Chapter Thirty-Nine

Bec

T hat night, Aiden opens the door to his apartment, and I don’t hesitate before wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, jumping into his arms, and kissing him deeply. He takes less than a second to respond, gripping me firmly under my ass and groaning into my mouth as I grind against him.

I’m tired of overthinking. I’m tired of having my guard up. I want to go back to being the woman Aiden met at the wedding. The woman who was carefree and confident. Everything with Aiden feels right, and for once, I just want to give into the euphoric feeling of being with him, regardless of where this all ends up between us. I want him to make good on the promises he made to me earlier today. I want to fall asleep worn out and exhausted from everything he can give me.

As if he can hear my thoughts, he walks us to his kitchen counter, placing me on the edge. Through my leggings, the feeling of the cool granite beneath my thighs sends chills up my spine.

“Where’s the shirt from this morning?” Aiden asks. “I was looking forward to seeing you in it again. Thought maybe I could tear it off your perfect body before I got to work worshipping it.”

“You wouldn’t dare. I’ve worked hard wearing that shirt down to complete distressed perfection,” I say through our shared kisses, lightly tugging on his bottom lip with my teeth.

“I’ve been thinking about you all day. Take off your clothes,” he says into our parted lips while they lightly press together.

“You first.” I reach down to grip the hem of his shirt and pull it over his head, revealing his muscled torso. I run my hands over his chest to his belt before undoing the clasp, button, and zipper. I push his jeans down with my feet. The buckle of his belt rattles when it hits the floor before he steps out of his pants, leaving him in only his boxer briefs, his erection straining against the fabric. “You made me promises this morning, and I came to see if you can deliver on them.”

His stare turns heady under his dark lashes as he smirks at me. He grips my ass and pulls me to the edge of the counter in a show of strength and spreads my legs around his body, lining himself up with my center, slowly grinding against me.

I grip his shoulders and let my head fall back. “Fuck, Aiden.”

“Bec, I will deliver on every single promise and then I’ll make a hundred more and deliver on every single one of them too. I’ve been waiting all fucking night to do this. I was so tempted to fuck my fist at the thought of tasting you again, but I wanted to wait for the real thing.”

With one hand behind my head and one hand on my chest, he slowly pushes me backward until I’m lying across his kitchen counter, my legs still clinging to his waist as he stands at the edge of the counter.

“Hips up, babe,” he commands, and I comply, pressing my palms into the smooth stone counter, raising my hips several inches into the air while he pulls my leggings off and tosses them to the floor. Aiden doesn’t look away from my center, covered in a black satin thong. “Tell me, beautiful, have you been awake at night thinking about us? Have you touched yourself imagining it was me instead? Maybe used that pretty pink vibrator you love so much?” He bends down and kisses a trail of wet kisses up my inner thigh, while hitching my knees over his shoulders.

My mind goes blank, my stare locked on the sight of him making his way up my leg, and I can’t find the words to answer his question. I close my eyes and run my fingers through his wavy hair, tugging him gently toward where I want his kiss most of all.

“So ready for me,” he says, his voice rumbling low as he places a soft kiss on my underwear. He pulls the fabric to the side before running his tongue along my slit. I moan and grip his hair harder, my hips flexing, instinctively seeking more of his touch. He slides his hands beneath my ass, pulling me even closer before he unleashes his mouth on me with a hunger I’ve never felt in my life.

“Fuck, you taste better than I remember,” he mutters before returning his focus to my clit.

“Aiden, fuck me. Please, I need it,” I plead. He’s already driving my body to the brink of hysteric need and all I want is for him to take me on this counter.

“Fuck, I’ll give you whatever you want,” he groans. He pulls me off the counter, sliding my body along his until my feet hit the tile flooring. He pulls my shirt over my head and leans down to suck one of my nipples into his mouth through my lace bra. I arch back and give in to the sensations. Aiden’s attention to every inch of my body instantly clears my head; the incessant stream of worries that I can never seem to shut off goes silent. He takes me completely out of my thoughts and all I can focus on is the feel of his rough hands on my body, the strength of his movements, the discipline of his touch, never too rough but always firm. He turns me around abruptly to face the counter and I arch my back, rubbing my ass into his groin.

I look over my shoulder at him before I thread my fingers into the lace straps of my thong and drop my panties to the ground. “Now, Aiden. ”

His stare is locked with mine as he shoves his boxers to join my underwear on the floor. Aiden steps closer, rubbing his erection along my soaking slit and gliding over my clit. “Shit. Hold on, I’ll be right back. The condoms are in my room.”

“I…got tested after my last relationship, and I’m on birth control. I’m comfortable going without one if you are,” I say, desperate to feel him bare inside me.

He wipes a hand over his face. “Shit, Bec. I’m good too. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Now, are you going to make me beg or what?”

“I’d love to hear you begging for my cock. But you worked so hard today. I’m going to take such good care of you,” the gravel in his voice sends a jolt of electricity to my core as he runs his lips over my bare shoulder. He presses his thick cock into me, slowly entering me bit by bit, his fingers digging into my hips. We melt together, finding our rhythm. Our need for each other building until we’re both desperate. The intensity of his thrust strengthens, my breathing quickens, he presses one palm against the base of my neck and the other to my clit where he slowly and firmly circles the pressure point with his steady fingers.

I press my palms into the counter, spreading my legs farther and arching my back to meet his pulsing hips, his length fully entering me with each stroke. My impending climax builds, and I reach my hand back to grab his sculpted ass and I pull at it, a plea for him to go harder. He wordlessly obeys, and I feel him driving into me with more powerful thrusts.

“Being inside you like this feels so fucking perfect. Do you feel how crazy you’re making me? How you make me fucking drip for this perfect body of yours. These…” He presses his fingers into my soft hips. One of the places I’m most insecure about if I’m honest with myself. I’ve always had full hips no matter my weight. “These goddamn hips have me in a fucking chokehold. I never want to come up for air.”

“Oh god. Aiden, I…I’m going to come,” I say.

“The first of many. Let me hear how much you love this; how much you need this…as bad as I fucking do.”

I clench around him, finding my release, my head falling back against his shoulder. I cry out as my body responds to his words and his touch.

“Atta girl.” He slows his movements and pulls out of me, leaving me feeling empty.

He’s not finished, and as tired as I am, I desperately want more. He folds his hand around mine and pulls me alongside him into his bedroom.

When we cross the threshold, he wraps an arm around my lower back, the other running along my jaw before weaving into my hair and tugging at the roots. He kisses me slow and sweet. A stark contrast from the out-of-control way he took me just moments ago in the kitchen. This feels so different, like so much more than sex. It feels like an intimacy I’ve never known. Like a surrender to the unknown. A blind trust in something new. Something that shouldn’t feel familiar in my heart, but yet it does. Like he’s always been there and is just now showing up to take up a space that’s always been his.

He slowly walks me backward until my legs hit his mattress. I fall back and scoot to the center of his bed. His gaze slowly peruses every inch of my body, and he rubs his hand over his chin.

Aiden wrecks every pessimistic belief I’ve ever had about dating and what it’s doomed to be like. With him, I don’t feel exposed, I feel safe. I don’t feel embarrassed, I feel worshipped. I don’t feel insecure, I feel valued. I don’t feel timid, I feel emboldened. I don’t feel dependent, I feel empowered.

“When I’m with you, it’s like my mind can’t believe that I’m living this moment. I don’t want to blink. I’m afraid I’ll wake up and realize you never gave me this chance,” Aiden says.

“Is it all a dream, then?” I ask.

“If it is, don’t wake me. Let me be with you for a while longer. Let me rest with you in my arms.”

“And if I’m not ready to rest?”

“Then open those pretty thighs for me so we can wear each other out,” he says as he crawls up the bed. Once he’s between my legs, he sits back on his heels, his perfect physique on display in the soft glow of the sun setting through his windows. I feel his fingers softly stroking up my leg from my calves to my thighs before pulling my legs around his waist.

I let out a gasp as he lowers his body against mine and enters me. He holds us there, unmoving, as we both breathe together. His eyes find mine for a quick moment before he’s kissing me, his tongue chasing mine. As he begins to rock us into a synchronized rhythm, every touch we give each other, every moan we let out, overwhelms my senses.

Every move our bodies make together sends me higher, racing toward ecstasy. When I find it, Aiden crashes with me, filling me with his release. We cling to each other, breathing each other in, slowly coming back down from the high we found together.

Aiden steps away to grab a warm washcloth and cleans me before climbing into bed beside me. He circles his arms around me and kisses the top of my head before letting out a content sigh. My arms instinctively tangle themselves up in him.

“What happens now?” I ask, unable to keep the anxiety from bleeding into my question.

Aiden releases a heavy breath. “That’s up to you, Bec. I know I want you. Do you feel the same?”

I tilt my head back to see his expression, a mix of hope and uncertainty. By the undercurrent of doubt in his tone, I can tell I’ve been guarding my growing feelings well.

“I feel the same, Aiden. I’m sorry I’ve been so hesitant, so scared.”

“Then, we give this a real shot. If you’re ready for that. I leave for Spring Training in a few days. It’ll be an adjustment with all the travel, but I want to make this work.”

“You make me want more. More of this. More of us.”

“I want that too. Every moment I’m away from you, all I can think about is seeing you again. Every time I see you, I want to pull you into my arms and never let you go. I know you’re scared. I am too. But this…this is right. I know it.”

“I believe you,” I mumble, exhaustion finally taking over and sleep pulling me under. Before I can think of anything more to say, I slowly drift into a peaceful sleep wrapped in Aiden’s arms.