Page 68 of The Vow We Made
“I will.”
“What she said.” Steph kisses both my cheeks. “And you,” she points to Aiden, “better take good care of her.” Surprisingly, she lands a kiss on his cheek too.
“I’ve taken the whole week off, you know, just in case.” He makes his way to my side, slides his arm around my waist and pulls me against his body. “Which means I don’t have work as an excuse to escape.”
I poke him in the chest. “Bugger off.”
“Never.” His tone is deep, smooth and all Aiden.
“Oh for Christ’s sake, come on Faith. These two clearly want us out of the way,” she smirks. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” she says waving her hand in the air as she goes.
“Well that leaves us plenty of options,” Aiden whispers in my ear which earns him another slap from me.
The girls are out the door and greeted by a miserable looking Will who takes their small bags.
“Alright bro?” Aiden asks.
“Pucker.” Will replies unconvincingly while taking the bags out to his cab. He wasn’t happy about the business trip. They’ve hardly been apart since they met and he’s made it quite clear he didn’t want Steph to go.
“Take it easy girls,” Aiden shouts from the door, still holding my waist.
“Bye, love you!” I wave frantically as they drive away. Within a few minutes, it’s just us.
“Now what shall we do?” He says without giving me a moment to reply. His hands slide around to my back, his lips take mine without warning, then before I know it, his tongue is exploring my mouth. Naturally, my fingers push through his hair, cupping the back of his head and pulling him as close to me as possible. I want him to devour me, right here, on my doorstep.
Our kiss becomes deeper, slower and intense until he gently pulls back, placing small kisses to my swollen lips which trail along my jaw and down to the crook of my neck. He buries his face completely, picking me up where I stand and holding me in place. I can’t escape while I have my leg in a cast, but I don’t think I’d attempt it even if I were free to move.
“I can’t believe they’ve finally gone,” he growls into my neck before finally putting me down.
“Me neither, and if you carry on like this, I won’t want them to come back.” I cup his face and press my lips to his again.
I’m about to hop my way into the house when he catches my waist again and takes the one crutch I have from my hands.
“Not so fast you.” He brings me closer to rest against him. “We’re going out.”
“Are we?” I lean back a little to take in his pleased expression and I can’t hold back my beaming smile. I’ve felt so cooped up lately and desperate to do anything other than watch another box set. “Where to?”
“It’s a surprise. One of two in fact.” Again, he takes my mouth with his. This time his lips press harder and linger until he pulls away leaving me breathless. “Wait here.” I’m in a spin when he kisses my nose and hands back my crutch. He heads down the hall, towards the back door which I hear open and within a minute, he’s back and seems very pleased with himself. “You can come in now.”
Still dazed from our kiss, I hop inside the house where Aiden stands, proud as punch, behind a wheelchair. I’m brought back down to earth with a bump.
“Did you pinch it from the hospital?”
“I rented it. We get the option of staying out longer than an hour with one of these. You won’t get so tired.”
Okay, so inside I’m not over the moon. It’s no fun when you’re dependent on everyone else, but he’s obviously gone to a lot of trouble. “Right.” I scratch my head. “How will we get down the steps out front?”
“As you normally do, by me carrying you. I’ll take the wheelchair down first and you after. Stop trying to find an excuse. We’re doing this.” I note the firm tone Aiden uses, which is new and a little sexy.
“Alright. Let’s give it a go then.” I reluctantly hop over and plonk myself in the seat.
“How does it feel?” he asks.
“Like a chair.”
“Then it’s doing what it should.” I can sense his stupid grin and the fact he’s taking the piss. “Let’s get you ready to go.” He ignores my reluctance and helps me with my coat, scarf and hat.
The early March weather is particularly cold right now and the lack of movement on my crutches won’t help, but when he disappears into the lounge briefly and returns with a fleece blanket, I have to draw the line. “No. No way.”
