“Sorry we didn’t get to meet last time you boys were here.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of his grimace, if it was over the thought of his son being kinky theDaddything in particular. My teeth ground together to keep from saying anything that would embarrass Aiden even more.
A few minutes later, there was a commotion at the front door.
“Ma? Pops? Is Aiden not here yet?” A woman, who I assumed was Alyssa, called from the front hallway. “Also, who is the pretentious asshole you let park in the driveway? What even is that monstrosity?”
I chuckled as I took a sip of my beer. Jeff offered me an apologetic shrug as I stood, but I waved him off. I was far from offended. More like amused.
“That would be me,” I said as I leaned against the doorway. Alyssa startled, midway through taking off her snow boots, with her hand flying to her chest in an effort to steady her racing heart.
With a smile, I walked down the hall, offering her my hand. “Nathan.”
“What the fuck, Alyssa?” Aiden barreled around the corner, eyes blazing with fury. It made me feel all warm inside, knowing he was getting angry on my behalf, even if it wasn’t necessary.
I offered him an indulgent smile. “It’s okay, little bird. I admit, it is a little bit of an extravagant car. But it’s great in bad weather. And, since I had precious cargo I was carrying today, I wanted to make sure I was safe as can be.”
I threw him a wink as I grasped his hand and tugged him up against my side. He gaped up at me, mouth opening and closing a few times before he let out a huff and settled on just glaring at his sister, who had just watched our little display with a smirk and had begun to fan herself.
“Ya’ll are too cute for words. You know that?” She came up and hugged Aiden, rocking him back and forth, before whispering in his ear how happy she was to see him so happy. I heard his partner’s name mentioned in there somewhere, but I hadn’t heard the context it was said in, so I let it go. For the moment.
Ellie called out a moment later, breaking up their hug. “All right. Is everyone going to stand in the hall, or is anyone going to actually help with dinner?”
Aiden laughed and leaned back. “Coming.”
I raised a brow. “No. You go sit and watch the game withyour dad. I will go help Ellie. Alyssa can come help, or play twenty questions, like I know she’s probably dying to.”
She let out a sharp laugh, like she hadn’t been expecting me to be so direct, and Aiden looked back and forth between us, panic-stricken. But I pushed him toward the living room and praised him when he complied. “Good boy.”
“I’m so screwed,” he muttered as Alyssa laughed again before we headed down to the kitchen.
22
AIDEN
Sweat soaked my body as if I’d run a marathon without ever leaving my bed. I wished it had been from a more pleasant experience. Such a long time had passed since I’d had a nightmare that I thought I was over them.
I wiped a hand over my face and tried to shut out the images that lingered in my mind. Living through the events of my childhood once had been more than enough, even if I didn’t remember a good chunk of it. But having the bits I did remember, along with the aftermath, constantly on repeat in my mind while I slept wasn’t my idea of a good time.
A low groan escaped my lips as I pushed myself into a sitting position. My head throbbed and felt cotton-y, as though I had a hangover. I frowned, trying to remember the night before. I didn’t remember drinking myself into a stupor.
Truth was, I wasn’t much of a drinker. A few beers, maybe a shot or two. I didn’t over-indulge due to my anti-anxiety medication that kept the panic attacks at bay. Clamoring out of bed, I wondered if I forgot to take my meds before bed and that explained the nightmare and the weird feeling I’d woken up with.
With a shake of my head, I tried to dispel the weird thoughts that had twisted and merged in my sleep. Memories of my childhood plus thoughts of Nate and everything that had been going on with him had sunk their claws into me and refused to let go. I didn’t need a shrink to psychoanalyze me with their mumbo jumbo to know that the stress was eating me alive.
As I stumbled to the bathroom and turned on the shower, I wondered if I was ever going to catch a break with this fucking case. For every step closer we got, I felt like I got pushed two steps back. It was beyond frustrating.
Everyone made mistakes, and eventually, this guy had to as well.
I closed my eyes as I stepped under the spray of the shower and let it soothe away some of the stress and wash away the sweat and desperation that clung to my skin.
While I shampooed my hair, memories of Nate drifted through my mind. I still couldn’t believe how well he meshed with my family. I didn’t date much; too much trauma, I supposed. But the very few people I had introduced to my parents, it hadn’t gone well. They’d instantly known they weren’t right for me.
But with Nate, they’d liked him right away. Even after that embarrassing first morning.
Thinking about Nate, while naked and in the shower, had my cock twitching in anticipation. Except he wasn’t there to offer me any relief. I needed him like an addict needed a fix.
How had I become so dependent, so needy, sodesperatefor him in such a short time?
