2021, February 15th
(Capital City, Caspira)
AIDEN
Nope. Not okay. What Kate didn't do last night, Elena was going to take care of when I entered my room. Yup, she was going to kill me.
"Yes, of course. I'm good Caroline," I assured her, letting my little sister hug me as I kicked the dress on the floor into the shadows. "Just really tired. I'll see you in the morning, okay? Off you go," I said, shooing her away.
"Okay," she said with a shrug, giving me an apologetic look as she pulled away. "Just so you know though, you missed a button. It's good to have you home, Aiden," CC called back, showing off her eye for detail as she walked away.
No doubt I'd hear all about bringing a woman back to the castle at the breakfast table in the morning, but I couldn't worry about that right now.
"Shit. Elena," I said, turning back to my bedroom door.
Before I could convince myself to enter the lion's den, Elena yanked the door open and pulled me inside.
"You still haven't told them," she exploded.
I opened the door again, picked up her dress and retreated back inside. I meant to hand it right back to her, but she was pacing up and down in nothing but lingerie. It was black and there seemed to be some lace involved, but from what I could tell, it was minimal.
The rest was purely pieces of string somehow being held together. It wasn't even reasonable to call that thing a bra. Did the thong even have any lacy bits or was it really just string around her ass?
Her body in that little get up put strippers hanging upside down on poles to shame. With my head moving this way and that, I continued to examine her all but naked body. Suddenly I couldn't remember why she needed her dress back.
"They're not exactly your biggest fans," I said, sitting down slowly on the bed to enjoy the view. "I figured I'd wait until it was serious?"
Wrong response. She stopped pacing.
"This isn't serious to you? Are you joking?"
"What words get me out of the dog box instead of into the dog pound?"
She let out a shriek of frustration. My hands reached out for her.
"You are absolutely too sexy to keep standing there where my eyes can see all of you in just that. Add to that the super hot, mad look on your face and it's no wonder it's really difficult to focus on what you're saying."
I pulled her into my lap, slipped my arms around her waist and kissed her. She pulled away and slapped me. Instead of seeking redemption, my eyes dropped to her cleavage.
"So I'm guessing that means no sex?" I teased.
"You know, when I said I wanted to be touched like one of your women, I didn't mean—"
Her eyes were bringing in storm clouds. My own softened. It was true that I didn't tell my family about tonight, but it wasn't because she didn't matter to me. John was the one I was worried about. She was engaged to my brother and would have married him if it wasn't for me.
One of Elena and my's stolen kisses was ill-timed. Scandal ensued, blowing up our respective engagements to Jane and John. Our exes ended up together and were happily married now, but my family still couldn't stand Elena.
"Hey, don't you ever compare yourself to anyone," I said, looking into her eyes, hoping she felt my affection for her. "Elena Moore is special, leagues above all other women. The ways I touch you, what happened on that dance floor tonight, that's just between us. We'll tell them first thing tomorrow. Together, my super serious girlfriend."
Maybe she didn't quite want to be treated like the princess she was all the time, but Nathan was wrong. She was both to me. Even after a night like tonight, looking the way she did, Elena was the sinner and the saint. The complete package.
"What exactly is happening right now?"
I froze midway through taking my shirt off.
"Is this going to be too much to just fall asleep next to? Want me to find another room to crash in?"
She pouted. I grinned. She didn't have to tell me that the little snag we hit didn't deter her. Like me, she still very much wanted to fuck tonight. But the whole thing with my family meant more to her than I knew. I went back to stripping and slipped into the bed next to her. For her, I could wait another night. I wanted her to know she would always be worth waiting for.
"We're not kids anymore. I don't care what your family thinks," she said, stubbornly folding her arms as she eyed my body up and down lustfully.
We faced each other, both all but naked, sharing the same bed. My dick was hard. Her nipples could cut glass. My fingers itched to find out what was happening between her thighs. I just couldn't ignore the disappointment that lingered just beneath the lust as she snuggled up to me.
"No, I don't care what they think. You one hundred percent do. And it's okay, El. We'll fuck tomorrow night, after we've told them," I said, making my move before she did.
I kissed her lovingly and touched the warmth of my body to hers. Then I took her into my arms and smiled down at her.
"Definitely tomorrow night then," she said, smiling back up at me.
"Greedy. One of my favorite things about you. Definitely tomorrow night and the night after that and night after that," I mused flirtatiously.
I should have gotten her to put on my shirt or her dress, but she fell asleep in record time. She cling to me just like last night. I couldn't stop staring. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough. I couldn't wait to get past telling my family about us, even if we only technically started dating two days ago. It really was difficult not to give her things she needed. I was just going to have to get used to that being my reality again.
Moments before sleep took me, last night's events popped into my head. John and Bart could handle it. I had been avoiding thinking about Kate and Keira. I tried not to be curious about Kate's sudden interest in me. She had long since stopped trying to kill me. Why was I on her radar again?
Not my concern. John and Bart were handling it. As much as the Dormer women could be handled, at any rate.
Not my problem. Have to let go, Aiden. Let yourself be happy.
If only I knew what I would wake up to the next morning.