The Proposal

by Katie Ashley

  Giving him a salute, she mumbled through a mouthful of toothpaste, “Yes sir.”

  He shook his head. “Always you and that mouth.”

  She grinned at him before he headed out the door.

  ***

  When Emma finished showering, Aidan was still upstairs. Exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster ride of the day, she fell immediately into a deep sleep. But it wasn’t restful. Dreams plagued her. First, she had one where Aidan and Pesh were fighting over her with a duel to the death like in the olden days. Then she dreamed that when Noah was born, he looked just like Pesh, rather than anything like her or Aidan.

  Finally, her mind reeled into another dream—one that was all too surreal since it had once happened.

  Cool water lapped against her bare neck and shoulders as she kicked her legs to stay afloat in Grammy and Granddaddy’s pond. She could almost touch the bottom if she let the water cascade over her head. As she treaded water, Aidan swam up to her with a predatory gleam in his eyes. A shiver of anticipation ran through her.

  “Are you cold?” Aidan asked.

  “A little,” she murmured.

  “Then let me warm you up.” He pulled her into his arms and brought his lips against hers. “Mmm, you taste sweet…a little sweeter than usual.”

  She grinned against his mouth. “I might have made a pit-stop for some cake before I came to your room.”

  Aidan chuckled. “Midnight craving for food and sex, huh?”

  “Yep.”

  “I think it’s time we fulfilled that second craving, don’t you?”

  “Please.”

  “Wrap your legs around me, babe.”

  She did as she was commanded. Aidan grunted as he started walking them through the water to the shore. “Am I too heavy?”

  “No, not at all,” he murmured through gritted teeth.

  She laughed. “Aidan, I can make it myself. You don’t have to carry me.”

  “It’s not that you’re too heavy. It’s just this is harder than I thought it would be in the water.”

  “Aw, but you’re my hero now for sure!” She then brought her lips to his cheek. She kissed a trail down to his jaw before nipping and licking her way over to his lips. She moved her hips against his groin.

  “Damn, Em,” he murmured gripping his hands tighter against her ass.

  “Am I getting you worked up?”

  “Oh hell yes.”

  “Good.” She thrust her tongue into his mouth, seeking out his warmth. She let his dance teasingly over hers. Then like a flick of a switch, they turned from teasing each other to ravaging each other’s mouths.

  Once Aidan stepped out on shore, he held Emma tight as he sank to his knees, causing her to squeal as she was pitched back. “You okay?” he asked. She glanced up at him. The full moon cast a halo around his head, making him appear momentarily angelic.

  “I’m fine now.” She widened her legs to allow him to ease between them. “Make love to me, Aidan.”

  He stared intently into her eyes, and she knew the fact she had used the term making love had not been lost on him. “Whatever you want, babe,” he replied with his usual cocky smirk.

  When he thrust into her, she cried out and gripped his shoulders tight. He moved slowly, tenderly within her. His tongue mirrored the movements of his languorous strokes while his hands cupped one of her breasts, bringing the nipple to a hardened peak.

  Just as she was so close to coming, he changed his pace and began rocking harder and harder against her, causing the sand and twigs beneath her to dig into her back. He shook her in his arms. “No, not like that. Be gentle with me, Aidan,” she murmured.

  Slowly she was sucked out of making love on the shore and back into Aidan’s bedroom. Someone was shaking her. No, Aidan was shaking her.

  “Em, wake up.”

  Her eyelids fluttered open to stare up at his concerned face. “What happened?”

  His hand left her shoulder to cup her cheek. “You were moaning. I think you were having a nightmare or something.”

  “No, I was about to come,” she mumbled drowsily.

  “Excuse me?”

  Suddenly she was wide awake. Her hands flew to cover her face that burned with mortification. “Oh God.”

  Aidan chuckled beside her. “Em, you naughty girl. Were you moaning because you were having a sex dream?”

  Ignoring him, she rolled over to her side. She fluffed the pillow and flopped back down.

  “Wait a minute. When you said, ‘Be gentle with me Aidan’, that wasn’t about me waking you, was it?”

  “I’m going back to sleep now.”

  He nudged her shoulder playfully. “Oh come on, Emma. Admit it. You were dreaming about having sex with me.” His voice vibrated with pleasure. “I must’ve been good if you were about to come.”

  She snorted exasperatedly. “I’m surprised you’re even asking about how good you were. Don’t you always think you’re amazing?”

  His hand snaked around her shoulder, rolling her back over. With one arm on the other side of her head, she was pinned beneath him and forced to face him. “You’re the only woman in the world I want to be amazing in bed for or to give mind-blowing, multiple orgasms to.” He shook his head. “No one else, I swear.”

  Staring into his eyes, she brushed the back of her hand over the stubble on his cheek. “You need to shave,” she murmured.

  Aidan arched his eyebrows. “You don’t want me to grow it out? Maybe have a goatee or a beard?”

  “No, I like it just the way it is.”

  “Then I’ll shave. For you.”

  Overwhelmed by her burning feelings for him and still reeling from her sex dream, Emma leaned up and brought her lips to his. Aidan immediately froze, and she felt like she was kissing a marble statue. When her mouth opened to slide her tongue against his lips, he slowly started to thaw. Her hand that had been caressing his cheek slipped into his hair. She ran her fingers through the silky strands, tugging and pulling as she went just like her teeth did to his bottom lip.

  Aidan gave a low moan in the back of his throat as he thrust his tongue into her mouth. God, she had missed the feel of his mouth on hers—his tongue dancing tantalizingly along hers. Desire pooled below her waist, and she knew she wanted him more than ever before.

  He moved his hand from her shoulder to her breast, kneading and cupping the sensitive flesh through her nightgown. She widened her legs, allowing his hips to dip between them.

  But when he started to lift the hem of her nightgown, Emma’s eyes flew open as reality, rather than a dream, crashed over her. “Wait, Aidan no!”

  He pulled his head from her neck to stare at her with eyes hazy and drunk with desire. “Please tell me this isn’t because you don’t want to do this, but it’s because we’ve both just realized the doctor said not to?”

  She nodded. “I’m not even supposed to have an orgasm because it can cause contractions.”

  He smirked at her. “Then it was a good thing I woke you from the sex dream, huh?”

  Blushing, she gave a half-laugh. “I guess so.” As he pulled himself off of her, she said, “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. We both got carried away.” He smiled as he snuggled against her. “Besides, it may not be as physically gratifying just to hold you all night, but there’s nothing I’d rather do.”

  Emma groaned. “Why do you have to say things like that?”

  “What?”

  She lowered her gaze. “You keep saying and doing all these amazing things. It confuses me.”

  “You want me to be an asshole or something?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Oh I get it. You want me to be the old, self-centered Aidan, so it’s easier for you not to feel what you do.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “But don’t you want me to change?”

  “I fell in love with the old Aidan, remember?”

  He growled in frustration. “But don’t you want me to be a bett
er man for you and for Noah?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Then let me say and do what I want.”

  “Fine.”

  They lay in silence a few moments. “You’re really never going to forgive me, are you?” Aidan asked.

  “Wait, where did that come from?”

  He rose up into a sitting position. “Everything I’ve done for you in the past eight days, everything I’ve said, all the apologies, trying to make it right…it hasn’t meant shit to you, has it?”

  “That’s not true,” Emma argued.

  “Obviously it is. If you were totally sold on us getting back together, you wouldn’t let Pesh come over, even in a medical capacity. You would have already said you wanted to be with me.”

  “I said if it bothered you so much, I wouldn’t let Pesh come over, and you were more than welcome to have stayed here—it’s your house for goodness sake. You could have stayed and seen for yourself that nothing romantic happened between Pesh and me. But you chose to leave.”

  “So now you’re trying to act like I left so that must mean I didn’t really care if Pesh tried to make a move?”

  “No, that’s not it at all.”

  “Once again, everything is all my fault, right?”

  Emma rubbed her temples. “Can we please not argue about this? I’m tired.”

  “Yeah, well, so am I.” He flung the covers back and stomped from the bed. Emma didn’t bother asking where he was going. The pounding of his feet on the stairs told her everything she needed to know.

  Using her fists, she ground the tears from her eyes. Dammit, why didn’t she know what was the right thing to do? Why couldn’t it be clear that she needed to be with Aidan, or she needed to tell him good-bye? Why did she constantly feel like her emotions were yo-yoing back and forth?

  At her weeping, Beau appeared and jumped into the bed with her. “Oh Beau,” she sobbed, wrapping her arms around him. He lay stock still, letting her get all of her emotions out. Finally, she fell into an exhausted sleep.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The atmosphere between Emma and Aidan was strained for the last few days of her bed-rest. Although Aidan brought her everything she needed, catered to her every whim, it wasn’t the same as before. He no longer stayed and watched movies with her. And even with Beau beside her, the bed was cold and empty without him at night.

  Aidan was forcing her hand. He felt he had done everything humanly possible to make her forgive him, and now he was done going the extra mile. Whatever happened between them was now up to her. And she was completely clueless on how to proceed.

  When she went to see her OB, Dr. Middleton, she was satisfied that everything looked great, and Emma could come off bed-rest and return to work the following week. Although she should have been happier, uncertainty still remained heavy. Did she leave that afternoon and go back to her house? Did she stay and try to work things out with Aidan? Or did she prepare to move to Ellijay to be with Grammy and Granddaddy like she had originally planned?

  After she and Aidan got into the car, a tense silence hung around them. Finally after what felt like an eternity, Aidan sighed. “Listen, Em, you’re probably not going to like what I’m about to say, but I feel like I need to.”

  “Okay,” she replied hesitantly.

  “I know you’re officially off bed-rest, but I don’t think you need to be doing anything really strenuous to start with. So if you’re willing, I’d prefer if you kept staying at my house…at least a little while longer.”

  When she turned to stare at Aidan, she saw his jaw clenching and unclenching. He was trying to keep his emotions in check. She knew that meant he really wanted her to stay. That thought made her heart beat a little faster. “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?”

  Aidan tore his glance away from the road to pin her with his stare. “Of course I wouldn’t. Stay a couple more days or weeks.” Then under his breath he murmured, “Stay forever.”

  Her breath hitched at his allusion to commitment, but she decided not to press it. “If you’re really sure, then I’d love to stay.”

  She gave him a bright smile, which caused a smirk to curve on his lips. “Good. I’m glad to hear it. Now why don’t we celebrate by letting me buy you dinner?”

  “No, no, this one needs to be my treat. You’ve already done enough.”

  “Hmm, I don’t think I’ve ever let a woman pay for dinner,” Aidan mused.

  “Good. You can learn that there’s a first time for everything.”

  Aidan chuckled. “All right, Em. Since dinner is on you, let me find the most expensive place possible!”

  ***

  The following night Emma prepared for her non-date to the opera with Pesh. After putting the final touches on her hair, she stood back from the bathroom mirror and took in her image. With its empire waist and wide spaghetti straps, the violet colored cocktail dress came just below her knees. Her nose wrinkled a little at how her straining pregnancy cleavage wanted to spill out of the top. It seemed like she had gone up a cup size in the last few days. She would be sure when she wasn’t wearing her coat to wear her drape.

  She hadn’t been dressed up in so long, and she had originally bought the dress to wear to Casey and Nate’s rehearsal dinner since it promised to be a swanky affair. But she was glad to get more wear out of it to the opera.

  At the sound of the front door slamming, she cringed. “Em?” Aidan’s voice called.

  “I’m in the bathroom.” Like a true coward, she had yet to mention her plans of going out with Pesh. She knew it would cause unnecessary trouble. She had hoped to be able to sneak out before Aidan got home. Leaving behind a note or text that she would be out would have been so much easier than having to face him. But Aidan couldn’t seem to get it through his head that there was nothing between her and Pesh, and at the same time, he had yet to tell her the magic three words she had been longing to hear.

  While in her mind she told herself that her opera plans were innocent, her heart raged in fury at her. Deep down, she knew she was hurting Aidan, and that regardless of what he had done to her, that made her a horrible person. She should have told Pesh no the first time he broached the subject of attending the opera, but instead, she gone against her better judgment and agreed.

  She was snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Aidan shuffling down the hall. “I picked up some Chinese on my way in. I thought if you were feeling up to it, we might go to Percy’s swim meet tonight. He really wants us to come. I swear, he’s called me like five times.”

  Emma winced at the fact she would not only be disappointing Percy but Aidan as well. He appeared in the bathroom door with a half-eaten egg roll in his hand. He took one look at her, and his mouth gaped open. “I think you’re going to be a little overdressed for the YMCA.”

  Warmth flooded her cheeks. “Actually, I’m going to the opera tonight.”

  Aidan’s face fell. “With Pesh?”

  She gnawed her bottom lip before responding. “He asked me last week because he had an extra ticket. Another couple will be there, so it’s not like we’ll be all alone. It’s a way of celebrating me being off bed-rest.” At the hurt radiating in Aidan’s eyes, she quickly added, “It’s just downtown at the Fox. I won’t be out late, and I promise to stay off my feet as much as I can.”

  His silence caused her chest to cave in. She knew she had to get away from him. As she started to brush past him out the door, she noticed a crumb of eggroll on his face. Raising up, she ran her thumb over the corner of his lip, catching it.

  He grabbed her arm, his blue eyes flashing with desperation. “Em, don’t go. Please.”

  She hoped he didn’t noticed how she had started trembling. “Aidan, I’ve already told Pesh I would, and I’m dressed. Besides, it’s not a date. I promise.”

  He scowled at her. “Of course, it’s a date. You may think it’s just as friends, but I’m sure he doesn’t. Or he at least wants you to believe that lie while he’s moving in for the kill!” />
  Emma stared down at the bathroom tile. “Yes, it’s true that Pesh would like us to be more, but I told him I didn’t know what I wanted.”

  “That’s not true. You want us. I know you do.” When she refused to look at him, Aidan’s hand gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Why do you keep fighting this? Fighting us?”

  She tried pulling away, but he tightened his arms around her. “I’m not fighting us. There isn’t really an us anymore, is there? You made damn sure of that when you couldn’t tell me you loved me and tried to screw another woman!”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “Oh hell yes there is! There was before, and there still is.”

  Emma shook her head as tears burned her eyes. “Will you ever get it? You broke my heart, Aidan! You shattered me into jagged pieces from which I’m not sure I can ever be whole again with you or any another man.”

  His face contorted with agony. “And I said I was sorry. I’ve begged and pleaded with you to forgive me. I’ve even tried to show you in every way how very sorry I was. Because of the last ten days, what we have is even stronger now, but dammit, you keep railing against it because you’re afraid I’m going to fuck up again!”

  Emma cheeks warmed from her anger. “And how do I know you won’t? You said you wanted more with me last time and look where it lead us. How do I know that you won’t put a ring on my finger and then freak out and screw around on me?!” she demanded.

  “Because I won’t. I swear to God and everything that is holy that I won’t!”

  “You can’t make a promise like that. You can’t be sure what you’ll do tomorrow or five years down the road.”

  “I am sure! I know in my heart that I’ve never felt for anyone like I’ve felt for you. All I want is you.”

  “Aidan—”

  His response was to crush his lips to hers. That familiar electricity popped and crackled around her. Physical need, along with love, pulsed through her, and she thought she would die if she didn’t get closer to him. She wanted to touch and taste every inch of him.