“Okay, okay,” she said with a wince, placing her hands on her belly as she sat up in the tub, really wishing he’d stop kicking her for five minutes so that she could relax. It was bad enough that he kept her up all night, but he really didn’t need to wreck the first bath she’d had in over a month, Melanie thought miserably as she shifted to get comfortable only to stop with a groan when her baby boy started kicking again.
“Come on, sweetie, just let mommy relax for a minute,” she said, closing her eyes and slowly exhaling as she waited for him to calm down, but she had a feeling that she was in for another long night.
“Is there something that you want to tell me?” Aidan suddenly asked, taking her by surprise and making her realize that the yelling had stopped.
When she opened her eyes and found Aidan sitting on the edge of the tub, watching her, she realized that yes, yes, she did, in fact, have several things that she would very much like to tell him.
*-*-*-*
“Shit!”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Melanie demanded just as Aidan ducked out of the way of the shampoo bottle only to get nailed in the chest by a soaking wet facecloth.
“Melanie, I-shit!” he finished with a grunt as he was forced to once again duck as he stumbled back out of the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him just as the bottle of conditioner made contact with the door.
“Learn to knock!” the ungrateful woman snapped, while Aidan stood there, glaring at the door as he yanked his soaked shirt off and tossed it aside.
“I was only trying to help!” he snapped back, toeing his shoes off so that he could shove his body wash-coated pants off.
“You can help from out there!”
“Really?” he couldn’t help but ask. “And how exactly were you planning on getting out of that tub?”
There was a long pause before Melanie asked, “Is your mother still here?” sounding really fucking hopeful.
“No,” Aidan bit out, with a glare at the door as he mentally went over everything that had been within her reach and realized that she still had a can of shaving gel and her bottle of conditioner left.
“Stop being so damn stubborn and let me help,” he said, shaking his head in disgust even as he couldn’t help but wonder why she was being such a big baby about this.
“No!”
“Melanie, you need my help,” he reminded her, which should have been more than obvious to the stubborn woman after today’s incident.
“I’m fine,” the irrational woman mumbled, making him shake his head in disbelief because she was anything but fine.
“Melanie, you’re not fine,” Aidan said, running his hands roughly down his face as he tried to figure out what to do with the damn woman.
“Everything’s fine,” Melanie stubbornly argued as he calculated the risk to his balls and decided to chance it because he wasn’t having this conversation through a door.
“Are you going to let me help you?” he asked after a slight pause, hoping that she’d make this easy for him.
“Is there any chance that you’d be willing to call Rebecca or my mother to come help?” she asked as he opened the bathroom door and strolled inside with, “Not a chance in hell.”
Ignoring her startled scream, Aidan grabbed a large towel on his way over to the bathtub, reached down, pulled the plug, threw the towel over his shoulder, and reached down and helped her to her feet before she could slap him. He decided that it would be for the best for everyone involved if he kept his movements professional and his gaze north of the most amazing pair of breasts that he’d ever seen in his life.
Just when he thought he’d lose the battle and release a groan that would make this situation a hell of a lot more complicated, he ignored her sputtered protests, wrapped the towel around her, grabbed her hand, and led her out of the bathroom. From there, he managed to get her into one of his tee-shirts, a pair of his boxers, and into his bed without her tearing into him.
Deciding that he’d put this off for long enough, Aidan climbed into the bed next to her, pulled her into his arms and said, “Now, let’s have a talk, shall we?”
“And we couldn’t have this talk somewhere else?” Melanie asked, squirming as she tried to sit up when he shifted back, pulled her against him so that she was laying on her side with her head on his shoulder, and-
“Oh, my god!” Melanie gasped, closing her eyes with a groan even as she snuggled closer.
“Better?” Aidan asked, feeling his lips twitch.
“You have no idea,” she practically moaned as she snuggled closer to him.
“You ready to talk?” he asked, reaching over with his free hand, and after a slight hesitation, placed it on her large belly.
“About your manhandling ways or the fact that you have a death wish?” she asked with a dreamy little sigh, making him wonder if they should hold off on this conversation until after she had a chance to get some sleep, but then he remembered who he was dealing with here and decided that his best bet was to have this conversation now.
“I was thinking that we could talk about all those things that you’re keeping from me,” Aidan drawled, absently noting that she’d gone still against him as he felt their baby push against his hand.
“What are you talking about?” she asked after a slight hesitation, damn near making him roll his eyes because she knew damn well what he was talking about.
“All those things that you told my mother, but for some reason decided not to tell me,” he said, still angry with himself for not realizing that she was having so many damn problems.
“I didn’t want to bother you,” she grumbled sleepily.
“And is that why you didn’t tell me that your nausea medication wasn’t working anymore or that you were having problems sleeping because you didn’t want to bother me?” he asked, unable to help but smile when his son pushed against his hand.
“I had it handled.”
“By passing out on the bathroom floor?” Aidan asked, gently rubbing her belly as he settled back and closed his eyes.
“I was taking a break.”
“And the bathroom floor seemed like the best place to do that?” he asked, chuckling.
“Yes, yes, it did,” Melanie mumbled as she snuggled closer.
“Comfy?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“Quite,” she said with a little sniffle that had his lips twitching.
“You want to tell me anything else?” he asked, more than ready to call it a night even though they had one last thing that they needed to discuss.
“Not really,” she mumbled sleepily as she laid her arm across his chest.
“I see,” he drawled, matching her yawn with one of his own as he struggled to stay awake, but the feel of her in his arms and his son pushing against his hand was slowly lulling him to sleep.
“Good,” Melanie mumbled her agreement and as he felt her relax against him, Aidan realized just how badly he wanted to make this work and not just to do the right thing anymore, but because he wanted his son.
Chapter 13
“Oh, come the fuck on!” came the rather angry shout from what sounded like the other apartment as Melanie laid there, trying to come to terms with the fact that she was a snuggle slut.
She wished that she could say that it had been a fluke and that she’d passed out in his arms from exhaustion and that once she woke up and realized what happened that she’d put some much-needed space between them…
She really wished that she could say that, but she couldn’t.
When she woke up the first time to use the bathroom, she’d quickly waddled back to the bed and practically threw herself back in his arms and when he didn’t snuggle up fast enough for her liking, she may have growled, cried, or a terrifying combination of the two. The next time she had to get up, it had taken her baby three kicks to her bladder to get her to leave his arms and only then because he’d become somewhat concerned when she’d started crying hysterically and helped her to the bathroo
m.
When he’d made the mistake of getting out of bed to get her a drink and a snack…
Well, it was probably for the best if she didn’t dwell on that mortifying incident, Melanie told herself with a pitiful sigh as she thought about what happened when his alarm went off this morning and he’d announced that he had to get up for work only to once again decide that was a moment that was better left forgotten. That brought up another interesting question, shouldn’t he be at work?
One glance at the alarm clock told her that yes, yes, he should most definitely be at work right now. Then again, she should probably be staring at the television right now, but she was too distracted to pretend to care and it was all thanks to the man banging on something in the other apartment.
She had no idea what to make of him anymore. She should hate him, but she just couldn’t do it. It had only taken her a day to realize that he wasn’t really an asshole and that morning in the hotel room had just been a really bad day for him, one that should have gotten him slapped, but definitely a bad day. It also didn’t hurt that Lucifer had said as much after he’d finished congratulating Aidan.
Don’t get her wrong, it was great to know that Aidan wasn’t really a jerk, but that’s pretty much all she knew about him. That and he probably shouldn’t be in charge of tucking their son in at night, Melanie thought, smiling only to end up sighing when the man that she couldn’t quite figure out came walking into the room, pulling his grey tee-shirt off in the process and tossing it aside as he headed for the mini-fridge that he kept well-stocked for her.
As she lay there, admittedly enjoying the view, she couldn’t help but wonder what she’d been thinking when she’d agreed to go out with him that night. Not that it was really hard to figure out why any woman would say yes to Aidan Bradford, Melanie thought as she ran her eyes down his back, mesmerized by the way the golden muscles moved as he grabbed a Gatorade, tilted his head back and took a drink.
He was incredibly handsome, there was no arguing that, Melanie thought as her attention shifted south to the low hung pants and well-shaped ass that had her biting back a sigh. He had a really nice ass, but sadly that wasn’t why she’d said yes when any other time she would have said no or why she’d decided to see just how drunk she could get. If it hadn’t been for Adam, she probably never would have given Aidan a second thought, because he was so far out of her league that it wasn’t even funny.
It had been three years since Adam realized that she wasn’t the one and two years since she was able to say the same. Getting over him had probably been the hardest thing that she’d ever done in her life, but she’d managed to do it. At least, she thought she had until her mother called her to break the news before Melanie’s sister Caitlyn had a chance to tell her.
Adam had finally popped the question.
Granted, Melanie hadn’t known that her sister was dating the man that she’d thought that she would spend the rest of her life with, so finding out that he was marrying her sister had come as something of a shock. As it turned out, her family hadn’t wanted to say anything to her about Caitlyn and Adam and risk upsetting her until they knew if their relationship was going somewhere.
So, while she’d sat there, listening to her mother tell her how everything would be okay and that this was probably for the best for everyone, she’d felt like her world was crashing down around her. The great news was that Adam was finally going to be part of the family and everyone was relieved that Caitlyn was finally settling down. While her mother started talking about the wedding, Melanie thought of all the reasons that Adam had given her when he broke up with her and realized that he’d been describing her sister the entire time. Caitlyn was outgoing, beautiful, thin, loved to travel, always up to going out and try something new, she was playful, affectionate, always doted on whatever guy she dated and did all those things that Melanie didn’t.
She’d been with Adam since she was sixteen years old. He’d been the first boy that held her hand, kissed her, and every other first that counted, and she’d always thought that he would be her last. At some point, things changed or maybe it was the fact that she hadn’t changed that was the problem. Adam wanted more and she hadn’t been able to give it to him, but apparently, Caitlyn had.
After her mother finished explaining that they all needed to accept this and try to be understanding for Caitlyn’s sake, Melanie hung up the phone and sat on the couch, feeling numb and that’s when Aidan knocked on the door to give Rebecca her test results. She still wasn’t sure how he did it, but within minutes he’d charmed a smile out of her and made her forget all about that phone call. It was probably the reason why she’d agreed to go out with him instead of blowing him off and spending a few hours killing time downstairs at the Fire & Brimstone, wondering how she was supposed to get through the next year with a smile on her face.
It was definitely the reason why she’d consumed so much alcohol in one sitting, she thought as Aidan turned around and she couldn’t help but take him in from his messy sweat-soaked dark hair down to his incredibly handsome face, taking note of the intense green eyes watching her, and down to that amazing chest and set of abs that she’d cuddled up with last night down to that perfect “V” and the dark happy trail that disappeared behind the fly of his pants. She couldn’t help but wonder what the rest of him looked like.
It was wrong, so very wrong to wonder about something like that given the circumstances, but Melanie just couldn’t help herself. She thought about that night a lot, but no matter how many times she’d tried to remember what he’d looked like or what he’d felt like, she never could. Adam had been average, a decent and considerate lover, she would say even though she had nothing to compare it with. So, of course, she would be curious about the only other man that she’d slept with.
Melanie wondered what they did, what he’d done to her, and what she’d done to him, and if he’d done that thing that Adam used to do with his-
“Are you okay?” Aidan asked, frowning down at her as she forced herself to look away before she made this situation awkward.
Okay, even more awkward than it already was, Melanie amended a second later as she cleared her throat and mumbled, “Yes.”
Nodding absently, Aidan finished off his Gatorade and tossed the empty bottle in the trashcan that she’d asked Rebecca to sneak in for her in an effort to curtail his messy ways, before grabbing another bottle and announced, “Your apartment’s finished,” to which she reacted like any woman in her situation would.
She wiggled her way to the edge of the bed and sat up.
Chuckling, Aidan reached over and helped her to her feet. After murmuring a, “Thank you,” Melanie waddled her way through his apartment, navigating her way around the messes that he’d left here and there, and straight out the door, across the small hallway, and into-
An apartment that she was never going to be able to afford.
“Rebecca helped design it,” Aidan said, which explained why the apartment walls that had once been off-white covered with stains, dents, and holes were now a warm grey accentuated by white trim and black doors. The stained carpet that had given the apartment a musty odor was now gone and in its place was a beautiful wood floor with accent rugs to protect the floor from her furniture, which at some point in the last month had been moved in.
“You’re going to love the kitchen.”
She was afraid of that.
When he wrapped his arm around her and guided her towards the kitchen, Melanie did her best to ignore the white wainscoting that lined the walls, the beautiful cast iron light fixtures and walked into a kitchen that she would have happily killed for. The damaged linoleum floor that had once lined the kitchen floor was gone and its place were Spanish tiles that surrounded a beautiful French styled kitchen island that had her breath catching.
“If you don’t like anything, I can change it,” Aidan offered while she stood there, taking in the new cabinets, granite countertops, and black stainless-steel appliances that
made up her dream kitchen.
“Let’s go see the bathroom,” he murmured, wrapping his arm around her and gently pulled her out of the room that she never wanted to leave.
“Bathroom?” she mumbled distractedly as she allowed him to lead her back through the living room and-
“Oh, god,” Melanie choked out as she stepped inside the large bathroom and took in the black marble shower, the freshly tiled floor, two-person sink only to whimper when she spotted the large garden tub in front of her.
Before she could lovingly caress the tub that would make all her dreams come true, he was leading her back out of the room, through the living room and-
“This is the nursery,” he said, opening a door to reveal a large carpeted room with freshly painted blue walls and before she could step inside, his arm was wrapped back around her, and he was bringing her to the room next to it.
“And this is your room,” Aidan announced as he opened the door to the beautiful bedroom with soft lilac walls, all of her things lovingly set up in the room, and by the bed, the most beautiful bassinet that she’d ever seen.
“What do you think?” the man that had done an amazing job to make a home for their son, asked.
Licking her lips, Melanie said the only thing that she could, “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Chapter 14
“I’m fine,” the woman that was slowly driving him to drink said from where she lay, curled up in a ball on the floor he’d installed last week, hugging a bath towel against her chest, and looking absolutely miserable.
“Yeah, you’re a rock,” Aidan said dryly as he sat there, trying to figure out how he kept fucking everything up.
One thing was clear, they couldn’t keep doing this.
“Aidan,” Melanie mumbled, averting her pale baby blue eyes as a pink blush crept up her neck and stained her alarmingly pale cheeks, “I-I can’t afford this apartment.”
“I’m not expecting anything,” Aidan said, biting back a sigh as he sat there, trying to figure out how he kept fucking this up.
Irresistible (Neighbor from Hell Book 11) Page 7
