With a roll of his eyes, Aidan jerked off the sheet. “Fine. I’ll go fix his fucking bottle. Will that make you happy?”
“Maybe,” she replied. Even though he stomped bare-assed out of the room, Emma grinned that her speech had affected him enough to react. Every little battle was a victory in her favor. She eased down in the glider, rubbing Mason’s back. “Hang on sweetheart. Uncle Aidan’s going to get your bottle.”
Her words had little effect on him, and by the time Aidan came back, he was red-faced and snorting with hungry anger while flailing his arms and legs.
“Damn, little man, take a chill,” Aidan said, shoving the bottle at Emma.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile. “Looks like temper tantrums run in the Fitzgerald family,” she mused as Mason latched onto the bottle.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Aidan replied with a grin. He collapsed back onto the bed. “He obviously gets that from his father—the dickhead who knocked Megan up and ran off.”
“What a jerk. Who could even think of leaving an angel like Mason or a sweetheart like Megan,” Emma replied. She eased the glider to and fro as Mason sucked the milk down greedily. “You were hungry, weren’t you?” she asked as she placed him on her shoulder and burped him.
Cradling him to her chest, she gave him his pacifier. When she began humming softly, she saw the calming effect it had on him. When she started singing softly, Mason’s eyes grew heavier and heavier. Then he was fast asleep.
When she stood up to put him back to bed, she did a double take at the sight of Aidan propped up on one elbow, staring at her. With only the light from the hallway, she couldn’t quite tell if it was lust or love that burned in his eyes.
“What?” she whispered, easing Mason down onto the mattress.
“I’ve never heard you sing before.”
“Oh that.” She ducked her head, trying to fight the embarrassment pricking her skin. She pulled the blanket over Mason.
“You’re really good.”
She jerked her gaze up to stare over at Aidan in surprise. “Seriously?”
“Like an angel.” He took her hand and pulled her back into the bed. “I mean, you told me you sang and all at church and at the bar, but I had no idea you were that good.”
“You’re just being nice.”
“And when have I ever done that?” Aidan mused with a sly smile.
Emma giggled. “Okay, I guess you’re right about that one.”
His lips grazed along her collarbone before he glanced up at her. “I’m serious, Em. Your voice is absolutely amazing.”
“Thank you.” She pressed her lips to his. “Any time you want me to sing you to sleep, I will.”
“I’d like that.”
Emma scooted closer to Aidan, burying her face in the crook of his arm. “I really hate that you have to leave again.”
“So do I,” he murmured.
She fought with herself before asking the next question. “I know we agreed we both wanted ‘more’, but did you ever figure out what that means to you?”
His fingers, which had been rubbing lazy circles over her skin, froze on her shoulder blade. “Not exactly. Did you?”
Propping her chin on his chest, she brought her gaze to his. “I would hope it would mean, at the very least, monogamy.”
“Of course it would.” He creased his brows at her. “You know I haven’t been with anyone else since I propositioned you that night at O’Malley’s.”
“I know. It’s just—”
“Because of my past, you’re afraid I might not be able to stay monogamous?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He sighed. “I can understand why you feel that way, Em, but I was serious when I told you I wanted to try for more with you. I can’t make any sweeping guarantees, but I at least want to try. I like you. I like spending time with you, even outside the bedroom.”
Emma knew that what Aidan was offering was huge for him. It felt like nothing to her, but after all, she wasn’t a commitment-phobic womanizer. The fact that he hadn’t gone on some exotic sex tour of India or hooked up with someone in the Delhi office meant he was honestly trying. She stared into his eyes. “I can accept that.”
“And I would assume you aren’t on the prowl either, right?”
Emma couldn’t help the contemptuous snort that escaped her lips. “Do you even have to ask? Besides, the last time I checked, being pregnant didn’t put you on Maxim’s Hot 100 list.”
He rolled his eyes. “There you go putting yourself down again about your sex appeal. You’re always so oblivious to the effect you have on other men.”
“Yeah right.”
“You didn’t even realize the night I got in from India and met you at O’Malley’s, I almost got in a bar fight with all the men who were ogling you.”
“Seriously?” Emma asked.
“How can I get it through your head how fucking sexy you are?”
She pointed at her expanding bump. “This is sexy to you?”
“I couldn’t care less if you have a belly or not, Em. You are the one who makes yourself sexy, not a body. It’s not even the way you looked in that luscious lingerie you had on earlier. It’s the way you swayed your hips and shook your ass in front of me, knowing it would drive me insane, the way you sucked me off with total abandon.”
Heat filled Emma’s cheeks at his words while warmth pulsed through her veins at the sincerity with which he spoke them. “So you’re still going to be desperate for me when I’m nine months pregnant, thirty pounds overweight, and swollen up like a Goodyear blimp?”
Aidan chuckled. “Yes, I will.”
“Hmm, we’ll see about that one.”
Just as Emma was settling down to go to sleep, Aidan asked, “So our definition of more is merely not dating anyone else?”
“I think that’s a pretty good start, don’t you?” Even though she wanted everything and more with Aidan, she didn’t want to scare him off. She thought it best to continue with relationship baby steps and work her way up to the really big ones like moving in together or—dare she even hope and dream—marriage.
“I suppose so. I mean, we’re already spending all our time together. No need to work on that.”
“I agree.”
“So we’re good with our ‘more’?” Aidan asked.
Even though she wanted to cry, scream, and rail that she hated their definition of more, she merely smiled. “Yeah, we’re good.”
22
Two Months Later
Soaking in the oversized tub, Emma eyed her swollen feet with disgust. She had thought she wouldn’t have to face that particularly unattractive side effect of pregnancy until she was much further along, but as she’d moved out of her first trimester into her second, her feet had started undergoing daily transformations. Since she had spent most of the day on them doing back-to-back advertising presentations, they were worse than usual.
Beau lounged on the tile in front of the tub, snoring slightly. With Aidan traveling out of town every other week because of his vice president status, Beau had become as much her dog as his. She picked him up from doggy daycare, and he helped pass the lonely nights without Aidan by sleeping by her side.
Emma had just rewarmed the water for a longer soak when Beau raised his head up. After giving a yip, he ran to the bathroom door. “Oh, I bet Daddy’s home from New York,” she said. As Beau wiggled all over and swung his tail to and fro, Emma couldn’t help sharing his excitement.
“Em?” Aidan’s voice bellowed from the hallway.
“In the bathtub,” she called.
He threw the door open and grinned broadly at her. “Hey baby!” Beau yapped at Aidan’s heels as he started over to the tub. He gave her lingering kiss before turning his attention to Beau.
“How was your trip?” she asked as he scratched Beau’s ears.
Aidan groaned. “The same ol’ shit.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Which means the same ol’ shi
t of you leaving again next week, right?”
“Unfortunately yes. I guess that’s what they pay me the big bucks for.” He eyed her bubble bath-covered form. “Isn’t it a little early for that?”
She giggled and pulled one of her legs out of the water. “I suppose it is, but I thought I would soak a while to make my swollen pregnancy clown feet go down.”
Kneeling down, he took her foot in one of his hands and kissed the instep. “I’ll massage them for you when you get out.”
Emma cocked her eyebrows at him. “Uh-huh, and what do you want in return for such treatment?”
Aidan chuckled. “Who said I wanted something in return? My baby mama’s feet are swollen, so I feel a responsibility to make things better.”
She grinned. “Water’s still warm. You could join me.”
His fingers immediately went to his shirt buttons. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”
Emma gazed appreciatively at him while he stripped. Each time he was gone, it made her miss and crave him all the more. After stepping into the tub, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her onto his lap. He surprised her when he kissed her tenderly rather than with his usual hungry passion. Of course, it still caused her to shiver with anticipation when he ran his fingers up her spine.
“Are you going to tell me what’s on your mind?” Aidan asked.
“Huh?”
He chuckled. “You feel a little tense, that’s all.”
“Just a stressful day at work,” she lied.
“And what else?” he prompted.
“Fine. There’s something I’ve been waiting to ask you.”
“Okay. Shoot.”
“So about this next business trip…”
“Hmm?” he murmured, tangling his fingers through her damp hair.
“Do you have plans for the weekend after you get back?”
“Not that I know of. Why?”
Emma knew it was now or never to approach him with this potential bomb. Sure, two months had rolled by where they had been spending more and more time together, and yea, he had kept his devotion to monogamy, even going so far as to Skype and call her late nights when he was away. Most nights he was in town, she slept over or he slept at her house, but they still hadn’t quite breached the level of commitment she wanted, nor had they said the L word she so craved to hear.
“Well, it’s my family’s annual barn dance up in the mountains, my mom’s family, that is.”
Aidan snickered. “And what exactly is a barn dance?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. My cousins’ band plays music, people dance, there’s usually homemade barbecue…and moonshine.” Emma grinned at Aidan’s wide eyes. “Mainly it’s a family reunion of sorts. I planned on going up on Saturday afternoon and coming back Sunday evening. I would really like it if you joined me. My grandparents are especially interested in meeting you.”
Aidan smiled. “Sure.”
“Really?” Emma squeaked, unable to hold back her shock.
Aidan nodded. “You’ve suffered through meeting most of my family; I should repay the favor. Besides, I always love getting out of the city and going up to the mountains. We could even take Beau with us.”
Emma laughed. “Oh, he’ll be in doggie heaven at my grandparents’. They have about thirty acres of land along with a pond.”
“That sounds amazing, for more than just Beau.”
Emma couldn’t still the fluttering of her heart at his excitement about meeting her family. “So I can tell Grammy we’re coming?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
23
Aidan threw the last of his clothes in the suitcase then zipped it up. He grunted in frustration when his cell went off in his pocket. Since he was already running late to pick up Emma, he didn’t need any more interruptions. Luckily, he knew it wasn’t her demanding to know where he was because it wasn’t her familiar ringtone. “Hello?”
A slightly inebriated voice boomed on the other line. “Fitzy, where the hell are ya man? The entire gang is down at O’Malley’s waiting on your sorry ass!”
It was his buddy Blake. Aidan had conveniently forgotten to tell him and the other guys from work he wouldn’t be making their usual Saturday meet-up. “Sorry dude, I’m about to head out of town with Em.”
“You’re with Emma again?” he whined over the roar of the boisterous crowd in the background.
“Yeah, we’re going to visit her family up in the mountains. A barn dance or some shit.”
“Fuck that, man. You spend all your time with her now, not to mention you’ve got a kid on the way. You might as well have grown a vagina.”
“Yeah, spending lots of sexy time with a beautiful, fiery redhead really makes me a pussy,” Aidan replied with a chuckle.
Blake snorted. “You have no idea the fucking quicksand you’re treading on. Sure, it seems like easy fun now, but just wait. Emma’s no fool. She’s tightening her noose, and you’re too mind-fucked to see it.”
“Don’t be saying shit like that about Emma,” Aidan snarled.
“I’m not the only one saying it, Fitzy. The whole gang is worried about you, and don’t say we don’t know what we’re talking about. Three of us have been through divorces, remember?”
Aidan shifted the phone to his other ear. He wasn’t enjoying the turn the conversation had taken, and he didn’t like Blake’s tone—or the potential truth in his words. “Nice groups of friends I’ve got, running their mouths behind my back.”
“Yeah, well, just mark my words. If you don’t get out fast, you’ll wish you had listened to us one day.”
“Go fuck yourself, Blake!” Aidan shouted before hanging up. He shoved his phone back in his pocket. Who the hell did Blake think he was? Emma wasn’t forcing him to do anything. No woman ever had and no woman ever would. He was with her because he was enjoying what they had. There was nothing wrong with that. He was giving just as much as he wanted to, and she wasn’t forcing his hand about anything else.
At the thought of his friends drinking and giving him shit about Emma, he couldn’t help muttering, “Douchebags.” He grabbed his suitcase and whistled for Beau. “Come on, boy. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Beau happily complied and went into full wiggling mode when he saw he was getting in the car. Knowing he was running late, he sped along the interstate and then zipped along the familiar streets over to Emma’s house. He pulled into her driveway a little after three. He ignored the text buzzing in his pocket because he was sure it was her. Instead, he hopped out. Beau started to nudge forward, but he shook his head. “Stay boy.”
After jogging up the front walk, he smacked the doorbell. “It’s open!” she called.
As he pushed through the door, he saw her suitcase and purse sitting on the foyer floor. He heard rustling around in the kitchen. “Sorry I’m a little late. Beau took forever to pee,” he lied. He didn’t feel the need to tell her one of his asshat friends had made him later than Beau’s bladder.
“You didn’t leave him at home, did you?”
Aidan laughed. “No, he’s having a fit in the car. I swear he recognizes your house.”
Emma’s girlish giggle floated back to him. “Poor baby. It’s been his on-and-off-again home the last few months. I put a rawhide bone in my purse to help make the trip easier for him, but we’ll probably need to stop off once to let him pee.” She gave a frustrated sigh. “Who am I kidding? I’ll probably have to stop more to pee than Beau will.”
She came around the corner and his heart shuddered to a stop. Every time he saw her after being out of town, she took his breath away. She wore an emerald green sundress with thin spaghetti straps and a hemline that fell just below her knees. Her enhanced pregnancy cleavage strained against the cups on the bodice, but it was the brown cowboy boots that made him do a double take.
Emma started to rush past him to throw something in her suitcase when Aidan reached out and pulled her to him. “Damn, you look sexy as he
ll.”
Her brows furrowed as she glanced down at herself. “Seriously?”
He licked his lips and nodded.
“This is one of the few dresses I can still get into. I think it might be time to cave in and buy some more maternity clothes.”
His fingers splayed over her baby bump, touching her tenderly over the thin material. “For being four and a half months pregnant, you’re barely even showing.”
She blew a stray strand of hair out of her face. “Tell that to my zippers.”
“And the boots?”
“Oh, these help me stay true to my country roots. I wear them all the time when I’m in the mountains.”
He grinned. “I like them…a lot.” Cocking his head, he gave her his best I want to devour you smile.
Emma wagged her finger at him. “Oh no. Don’t even go there.”
“Baby, I’ve hardly seen you, let alone touched you in the last week. I’m about to explode!”
“We need to get on the road. It’s already after three,” she protested.
“What’s wrong with taking a little detour?” Before she could argue any more, Aidan crushed his lips against hers, his warm tongue sweeping into her mouth. He snaked one arm around her waist, drawing her against him, but she started to squirm away when he pressed his erection into her. “Don’t make me meet your grandparents with a hard-on.”
She smirked at him and tried to wiggle out of his embrace. “It’s a long drive. I’m sure you will cool off by then.”
With a frustrated grunt, Aidan tightened one of his arms around her waist. He then brought his other hand to slip one of her tiny straps off her shoulder, pushing the material down to bare her breast. As he kneaded her flesh, his thumb brushed back and forth across her hardened nipple. When he heard her suck in a breath, he teasingly pinched the bud. It appeared to do the trick because a surge of passion overtook Emma. She brought her lips to Aidan’s while arching herself against him.
Love in the Dark Page 105
