Wake Me Up (Love Knows No Boundaries) (24 page)

“I’m not saying goodbye,”
Emma chokes.

I start taking deep breaths as my eyes tear up. This is way too emotional for any man to handle.

“Of course not. It’s never goodbye for us. I’ll see you again.”

Dammit.
I watch them hold each other. I watch them love each other. Emma needed this.

~*~

Chapter Twenty Three

Emma
~

It’s hard to pretend everything’s okay. But I won’t burden Aiden. I will be strong.

If the Lord wanted me to fly, he would’ve given me wings. I firmly believe this. All the flying is bloody awful. I console myself with the thought that Aiden is next to me, and it will be the last time. A few minutes after take-off, my ears block and I feel queasy. I don’t eat or drink anything, for fear that it might resurface.

“Sweetheart, you’re cuttin’
off the blood flow to my hand,” Aiden says with a smile. I let go of his hand and flex my fingers. “Are you scared of flyin’? he asks.

“No,
I just get motion sickness,” I explain.

He pulls me in against his chest and I close my eyes.
I still can’t believe he came all this way for me. I can’t believe the nightmare is over. I’ll never have to listen to my mother again. I’ll never have to feel her again, smell her again. A wave of relief washes through me, and it makes it a little easier leaving Gran and Chloe behind.

Zac meets us at the airport. It’s late and he looks tired. We’
re all tired.

“Welcome back,
Emma,” he greets me. I’m thankful when he doesn’t try to hug or shake hands.

“T
hank you for coming to get us.” I know Zac is important to Aiden. I’ll have to work on feeling comfortable around him. His smile is warm and it makes it easy to smile back.

Zac and Aiden might have a lot of
catching up to do, so I let them walk a few steps ahead. Aiden stops suddenly, and I almost smack into him.

“Hell no,” he snaps
, and both Zac and I stare at him. “We had this talk, Emma. Beside me,” he says, calmly, and I move quickly. I didn’t mean to upset him.

He
places his hand on my back, caressing the length of my spine, while he talks to Zac.

T
his is going to be hard. Cultural differences. I know Aiden wants me to be me, but how can I, when I don’t know who that person is?

~*~

Zac drops us off at Aiden’s house, and the reality is hitting harder and harder with every passing second. But I keep fighting it, telling myself that as long as Aiden is happy, nothing else matters in the world.

We’ve unpacked
, and although my clothes are hanging in the cupboards, it’s still all his. His room, his bed – his home.

“Have you lived with someone before?” I blurt the question out. It just seems so easy for him. Letting me come into his space.

“What makes you think that?”

I watch him take of
f his shirt. I drink in the ink all over his skin, curling from his neck down his chest to his abs. I’ve missed looking at him. The past few days have been a bit of a blur, and it feels as if I’m seeing him for the first time since I left.

Now i
t’s just us –  it’s really just the two of us.

But every
time I want to let myself go, the reality hits. How are we going to do this? This living together.

“It just
seems so natural for you. Like you know what to do,” I admit.

I glance
around the room again, at the massive bed with the headboard and side tables with bed lights, the dresser and chair. There are three small paintings on the wall, abstract art.

“Yes, I have.
”

I don’t know why
, but it shocks me. I shouldn’t have asked. I don’t want to know about him and someone else.

“I
lived with Zac for just over a year.” My eyes jump back to him. “You’re the first woman, though.”

“I have no right to ask,” I say quickly. “
You just seem so comfortable.”

“Because of you,
Emma.
We,
” he says, motioning between us, “have lived together before. This isn’t something new.”

“There
, we we’re on mutual ground,” I say, trying to bring my point across.

Aiden does that thing where he tilts his head
slightly to the side and stares at me. I swallow hard, and for the life of me, I can’t remember what I wanted to say next. It’s unnerving when he does that.

“This is your home now.
This is your room now,” he says, walking toward me.

My mouth goes dry. I’m nervous and my stomach flutters. We haven’t really kissed
(or anything for that matter) since he’s come to get me, and now we are here. It feels as if everything has changed. We are in his home and I am dependent on him. That’s a different kind of vulnerability to get used to.

He s
tops right in front of me and takes hold of my shoulders. He looks really tired.

“Everythin
g here is yours. Please don’t come and ask me if you can use something, just use it, just take whatever you want. If you want to move stuff around, then move it around.” He leans down, then he stops and smiles, “just please leave my desk.”

“Alright
,” I whisper.

H
e brushes his mouth against the side of my forehead, and the tingles I’ve missed so much rush over my skin. He takes my hand and tugs me toward the bathroom. I watch him turn on the water in the shower before he turns back to me.

We’ve showered
together before. We’ve done the starkers thing before. We’ve made love before.

Why, oh, bloody w
hy am I so nervous, then?

I love this man.

He comes to stand in front of me and moves his hands over my shoulders, brushing back my hair. Then they slip up the curve of my neck, and he takes hold of my face, tilting me to look up at him.

“Hey
, you.”

“Hey.
” I swallow the word.

He leans in closer. He hasn’t shaved
, with all the drama, and he looks bloody dishy. I bring my hands up to his bare chest, unable to resist touching him. I trace over his inked skin and his mouth curves slightly. He approves.

Warmth
spreads through my insides, and a feeling settles deep in my heart – I just want to make him happy. My other hand shoots up to his neck so I can pull him down, pressing myself to him. There’s a sweet clenching deep down when his lips meet mine and I feel his tongue sweep hungrily through my mouth.

He
yanks at my shirt, and we break away, only to let it pass between us before we melt together again. He unclasps the snap of my bra and flings it aside. I smile against his lips.

This is good. This is very good.

“I want you, Emma,” he says hoarsely, his breaths coming fast. His mouth moves down and his hands cover my breasts. When he bites at the curve of my neck, I dig my nails into his back, and he presses his hips against mine. A moan drifts up my throat. I want to forget everything. I want only to think of Aiden.

His hands drop to the snap of my jeans
, and he takes them off. When we’re both naked, he moves us to the shower. We don’t last five minutes in the shower. He tries to, though. It’s me.

It feels like I’m going to shake apart if I don’t feel his hands on me all the time. I
practically throw myself at him, and the low growl coming from his throat is the most satisfying sound I’ve ever heard. When he turns off the water I’m humming with need.

We barely dry ourselves
before I reach for him. His hands dig into my hips, pulling my body against his, and I quiver in response to feeling him against me.

T
here’s no sign of any nerves. What nerves? Who said anything about any nerves?

There’s
only the man I love, naked in front of me.

Afterwards, w
e lie still for a few seconds before Aiden speaks. “Your heart is racin’ a mile a minute.”

“I just ran a marathon,” I
tease.

“Feel welcome to run it any
time,” he drawls, under me. His fingers trail softly up and down my back. “I love you, sweetheart.”

“Aroun
d the world and back.”

I say it because I don’t want to be one of tho
se people who fall into a habit of just saying ‘I love you’ for the sake of saying it. When I say it, he’ll know I mean it.

~*~

Chapter Twenty Four

Aiden~

“She says
‘around the world and back’. She doesn’t say ‘I love you’ back.” Okay, so now I’m voicing my worries to Zac the next day.

I shouldn’t, I know. I should talk to
Emma about it, but how do I talk to her about this?

“So maybe it’s her way of sayin’ it. You yourself said she didn’t hear it all her life
, so maybe she’s not comfortable saying the words. As long as she shows you, and she’s here, it’s all good.” Zac smiles like a proud dad. “Now for the crap part. The court date is set for Monday. You gonna tell her, or should I?”

I forgot about that.

“How about I come over and we both do?” he offers.

“Zac, I love you
, but I have to. This I have to do.”

M
y mind is already running over the different scenarios of how to do it.

Wa
lking into a home where the woman you love is cooking for you is an awesome feeling. Walking in and seeing her dancing to some tune she’s humming is just amazing.

I stand and watch her
stir something, wiggling in front of the stove. I grin like a dumbass. I should go lock my gun and badge away before she sees them, but I want to look at her just a little longer.

Even though she’s cooking
, the kitchen is spotless. I’m a neat person, but she’s on a whole different level. She wipes down the counter and turns slightly. The look is priceless. She’s smiling, she looks happy.

“Hey
, you,” I say, and her face lights up even more.

“You’re home!” she squeals
.

S
he runs to me, almost bouncing with delight. My heart swells with love, and I catch her, pressing her to me.

“I missed you,” she whispers in
to my neck.

I hold her tightly
, needing to feel her body melt into mine.

“Ow,” The word burs
ts into my neck and I let go of her fast. She tries to rub her breast without me seeing, her eyes are on my chest.

Dammit! The gun.

“Ahh … give me a sec.” I run towards the room to lock it away, and I could kick myself for not doing it first.

Opening the safe
, I unclasp the holster and take off the badge.

“Aiden,” I hear her be
hind me. Her voice is cautious.

“Yeah?” I’m not sure how to bridge the gap of my job.

“Can I see your badge?” I swing around surprised. She looks small, real small. “It’s what represents you out there, right?”

I swallow as she reaches for my badge, the one thing that sets me apart from her.
I’ve taken down so many men and women that don’t deserve to be called humans. But here I’m standing in front of this tiny being and she has the power to take me down.

Her fingers wrap around my badge
, and her eyes soften to that soft green. Her mouth curves gently as she looks at it.

“De
tective Holden,” she says, and all my blood flows to one point in my body, “if I have to be arrested, it better be by you.” She steps close to me and puts the badge back in my hand. It’s a damn miracle I don’t drop it when she leans up to my ear. “Why don’t you shower while I finish up.”

I don’t want to do any of that. I want to drop the gun and badge and throw her on the bed.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Immensely,” she whispers
.

She
leaves me standing in the room, wanting her.

~*~

Once again, Emma takes the news of having to appear in court real well. She smiles as if I’m telling her about the damn weather. It’s as if none of what happened with Colton and Katia can touch her. She doesn’t talk about her time with them, either.

Friday
afternoon, I mention to her about meeting my folks. I give her the option of having them over Saturday or going there, and she surprises me by making a choice.

We’re on our way there. A
s I pull up to my folks’ house, her nails dig into my thigh.

“Dogs, Aiden,” she breathes
the words, all fearfilled.

“They won’t bite,” I assure her
, as the two German Sheperds come bounding toward us. “They’re trained. Retired from the K-9 unit. Really, you have nothing to be worried about.”

“They’re horses. They have teeth.” She’s really scared of them. I
get out and go to open her door. Her eyes go wide when Siege comes too close.

“Back
, boy,” I instruct, and he backs down. “Emma, they won’t bite, come on.” I step closer and hold my hand out to her. She all but sails up against me, and I can’t keep the smile back.

“If you walk away from me
, I’m climbing the nearest, highest thing,” she warns, her eyes never leaving the dogs.

“Hold your hand out to
them, let them smell you.”

It’s better if she sees they won’t bite.

“Have you gone nutters!” She clasps her hands to her chest between us. “I’m not touching them!”

I can’t help but grin
wider, she’s being real cute.

“Aiden, you’re here!”
Mom calls from the porch, “come on in, darlin’, let’s meet Emma.”

Emma
tenses in my arm, and her face loses some color. For a second, I think she’s going to pass out on me. But she steps back, toward Kayla and Siege, her fear of them forgotten as her eyes zoom in on my mother. She straightens her already perfect clothes, and puts on the same smile I saw with her mother.

“In a sec
, Mama,” I call.

I take hold of
Emma and step in between, so she can’t see my mother. “Emma, it’s my mom,” I say, “she’s loving, she’s caring, she’s like me.” Emma’s eyes focus on me and her smile changes a bit, but she doesn’t relax under my touch. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. No one here will hurt you.”

“I know.
”

She doesn’t believe me. This time
Emma doesn’t trust me. She’s fine to go into court with me, but not my parents’ home. She trusts me to protect her body, but not her heart. That hurts.

~*~

When we turn around, Dad has joined Mom out on the porch to welcome us. I’ve told them about her, so they won’t think anything weird of her if she freezes up around them.

But
Emma doesn’t freeze up, she surprises the hell out of me. She lets go of my hand and reaches out to my parents.

“Mr. and
Mrs. Holden, it’s such a pleasure to meet you,” she says warmly, leaving me all dumbstruck.

Am I the one overreacting here? Am I maybe coddling her too much?

“Emma, finally he brings you around. We’d thought we were never gonna get to see you. Come on in.” Dad shoots me a frown behind her back, as if to ask why all the fuss.

Yeah,
him and me both.

We walk
in, and Emma stops in the foyer. She moves right up against the wall and angles herself so we can pass by.

“Walk on in, hon
,” Dad says.

Emma
takes one step and stops again.

“Ah…” She clenches her hands together in front of her
, and I squeeze past Dad to get to her.

“Go ahead
Dad, we’re right behind you.” I take her hand, pulling her into me. “You okay?” I take hold of her face, tipping it up. She smiles, but I’m not buying into her smiles any more.

“Just nervous.”

“You’re doing just great.” I brush my mouth over hers. “I’m right here.” I keep my arm around her as we walk further into the house.

“Mama,
you’re spoilin’ us today?”

“Of course. It’s not every day you bring a girl home,” Mom teases. “Y’all want something to drink? I was thinking we could visit some before we eat.”

“Aiden, why don’t we go get the d
rinks, and let your mama and Emma get acquainted?” Dad asks.

Emma
looks at me nervously, sitting down on the edge of the couch.

“I’ll be right back,” I assure her
, leaning down to kiss her forehead. Her hand slips from mine and I leave her with my mother, praying I’m doing the right thing.

~*~