by S. J. West
I see the surprise on Aiden’s face when he realizes I actually am as strong as he is, if not more so. It takes me a full minute, but I do eventually pin his hand to the table with a little bit of extra effort.
Aiden stares at our hands on the table before a slow grin spreads his lips.
“I have to admit,” he says. “I didn’t expect you to win.”
“You didn’t let me win did you?”
“No,” he says with a shake of his head. “I wouldn’t insult you like that.”
Aiden stands up to his full height and looks at me with a new found appreciation.
“Would it be completely inappropriate of me to say I find your strength incredibly sexy?”
I laugh nervously and stuff my hands into my coat pockets. I bite my bottom lip and shake my head no because I’m not completely sure how else to reply to his question.
Aiden smiles that adorably cute lopsided grin at me again, and I realize it’s quickly becoming one of my favorites among his expressions.
I think he senses my uncertainty and nervousness about his comment and decides to change the subject. His eyes travel around the walls of my personal space.
“You’re extremely talented,” he tells me as he studies the pictures scattered around.
“Thanks. I get it from my dad.”
Aiden looks back at me. “I guess you got the best parts of both your parents. You have your mother’s beauty and kindness and your father’s talent and strength.”
“Do you think I’m beautiful?” I ask, surprising myself that I would ask such a question, but the insecure part of me needs to know.
Aiden looks at me as if he’s surprised I would even feel the need to ask.
“I thought you would already know that. You do look at yourself in the mirror on a daily basis, right?” He teases.
I smile. “Yes. I mean I know I’m not ugly, but to have you compare me to my mom’s beauty isn’t something I would have done for myself.”
“Well, I guess I’ll just have to remind you every day just how beautiful you are.”
“I think I can live with that,” I tell him.
Aiden chuckles. “Good, because I don’t think I would be able to stop myself even if I tried.”
Aiden drags his eyes away from me and looks back at the pictures in the room. I see a troubled frown pass across his face.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I thought,” he says but hesitates like he’s not sure if he should finish his statement. “I guess I hoped you might have a picture of me among all these of your family.”
“Oh, no,” I say. “I didn’t want my parents to see those.”
Aiden looks back at me. “Then you do have some of me?”
I hold my hand out to him and he takes it without question.
I phase us to my bedroom.
“I don’t think I should be in here,” Aiden says immediately, looking around my room.
“We won’t stay long,” I assure him, knowing he’s worried about what my parents would think about me allowing Aiden access to my bedroom.
Now, he can phase in and out of it whenever he wants which makes for interesting prospects to my way of thinking.
I open up the drawer in my nightstand and pull out my sketchpad. I turn to hand it to him realizing this is the first time I’ve ever let anyone see my sketches of Aiden. Not even Leah has seen them because for some reason they just seemed like something that should be kept between him and me.
Aiden takes the notebook and sits on the edge of my bed. I watch as he flips through my drawings of him.
“Some of these pictures,” he says, “they look like real ones. I actually own these clothes you’ve drawn.”
“Oh, I guess I need to make a confession,” I say coming to sit down beside him on my bed. “Leah and Joshua have been sneaking me pictures of you over the years.”
“That explains a lot,” Aiden says in amusement as he continues to look at my sketches of him. “I wondered why they kept pointing their phones at me when they thought I wasn’t looking. Thank God neither of them decided to become spies. They’d get caught on their first mission.”
I giggle.
Aiden stops flipping through the notebook when he comes to the drawing of him on the beach at Jess and Mason’s house in the Bahamas. It was the day I phased to see him but stayed hidden out of his sight.
“I knew you were there that day,” he tells me.
“You did?” I ask, surprised by this news. “How? I tried to stay hidden.”
Aiden shrugs. “I guess the same way I knew you were there yesterday. I didn’t even have to turn around. I just knew you were behind me when you phased in. It’s like I can feel your presence when you’re near.”
“Has it always been like that for you?”
“Since the moment I saw you.”
Aiden and I stare into each other’s eyes, and I wonder if this is the moment he will kiss me for the very first time. I notice his eyes dart down to my lips which part of their own accord in anticipation. My breathing becomes more labored, and I feel like I might faint at any moment.
Aiden snaps the notebook shut and hands it back to me before standing up.
“We should probably go back to the boathouse now,” he says, effectively putting an end to my dream of us sharing our very first kiss.
I seriously doubt my parents will give us another chance to be alone again that night which only doubles my disappointment. Why didn’t Aiden jump at the chance to kiss me? What was holding him back? I feel sure he wanted to do it just a few seconds ago but something is preventing him from doing what we both want.
But, I couldn’t argue that he wasn’t right. We do need to go back outside so my folks don’t find out I gave Aiden free phasing access to my bedroom. I feel sure they would both have a fit if they found out.
I stuff my notebook back into my nightstand before standing up and taking the hand Aiden offers me. Before I know it, we’re standing inside the boathouse again. Aiden holds the door open for me so we can exit the building. I switch off the light and notice Aiden’s eyes travel to the ceiling where the skylights are. The faint illumination from the night’s full moon streams through the glass.
“Skylights?” he says.
“Yeah, I like the natural light it gives the room when I work.”
Aiden nods as if he understands but doesn’t say anything else.
He takes my hand as we walk back to the house. Before we go up the steps leading to the back porch, Aiden stops me.
“Can I ask for something?” He says.
I turn face him, praying he plans to finally ask me for a kiss.
“Anything,” I reply, my heart doing double time in my chest.
“Would you mind if I held you for a moment?”
I tilt my head. “Why would I mind that, Aiden?”
“I don’t want you to think I expect anything from you,” he tells me. “But, I can’t go back in there without holding you at least one time tonight.”
Before he can say anything else, I wrap my arms around his waist and lay my head against his chest. I let out an involuntary sigh as Aiden wraps his arms around me, enfolding me in his warmth. I’ve never felt this comfortable in anyone’s arms before, not even my parents. Each time Aiden holds me, it just feels so natural and right. Like our bodies know each other, not just our souls.
“Is it wrong of me to say, I never want to let you go?” He asks.
I smile and tighten my hold on him. “No,” I say, “it’s not wrong because I feel the same way.”
I lift my head and look up at Aiden. He looks down at me and, even in the dim light of the moon, I can see how much he loves me. It’s written in his eyes like words on a page. I see his eyes dip down to my lips again but instead of kissing me in what would have been the perfect moment, he pulls away.
“We better go back inside. I don’t want your parents to worry.”
I audibly sigh in disappointment but don’t say anything
.
I stuff my hands into the pockets of my coat and turn around to walk back inside the house. I feel physically frustrated, and I’m not sure what to do about it except jump Aiden and force myself on him.
Why isn’t he trying to kiss me?
I don’t even bother to wait for him to open the door to the house for me. I open it for myself. When I walk in, everyone is sitting at a now cleared dining room table. My dad is passing out pieces of his double chocolate cake with toffee topping.
“I was just about to go out and get you,” Uncle Malcolm says to me, not trying to hide the fact he thinks Aiden and I were out there a minute longer than we should have been.
“Caylin was giving me a lesson in arm wrestling,” Aiden tells everyone.
“Did you beat him?” Uncle Malcolm asks with an eager grin.
“What do you think?” I reply, feeling my frustration with Aiden fade a bit.
Uncle Malcolm holds his left hand up in the air. I smile and go slap it, giving him a high five.
“That’s my girl,” he says with no small amount of pride.
I giggle and take my coat off. Aiden comes up behind me to help me out of it and I let him. Even though I don’t know Aiden’s reasons for not kissing me that evening when he had two perfect opportunities, I try not to take offense. I know he wanted to. I just don’t know why he didn’t, but I don’t intend to wait on him forever.
If he won’t take things into his own hands…I will.
CHAPTER EIGHT
After we have dessert, Jess and Mason say they need to leave and Aiden says he should probably be going as well. I feel desperate to find some reason, any reason, to keep him with me a little bit longer but my mind draws a complete blank.
“Thank you for inviting me over tonight,” Aiden tells my parents while shaking my dad’s hand.
“You’re welcome in our home anytime, Aiden,” my mom tells him.
Aiden smiles. “Thank you, Lilly. I appreciate that.”
“How about tomorrow night?” I ask, not seeing any logical reason why I can’t have him back over that soon. If it were up to me, I would make him a pallet on the floor of my bedroom and invite him for a sleepover. But, I don’t think that idea will fly with my folks.
“Not tomorrow night, kiddo,” Jess says. “We’ve already made plans.”
My face must show my complete and utter disappointment because Jess giggles.
“Don’t look so sad,” she tells me. “You’ll still get to see your own personal Romeo again tomorrow, just not here at your house. We’ve arranged to gather all the vessels to make the inner realm for you. A sneak peek at your future might be just what we need to know what to do next. Hopefully, we’ll be able to figure out a way to get Baal off your back.”
I can’t say I’m looking forward to seeing my future. What if I see something I don’t want to or perhaps shouldn’t see? There would be no way to un-see it. But, I trust Jess. I know she wants to gather as much information as possible to better protect me. And Aiden will be there with me which seems appropriate since I can’t imagine my future without him playing a major role in it.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Caylin,” Aiden promises, even though the word tomorrow sounds like a lifetime away.
“Ok,” I say, already feeling a spreading emptiness inside my chest because of his imminent departure.
Uncle Malcolm places a casual arm across my shoulders.
“Say goodbye,” he tells me. “Then you can come with me to Abby and Sebastian’s house to wrangle your little sister and brother back home. That should take the sting out some.”
I don’t want to stay goodbye to Aiden. Goodbye sounds so final.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say instead.
“Until then,” he says back, seeming to find it just as hard as me to end our first evening together.
I feel myself start to tear up because I really don’t want Aiden to leave.
Before I know it, I’m standing on the front porch of Abby and Sebastian’s Denver home.
I stand completely still, attempting to bring my churning emotions under control. Rationally, I know it’s ridiculous to feel so sad after the evening I’ve just had with Aiden, but my heart cries from the separation.
“I knew you had it bad,” Uncle Malcolm says to me sympathetically. “But, I guess I didn’t realize until just now how much you care about him.”
I look up at Uncle Malcolm through a blur of tears. “I love him, Uncle Malcolm.”
Uncle Malcolm reaches out with both his hands and wipes away the twin trail of tears spilling down my cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.
“I can see that,” he says tenderly before bringing me into his arms and just holding me. “He’s a lucky guy. But, I want you to remember something. If he ever does anything to hurt you, I will kill him.”
I laugh because I can tell from the tone Uncle Malcolm just used that he’s joking in an attempt to make me feel better.
It takes me a couple of minutes to pull myself together emotionally, but I finally do.
“I’m not sure what I would do without you, Uncle Malcolm,” I tell him as I pull away.
“Live a horribly boring life with your father as you shrivel up and become an old maid?” Uncle Malcolm suggests.
I laugh again. “Probably. If dad has his way, he would probably keep me locked in my room until I was at least 90.”
Uncle Malcolm smiles devilishly. “Caylin, you know your dad loves you more than that. You would probably be closer to 100 before he actually let you see the light of day.”
I giggle feeling the sorrow of being separated from Aiden fade a small touch.
Uncle Malcolm smiles. “That’s better. Now come on. Let’s see how the pack is doing.”
I giggle again. “Why do you always call Abby and Sebastian’s family ‘the pack’?”
“They may have lost the wolf part of themselves, but I swear they still think like wolves. Just look at how many children they have. I feel like an old man having five grandchildren.”
“Six if you count the one on the way,” I remind him.
“Exactly! It’s almost a full litter.”
“Uncle Malcolm,” I say, trying to shame him for talking about his own son’s family in such a way.
But who am I kidding? I doubt Uncle Malcolm has ever felt ashamed of anything in his life.
Uncle Malcolm pushes the doorbell. It’s almost immediately opened by my big sis Abby.
I was told Abby’s hair used to shine like diamond dust once upon a time. It was part of the curse of being a werewolf apparently. After the curse was lifted, her hair turned a beautiful strawberry blonde. Abby’s petite frame looks over burdened with her latest pregnancy. I think I’ve seen her pregnant more than not during my life. She had her first son, Jasper, around the same time Will was born. After that she gave birth to four more boys. Secretly, I think Abby keeps having children because she wants a girl. No one knows, except for maybe her OB-GYN, what the sex of Abby’s baby is. She and Sebastian always like to keep it a surprise.
Abby’s eyes light up at my unexpected presence. She quickly grabs my arm and pulls me inside.
“So?” She says to me. “How did the big dinner go, love?”
“Good, considering Uncle Malcolm and dad were at it.”
“You wound me, Caylin,” Uncle Malcolm says as he closes the door behind us. “Truly, you do. I was only doing my part in your father’s dastardly scheme. And if you think I took any pleasure in teasing Aiden, well, I won’t lie and say I didn’t, but that’s totally beside the point.”
Abby just shakes her head at her father-in-law.
“Will you ever grow up?” She asks him.
“What would be the point?” He responds with a shrug and a smile.
Abby smiles back, knowing there will never be any changing Uncle Malcolm. He probably wouldn’t change if he lived for another thousand years.
Abby pulls me into the living room to sit down on the couch and asks me
to give her a detailed account of the evening. Sebastian joins us while I’m retelling the highlights of the dinner and little Mae phases in to curl up on Uncle Malcolm’s lap. By the time I’m through with my story, Mae has fallen asleep with her thumb firmly clamped inside her mouth.
“Pull her thumb out of her mouth,” I tell Uncle Malcolm. “Otherwise, mom will have a fit.”
Uncle Malcolm gently pulls Mae’s thumb out before standing up with her safely cradled in his arms.
“I should probably take her back,” he says to me.
“I’ll be right behind you. I just need to grab Will.”
Uncle Malcolm phases back to my house.
“Will’s with Jasper and the other boys in the game room,” Abby tells me. She stands to give me a hug. “You hang in there, little sis. Dad just has a hard time letting go.”
“I don’t want him to let go,” I say. “Just loosen his grip a little.”
Abby laughs. “He’s had three years to prepare for this. I don’t think he’ll clip your wings to keep you home forever. Just have a little patience with him, love. Plus, your mother will keep him straight. And if she doesn’t, Tara will for sure.”
I nod knowing she’s right.
I phase to the game room and find Will and Jasper playing air hockey while the other boys are sitting around watching a kung fu movie on the holographic TV.
Everyone says hey to me and I walk over to Will.
“Time to go home,” I tell him.
“So The Dinner is finally over?” Will asks, slamming the hockey disk for a goal on Jasper’s side of the table.
“Yes! I win I win I win!” Will says, raising his arms in the air and acting like there’s a large crowd around giving him applause.
“It’s air hockey,” I tell him. “Not the winning goal for the Stanley Cup.”
“Let him gloat,” Jasper tells me, grinning at Will. “He finally won a game. I won four out of the five we played… but who’s keeping track?”
“Geesh,” Will complains, lowering his arms, his shoulders sagging, “can’t even enjoy my victory for a second without getting picked on. Where’s the family love I ask you?”