The Ten-Day Baby Takeover(52)

“If you want, I can do bedtime tonight,” she said. “I’m sure you’re exhausted.”

Her voice was salve to his soul. He turned and it felt as if the universe was presenting him with the cure to all that ailed him. Whatever the problem, she made things better.

“Let’s both put him to bed. Together.”

“Oh. Sure. I’d like that.”

The party had taken it out of Oliver. Aiden put him in his pajamas and Sarah read him a story, sitting with him in the rocking chair. Aiden leaned against the door frame, studying them together. If only he could capture that moment in a bottle, save it for later, after she was gone. Sarah’s absence would leave a void in his and Oliver’s life that would be impossible to fill. But it was what she wanted. She’d made that clear.

After only a few minutes, Oliver sacked out in Sarah’s arms. She gently set him in the crib, and she and Aiden tiptoed into the hall.

“I’m sorry about tonight.” Aiden reached for her arm. “I know we said that I should wait for another time, but I had to say something. It was killing me.”

“I’m proud of you for doing it. Even though it hurts right now, be patient with yourself. Give yourself some time to process it. And in the end, Oliver’s love will heal you. I truly believe that.”

He would have smiled if it weren’t so hard to breathe. She was so determined to make everything better, and that made her even more beautiful, that much more impossible to resist.

“I think I’ll head to bed,” she said. “I’m sure you want time to think about everything.”

Could he risk his pride for a second time tonight? He had to. Even if she might say she didn’t want him the way he wanted her. He might not get another chance. “Don’t go, Sarah. Stay with me.”





Fifteen

Stay with me. Sarah wasn’t sure she’d heard his words correctly. They were surprising. They were scary—driving her to a place where she surrendered to her deep longing for him. Did he want her? She wasn’t about to make presumptions about what Aiden had said. Not now. Not when she’d be opening herself up to more hurt. “Did you want to talk?”

He granted the smallest fragment of a smile, looking at her with his heartbreaking blue eyes, his gaze saying he didn’t need to talk. He tenderly tucked her hair behind her ear, drawing his finger along her jaw to her chin. “I don’t know what force in the universe brought you to me, Sarah. I only know that right now, I need you. I want you. And I’d like to think that you want me, too.”

The air stood still, but Sarah swayed, lightheaded from Aiden’s words. Their one night together had been electric, filling her head with memories she’d never surrender, but judging by the deep timbre of Aiden’s voice, they might shatter what happened in Miami. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship.” And no-strings-attached only breaks my heart.

“Is that why you shut things down after Miami?”

“Yes.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was enough. As much as sleeping with Aiden might be a mistake, she didn’t want to deprive herself of him. Would one more time really hurt? “And I’ve spent every minute since then regretting it.”

“Then I say we have no more regrets.”

Before she knew what was happening, he scooped her up into his arms. She’d never had a man carry her anywhere. Her small stature had always made her wonder why—apparently she’d had to wait for Aiden. She wrapped her hands around his neck and leaned into him. He took the few steps necessary to cross the threshold into his room. He set her gently on the bed and stretched out next to her.

She cupped the side of his face, the stubble of his beard scratching her palm. Her heart beat a frantic rhythm as she waited. Then his lips were on hers, soft and sensuous, and that made her pulse race faster. She closed her eyes to immerse herself in the world of Aiden—the silky soft sheets and his masculine smell, his solid, muscular body. He palmed her thigh, his hand inching along under her skirt, sending ribbons of electricity through her.

He rolled to his back, taking her with him until she was straddling his hips. Her dress was now hitched up around her and Aiden explored beneath her skirt again, slipping his fingers into the back of her lace panties and cupping her bottom. She rested her arms on the bed above his shoulders and dug her fingers into his thick hair, rocking her pelvis against his, his rock-hard erection rubbing against her apex. The need for Aiden had been building for two days, and everything he did made it more pronounced—his tongue exploring her mouth, his white-hot touch.