by LeAnn Ashers
“You got it, babe.” His face is soft as he stares at both of us. I clear my throat and give Aiden Reid’s pacifier; he’s getting a bit fussy.
“So what are you feeding me for dinner?” I ask, bumping my hip into his as we walk into his house. Well, I actually bumped his thigh.
Walking into his house for the first time, my first thought is it’s absolutely beautiful. The gorgeous cedar wood just takes my breath away.
You can tell right off the bat that a man lives here, but what makes it different is Reid’s stuff intertwined with the house.
Aiden walks into the kitchen and takes a few steaks out of the refrigerator. Why do I have a feeling he had this preplanned?
“Do you want me to feed Reid?” I nod in the direction of the baby food; he is getting fussy.
“If you don’t mind.”
I put Reid in his high chair, and Aiden hands me the baby food and a spoon. “Are you hungry?” I coo to Reid.
His little arms are moving all over the place, and his legs are kicking with excitement. “You are just precious, sweet boy.” I feed him his first bite. I know Aiden is staring at us, but in this moment it’s just me and Reid.
I hear Aiden put something on the counter, and I look over and see him taking out the pan for the steaks.
“You always wanted to be a mom. Well, you did when we were younger.”
I laugh. “I can’t believe you remember that.” That was so long ago.
Aiden winks at me. “I remember a lot about you.”
I snort at his suggestive remark. We never did anything; I haven’t done anything at all.
Yeah, you heard that right: I haven’t had sex. I was way too young when I was with Aiden and, since then, relationships haven’t been that great for me. That’s a long story and, honestly, I don’t want to think about that right now.
Once Reid is finished eating, I take him out of his high chair and into my lap. We both watch Aiden cook. Just the movement of him flipping the steaks is mouthwatering, because his muscles and the veins on the insides of his arms move.
He is just so freaking gorgeous.
“Your daddy is absolutely gorgeous, Reid,” I whisper to him and he blows a raspberry at me, flashing that slobbery smile.
“Thank you,” Aiden says without looking at me.
I stare at him, dumbfounded. How did he hear me? I feel my face heat, and I know it is red.
“Do you know how absolutely beautiful you are, CiCi? The way you are with those kids at the center and Reid?” He shakes his head for a second, his face softening as he studies me. “You’re fucking beautiful, every part of you.”
I am floored, completely speechless. My eyes start to burn from unshed tears. No one has ever said anything like that to me before. Without a word I set Reid into his swing and clip him in. Aiden is leaning against the counter, and I walk over and hug him, resting my head on his chest. He wraps his arms around me with his head resting on top of mine. “I don’t know what to say.” I look up at him.
He smiles, cupping my jaw. “There’s nothing to say. I’m just being completely honest.”
“Still, thank you.” I really don’t know how to react. I am not used to compliments because, honestly, I have been alone for a long time.
I know one thing for sure: I am in trouble. For the first time in a long time, I am hopeful—and completely terrified. I am going to stay out of my head and just live in the moment. I am going to put my trust in him. That is something that I don’t give lightly, and I am going to give it to him.
Aiden walks back down the stairs, carrying a baby monitor. He just laid Reid down for the night, and I am sitting on the couch watching TV.
“Do you still like scary movies?” he asks as he sits beside me.
“I love them.”
He turns on a new scary movie that I have been wanting to watch, Annabelle. What do I do now? Oh my goodness, Gracelyn, stop being so weird over everything!
There’s a blanket on the back of the couch, and Aiden pulls it down. “Come here, CiCi.”
I move closer to him until I am lying with my head against his chest, and he covers me with the blanket. This is absolute heaven. I close my eyes and bask in the feeling of being held.
I am wearing a sweater, and my hair is in a ponytail. He drags his fingers up my arm to my hair and pulls out my hair bow. His fingers start rubbing my scalp. Did I say heaven a minute ago? This is beyond that.
“Oh my,” I manage to get out, and I put my hand on his stomach. I can feel his abs through his shirt. He continues to do this for around thirty minutes, and it’s bliss. I look up at him, smiling. “You better be careful, I won’t want to leave,” I say jokingly.
He arches an eyebrow. “Is that supposed to be a bad thing?”
Well, that shuts me up.
His eyes go to my lips, then my body, which trembles because I know what’s going to happen.
I lick my lips and he presses his lips to mine, oh so softly. I scoot a little closer and press my hand to his cheek. He takes over the kiss, but it’s a kiss unlike any I have ever had before. He is so sweet and tender, and it’s deep, passionate, and just out of this world.
My nerves are gone in that second, as I am taken into another world that is just me and Aiden. He buries his hand in my hair before running it down to the back of my neck. I almost freeze; then he moves it to my back.
A few minutes pass, and we both pull back and look each other in the eyes. “That was the best kiss I’ve ever had,” I confess.
He gives me that smile that makes my stomach flip over. “I’m fucking lucky, nothing can ever compare to you.” Just when he couldn’t be any sweeter, he kisses my forehead and tucks me back into his chest. He wraps both arms around me. It’s almost protective, and I have to admit I love it.
A couple of hours later
I wake up to a dark room, and I’m instantly panicked, not realizing where I am. Then I look over, seeing Aiden fast asleep.
I cover my face, embarrassed by my foolishness. We both fell asleep on the couch.
Aiden stirs beside me. “We fell asleep.” He yawns and looks at his phone—it’s two o’clock in the morning; we’ve been asleep for a couple of hours. “Do you want to stay the night? I don’t want you traveling late at night like this.”
At first I want to argue but, without thinking, I nod. He takes my hand and leads me up the stairs. I try not to read too much into it, but I can’t help but wonder, what if he wants more?
He leads me into his bedroom, walks into his closet, and comes out with some clothes. He hands me a pair of sweats and a shirt. “This will be more comfortable.”
I slip into the bathroom and change. I look at myself in the mirror; then I spot some face wash on the counter and I wash my face. I can’t sleep if I have makeup on.
With one last look in the mirror, I step out into the bedroom with Aiden. I can’t help but be a little nervous. I’ve never stayed all night with a guy before.
Aiden is lying in bed, leaning over the side, putting his phone on charge. I walk across the room, pull back the covers, and slide in.
Aiden hooks an arm around my belly and pulls me over until he is wrapped around me, spooning. I feel his fingers at the side of my neck as he pushes my hair over my shoulder. “Good night, Gracie,” he whispers into my ear and kisses my cheek.
“Lights off,” he says and the lights turn off in the bedroom.
“Good night, Aiden. I’ve had an amazing day,” I whisper back.
He squeezes me slightly. “Me too, angel.”
I close my eyes and fall asleep.
6
I wake up to the sound of crying. I look at the clock on the nightstand; it’s four o’clock in the morning.
I peek over my shoulder at Aiden, who is still asleep. Reid is whining rather than crying. I sit up and slowly crawl out of bed so I don’t wake Aiden. I am sure doing this all alone is completely exhausting.
Reid’s room is right next to Aiden’s, and a nigh
tlight projects stars across the ceiling. I look into the crib, and Reid stops crying the second he sees me. “You want to be cuddled? I bet you’re hungry.” I reach inside and pick him up.
His little fists grip my shirt, and his head rests on my shoulder. I carry him down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Aiden has his formula and bottles.
I prepare his bottle and carry him back upstairs to his room. A rocking chair in there is calling my name.
Sitting down, I give him his bottle. He looks up at me, and it’s like my entire world just stops. His eyes are on mine; he’s so precious and innocent. I just want to protect him from everything.
I start singing under my breath, rocking him.
Little by little, his eyes start to drift closed and, little by little, a piece of my heart belongs to Reid.
Aiden
She thought I was asleep, but I just wanted to see what she would do. One part of me knew she would, but seeing her in action, taking care of my son without a second thought, has me speechless.
Seeing the way she is with him fucking touches me. Actions speak much louder than words and I know, deep down, she was put back into my life for a reason.
And that is to be mine.
She gets up to put him back in his crib, and I hurry back to bed so she doesn’t know.
Gracie
I wake up the next morning to the smell of breakfast. I roll over. Aiden’s side of the bed is cold.
I scoot out of bed and walk down the stairs. Reid is sitting in a bouncer playing with some toys. “How are you this morning?” I touch his chubby cheek, and he grins at me.
I walk into the kitchen; Aiden is making breakfast. I lean against the doorjamb, watching him. He is shirtless, wearing only a pair of sweatpants. The sight of his back muscles moving has me salivating.
He turns around and sees me, and his smile is immediate. Without a second thought I walk over to him and hug him, my head resting on his warm chest.
I could get used to this, waking up every day and seeing this view. I lean my head back and he kisses me softly, causing tingles to run up my spine.
“Hmm, what an amazing thing to wake up to.” I wink, running my hand down his side.
He studies my face for a minute before he kisses my forehead. I love getting forehead kisses; it’s different and it’s a gesture full of respect. There’s a huge difference between the way my exes treated me and the way Aiden treats me. Aiden respects me.
I’ve had issues with one ex in particular. He has anger problems, and for a while it seemed he was everywhere that I went. Luckily, it’s been months since I have seen him.
“Do you need my help with anything?” I ask.
“You can feed Reid if you want.” He points to a bowl of oatmeal.
“I can do that.” I walk into the living room and take Reid out of his bouncer and to his high chair.
“Da da da,” he says between chewing on his fist. Aiden comes into a view in a split second. “Did he just say that?” he asks, his eyes lit up with pure happiness.
“He did.”
He takes Reid out of my arms and starts pestering kisses all over his face. “That’s my boy.” His body moves side to side as he rocks Reid.
This is the one of the most beautiful moments I have ever seen. I wish that I’d had a father like this. My life would have been so much different. Vomit starts crawling up my throat.
Don’t go there, Gracelyn.
“Say da da,” Aiden says. Reid opens and closes his mouth like he is trying. “That’s okay, my boy.” Aiden kisses his cheek and settles him in his high chair.
When I don’t think that Aiden could get any more attractive, he goes and does something like this, completely changing my mind.
“What are your plans today?” he asks as he flips some pancakes on the stove.
I shrug before answering. “No plans today.”
He takes out a couple of plates. “Yes, you do.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have plans with me.” He gives me a duh look and I laugh. He can be so cheesy sometimes, but I like that. I just like him.
He brings over my plate.
“You didn’t have to make me breakfast.” I’m not used to someone doing things for me.
“It’s nothing, sweetheart.” He rubs my back sweetly before sitting next to me at the table.
I feed Reid his oatmeal, enjoying watching all of the little faces he makes. He slams his hand down on the tray, spraying oatmeal everywhere. Aiden laughs and I join in, wiping off my arm and cleaning up Reid as best as I can before continuing to feed him.
“You should have seen me and him the first time I fed him baby food. It was a disaster.”
I get the visual of a big badass biker covered in baby food, and I burst out laughing. “I can see that now.”
“Tonight do you want to go to a bar? A few of my brothers in the MC and their old ladies will be there.”
I think for a few seconds; do I want to do this? I decide to just go for it. “Yeah, I would like that. I need to head home first so I can change and get ready.”
“That’s fine. Mom is babysitting Reid tonight. She has been bugging me for days.” I always loved his mother; she is the kind of mother you dream of. She bakes you cookies, takes you to all your games, and takes care of you when you’re sick.
I had none of that.
It got to the point that I went years without a hug or any kind of affection from my family.
I have been through a lot. It hasn’t made me bitter, but I am very cautious about whom I let in my life, because I don’t want to get hurt.
We walk into a bar I have been to a couple of times with a few of my friends. Apparently, the club owns it, like the rest of the town.
He is holding my hand as he leads me inside, and quite a few eyes are on us as we move through the place. I notice many Grim Sinners vests and a few other MC vests throughout the place; it’s a biker bar so it’s fitting.
The bar is filled with a smoky haze, with a blue-tinted light shining through the building. The tabletops are wood, giving off a rustic country feel.
Lane and Amelia are sitting at one of the tables. I’m excited to see Amelia outside of practices and games.
“Hi, Gracie. I’m so glad you came!” She hops off her high-top chair and gives me a hug. I let go of Aiden’s hand so I can hug her back.
She puts her arm around me and, with her free hand, she points at Lane. “You know Lane, but the guy next to him is Wilder. His vice president.” I smile and nod at him.
She points to the guy on the other side of Lane. “That is Travis. He is a member of the club, and the guy next to him is Trenton. He grew up in the club with Lane and Wilder.” She then proceeds to introduce the women.
“It’s nice to meet all of y’all.”
Aiden presses his hand to my back; it’s like he is letting me know he is here. “Oh yeah, the guy walking toward us right now is the newest member, Logan.”
I turn around and the first thing I think is huge and scary. This man is covered in tattoos, right up to his chin. His hair and eyes are dark brown, he has a beard, and a scar reaches from his bottom lip to his cheekbone. That makes him look way scarier.
“It’s nice to meet you, Logan.”
He smiles, which I didn’t expect one bit because he just doesn’t look like a smiler. “It’s nice to meet you, Grace.” He reaches forward and shakes my hand, which completely disappears in his grip.
He walks around me and to the bar. I guess he is not a man of many words. Aiden leads me to Lane and Amelia, never leaving my side. Usually I am very anxious in crowded places, but I feel safe.
Aiden bends down to whisper in my ear. “Do you want something to drink?”
“No, thank you. I don’t drink.” I got a drink, of course, when I turned twenty-one because it’s a rite of passage, but honestly I am too afraid. I want to make sure I am always aware of my surroundings and those around me.
“Okay.” His
hand drifts from my back to the back of my neck, comforting me. It’s like he knows that I have anxiety. I know it’s not a big deal, but I don’t want to disappoint him. I really like him, and I am afraid that something might happen then, poof, he is out of my life.
Stop the thoughts, Gracelyn.
At times I fight a war in my head. It’s like I have two sides. Without thinking I back up and press myself into Aiden’s side.
He looks over at me for a second before shooting me that oh-so-sexy wink.
Amelia brings me out of my Aiden fog. “Tiffany was majorly excited that Leah joined the team.”
“I am so glad that they are getting along. I think these girls are going to go far.”
Amelia’s eyes light up. “I think so too. We will make sure their dreams are accomplished. I do dread when she ages out.”
I have thought of that myself. My softball team is a little different. Students from any school can join; it’s more of an elite team. “Maybe I will just keep the same girls forever, until they are in college,” I tease and she laughs, but if I could do it I would. I love my girls. Many of them are from not-so-great circumstances, but they have so much talent and drive. I want to see them all thrive.
One of the old ladies, Bailey, walks over to me. “How did you and Aiden meet?” She looks at us with a shit-eating grin.
“It’s a long story.”
Joslyn, Wilder’s old lady, takes my hand and pulls me away from Aiden. We ladies get our own table, and they all lean forward, their eyes shining with excitement.
I explain to them how I had major road rage and, at the spur of the moment, I complimented him; how he showed up at the game; and how, on date night, we found out we’d been together at fourteen.
“Oh wow,” Bailey says, staring at me wide eyed.
“It’s fate,” Joslyn says, holding her chest. One by one, they nod in agreement.
“You guys are beautiful standing next to each other,” Amelia says.