The Proposition
Page 56Emma found Aidan propped up in bed with multi-colored paperwork strewn over the handmade quilt. Beau lay next to him. At the sight of her, Aidan’s eyebrows shot up so far they disappeared into his hairline. “What the hell are you doing?” he hissed.
Holding up a finger, she closed the door behind her before responding. When she turned back around, she grinned. “I wanted to see you.”
Aidan rolled his eyes. “Jesus, Em, just when I think my dick is safe from your grandfather’s wrath, you sneak in here.”
She giggled as she made her way over to the bed. “Oh come on. You know he’s not going to do anything like that.”
“I’m not holding my breath.” His eyes roamed over her practically sheer nightgown. “What do you really want?”
“Can’t you tell? I want that hot bod of yours…bad!” she teased.
He grunted. “Don’t torture me by saying things like that.”
“Actually, I thought you might like to go for a midnight swim.”
“Really?”
Emma nodded. “The pond is just below the house.”
“Is it safe?”
“Sure, that’s where I learned to swim.” Nudging his knee with her elbow, she said, “Of course, I wasn’t an All State Swim Champion, so what do I know?”
Aidan shook his head as he threw off the quilt. “There goes that mouth of yours again.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m in,” Aidan replied, stepping into his tennis shoes.
They crept out into the hallway. Aidan stepped on one of the creaky floorboards, and they both froze. When Earl didn’t come streaking out into the hallway with his shotgun, they continued tip-toeing on into the living room. Emma grabbed a flashlight out of the table by the door while Aidan unlocked the deadbolt.
Once they got out onto the porch, they hurried down the steps and onto the gravel path that wound behind the house. They barely needed the flashlight with the glowing full moon illuminating the way. When they reached the long dock, they were both winded.
Aidan bent over, propping his elbows on his knees. Once he had caught his breath, he raised his head and took in the surroundings. “Damn, it’s beautiful out here.”
“This whole area is like the most magical place in the world,” Emma replied, breathlessly. Stepping closer to him, she gave him her best coy smile. “You know I haven’t been skinny dipping with a boy in a long, long time.”
He grinned. “Have you not?”
Emma shook her head. She brought her nightgown over her head, leaving her completely na**d in the moonlight.
A pained noise erupted from Aidan’s throat. “Fuck, this whole time you weren’t wearing any underwear?”
“Nope.”
“I should have ravished you in the bedroom then!”
She giggled as Aidan proceeded to tear off his shirt and boxers at record speed. When he reached for her, she backed away. “I said skinny-dipping, not defiling my grandparent’s pond by having sex.”
His hands swept to his na**d hips, drawing her attention to his erection. “Did you really think I hauled my ass out here just for a midnight swim?”
“Yeah, we’ll just see about that one.”
“Guess you’ll have to catch me first,” she teased before diving off the dock.
As she plunged into the depths, the icy water pricked over her body like tiny needles. She had no idea that it would be so cold this late in the summer. Usually, it was like tepid bath water.
When Emma broke the surface, she fought the chattering of her teeth. She whirled around at the sound of splashing behind her. Even in the dim light, she could see the gleam in Aidan’s eyes. “I do believe I’m going to catch you.” She giggled as he closed the gap between them in two fluid br**ststrokes.
Instead of fighting him, she gleefully let Aidan pull her against his chest. “Gotcha!” he said.
She poked her lip out. “Not a fair fight, considering I’m pregnant and you’re a good swimmer.”
“True, very true. What kind of man would I be to take advantage of my Baby Mama? I’ll behave now, and we’ll have a nice swim.”
She arched her eyebrows in surprise. “Seriously?”
He gave her a wolfish grin. “Well, there’s also the fact this cold water is doing nothing for my hard on!”
“Then I guess after our swim, we’ll just have to make it to land for any action.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Later, as they remained intertwined on sandy shoreline, a tangle of arms and legs, Aidan’s brows furrowed. “What’s wrong?” Emma asked.
“Huh?”
“You know, the constant sex stuff. I would have thought you wouldn’t be up for it being pregnant.”
Emma burst out laughing both at his statement and the serious expression on his face. She rubbed the stubble on his chin. “So I guess this is when I know you didn’t read the pregnancy book I gave you.”
Aidan grunted. “Yeah, the moment I pulled that one out on a plane or in public someone would have come to revoke my balls.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “Reading a pregnancy book would not emasculate you in the least bit. Besides, you could have bought it for your iPad.” At his doubtful look, she tweaked his nose with her fingers. “If you had read it, you would have known that a woman’s sex drive often increases during pregnancy so much that husbands and boyfriends just can’t keep up.”
“You’re shitting me?” he asked, his dark blue eyes wide.
“Nope. I’m not.”
Aidan grinned. “That’s fanfuckingtastic.”
Emma laughed. “Yeah and who knows what else might be lurking under the cover of that book. I suggest you read it.”
“Fine. I will.”
Inwardly, she did a victory dance even though she had to be a little deceptive to get him to read about pregnancy. The more he knew and understood about the coming months the better. At times, pregnancy wasn’t entirely attractive, and she wanted him to be prepared.
Aidan pulled himself off of her and got to his feet. Emma stayed motionless, admiring his na**d form in the moonlight. He turned back to her and offered her his hand. All inappropriate thoughts of him vanished at his gentlemanly behavior. When he helped her up, she gave him a chaste kiss on the lips in thanks.