Touched By Him (The Untouched Series Book 3)

by Lilly Wilde

  She turned to Aiden next, her eyes unnaturally bright. “She doesn’t deserve your child, Aiden. She lied. She had your child in secret and never planned to tell you a damned thing about it. I would have never done that to you. Lyric should have been my child—he should have been ours!”

  Passing Lyric to Dianna, I charged over to Nadia. “You fucking maniac!” I slapped her solidly across the face. When she stepped toward me to retaliate, Aiden pushed her away.

  “If you lay one hand on her, I swear…” Aiden warned.

  “Why do you continue to defend her, Aiden?” she asked, her palm pressed against her assaulted cheek. “She doesn’t warrant your loyalty, and she sure as hell doesn’t deserve your protection or your love.”

  “I don’t give a damn what you think I deserve, but I know you’re going to get what’s coming to you, you crazy bitch!” I shook free of Aiden’s grasp and walked toward the police. “I want to press charges.”

  “Aria, please. No,” Michelle said. She dashed over to me, with Allen following close behind. He’d been relatively quiet. Perhaps he knew his daughter was deranged and was finally getting her just desserts.

  “Can we try to work out something that doesn’t involve the police?” Allen asked. He looked at Aiden and then back toward Connor. “Nadia clearly needs help she can’t get behind bars.”

  “That’s not my problem. There’s no way in hell I’m letting her get away with what she’s done. I want her arrested.” I reached for Lyric and stepped away from the others. Sienna’s eyes were on me. I glared at her. “How can you call yourself a mother?”

  “Aria, please don’t say that. Connor thought his way was best. I’m so sorry.” She looked at Lyric and then back to Aiden. “I made the wrong decision,” she said. The despondence in her voice was somewhat of a shock, but it didn’t matter. She was just as bad, if not worse than Connor. She took a few steps toward us.

  I shook my head and stepped back. “Don’t you dare. Don’t come near us.”

  “Aria…I’m sorry.”

  I turned away from her, and with Lyric tucked safely in my arms, I went upstairs.

  * * * * *

  “What are you doing?” Aiden had walked into the nursery as I was tossing Lyric’s items into a bag.

  “I’m getting the hell out of here. And if you had any sense, you’d be right behind me,” I said, not bothering to look up.

  “Aria, let’s not make any rash decisions.”

  I didn’t respond, I just kept packing. Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face and Aiden was standing behind me. He turned me to face him and I fell into his chest, sobbing. The relief of having my son back, the fear of him being taken, the stress of being in this house—it all came tumbling down on me.

  Aiden stroked my hair and let me cry until the tears were all gone. He kissed my forehead. “Look at me,” he whispered.

  I didn’t want to see his face. I was afraid of what I might see.

  “Aria, look at me please,” he said softly.

  I hesitantly met his tender gaze.

  He wiped a lone tear from my cheek. “If one of us leaves, all three of us leave, okay?”

  I nodded. “Yes,” I replied in a small voice.

  “I agree it’s time to go, but not right now. I want to make sure Lyric is okay, and then we’ll go from there. Okay? Can you give me that?”

  I nodded and exhaled a sigh of relief, thankful this wouldn’t be another fight.

  Aiden examined Lyric to make sure he was okay. He’d also called in a favor, asking a pediatrician friend to come in just in case he’d missed something. I watched as they examined Lyric. He was smiling and cooing as if the pokes and prods were the playful gestures he was used to. Peeking over Aiden’s shoulder, I visibly relaxed as Lyric’s smiles and sweet sounds assured me that he was really okay.

  Both Aiden and his friend Parker reported that Lyric was fine. Parker was confident there wouldn’t be a problem, but he did a small stick on the heel of Lyric’s foot for some blood. He also wanted a stool sample to ensure nothing foreign had been introduced to Lyric’s system.

  Relieved and extremely anxious to hold Lyric, I checked him again myself. I looked in his face, searched his eyes, and lifted his little fat rolls. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I still checked.

  As I smothered Lyric in kisses, Aiden extended his thanks to Parker and walked him out. My phone rang—it was Lia. She’d heard about what happened. I hadn’t even thought about the news of Lyric’s abduction being all over social media, but it was. Lia was upset I hadn’t called her, but I explained that I didn’t want to call them until I had some news. I quickly updated her and we said goodnight—or good morning, rather. I told her I’d call her back later, after I’d gotten Lyric settled, and after we all had a chance to rest.

  Nadia had been taken into police custody. Aiden had forced Connor’s hand, not allowing him to call in any favors on the behalf of the Lanes. Connor had obviously taken Aiden’s threat of taking out his anger on Raine Industries seriously after all—I couldn’t imagine anything else that would have caused Connor to back down.

  Aiden, Lyric and I were finally alone in the nursery. I was in the rocking chair rocking my sweet boy when Aiden walked over to us. I looked up and again saw the relief and love in his eyes, and I nearly started crying again until I looked down at Lyric. “I want him out of these clothes and bathed.”

  “Let me do it,” Aiden offered.

  I reluctantly lifted my eyes from our happy baby. “Do what?” I asked.

  “Bathe Lyric.”

  A pang of guilt hit me as I stared into Aiden’s beautiful eyes. “Okay, but I think you may need a little backup,” I said, smiling as I thought of the upcoming mess they’d make.

  Aiden followed us into the bathroom. I undressed Lyric and then wrapped him in a towel. There was a small waist-level bath basin that enabled us to bathe him at the same level as a sink, which made it easier for me—it would be that much more of a challenge for Aiden, however. I passed Lyric to Aiden and started the water.

  “Okay, it’s ready,” I said, grinning. “I hope you are.”

  Aiden removed Lyric from the towel and placed him in the baby bath. Lyric started slapping the water, and Aiden began rolling up his sleeves. Eventually he was soaked, so he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it on the floor behind him.

  “Use this for his body and hair.” I passed the baby wash and towel, then stood back and watched as Aiden bathed our son. Lyric was as happy as he’d always been. The part of me that felt there was some good in Nadia believed she didn’t do anything to harm Lyric. She was in a bad place, but I had to believe her delusions wouldn’t have caused her to hurt my baby.

  I don’t know how much bathing was involved, but soap and water flew everywhere, and getting Lyric out of the bath proved to be an even messier feat. Nearly the entire time, Lyric kicked his feet and slapped the water, and once he saw his dad laugh, that was all it took—Lyric wouldn’t stop. Aiden’s chest and the front of his pants were dripping wet. I grabbed the towel as Aiden lifted Lyric and placed him in my arms. Aiden stood in front of us shirtless, drenched, and smiling.

  “Well, that was an adventure. Next time I’ll remember to wear something water resistant.” Aiden laughed and pinched Lyric’s cheek.

  “What time is it? I’m exhausted,” I said.

  “It’s a little after seven o’clock.”

  “He didn’t drink much earlier so I’ll feed him and then get some sleep. I can barely keep my eyes open.”

  While I dried and diapered Lyric, Aiden looked in one of the drawers and pulled out a pair of pajamas. I stepped back and let Aiden dress him. I sat on the large ottoman and waited for Aiden to finish, then started to cry when Aiden passed the baby to me. Lyric was looking up at me, fully alert and expectant. Once again, I felt as if I’d failed him.

  “Aria, what is it? He’s okay,” Aiden said.

  “I know, but I feel like this all could have been avoid
ed. I’m not doing a very good job of being a mom, am I?” I unfastened my shirt and bra and slid my nipple over Lyric’s lips, and he quickly latched on.

  “Let me show you something.” Aiden pulled his phone from his pocket, and his screen saver was a picture of me and Lyric. In the picture, I was sitting in the nursery in the rocking chair beside the window, looking down at the baby. “This is who I see when I look at you. You’re amazing with Lyric. You didn’t do anything wrong. We didn’t do anything wrong. This was all the workings of a warped individual with unresolved issues. You know that, right?”

  “I guess.”

  “There’s no guessing about it. Don’t ever doubt yourself like that again. I mean it.”

  “Thank you. I think you’re a pretty great dad, too.”

  “I’m glad to know you think so. I love this little guy so much.” Crouching in front of us, he placed his finger in Lyric’s hand. “Tonight was hell.”

  Yes, it was several degrees of hell. “His lids are getting heavy,” I said and looked toward the crib. “I don’t want to be away from him.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Aiden said.

  “I’ll take the bassinet and he can sleep in my room.”

  With his finger still enclosed in Lyric’s small hand, Aiden looked up at me, his eyes warm and tender. “What about bringing it to my room and we can all sleep together?” Aiden asked.

  “Really?”

  “Yes,” he said, as he gently stroked Lyric’s cheek. “I want to be with my family.”

  Chapter Twelve

  I’d awakened completely enveloped in Aiden’s unique smell. Instinctively responding to his sexy scent, I moved my hand down between my legs, but I froze when I remembered my surroundings. I took a deep breath and turned on my side, my eyes slowly opening and adjusting to the brightness of the afternoon sun pouring into the room. I blinked several times and squinted, finally bringing focus to the image near the window. It was Aiden and he was holding Lyric.

  “Good morning…or afternoon, rather,” Aiden said. Lyric lifted his head from his dad’s shoulder. Aiden looked down at him and grinned.

  Stretching, I smiled at the two of them. “It’s morning for me, so I’m saying good morning.”

  Aiden was sitting in a rocking chair, at an angle which offered him both a view of the bed and a view of the grounds. “What’s that doing here?” I asked, referencing the chair.

  “I wanted Lyric to have a contrast to what he’d experienced last night, so a healthy dose of sunshine was in order. I would’ve taken him for a walk, but I wanted to be here when you awoke.”

  My heart dropped as thoughts of our panic-filled night flooded my mind. I didn’t want to think about it anymore—everything was fine now. Lyric was here and he was unharmed, that’s all that mattered. Pushing the horrible memories aside, I focused on the happiness sitting right in front of me, and my heart smiled. “Is he sucking on his fingers again?”

  Aiden grinned. “Yes.”

  “I hate when he does that, because I know he’s hungry, but at the same time, it’s so adorable. I want to see him.”

  Aiden brought the baby to me. Lyric’s tiny bare feet were fluttering with excitement as I reached for him.

  “Good morning, Lyric. Good morning, my sweet boy. Do you have any idea how much Mommy loves you? You’re such a special baby, aren’t you? Yes, you are.” He cooed and gurgled as I spoke to him. “And your mommy and daddy are so blessed to have you.”

  “Yes, we are,” Aiden said.

  I looked up to the warm, fluid green of his eyes.

  “I fired the nanny.”

  “What? Which one?” I kissed Lyric’s cheek and looked back to Aiden, awaiting an explanation. Not that I was complaining, because Anja was on my short list of people who made me see fire, so I desperately hoped she’d been axed.

  “Both. I thought about what you said. And you were right. I’ve let my emotions cloud my decisions. I’ve handled quite a few things very poorly. I think we can come to terms on something better than our current situation.” He grasped Lyric’s foot and sat beside me on the bed.

  “Allison must have told you about my plans to contact an attorney.”

  “She did. But that’s not what this is about. Talk of attorneys and custody—and especially what happened last night—has been a wake-up call. I don’t want to waste time dealing with my scorned version of justice, or with legal proceedings. That takes away from our son, and I don’t think either of us wants that.”

  I looked down at Lyric and stroked his back. “What does all of this mean?”

  “It means I want to work out an arrangement that we’re both happy with…or at least as happy as we can be, given the circumstances.”

  “This is good. This is better than good—it’s wonderful! I can finally leave this place.”

  “Wait. I didn’t say I wanted you to leave. I want you to remain here…with Lyric.”

  “Then what’s the difference?”

  “I want to do what’s comfortable for us both. I know you don’t necessarily like living here, but I think if you didn’t feel as though you were being watched, and if you could come and go with Lyric as you saw fit, it would make it easier.”

  “That goes without saying but—”

  “Aria, I’m hoping you’ll give it a try as we sort out the rest.”

  This wasn’t where I thought the conversation would go. I would fare better with my attorney, especially after last night. There was no way I’d be forced to relinquish custody if this was taken to court now. I slid out of bed and passed Lyric to Aiden. I kissed the baby’s plump cheek and headed to the bathroom as Aiden kept talking.

  “And after the shit my parents pulled last night, our days here are numbered. I’d made a call to Brooklyn to set us up at the Waldorf, but considering the possible media exposure, I’d prefer Lyric not be at a hotel. Brooklyn’s out now with realtors narrowing down a list of properties for us.”

  Wait. He wants me to live with him? Not his parents and his entire family—but with him?

  I needed some space to think about this. “I need to wash up. Let me think about it, and we can discuss it later, okay?”

  “Sure. In the meantime I‘ll feed Lyric. And I think he’s going to need a diaper change in a few minutes.” Aiden scrunched his nose at Lyric’s not-so-pleasant smell.

  I laughed as I pictured him changing a diaper.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Maybe I should wait until Lyric’s finished and get him changed before I shower.”

  “No. I’ve got it.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes. Dianna’s an excellent teacher. I’m pretty much an expert now. I can get him dressed, too. Maybe we can go for a walk after you’ve had lunch—or breakfast since you’re committed to your stance on this being morning.”

  “That sounds nice. I’d like that.” I stared at him holding our son. Our son. I couldn’t believe we’d gone through so much. My life—and Aiden’s life, for that matter—was so profoundly different than it was two years ago.

  I jumped into Aiden’s shower and reflected on the truth of his words. What had really brought about the shift in his perspective? Truth be told, I’d already seen changes in him, even before that crazy bitch had abducted Lyric. Was it due to the possibility of my involving attorneys? Or had his anger run its course? Or maybe it really was the Nadia incident. Maybe it was a combination of all of it.

  He wanted us to live together, not because I was being forced to, but because I wanted to. Was that what he wanted to say? Last night, he’d said he was still in love with me—that we’d find Lyric and that we’d fix this. What did that mean? I had no idea what was happening between us. I hardly ever did. Our relationship had always seemed to take on a life of its own.

  Several minutes later, I emerged from the bathroom wearing his robe. Aiden was looking at Lyric in his bassinette when I stepped into the room.

  He looked up at me, and goose bumps moved over my
body as I stared at the gorgeous man standing near my son.

  “Hope you don’t mind. I used your robe,” I said, pulling it closed. “I’m going to run to my room and get dressed. I’ll be back in a sec.” I hurried out before he could say anything. This was weird…all of it. How I wished I could pick up the phone and call Mom. There had been so many times I’d felt as though I needed her, and since becoming a mom myself, I’d never needed her as much as I did now.

  After having dried my hair, I considered braiding it, but quickly changed my mind. I grabbed a lock and flicked the ends between my fingers—it was a mess. Oh well, this disarray would have to do for now. I pulled some jeans from the closet and quickly dressed, anxious to get back to Lyric.

  Grabbing Aiden’s robe from the bathroom counter, I headed to his room. My steps slowed when I glanced at the cashmere robe tossed over my forearm. I lifted it to my face and inhaled. It smelled so good; it smelled just like him. Closing my eyes, I almost moaned aloud when I breathed in his smell a second time. It was if I had momentarily floated to some place above all the turmoil. I opened my eyes and considered holding onto the robe a little while longer. I knew I’d regret my decision, but I did an about face and went back to my room and placed the robe in the bureau with my lingerie, hoping his scent would penetrate every item in my drawer.

  As I stepped out of my room, I saw Sienna going into the nursery. I didn’t bother telling her that Lyric wasn’t there. I slipped past unnoticed and opened the door to Aiden’s bedroom. Aiden glanced up and placed a finger to his lips as I entered, signaling me to be quiet. I walked to the bassinette and saw Lyric sleeping peacefully. He was my special bundle of joy. He made everything worth it.

  “I’d still like to take that walk…after he wakes. For now, we can have lunch on the terrace. Dianna is bringing something up so we don’t have to leave him.”

  “That sounds good.”

  “What would you…” He faded off as he stared at my head.