Bared

by Stacey Kennedy

  “She sounds like my kinda gal.” Cora laughed.

  Aidan nodded. “You would have liked her, I’m sure of that.” In fact, they were a lot similar, only Lily hadn’t been as humorous as Cora. She had an old soul. Cora, though, beamed with an inner glow that brightened his life. She made him laugh, and that had been exactly what he needed during his dark days.

  After she flipped the page, he said, “In that next picture, we spent the day visiting all the ruins …” Lost in thoughts of Lily, Aidan spent the next hour sharing story after story about their life. He went through all the special moments behind the pictures. He shared what made their relationship what it was, and why it’d been so hard for him when Lily had died.

  By the time the box was empty and everything was all in a pile, Cora heaved a sigh. She picked up the original picture of Lily, and Aidan knew why she was drawn to that picture. It was his favorite of Lily, too. Lily hadn’t known he had taken the picture that day at a picnic for a fund-raiser with his law firm, but she’d been laughing.

  The picture had captured Lily’s soul.

  Cora ran her fingers over the picture before she placed the frame in her lap. Her features were gentle, as was her voice. “I’m sorry you lost her, Aidan.”

  He shook his head slowly, resting his arms on his legs. “That’s not why I showed you this.” He paused, forgetting everything he had planned to say. He spoke from his heart. “I showed you this so you’d understand what I had. I need you to feel that helplessness I felt when she died.” He scrubbed his hand over his face, avoiding her gaze. “I had to accept that in a world where all I crave is control, that one time I had none.”

  “Aidan.”

  At her shaky voice, he lowered his hand, stared into her teary eyes, and added, “Her death gutted me. Yes, losing Lily was the worst thing I’ve ever been through.” He looked to his feet, forcing the words out of his tight throat. “But to add to that, I suffered because I had failed her. I should have been there. I should have protected her the night of the car accident.”

  Aidan sensed Cora approaching before her hand pressed gently against his arm. “How could you have? It was an accident.”

  “I couldn’t. That is the logical answer.” A painful tightness formed in his chest as he lifted his head. He gazed into her crystal clear eyes and scanned over her splotchy skin. “The Dom in me didn’t like that answer. It went against everything I believe in and all the morals that define me as a Dom.” Her touch on his arm carried warmth into his icy veins. “Do you understand that?”

  Cora regarded him and then gave a small nod. “Actually, that makes a lot of sense. It would be like a submissive craving to submit but being unable to.”

  Of course she understood. He’d done exactly that to her. He wouldn’t spend his time regretting that. He would do his best to ensure she never felt that way again. He raised his hand, brushing his finger against her cheek. “Then there was you …” He slid his thumb across her lip, which parted under his touch. “You changed everything. Your submission not only brought me happiness, but it healed the part of me that craves control.”

  She leaned into his touch, a slow smile rising to her face. “You gave me something, too, you know.”

  He hesitated, grasping her chin. “What did I give you?”

  A tear escape her eye. “Hope.”

  Aidan shut his eyes, overwhelmed by this woman. For all they’d been through that one answer told him all he needed to know. Cora’s love held no restraints. It didn’t matter what they’d been through. It didn’t matter that he’d hurt her. She broke because he rejected her. Now that he welcomed her, Cora could forgive him.

  To be okay and feel safe, she needed him.

  He undeniably needed her, too.

  If only he’d realized that a lot sooner.

  Aidan forced all the negativity for what he’d done away. Pain and regret had destroyed him for too long. Cora deserved the good parts of him. She’d dealt enough with his pain. He swiped away the moisture on her cheek, reveling in her soft skin. “All of this has been fear. It’s weakness. I didn’t want to fail you.” He swallowed the thick emotion, hiding nothing from the one woman who had given all of herself. “But I did anyway, didn’t I?”

  Her chin trembled. “You did.”

  “I know an apology can never say enough to overcome what I’ve done to you, but I am sorry, Cora. I’m sorry that I made you hide and feel as though you couldn’t tell me the truth. That is all on me.”

  From this night forward, he never wanted to see the hurt he witnessed in her puffy red eyes now. He slid both hands up her neck, cupping her face. “I’m sorry I let you walk away at the cemetery. I should have tugged you back in my arms and told you all this then.”

  In classic Cora style, her mouth down-turned, spilling more tears from her eyes. “I don’t need you to be sorry, Aidan. I need you to do better.”

  Didn’t that sum it up?

  His pulse quickened and his muscles tensed, under the spell she’d woven over him. “It’s not that I never cared about you. Our connection, Cora”—he shook his head, consumed by the heady emotion swirling within him—“it was all so real it blindsided me.” He caressed her cheeks with his thumbs, forcing out what he should’ve admitted a long time ago. “But I had to accept my weaknesses and my failures. As a Dom …”

  “That’s hard to do,” she offered.

  “Extremely hard.” He watched her furtively, gripping her face tight. “I’m sorry you’ve struggled these past weeks. I wish it didn’t have to be that way, but I needed to be ready before we talked.” He leaned down close, looking her head-on. “You don’t need to hear words. You needed to see that I’m ready for this.” He hesitated, allowing her a moment to process before he added, “I didn’t want to make you a promise I couldn’t keep.”

  She held his stare with strong contact, not blinking. “What promise?”

  Consumed by her soul—a soul he’d never hurt again, he drew in a long breath before he said, “My promise of a fresh start. A promise that I will take care of you in the same manner you’ve taken care of me for the last two years.” He brushed more tears away and smiled gently. “I can’t live without you, Cora, of that I’m sure.”

  Her breath hitched. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  “That’s not quite what I expected you to say.” He frowned.

  She smirked. “It’s about time you freaking said how much you need me and how incredible wonderful I am.”

  Aidan chuckled. Of course, Cora wouldn’t focus on any part of his pain, wouldn’t make him relive it. She already knew his demons and understood them. She did what she always did—made his life a little easier and a whole lot better. “You always knew, did you?”

  He gaze sparkled. “Guess I need to remind you what I’ve told you before.” She took his hands and lifted her chin, exposing her long neck calling for his tongue to lick it. “I see you.” She winked. “Flaws included.”

  He dragged his finger up her neck, studying her slight shiver. “But you love me anyway?”

  “What can I say?” She gave a halfhearted shrug. “No one’s perfect, certainly not me.”

  “Now that I don’t agree with. You are Cora, and there is nothing more perfect than that.” He grasped her chin, angling it so her gaze was level with his. “I love you.”

  “I never doubted you did—I only doubted that you’d accept it.” Her eyes shined with tears at his latter admission before she blatted her lashes. “And you’re right—I’m pretty great.”

  He laughed, inclining his head in agreement. Hearing her sass meant so much more than amusement. It meant one truth—Cora wasn’t good unless she had him, exactly as he had felt these weeks without her.

  Now that he’d come back into her life, she was better. Such a simple thing, but it held a world of meaning to a Dom. His submissive had dropped without him. He’d never let her fall again.

  While it pleased him she was so accepting of this, he couldn’t misread her anymore
. “For how you left me at the cemetery and the reaction you gave under my touch in our last scene, I wasn’t expecting this to go over this well.”

  She smiled gently, leaning up toward him. “You’re finally saying the right things. You’re touching me the right way.” Something so sweet and pure sped through the air between them as she added, “I love you, Aidan. Yes, these weeks have been hell and horrible, but I’m done feeling bad. This … you… it makes me happy. It’s what I wanted. It’s as simple as that.”

  He could listen and observe her for hours, and he would admire her strength in the years ahead of them. Tonight he took his second chance at love and he wouldn’t look back. He arched an arched eyebrow and smiled. “Simple just took a little bit though, didn’t it?”

  Cora winked. “A bit.” She sat back on her legs, looking at the picture of Lily in her lap. Her brows drew together as she slid her finger over the photo. Then she lifted her head, regarding him intensely. “What do you plan to do with all this?”

  Good question. Easy answer. “I plan to get rid of it.”

  Cora’s eyes narrowed before she stood with the picture frame in her hands. With sure and steady steps, she approached the fireplace next to Aidan and placed the picture on the mantel. When she turned to him, she smiled softly. “I don’t want you to forget her, Aidan.”

  Without thought he stood and gathered her in his arms. Cora melted against him and he squeezed his arms around her. With her close, his world aligned. She rested her head against his chest. “If I was jealous of her, you’d have to be jealous of Porter.”

  How could Aidan hold any jealousy of her relationship with Porter? Hell, Porter and Kyler had been her lifeline while Aidan got his head on straight. They had kept his plans a secret all because he asked them to. But they had also taken care of Cora until Aidan was ready to step in and claim the woman who belonged to him.

  How could he come between friendships like that?

  Leaning away from her, Aidan tangled his hands into her hair she’d cut shorter. “Porter doesn’t get what I have. There is no reason to be jealous.”

  The side of her mouth arched ever so slightly. “What do you get?”

  “I have a woman who loved me at my worst.” He pressed his hand against her lower back, tugging her tight against his rock-hard cock. “Now I can love her at my best. Neither Porter nor you has ever seen how happy I plan to keep you.”

  “Oh, really?” She smirked, her eyes dancing. “Color me intrigued.”

  His cock twitched at her wicked grin. “Words are no longer necessary. Action will prove it all.” He dropped his gaze to hers, and she shivered in his arms. “Go into the bedroom and get naked. Tonight things will change, for you and me, Cora Adams. Rules need to be defined.”

  She trembled at his low voice that he always took on in his dominant role, even if she waggled her eyebrows. “Sounds serious.”

  “I take ownership of what is mine very seriously,” he murmured, playfully, as raw, pulsating emotions were held behind those words.

  Cora squirmed against him and rubbed herself against his erection. “Is that what I am now, your property?”

  He tightened his hands into fists in her hair. “You are so much more, luv.” He tugged on the silky strands, pinning her to him, and her pupils dilated. “You are the woman I love. You’re my submissive.” When her eyes widened and blazed with heat, he said, “A submissive who I gave an order to. Where are you, Cora?”

  “With you, sir,” she rasped.

  He smiled at the flush of her cheeks and her mouth begging for his kiss. “Where should you be?”

  She arched into his hold with hooded lids. “In the bedroom and naked.”

  He arched an eyebrow, drawing in her scent that thickened the air. Energy pulsated around him like it always did with Cora. Under his stare, she offered a look so needy it raised a desire in him to increase it.

  She blinked rapidly, stepping out of his hold and shaking her head. “Right.” She turned, searching out for the bedroom. He heard her voice carry down the hallway as she said, “Bedroom. Naked. Yes, sir.”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  The grand wooden house held the same rustic feel as Cora had seen from outside. It hadn’t been designed with lavishness in mind, but comfort and cottage living. When she entered the bedroom at the end of the hallway, she smiled.

  Now, this is so Aidan.

  An iron-framed king-size bed rested against the back wall and was the focal point in the space. From the dark oak furniture to the quilted duvet on the bed, Cora figured Aidan hadn’t designed this himself. She imagined he’d have simple furniture that didn’t match with a gray blanket on the bed.

  Not that Aidan didn’t like fancy things. But the detail of this room—from the books placed perfectly on the nightstand to the antique clock on the wall to the odds and ends that gave this space charm—were too detailed for a man who knew nothing about design.

  A feeling of breathlessness overtook her. He’d gone to great lengths to ensure that when she came to his new home it was perfect. She doubted he’d done this himself but rather he’d had it done so she’d be comfortable.

  When a shuffle came from the living room, Cora snapped out of her admiring and her whimsical thoughts, reminded of his order. In a minute, she stripped off her clothes. Most of that minute had been spent taking off her tight jeans. She folded them neatly on top of wooden chest at the end of the bed.

  In the center of the room was a soft, round beige carpet. Cora grinned as she lowered to her knees. Of course, a Dom would place a carpet by the bed on the hardwood floors. Not out of necessity or design, but because it made kneeling easier.

  She exhaled and fell into her submissive role. Being there, waiting for him, made her body tingle. God, she had wanted him like she saw him tonight—honest and real. While part of her was proud she hadn’t crashed and burned into depression, the other part was relieved she wouldn’t have to live without him. She loved Aidan without restraints and with an ever-increasing ability to forgive.

  His actions had spoken louder than words. He had patched up the pieces and gone about setting up a new life; a safe, fresh start that they could build on. While she wished he would’ve told her all that sooner, she also knew why he hadn’t. Aidan wouldn’t put his pain on her and want her to help him.

  It wasn’t a Dom’s way.

  He’d fixed himself and dealt with those demons she’d seen. Of course, she could’ve hated him for all this and what he had put her through. Deep down, a few weeks of hell were nothing for a lifetime with him. She wouldn’t make him regret those weeks or dwell on them. Cora had officially had enough of pain in any form whatsoever.

  She had him, and nothing else mattered.

  Drawn into her thoughts, she never heard Aidan enter the room, though she sensed the air shift into an electric buzz. Heat carried into her, igniting her passion, making her aware of his every move.

  She spotted his bare feet before a black box filled her vision, as did something else that was big and sparkly. She blinked. Her eyes did not betray her. She stared at a stunning princess-cut diamond surrounded by smaller ones in a square around the large diamond. And more diamonds ran down the sides of the thin platinum band. Her breath caught in her throat and she lifted her head.

  Aidan smiled. “Marry me.”

  She gasped, her heart beating a mile a minute, tears welling in her eyes. “Oh, God, I was not expecting this.”

  “Good. I hope to always surprise you.” Raw emotion crossed his expression as he dropped down to one knee. “I’ve made mistakes, Cora. I won’t make them again.” He took the ring out of the box, placing it on the ground, and held it up. “I thought about collaring you, wondering if that was the right thing to do.” Then he took her trembling hand into his as his voice softened. “I realized it wasn’t enough. You are my submissive—that has already been established. This ring speaks to our commitment in and out of the dungeon.” Her eyes widened, tears rushing down her face, as he
slid the ring onto her finger. “I want you to be my wife.”

  Cora stared down at the ring on her finger. “Holy shit.”

  “Such a romantic you are, luv.” He chuckled, holding his hand in hers and running his thumb over the side of the ring. “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes,” she exclaimed. “Oh, God, yes!” She plowed into him, wrapping her arms around him. He sealed his mouth over hers—without heat—yet with an intoxicating warm love that meant so much more.

  When he broke the kiss, he held her tight against him and said against her ear, “You realize now that yes means that you’re mine, now, Cora. All mine, belonging only and always to me.”

  Cora sobbed, unable to find words to express what that meant. Hearing those words that she’d longed for had her crying so hard her breathing became harsh panting. She thought she’d lost him. She thought she’d have to move on, and knowing she didn’t have to endure that mended parts of her soul that had been shattered.

  His wife …

  Only when she got control of herself did he release her. She stared down at her hand, seeing the diamonds sparkling in the light. “It’s beautiful.”

  “I had it designed two days after I last saw you in the dungeon.”

  “Did you?” At his nod, she added, “So this is what you’ve been doing?”

  He gave a firm nod. “This”—he looked to the ring, and then waved out to the house—“is where we will build our life. A life that I should have given you a long time ago. A life that we both deserve.” One eyebrow arched. “Once you’re moved in we can rent or sell your home—that you can decide. I want you here and with me, by my side always.”

  “I couldn’t ask for anything more, Aidan.” Cora had wanted more than the D/s relationship and now he’d given her that. She had hoped he’d see past his pain and he’d gone above that—he had faced his pain, dealt with it, and now looked past it. “It’s perfect.” Hell, this was the most beautiful home that she’d ever seen. The fact that it’d be there’s made it all the more special.