by Toni Aleo
“You’re everything,” I promise as tears fill my eyes.
“Same here,” he promises back. “Our dads say I’m spoiled,” he says with a small smile. “That I’ve been privileged with your constant presence.”
I nod. “You have, but I didn’t want it any other way. I love being with you.”
“Right? I just enjoy us.”
He’s blurry since my eyes are wet with tears. “I do too, and I don’t want to leave you, Aiden. I miss you so much when we’re apart, but I can’t deny my need for the stage.”
“I know,” he says softly. “You belong on it, and you’re going to be an incredible Eliza.”
My heart stops. “So, I can do it?”
He brings in his brows. “Shelli, you can do whatever you want—”
“But I don’t want to do it unless you support me.”
His eyes soften. “Shelli, I’ll support you until my dying day,” he whispers, and I immediately fall into him, my chin landing on his chest as he readjusts his arms to hold me. With his lips in my hair, he says, “Will it suck being away from you? Absolutely. Am I struggling with the upcoming distance? I sure am. Which is why I lashed out—also the fact that you kept this all from me.”
“I’m sorry.” I close my eyes, and the tears leak out. “I never truly felt right about retiring, but I did it for us, so we could be together. And I’m not saying that this, us, isn’t enough. It’s more than enough, and if you don’t want me to go, I won’t. But I really miss performing.”
“I can understand that. I would miss the ice, and I won’t ask you not to go. I would never keep you from fulfilling your dreams. I’m just worried.”
“Worried?” I ask, confused as I gaze up into his eyes. “What do you have to be worried about?”
“That you’ll find something better in New York, or you’ll realize you love it there more.”
“If you’re not there, I can’t love it.”
He presses his lips together. “So maybe, I should help out with that. I can ask to be traded—”
I shake my head. “Absolutely not. You’ve strived to play for the Assassins. I’m not asking you to trade to a team you won’t like.”
“It would help the salary space here if your mom let me go—”
“I won’t let her,” I promise, my eyes searching his. “When I’m done performing, I don’t want to live in New York. I love living here. I want to buy a house here. I want to raise our kids here and grow old here. I love Nashville.”
His eyes are full of apprehension. “I’m scared you won’t come back.”
I cup his face. “Aiden, where you are is where I am.” I chuckle a little but with no humor. “What is this? You’ve never been like this. You’ve got me. I’m going nowhere.”
He pauses for a second. “I know I’ll never love anyone the way I love you, and it makes me insecure. You make me fucking crazy, and while I want you to live your dreams, I want to be right there to make sure I’m still good enough for you.”
I eye him. “Aiden,” I say as a breath, shrugging my shoulders. “You are it for me.” I cup his jaw, running my thumb along his bottom lip. “Nothing, and I mean nothing or no one, can come between us but our insecurities. It’s you and me, Aiden. That’s it.”
He swallows hard, cupping me by the back of my neck. “Okay.”
“Okay,” I agree, a grin pulling at my lips. “So, you’re still going to marry me?”
“Absolutely. I’ll marry you every day, Shelli Grace. As long as there is a seat for me front row on opening night.”
I wrap my arms around his neck. “That seat belongs to no one but you.”
Our lips meet then, both of us smiling as we hold each other close.
Just the way I love us to be.
Chapter 7
Aiden
I slide my fingers along the nape of Shelli’s neck, my lips moving with hers. I pull away only slightly, my lips still touching hers as I whisper, “I want to eat a meal together, on FaceTime, every day.”
Her lips turn up, slowly, and she nods. “Sounds great. And we cannot go more than two weeks without seeing each other. Even if it’s only for a night. Last time, we went a month, and I about went crazy.”
“Agreed,” I say, kissing her top lip. “We’ll need to sync our calendars and really keep up with it.”
“Smart. And at least two nights of phone sex a week.”
I waggle my brows at her. “And seven days at the most.”
Her lips tip up. “My thoughts exactly. Where are we on the house issue? Are we going to stay in the apartment or buy a house?”
“I’d still like to find our dream home but not be so insane about it.”
“Okay. We’ll tell the real estate agent what we want and settle for nothing else.”
“Solid plan. And you’ll stay in an apartment in New York since you told your dad to sell his place?” I ask.
She side-eyes me at my dry tone. “That’s fine with me.” She cups my jaw, her face changing as she grins happily at me. “See? We can do this.”
“Of course we can. I just don’t want to,” I admit honestly. “I want you all to myself.”
She leans into me. “I’m yours.”
I take her mouth with mine and draw the kisses out of her, slowly but with hunger. I cup her ass in one hand, my other hand holding her hip as our kisses turn more and more desperate. She stops the kiss first, her eyes opening just as mine do. “We’re an awesome team, Aiden. Nothing can touch us. I promise. I also promise never to withhold information again, but I can’t promise that another part won’t come up that I’ll want to do.”
I swallow hard, getting lost in her blue eyes. “I want whatever you want, but I do have a question.”
Her eyes search mine. “Yeah?”
“I was under the impression you wanted kids.”
Something moves in her eyes. Fear? I’m not sure, but she presses her hands to my chest, leaning into them as she gazes up into my eyes. “I have dreamed of marrying you my whole life, and when I was younger, even into my teenage years, I was convinced we would have a huge family. I want that, and I know it may seem that since everyone else is popping out kids, I’d want one now too. But I want us first. I want us to know each other inside and out. I want to enjoy us before we settle down and have kids. But, yes—God, yes—Aiden, I want your babies.”
Love smashes into my chest, leaving me breathless. She has that effect on me. To render me utterly senseless from her beauty and perfection. But I can’t ignore the known fact. “Shelli baby, I’m not getting younger,” I remind her. “One of the hazards of marrying an older guy.”
She laughs, her eyes holding mine in a heated embrace. “You’re nowhere near old, for one. But tell me, Aiden, when do you want to have kids?”
I couldn’t look away if I tried. She isn’t challenging me or anything like that with her eyes, but I’m mesmerized by them. “I want to have our first in my early thirties. Like, soon.”
Her lips slowly move into a gorgeous smile. “Funny, I wanted to be married for a year before we started trying.”
I hold her closer as my heart sings for hers. “What about New York?”
“We’ll figure it out,” she admits after a moment. “I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep. I want to figure things out together as our little family.”
I lean my head to hers, sliding my nose along the tip of hers. “I’m sorry, Shelli.”
“For what?” she asks, her eyes widening a bit as she looks up at me.
I let out a long, weighty breath. “I allowed myself to get comfortable and assume that nothing would change. I put you in this place where you would always be accessible to me, kind of ignoring your needs—”
“Not at all, Aiden,” she says quickly, shaking her head. “You are so considerate of me, always making sure I am okay, and I do the same for you. We may be young, but we are pretty good at this domestic stuff.”
“I know, but I just assumed we’d get married,
honeymoon, babies. I didn’t even ask.”
Her eyes are so kind. “Nor did I, baby. I fell into the same rhythm, the same routine, and honestly, there is nothing wrong with that. We are happy, Aiden. So friggin’ happy, and I love that we just know, no matter what, we’ll be together. Isn’t that a beautiful feeling?”
My chest aches, though she’s right. It is an amazing feeling, but still, I fear she’s upset with me. “I don’t want to hold you back because I’m selfish.”
She grins at me. “Never,” she says as a promise. “You respect me too much.”
“I do,” I vow. “And fuck if I don’t love you, Shelli. So much.”
She wraps her arms around my neck as our lips meet once more. I love the feel of her in my arms. The gentle pressure her lips give mine. The taste of her, coffee, and the smell of beautiful flowers and spice. This woman, this incredible, gorgeous woman, is mine for the rest of my life, and that alone is a godsend. I thought I would be alone forever. I thought I would never find love and trust it.
But I trust Shelli Grace.
And I love her enough to move mountains.
I move my hands down her back, cupping her ass in my palms. Her ass doesn’t fit, but hell if I don’t try, molding her cheeks as I bring her in close so our kiss can deepen even more. She moans against my lips, pulling slightly away. “You keep on, you may get us in trouble.”
Before I can even ask for the trouble, her hand slides into my shorts, cupping my balls. I was hard the moment her lips pressed into mine, but now I know she’s getting a handful. Our eyes are burning with want as my lips tip up. “You are always gonna be the kind of trouble I want.”
“You’re damn right,” she says as she pushes me back into the wall. My hands come to her waist, and I lift her up so I can press my hard cock into her soft center. I’m thankful for the dress she’s wearing. It’s flowy, cute, and summery, but right now, it’s in my way. I slide it up, exposing her before I reach for her panties, ripping them off, much to her dismay. Her cry fills the space we’re in, and I cover her mouth to keep her quiet.
She pulls back, her voice rough as she says, “Go in that closet. My mom will kill us.”
She isn’t wrong. I reach for the handle of the closet, opening it and stepping inside. It’s a storage closet with something in it—I don’t know what. I’m too engrossed in the gorgeous woman whose body is in my hands. I pull the door shut, locking it before pressing her into it. She cries out, her back arching against the door as I slide my fingers down the crack of her ass. I’m desperate as I pull down the front of her dress, exposing her breasts for my mouth to feast on.
“Oh God” leaves her lips as I lick and kiss all over her two mounds. I pull her butt cheeks apart with my hands, squeezing her as I press into her, wanting nothing more than to get lost in her. I move my tongue along her taut nipple, sucking and nipping at her in the way I know drives her crazy. Hell, it drives me crazy. My cock is so hard, with each beat of my heart, I see nothing but lights behind my eyes. I hold her up with my hips as I undo my shorts, pushing them down and letting them fall to my ankles. My cock points right to her slick pussy, and I lower her onto me slowly, almost agonizingly. Her cries fill the room as she squirms against the door. As my name falls from her lips, I pull out before thrusting back into her with such force and want. She wraps her legs and arms around me while I continue to move in and out of her.
Shelli’s nails dig into my back, her thighs squeezing me as I snake my arm around her waist, holding her in place so I can go deeper and deeper than before. With each thrust, a meep leaves her lips, and I can’t take it. I love pleasing her. I love making love to her, and as she comes undone, I’m not far behind. How could I resist?
She nuzzles her nose into my neck, kissing me tenderly as I unload in her. She’s been on birth control, and usually, I also use a condom. But there are moments like this when I want nothing between us. I want to feel her completely. She moves her lips up my neck, meeting my mouth as I go for hers. Our kiss is sloppy but beautiful at the same time. I can’t get enough.
I pull away when I can’t breathe anymore. I let my head fall back, drawing in deep breaths as she kisses my neck and chin. Her heart pounds against mine as she squeezes my waist with her thighs. When I look down at her, she’s got this little sex kitten grin on her lips.
With a satisfied sigh, she says, “I needed that.”
“Me too,” I agree, kissing her jawline. “I hate fighting with you.”
“I would say the same, but then we always have the hottest sex afterward.”
I grin against her jaw. “Is that why you start fights with me?”
She beams up at me. “Not telling,” she says, and we laugh together while I hold her ever so close. She kisses my cheek, my ear, before sucking on my earlobe. “Aiden.”
“Yeah?” I ask, feeling so totally complete it’s insane.
“I need your boxers.”
I open my eyes. “Not what I was expecting.”
She gives me a dry look. “And I wasn’t expecting to have my panties ripped!”
“Touché,” I say with a sinister grin. “Maybe I want you walking around naked so I can think about this sweet pussy all day.”
She’s not amused. “I have to bend down, lean over, and I can’t be having my vagina exposed. Give me your boxers, and I’ll give you such incredible head tonight.”
“I’m really loving these terms. Incredible, huh? I’ve heard of the best and good, but never incredible.”
Her lips tip up. “Trust me, you won’t be able to handle it.”
Needless to say, I give her my boxers.
And I think, if it’s possible, I fall in love with her all over again as I watch her walk away with her dress tucked into my tight black boxers.
“Hey, Shell.”
She looks over her shoulder at me, a sneaky little grin on her sweet face. “I love you, Aiden.”
I flash her a wide, loving smile. “And I love you, baby, but your dress is tucked into my boxers.”
I may laugh a little too hard as her eyes widen and she fixes the back.
But the best part?
She laughs along with me.
Chapter 8
Shelli
I click through the pictures from the shoot yesterday with tears in my eyes and in complete awe. The beauty, the strength, and, most of all, the bravery is inspiring. The biggest grin sits on my face as I look at the proofs on my laptop, my feet in Aiden’s lap as he does something on his phone. We have a huge family dinner tonight at Brooks House with my family and his. Basically, a regular Tuesday night. Or so I hope, but there’s no telling with these people. I think my brothers got in last night from Carolina, and I’m excited to see them, to hear how everything is going. It’ll be weird to cheer for the IceCats, but I will since my brothers will potentially be playing for them.
“Oh, Nico said Evan was struggling.”
Aiden puts his phone on my ankles, making a face. “What the hell does Nico know?”
I give him a dry look. “Stop.”
“But, for real. He doesn’t know Evan. He doesn’t know Evan struggles at first, but he’ll find his legs, get his mind right. He always does. He’s fine.”
I shrug, though I do love how supportive and protective he is over my baby brother. “I know, but they’re fighting for spots. He needs to be on his game.”
“Shell, Evan is fine. I promise,” he says, lifting his phone to look back at it.
“Maybe I should tell my mom?” I wonder, and he groans loudly.
“Jesus, please don’t. That’ll just put more pressure on the kid. He’s good.” He meets my gaze, and he knows I’m not satisfied with that response. He blows out a breath. “I’ll talk to him.”
I smile, and he sits up, meeting me halfway for a kiss. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” he answers with a wink. “Did you call Miranda?”
I nod, bursting at the seams with excitement. “Yeah. They are so excited to have me. I
have to fly out the week after we get back from our honeymoon.”
I can tell he doesn’t like that, but he nods. “Awesome. Did you find a place to stay?”
“I’ve found a few. I sent them to Jessie, and she’s going to look into them for me.”
“She actually emailed me,” he says, tapping on his phone. “I just haven’t opened it yet.”
“Why not?” I ask as I lean in, glancing at his phone.
He smiles sheepishly at me. “I was playing this Harry Potter game.”
“Nerd,” I tease as he opens the email. It’s from our real estate agent, Jessie, with a potential house. I bring in my brows as he reads the details. “It’s down from my parents.”
“Do we want to live that close to them?”
“Oh, wait. It’s, like, right between our parents. That would be nice, I guess.”
He shrugs as he navigates through the pictures, and then we watch a drone video. It’s a beautiful little old farmhouse that’s been completely remodeled with a Mediterranean feel. “Oh, it’s on the lake. Wait! No way!”
Aiden looks at me, confused. “What?”
“This is that incredible house on the lake—”
“Yes, it says that,” he says dryly, and I smack his chest, almost knocking my computer out of my lap. He thinks he is hilarious.
“Shut up. No, the one I always like when we pass by. Yeah, it has the huge in-ground pool and the boat dock.”
“For all the boating we do,” he says with a wink, and I grin.
“For real, it’s a gorgeous house. We should go see it.”
“Why? Do you want to live on a lake? Bugs, Shelli. All the bugs.”
“Yeah, but we’ll have a boat dock and a huge pool. That’s awesome. Great for entertaining.”
“Which means Emery will never leave,” he teases, and we share a grin. “I’m just messing. I know which house—it’s nice. But living so close to our parents…”
“It could be nice when we decide to bring all those kids into the world.”
He eyes me. “Now you talk about kids.”