Page 31 of Down the Aisle
Against my gut, I let my heart take over. Just for a moment wouldn't hurt, right?
Naturally, my head leaned back into his touch when one of his hands slipped to the back of my head. Shivers of delight trickled down my body at the feeling of his fingers threading themselves through my dyed locks, and my breath came out airy with the faintest sigh of pleasure. Then, it hitched sharply at the feeling of his rough hand sliding down along the column of my neck. With heavy, trembling breaths, I looked at him with eyes full of wariness and excitement as the warmth of his hand coiled around my neck.
Anticipating a squeeze, I closed my eyes and waited for the pressure, cutting my oxygen off. Yet, it never came, much to mydisappointment. Adam merely settled his hand around my neck firmly, making his presence known.
He was testing me, testing the waters. His gray eyes were nearly black from his dilated pupils, and it felt like he could see through every layer of me, right down to my vulnerable soul as he studied me so deeply.
Goosebumps followed my shudders at the feeling of his thumb brushing against the thrumming pulse in my neck. I wanted to tell him to continue, to choke me until my eyes rolled to the back of my head, but no words came out of my stunned mouth.
Another gasp of pleasure slipped from my trembling lips in response to the blazing trail of fire his thumb left as it moved up the underside of my jaw, over my chin, and to my lips. "I'm afraid to kiss you." His hot words fanned across my pouted lips and the lower half of my face.
Before I could ask why, he continued, "I don't want this dream to end. The moment I kiss you, I feel like everything will shatter because you're not ready yet." Taking a deep breath, he slowly closed his eyes and pulled away reluctantly with a soft frown. "Your pace, that's what I agreed to take this at," he reminded me with controlled smile.
The hot tension in the air faded in an instant with his soft chuckle. "Eat up,mia rosa, before your food gets cold." His head nodded at my plate before he left for the fridge to grab a small bowl of baby food. "I got the little munchkin handled, so relax and enjoy your dinner for once," he urged, lightly stroking my cheek with the back of his finger.
As if that was possible after he’d just mind fucked me. Okay, he hadn’t, but it damn well felt like it. It was almost impossible to simmer down while I ate my dinner. Sitting there with my aching cunt pressed against my pants and the chair, getting thesoftest waves of pleasure every time I leaned forward to take a bite of my food, made it impossible to collect myself fully.
Of course, the world really wanted to rub it in my face because seeing Adam interact so well with Asher melted more of my icy-cold heart towards the charming man. Seeing how well Asher took to Adam was the cherry on top. It wouldn't matter if I was fine with Adam, and a relationship between us worked out more than perfectly. If Asher and Adam didn't get along, or God forbid Adam hated kids, then none of it would work. Also, vice versa, if Asher despised Adam for some reason, then I'd throw Adam back out into the open ocean.
Fortunately, neither of those scenarios seem to be likely, and I hoped they never would. Everything felt perfect. If anyone had peeked in on us at that moment and had no idea about us, they'd probably think we were the perfect couple with a lovely family. Well, maybe that would become the case in the future, but I wouldn’t jump the gun with Adam.
After all, he still had twenty-seven ish days left. Yes, I knew he could very well pretend for the whole duration, but surely, he had to crack sometime in the month if anything festered underneath, it would crack through in that time. Besides, there was no faking his connection with Asher. One look in both their eyes was all I needed to know; everything between them was wholly genuine from deep within their very beings.
A short while later, all of us were fed and full. Surprisingly, Adam managed to feed Asher in record time. Not gonna lie, I was a little jealous at how fast he managed to feed my little man. But it was the playful kind of jealous, not the scathing kind.
Once we were all done, I tried to clean up and do the dishes, but Adam wouldn't let me. He was insistent on cleaning up his own mess and giving me some time to myself and Asher. So, I was effectively barred from the kitchen and dining area until he had the place spotless again.
While he was a busybody in that part of my home, I played with Asher for a good while before giving him his nightly bath. When he was all clean and smelling good, I got him dressed up in his pajamas and was ready to settle him in his car seat to do my nightly delivery runs, but Adam stopped me.
He plucked Asher out of my arms, making me look up at him with a scrunched-up face. "Nope, no late-night runs for you while I'm around, or at least, no taking Asher out with you," he said rather definitively with a stubborn look. "If you have to go out, then go. I'll be here with Asher and make sure he gets to bed and everything."
Huffing and scoffing, I crossed my arms and glared up at Adam. "I can't afford to not do my other job and putting Asher into a new routine won't be healthy for him if you won't be around after you're done with me," I snapped, turning my head away in shame when I realized the last bit that came out.
Yes, I still had my doubts, but I couldn't be blamed for it.
Seeing the broken look shatter Adam's eyes did little to ease the shame and guilt which threatened to drag me down to the depths of darkness. The knife only dug in deeper at his dejected sigh, and when he reached out and grabbed me by my waist, I thought that this would be it… Until he spoke, "Eliza, I will never be done with you, not even when we draw our final breaths in this world."
Jerking my body up against his, his shadow crowded me as he leaned down and nudged my head with his. "I'm going to be honest. Even after the thirty days are done, I'm still going to be hanging around you every single day. Even if you try to lock me out of your home and life, I will still be there every morning with breakfast ready for you, be there to take care of Asher for you because I love the little dude."
I didn't know what to say. All I could do was stand there like a stupefied idiot and stare at him as he continued, "Every night,you will come home to a home-cooked meal that will leave you more than satisfied." His hard head continued to lightly nudge mine until our eyes were locked. "And if you refuse my help and keep your second job as a delivery driver, then I will stay the night with Asher until you come back."
"W-what happened to taking things at my pace?" I squeaked with a hitched breath. "You already seem pretty sure about everything and how you want to take over my life." Which, not gonna lie, kind of appealed to me.
It was a broken bridge, but maybe it might be okay to cross again one last time. I mean, Adam wasn't a bad person, right? He just wanted to take care of me, so where was the harm in that? Besides the fact that it all sounded too good to be true.
Sighing softly, Adam looked at me with conflicted eyes as his arm tightened around my waist. "You are in control of everything but me in your life. I already swore to you that I won't harm you, and I won't. Me being present in your life, making sure you eat, take care of yourself, and have quality time with Asher doesn't harm you in any way." His convincing smile had me lowering my walls involuntarily. "And just because I am present doesn't mean I'm going to cross any boundaries. I won't touch you without your permission or do anything that will make you overly uncomfortable."
Damn him for hitting all the right things and being such a charming asshole. God, there was no way out of this for me.
As if I wanted a way out.
Taking all he said into account, and really thinking about it, it wasn't all that bad, honestly.
Relenting with a sigh, I leaned into him, resting my head against his chest. "I'll just be a bit." I didn't want to go out without Asher, but I really couldn't afford not to pick up a few deliveries.
Sure, I could take Adam up on his offer of providing a little for me, but I couldn't do that to him. It didn't feel right, nor did I want to be indebted to him.
Looking up at him with a wary smile and chuckle, I asked, "You really aren't going to leave me alone, are you?"
