Aiden (Members From Money Book 8)

by Katie Dowe

  *******

  “Will you be sleeping in our bed tonight?” he asked her as soon as he came into the room and saw her sitting on the vanity stool combing her hair.

  “I am.” Her eyes met his and he was the first one to look away.

  “Good.” His tone was brisk as he strode into the bathroom to take a shower. She had moved and gone over to the sofa when he got out of the bathroom.

  “Can we talk?” she asked him quietly.

  “Sure.” He joined her on the sofa, the body wash he had used to shower titillating her nostrils. “What’s up?”

  “Why did you marry me?”

  He looked at her nonplussed for a moment and then he shrugged. “Why?”

  “I just want to know the real reason.”

  “You know the real reason, Ciara. You are pregnant with my child and Holly loves you like a mother.”

  “That’s all?” Ciara wanted to cry in disappointment and hurt.

  “I am attracted to you in a huge way and you know that.” He got up abruptly. “I feel something for you and I have never felt that way about another woman. Leave it at that.”

  “I want more, Aiden. No scratch that. I need more.” Her brown eyes glistened with tears as she got to her feet with some difficulty and faced him. “I love you so much and I just want to know that it is returned. I want more.”

  He stood there staring down at her and his expression softened. “I am trying.” His hand cupped her cheek. “You said something last night and you were right. I am not emotionally available. It is hard for me to display what I am feeling; to even know what I am feeling. I need time, Ciara, but know that I am not your father, I am never going to leave you and my children no matter what.”

  “Please love me, please.” Ciara found herself begging him, reaching out to pull the towel away. “Please.” She ran her hands over his muscles, feeling the drying hair against her palms and the steady beat of his heart. “I love you so much.”

  “Ciara,” he groaned, and without another word, he bent and lifted her into his arms, taking her towards the bed where he spent some hours making love to her over and over again.

  *****

  He came with her to the funeral on Friday afternoon and she was so grateful to see him. The wives had turned up and some of the children who could make it out of bed came as well. Aiden held her hand and had Holly in his arm as they stood there at the graveside with the heavy clouds hanging low. Michael’s parents stood there, looking down at the small box, their expression ravaged with grief. Their other son, who was older than Michael by five years, fought to hold back the tears. After the short ceremony, they walked over to her and told her thanks. “Michael spoke very highly of you,” the mother, a shy-looking woman, told her gratefully.

  “I was privileged to have met him,” she told the woman.

  That night, Aiden, as if feeling her sadness, held her close in his arms as she slept.

  Chapter 12

  “How about Andrew Aiden?” Ciara asked him one night in the middle of September. Holly had started school the last week in August and was having the time of her life! Ever since the night when she had asked him to love her back, his attitude had changed towards her. Now he was tender and considerate.

  “Andrew?” He wrinkled his brow as he looked down at her. She was propped on her shoulder and his hand rested on her bulge. They had finished the nursery and she had stayed in there for several minutes looking around the large airy room with the mixture of different shades of blues. Holly had said that it looked like the ocean and she had agreed with her.

  “Michael said I should name him after him,” she said with a slight smile.

  “In that case, Andrew it is,” he said indulgently.

  “I am looking forward to giving birth, but I am scared at the same time,” she murmured, snuggling closer to him.

  His hands tightened around her belly. “I will be there.”

  “I know.” Her hand wandered down his naked body and touched his penis, feeling it swell against her fingers. “Aiden.”

  “Tell me what you want.” His voice was hoarse as he felt her fingers against the tip of his penis.

  “I want you inside me.” Her fingernail found the opening and touched it, feeling him thicken.

  “Then it’s done.” He eased her off him and turned her onto her side. He put his hand beneath her and eased his fingers into the tightness of her, feeling the wetness already there. He slipped his penis inside her and clenched his teeth as she wrapped around him. He held her gently and started to move, feeling his body shudder as the familiar violent passion went through him!

  *****

  Leesa and the others held a baby shower for her at Leesa’s place. They had it the last week of October right before her due date which was on November tenth. “Are you sure you are able to make the long trip there?” Aiden asked her as he looked at her swollen belly.

  “I am fine and I am not going to disappoint then wives,” she said as she got dressed. She looked at the billowing dress for a moment. She was not into the traditional maternity dresses, much preferring things that she could wear after she had the baby. It was of the lightest wool because the time had gotten a lot colder since the month had started. The leaves had started changing, indicating the change of the season. Aiden’s birthday had been in the middle of October and he had specifically said no party so they had celebrated it at home with a cake at Holly’s insistence.

  “I will get the jet to fly you there,” he told her firmly. The doctor had told him that her feet were swelling up and it was due to the hormones. “Nothing to worry about, Aiden, but I am being cautious.”

  He was being more so.

  “I was planning to go with Regina,” she protested as she slipped the dress over her head and turned to look at her image in the full length cheval mirror in their room.

  “You both can go in the jet. It is faster and that means that the travel time will be less.” It was Saturday and she had said it was her last day of freedom. He was planning to spend the day with Holly and take her to the children’s museum. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “I need you to take my wife and her friend to the Wellington’s place. Can you be ready in half an hour?”

  “I wish you would not go to through so much trouble,” she murmured, twisting her hair into an elegant chignon.

  “It will set my mind at ease.” He waited until she was finished and reached a hand to help her up holding her in front of him. “You are carrying precious cargo.” His thumb went over her shiny lips and she shivered. “I would not survive if something…” He broke off abruptly and pulled her into his arms, crushing her mouth with his!

  *****

  “Half of these things I do not have a clue what to do with them,” Ciara protested, holding up a contraption that she was not sure what it did.

  “It’s called a breast pump, honey,” Carrie told her with a laugh. “Don’t worry, I had the same problems too and now we are all pros, except Regina who is still learning the ropes.”

  “I am all caught up, don’t mind me,” Regina retorted. “Look at these clothes! How on earth is the little fellow going to get the time to wear all these?”

  “You should see the amount I have at the house,” Ciara said, shaking her head in despair. “I swear he has more clothes than I do.”

  “This is a special handstitched blanket I had made for him.” Leesa walked over elegantly, stepping over strewn wrapping papers and boxes to hand her a soft blue blanket with ‘AAC’ stitched in one corner.

  “I love it!” Ciara said reverently as she ran a hand over the soft wool. “It’s beautiful, thank you, guys!”

  “Okay, now for the refreshments,” Leesa said briskly, ringing the bell. Her children and her husband had gone out for the day to give them some space.

  “We are going to eat our fill and we have fruit wine to gorge on as well!”

  Ciara came away feeling as if she had gained so many friends and had been given so much a
dvice that her ears were ringing.

  “Make sure to burp him right after feeding him, honey,” Felicia told her as she sipped her fourth glass of fruit wine. She had had her second child a year ago and claimed that she was still trying to get rid of the baby fat. “I made the mistake of putting my daughter down right after I fed her and she brought it all up back. I ran to Andre immediately thinking that I had murdered our child.”

  “And the labor, honey, just remember to breathe,” Diana had told her with a grin. “I am on my third child now and it does not get easier.”

  “Please tell us that this is your last,” Deandre said dryly.

  “What can I say? My husband and I want a big family!”

  “Here is to motherhood and husbands who are there for us!” Leesa said, raising her glass and the others followed suit with loud cheers!

  *******

  Doctor Whittingham asked her to come in a few days early when he did the last exam.

  “Henry, what is it?” Aiden asked him, picking up on the man’s expression.

  “Nothing to worry about.” He snapped off the rubber gloves and gave Ciara a reassuring smile. “The baby has not turned.”

  “What does that mean exactly?” Aiden asked him, his face tensed.

  “It means that your son has not turned his head down in preparation for delivery. It looks like he is breeched.” He saw the look on both their faces and hastened to add, “It might simply mean that he is taking his time about turning, but in the event he has not turned by your due date, Ciara, we are going to try and turn him.”

  “What if that does not work?” Ciara could feel the anxiety starting.

  “We will have to do a C-section. But we are borrowing trouble and I do not like to do that. I am going to ask you to come in a few days earlier to prepare you,” he suggested. “You are due the tenth and today is the third. Go on home and do some exercises like walking and making love.” He smiled at that. “Then come in on Monday.” Today was Thursday so they had a few days to prepare.

  “Thank you,” Ciara said quietly.

  “I will leave you to get dressed.”

  Aiden helped her back into her dress and her shoes. Her feet had started swelling again, but Doctor Whittingham had told her that it was nothing to worry about. They spoke to the doctor again and left. She was quiet for the entire journey, and Aiden was also caught up in his own thoughts. He had taken the morning off to go with her, but he had some pressing meetings to attend to.

  He dropped her off at the house and said as soon as she was exiting the vehicle, “I will try and be home early.” He hesitated a little bit before adding, “Try not to worry.” She nodded, and wrapping her jacket around her, she headed inside. He sat there for a moment, his mind drifting, and then he drove away.

  Ciara sat in the nursery as soon as she got inside, taking one of the comfortable rocking chairs and looking around the big airy room with a smile on her face. Everything was in place. Her bag was packed with all the essentials and even the cot was spread with a soft white flat sheet and a blue and white blanket folded over. A big cuddly white teddy bear that Angela had bought was in one corner. Holly would come into the room every evening and said she could not wait to see her little brother.

  Ciara rested her hands on her belly and felt him moving around inside her. “Hey there, Andrew,” she said softly, feeling him stop at the sound of her voice. “You are due to come out in a few days, but you are not cooperating, darling. We want to meet you face to face so much! We have prepared everything for you to get here and we really want to see you. You have a big sister by the name of Holly who promises to take care of you and of course your mother and father and grandmothers. We love you so much, sweetie, but right now Mommy is a little bit anxious that you are not turning to come out and we are so anxious to see you. Could you do us the favor and do what you are supposed to do?” She stopped talking and listened as if she expected him to say something to her and then smiled a little bit as he moved again. “That’s my son.”

  ******

  “Where is she?” Aiden asked his mother as soon as he came into the living room where there was a cheerful fire blazing in the hearth. It was a little past seven and he had tried to make it home earlier but the meeting had run over.

  “Gone up to the suite since five-thirty.” Angela sipped the wine and settled back against the sofa. “Could you sit for a bit?” She patted the space beside her on the sofa.

  He hesitated and then sat down.

  “She looks worried, darling, and as much as I have been trying to tell her that she and the baby are going to be fine, I have a feeling she does not want to hear from me.” She got up and went to pour a glass of wine, handing it to him. “She needs you, Aiden, and I know you have a lot of responsibilities at the company, but she is your wife. Don’t make the mistake your father made in putting the company before all else.”

  Aiden downed the wine in one gulp and got to his feet. “I know you mean well, Mother, but it is between Ciara and I.”

  “I know and I am sorry if I appear nosy. You are my son and she is like a daughter to me. She wears her love for you on her sleeve and I know what that is like. She needs you.”

  “I need her too,” he said to her quietly, bringing her eyes to his. “I cannot do it without her and I have not told her that because I am a coward,” he added bitterly. “Each time I make to do, so I freeze up. Do you know why, Mother?”

  She shifted her eyes and looked down into her wineglass. “I am sorry I did not stand up for you, darling. I was too afraid to rock the boat and I left your growing up entirely to your father. Don’t let that define who you are and who you can be to Ciara. Love can be a beautiful thing when it is returned.” Her face had softened unconsciously.

  His eyes narrowed as he looked down at her. “You sound as if you are speaking from experience.”

  “I will tell you about it another time. Go up to her!” She waved her hand at him.

  He put away his glass and bounded up the stairs, almost running until he reached his suite. He found her curled up on the large bed, her hands folded beneath her chin and the television on. Her eyes strayed to him, but she did not say anything. He switched off the television and came towards her. He knelt on the steps leading to the bed and took her hands. “I had to stay for some meetings and I could not help it.” He took one of her hands and brought it to his lips. “I have failed you in so many ways and I am sorry. I have not been there for you and I have not told you how I feel about you. It’s hard for me to express how I feel, baby, and I have tried so many times to tell you that I love you.” He stopped as her breath caught and he felt the shiver in her body. “I have loved you for a long time and never knew how to say it because I was brought up to think of love as an emotion that makes you weak. I love you, Ciara, my darling, and I promise that you will never have to wonder whether or not I love you.”

  Ciara’s eyes were bright with tears as she stared at the handsome man kneeling in front of her. “I have waited so long…” She stopped and swallowed at the lump in her throat. “I love you so much.”

  “I know.” He used the pad of his thumb to wipe the tears away. “How about the exercise the good doctor suggested we engage in?”

  “Which one?” she whispered, her throat aching with unshed tears. He was probably not going to tell her as often as she wanted him to and he was probably going to forget their anniversary and her birthday, but as long as she knew he loved her then she could deal with anything!

  “What do you think?” he asked huskily.

  *****

  Aiden came in with her on Monday. He would leave to go to the office and come back straight there where he would spend the night. Holly came by on the second day to visit with her grandmother and brought Ciara flowers, telling her what had been going on at school. “When are you coming home?” she asked anxiously, her shiny blonde hair streaming down her back and her pink and white complexion glowing from the cold outside.

  “As soon
as your brother decides to make his appearance,” she told the little girl softly, pushing back her hair from her face.

  “I made something at school for you. I told my teacher that you had gone in to have my baby brother and she said I could make this.”

  She dug into her backpack and came up with a bright green construction paper. She opened it to reveal a number of drawings depicting a family of five. “This is grandma sitting in her chair and drinking her wine and you are sitting on Daddy’s lap with my brother and I am sitting on Daddy’s other lap.”

  “This is a beautiful drawing, sweetie. I love it,” Ciara said sincerely. “You have quite a talent. Are you planning on becoming an artist?”

  “Maybe.” She shrugged, and then with the lightning moods of children, she threw her arms around Ciara. “I love you, Mommy.”

  “I love you too, darling.”

  ******

  Andrew Aiden Carter was born in the early hours of the tenth of November after a long hard labor of fourteen hours. They had managed to turn him so he could come out vaginally. Aiden stayed with her the entire time, holding her shoulders and wiping her brow when she would fall wearily on his chest. “I love you,” he had whispered one time when she was resting from the effort at pushing.

  She had looked up at him with love shining in her eyes and told him she loved him too.

  Ciara stared down at the ruddy-faced infant with the dark brown hair tinted with blonde and the large blue eyes in wonder. “I think he has my nose and that’s it.”

  Aiden felt the lump in his throat as he touched the closed fist of his son who looked from him to his mother. “He is perfect. Thank you.”

  She looked up as the nurse came into the room. “Mrs. Carter, we are going to take him to his cot and let both of you get some sleep,” she said with a smile.

  “I suddenly do not feel tired,” she said, holding onto him.

  “You need to get some rest.” Aiden took his son from her, and putting a kiss on his forehead, he handed him to the nurse.