Chapter 30
30
Lis
T he smell of rich dark coffee pulls me from the kind of sleep I never knew existed. I stretch, feeling the twist of muscles I didn’t know I had.
“That’s an image I want framed on our wall.” Aidan’s propped against the wall, shorts slung low on his hips. I should be embarrassed by that comment—I would have been before him. But the first thought that pops into my head is that he said our .
Our wall.
We’re going to have our own walls, our own apartment. I pull the fluffy duvet over my head and wiggle further down in bed laughing like a fool.
The bed bounces as Aidan climbs over me pinning me right there with the covers I wrapped myself in.
“What are you doing, love?” The smile I hear in his voice consumes me when he pulls the duvet down, just uncovering my face. Squirming does nothing to budge him off me, not that I want him gone. The weight of him on me, being completely at his mercy, I like it—love it. “You’re hiding from me? How long do you think you’ll be able to get away with that?”
“Uh, probably just for a few more days? When do you get the keys?”
“We get the keys next week.” My heart. He has been so patient with me. So understanding of my hesitancy. And he’s still here, taking care of me, putting me first—loving me. “I ordered breakfast, hope that’s okay.”
He brushes a kiss across my lips, lulling me into that sweet sense of security. “You’re very vulnerable here.”
“I am. I'm at your mercy.” Sweet kisses rain down the side of my neck. I tilt my head, granting him more access. My body reacting to his, desire fluttering through me. I feel absolutely wrapped up in him.
“It would be a crime to let breakfast get cold, though. Why don’t you get comfortable and I’ll serve you?”
He hops off me with a smirk, and he throws me his shirt. Wait, what?
“I was perfectly comfortable.”
Aidan adjusts himself as he crosses to the tray. At least I’m not the only one who thought this was going in a different direction. I tug his shirt on while he lifts the silver dome, I all but forget my disappointment.
The room fills with the sweet savory smells of French toast and bacon. This is the last little snowflake that causes the avalanche.
Tears well up in my eyes watching him fix my coffee with the perfect amount of creamer. They start to fall as he adjusts the silverware on the tray. And I blink at them, smiling when he places the tray across my lap.
“You alright?”
“I couldn’t be any better.” I try to rein the emotion in and fail spectacularly. “You are so incredibly good to me, Aidan. I— I can’t begin to imagine what it is that you see in me. You keep breaking down my walls. I never thought—wasn’t looking for this—any of this. I think, I’ve tried to push you away more than once, but you stuck with me anyway.
“And you know all my favorite things—how did you know this was my most favorite breakfast? I’ve had it once, maybe, when we’ve been out. You picked my favorite apartment to rent, everything we do, everywhere we go—they’re all the things I love. You’ve done every little thing to take care of me.” I sniff hard and let the breath out, lifting my eyes to meet his. “I tried to fight it, but I love you. I tried to keep you out, but I can’t—I don’t want to. For the love of God, I'm ruining the sweetest moment ever.” The tray rattles on my lap as I press my shaky fingers to my lips. “I’m sorry.”
Aidan beams at me and swipes at the tears that have escaped my lashes. “Lisbeth.” He pulls my hand from my mouth, rubbing circles on my wrist. “I love you. That’s the answer to every question you have. Because I love you. You make my life better in every way possible. I sure as hell was not looking for love when I came to the States. I came to escape something that came out of nowhere—something I never dreamed I’d have to deal with yet. My brother was my best mate, and I didn’t think I’d ever get that back. You’ve given me so much more. I want you to let me love you, to show you every day that you’re the most important thing in the world to me. And you have nothing to be sorry for—nothing.” Careful not to topple the tray full of food, he presses the sweetest, most loving kiss to my swollen lips. “Just let me love you, yeah?”
All I can do is sniff and nod. I have no more words.
Breakfast is perfect. Aidan is perfect. Everything is perfect.
I know— know —there is no such thing as perfect, but all of this is as close to perfect as anything can get.
We spend the day walking through the little town of Madison, visiting shops, walking through galleries showcasing local artists and browsing through a book store. An actual real live bookstore. One that just sells books—no Starbucks, just books. Our pace is unhurried. There is nothing we have to do, nowhere we have to be, no school or work, no roommates. Just us.
There’s no time that we’re not touching in some small way. Holding hands, stealing kisses, wrapped up in each other. I love yous whispered against each other’s lips, making up for all the time I spent trying to protect my heart.
There was no need, he owns it. And after all the ways he’s shown me he loves me, I trust him with it completely.
After a light dinner on the deck of the hotel, we walk along the beach. Sand between our toes, collecting shells and smooth stones. Away from the lights of the hotel, Aidan pulls me to a stop and sits in the sand.
“Come ’ere, sit with me.” He pulls me down, nestling my ass between his thighs and wraps his arms around me. “I don’t want to leave tomorrow. I want to stay until we get the keys to our flat. I don’t want to spend another night without you in my arms.” His words are soft, just loud enough for me to hear over the sound of the waves.
I pull his hands around me, literally wrapping myself up in him. “I don’t want to go either.”
My life has changed so much over the past six months. Feeling Aidan all around me, there’s not a thing I would change. Not one thing.
I lean and twist just so my lips meet the scruff at the underside of his jaw. I breathe him in, bergamot and vetiver, spicy and rich, warmth spreading through me. “Love you more than anything.”
“Hmmm…I love you too, so much.”
The stars glitter across the sky, the constant shush of the waves and the warm body around me, lull me to the edge of sleep.
“Come on, love. Let’s get you to bed.”
The walk to the hotel, the ride to our floor, as we get ready for bed. All of it quiet and peaceful—perfectly in love, peaceful. Up to the moment that I crawl between the sheets and settle in next to Aidan. He rolls to his side, the simple kiss not quite enough. His teeth nip along my lower lip, sending electric desire through my core. And just like that, clothes are peeled away ending up in a heap on the floor.
As frantic as we are to get to each other, skin to skin, nipples brushing his chest, we go slow. So slow. An inch at a time, he enters me, infuriatingly, deliciously, slowly.
When Aidan’s hips meet my thighs, he stops, pauses. This is different, so different. Our confessions this morning impact every move, every action. Every little thing holds all the meaning we’ve not put voice to yet.
I rock my hips slowly, staring into his dark blue eyes. Seeing myself reflected there, I hope, pray, he sees himself in mine. Sees how he has invaded my soul.
He keeps his thrusts slow and deep. Every single move intentional.
I feel the build in the tightness of my muscles, in the soft grunts he makes as he exhales. The thump of his heart against the palm of my hand, like it’s beating just for me. My eyes drift closed, lost in the ecstasy of this moment.
“Lisbeth, look at me. Please, love, look in my eyes.”
I only just get them open, meeting his gaze when the slow, beautiful burn of my orgasm rolls through me. I gasp, whispering his name like a prayer. He draws it out as long as he can, jaw tense, arms bracketing me in, holding me like I’m a precious delicate thing. And when he comes, it’s with my name on his breath and my heart fully his.
Aidan
These two days, with just the two of us, have been everything I hoped they would be. I fell asleep with her tucked in at my side. Her head on my shoulder, hand pressed to my heart, legs twined together, her breath fanning across my skin.
I wake up to the featherlight designs she’s tracing on my chest and her lips pressed to my neck. It doesn’t get any fucking better than this.
“Mornin’.” I pull her tighter to me, planning to take full advantage of the time we have before we need to check out.
“Good morning. I didn’t mean to wake you. Just needed to kiss you.” Lis shifts so she’s straddling me, her lips on a slow, lazy path across my chest. Tongue darting out to circle my nipple just before she bites down. No wonder she arches her back and fucking moans when I do that to her. Christ.
What started out as a sweet wakeup becomes a feverish, frenzied need for each other. She takes complete control and uses me, riding me, making me feel like a bloody king.
She was so shy, so tentative the first time we fucked. Afraid to ask for what she wanted, to demand what she needed. My girl has come so far. Gripping my cock as she slides up and down, taking what she needs. The sight of her, the feel of her—this. It doesn’t get any better than this.
I hate packing up our things to go back to Beekman Hills and draw the trip home out as much as I can. Instead of the highway, I take the back roads, winding through every small Connecticut town I can. We stop often, acting like tourists taking in the shops, and farmer’s markets along the way. Neither one of us want to go back to the real world quite yet. I want to fast forward to waking up with Lisbeth every fucking day.