The Proposition (22 page)

“I just wanted to welcome you home.” She
rubbed herself over his slackened cock, bringing it back to life
with several determined thrusts of her hips.

“Em, you’re driving me wild,” Aidan murmured,
his lips brushing against her breasts.

“Take me to bed then,” she commanded.

“With pleasure.” He gripped her by the hips
and pushed her onto her feet. As he stood up, he dropped his
underwear.

“And hurry up and take off your shirt. It
smells,” Emma instructed as she started to the bedroom. She swayed
her hips provocatively to get his attention. She snickered when she
heard the buttons popping on Aidan’s shirt and them scattering
across the hardwood floor. Only he would ruin an expensive shirt
for sex.

She barely made it down the hall before he
reached her side. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her
into his arms. His breath scorched against her cheek. “I’m going to
make you come so hard you’ll scream my name.”

Emma shivered in anticipation as she pressed
herself against Aidan. “Shh, we’ll have to be quiet, or we’ll wake
Mason,” she replied.

Aidan snickered. “I didn’t expect an
audience.”

“Well, what do you suggest?”

He glanced across the hall and then pulled
her into the guest bedroom. He started to shut the door, but Emma
shook her head. “I won’t be able to hear Mason.”

Aidan grunted in frustration and then pushed
her towards the bed. His fingers deftly unhooked the clasps on her
bustier. When her breasts were freed, his mouth immediately closed
over one nipple. His erection pressed against her belly, and she
felt herself growing more and more aroused. His hands went to her
panties, shimming them down her legs.

He spun her around and bent her over the edge
of the bed, her elbows resting on the mattress. He spread her legs
further apart. His cock nudged her entrance from behind, and he
asked, “Is this okay?”

“Umm, hmm,” she murmured.

On the first thrust, Emma cried out. Aidan
leaned over her back, his voice ringing in her ear. “Don’t wake
Mason up,” he warned.

She glanced over her shoulder at him. “What
happened to making me scream?” she panted.

“Oh, I can still do that.” His hand reached
around and found her throbbing clit. He stroked it as he pounded in
and out of her. “Is it too much, babe?” he asked, in a hoarse
voice. She knew he was still afraid of doing anything to hurt the
baby.

She shook her head. “No, it’s good.
So
good.” Aidan’s other hand snaked around to cup her breast, pinching
the nipple between his fingers. “Yes, oh yes!” Emma cried, almost
reaching her first orgasm.

When Aidan removed his hand, she mewled in
frustration. Once her high started unraveling, he brought his
fingers back, deftly stroking and caressing her, building her back
up again. “Yes! Oh, Aidan, oh please! Aidan!” she cried.

“Please what?”

“Please keep touching me! Please make me
come!”

He stroked her faster and faster until she
pressed her face against the mattress, fisting the sheets in her
hands, and screamed.

Feeling himself close, Aidan gripped Emma’s
hips tighter and buried his face in her neck. He came so hard but
didn’t bother masking his throaty cries. When he was finished, he
pulled her up and turned her around to face him. “If you keep
giving me homecomings like this, I think I’ll request to travel
even more.”

“Aw, that would be nice, but then I would
miss you too much during the week.”

Aidan grinned. “Miss me or the sex?” he
asked, throwing back her usual question.

She cocked her head. “Why the sex of
course!”

He grunted and smacked her playfully on the
ass. “I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. That mouth of yours
is trouble.”

She wiggled out of his embrace. “I’m going to
go take a shower. Want to join me?”

“You don’t even need to ask.”

A
little after three, the sound of Mason’s cries woke Emma. She
pushed against Aidan who was sprawled on top of her. “Wake up,
Aidan.”

“Hmm?”

“Mason’s crying.”

He groaned and rolled off of her. As Emma
threw on her robe, Mason let out a high pitched squeal. “Jesus,
that kid has a set of lungs on him,” Aidan said before pulling a
pillow over his head.

She hurried over to the Pack N Play. “Shh,
it’s okay, sweetheart,” she murmured, picking Mason up. His wailing
eased a little, but he still continued crying.

Aidan’s voice came muffled from under the
pillow. “Em, would you mind taking him and the screaming somewhere
else?”

Rage burned through Emma. How dare he treat
her that way? Shifting Mason onto her shoulder, she used her free
hand to smack Aidan’s naked back. Hard.

He flung back the pillow and glared up at
her. “What the hell was that for?”

“Why are you being such an insensitive
asshole?”

“Because I’m overworked, jet-lagged, and just
want to sleep,” he growled.

Emma shook her head. “Your behavior tonight
is seriously giving me something to think about.”

Aidan rose up in the bed and rubbed his eyes.
“What are you bitching about now?”

“Is this how it’s going to be with our baby?
You only thinking of your own selfish needs, resenting the baby
when it comes between us and sex, and most of all, making it seem
like I’m a single parent when you’re in the same room with me?”

With a roll of his eyes, Aidan jerked off the
sheet. “Fine. I’ll go fix his fucking bottle. Will that make you
happy?”

“Maybe,” she replied. Even though he stomped
bare-assed out of the room, Emma grinned that her speech had
affected him enough to react. Every little battle was a victory in
her favor. She eased down in the glider, rubbing Mason’s back.
“Hang on sweetheart. Uncle Aidan’s going to get your bottle.”

Her words had little effect on him, and by
the time Aidan came back, he was red-faced, snorting with hungry
anger, and flailing his arms and legs.

“Damn, Little Man, take a chill,” Aidan said,
shoving the bottle at Emma.

“Thank you,” she said, with a smile. “Looks
like temper tantrums run in the Fitzgerald family,” she mused, as
Mason latched onto the bottle.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,”
Aidan replied with a grin. He collapsed back onto the bed. “He
obviously gets that from his father—the dickhead who knocked Megan
up and ran off.”

“What a jerk. Who could even think of leaving
an angel like Mason or a sweetheart like Megan,” Emma replied. She
eased the glider to and fro as Mason sucked the milk down greedily.
“You were hungry, weren’t you?” she asked, as she placed him on her
shoulder and burped him.

Cradling him to her chest, she gave him his
pacifier. After she began humming softly, she saw the calming
effect it had on him. When she started singing softly, Mason’s eyes
grew heavier and heavier. Then he was fast asleep.

When she stood up to put him back to bed, she
did a double take at the sight of Aidan propped up on one elbow,
staring at her. With only the light from the hallway, she couldn’t
quite tell if it was lust or love that burned in his eyes.

“What?” she whispered, easing Mason down onto
the mattress.

“I’ve never heard you sing before.”

“Oh that.” She ducked her head, trying to
fight the embarrassment pricking her skin. She pulled the blanket
over Mason.

“You’re really good.”

She jerked her gaze up to stare over at Aidan
in surprise. “Seriously?”

“Like an angel.” He took her hand and pulled
her back into the bed. “I mean, you told me you sang and all at
church and at the bar, but I had no idea you were that good.”

“You’re just being nice.”

“And when have I ever done that?” Aidan
mused, with a sly smile.

Emma giggled. “Okay, I guess you’re right
about that one.”

His lips grazed along her collarbone before
he glanced up at her. “I’m serious, Em. Your voice is absolutely
amazing.”

“Thank you.” She pressed her lips to his.
“Anytime you want me to sing you to sleep, I will.”

“I’d like that.”

Emma scooted closer to Aidan, burying her
face in the crook of his arm. “I really hate you have to leave
again.”

“So do I,” he murmured.

She fought with herself before asking the
next question. “I know we agreed that we both wanted ‘more’, but
did you ever figure out what that meant to you?”

His fingers, which had been rubbing lazy
circles over her skin, froze on her shoulder blade. “Not exactly.
Did you?”

Propping her chin on his chest, she brought
her gaze to his. “I would hope it meant at the very least
monogamy.”

“Of course it would.” He creased his brows at
her. “You know I haven’t been with anyone else since I
propositioned you that night at O’Malley’s.”

“I know. It’s just—”

“You’re afraid because of my past I might not
be able to stay monogamous?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

He sighed. “I can understand why you feel
that way, Em. But I was serious when I told you I wanted to try for
more with you. I can’t make any sweeping guarantees, but I at least
want to try. I like you. I like spending time with you, even
outside the bedroom.”

Emma knew that what Aidan was offering was
huge for him. It felt like nothing to her, but after all, she
wasn’t a commitment phobic womanizer. The fact he hadn’t gone on
some exotic sex tour of India or hooked up with someone in the
Delhi office meant he was honestly trying. She stared into his
eyes. “I can accept that.”

“And I would assume you aren’t on the
look-out either, right?”

Emma couldn’t help the contemptuous snort
that escaped her lips. “Do you even have to ask? Besides, the last
time I checked being pregnant didn’t put you on Maxim’s Hot 100
list.”

He rolled his eyes. “There you go putting
yourself down again about your sex appeal. You always so oblivious
to the effect you have on other men.”

“Yeah right.”

“You didn’t even realize the night I got in
from India and met you at O’Malley’s, I almost got in a bar fight
with all the men who were ogling you.”

“Seriously?” Emma asked.

“How can I get it through your head how
fucking sexy you are?”

She pointed at her expanding bump. “This is
sexy to you?”

“I could care less if you have a belly or
not, Em.
You
are the one who makes yourself sexy, not a
body. It’s not even the way you looked in that luscious lingerie
you had on earlier. It’s the way you swayed your hips and shook
your ass in front of me, knowing it would drive me insane, or the
way you sucked me off with total abandon.”

Heat filled Emma’s cheeks at his words while
warmth pulsed through her veins at the sincerity in which he spoke
them. “So you’re still going to be rampant for me when I’m nine
months pregnant, maybe thirty pounds overweight, and swollen up
like a Goodyear blimp?”

Aidan chuckled. “Yes, I will.”

“Hmm, we’ll see about that one.”

Just as Emma was settling down to go to
sleep, Aidan asked, “So our definition of more is merely not dating
anyone else?”

“I think that’s a pretty good start. Don’t
you?” Even though she wanted
everything
and more with Aidan,
she didn’t want to scare him off. She thought it best to continue
with relationship baby-steps and work her way up to the really big
ones like moving in together or dare she even hope and dream,
marriage.

“I suppose so. I mean, we’re already spending
all our time together. No need to work on that.”

“I agree.”

“So we’re good with our ‘more’?” Aidan
asked.

Even though she wanted to cry, scream, and
rail that she hated their definition of more, she merely smiled.
“Yeah, we’re good.”

Two Months Later

Soaking in the oversized tub, Emma eyed her
swollen feet with disgust. She had thought she wouldn’t have to
face the particularly unattractive side effect of pregnancy until
she was much farther along. But as she moved out of her first
trimester into her second, her feet had started going under daily
transformations. Since she had spent most of the day on them doing
back to back advertising presentations, they were worse than
usual.

Beau lounged on the tile in front of the tub,
snoring slightly. With Aidan traveling out of town every other week
with his Vice President status, Beau had become as much her dog as
his. She picked him up from Doggy Daycare, and he helped pass the
lonely nights without Aidan by sleeping by her side.

Emma had just rewarmed the water for a longer
soak when Beau raised his head up. After giving a yip, he ran to
the bathroom door. “Oh, I bet Daddy’s home from New York,” she
said. As Beau wiggled all over and swung his tail to and fro, Emma
couldn’t help sharing his excitement.

“Em?” Aidan’s voice bellowed from the
hallway.

“In the bathtub,” she called.

He threw the door open and grinned broadly at
her. “Hey baby!” Beau yapped at Aidan’s heels as he started over to
the tub. He gave her lingering kiss before turning his attention to
Beau.

“How was your trip?” she asked, as he
scratched Beau’s ears.

Aidan groaned. “The same ol’ shit.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Which means the same
ol’ shit of leaving back out of here next week, right?”

“Unfortunately yes. I guess that’s what they
pay me the big bucks for.” He eyed her bubble bath covered form.
“Isn’t it a little early for that?”

She giggled and pulled one of her legs out of
the water. “I suppose it is, but I thought I would soak awhile to
make my swollen pregnancy clown feet go down.”

Kneeling down, he took her foot in one of his
hands and kissed the instep. “I’ll massage them for you when you
get out.”