her onto his lap, his hands holding her tightly against his firm body.
Flames licked through her body, setting her blood aflame, as arousal flooded her senses. Her world narrowed to him. His touch. His scent. His need.
Aedan could scarcely believe that he finally had her back in his arms. This friend shit was damn hard work. So many times she’d brushed past him, smiled at him, hell, just looked his way, and his cock had surged to attention. He’d had to hold himself back from taking her into his arms and storming off to his bedroom to fuck her.
Knowing it wasn’t the time or the place, he still couldn’t resist cupping her breast with his hand.
Oh fuck, yeah.
He felt like an addict who’d rediscovered his drug of choice after a long, long dry period.
“Aedan, please,” she begged. “Take me.”
“God, I would like nothing more.” He stood with her held tightly in his arms, where she belonged.
“Mama?” Mateo asked as he walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes.
Aedan glanced down at Natalya, who appeared as dejected as he felt. “Later,” he whispered. “Once the monkey has gone to bed.”
She nodded, smiling up at him.
Aedan released her. “I was just about to make breakfast, buddy. What would you like?”
“Ice cream!”
“No ice cream.” Natalya gave them both a stern look.
Aedan winced. He’d only fed the kid ice cream once for breakfast and dealing with the outcome had unquestionably been punishment enough. Who knew one small boy could have so much destructive energy? Aedan had been exhausted by the time Mateo had run out of steam.
“I’ll just scramble some eggs,” he said hastily.
Natalya sent him a sassy wink. His cock surged painfully.
It was going to be a very long day.