"More wine?" Nate asked as he held out another bottle of red.
"Sure," I answered with a smile. Well, as real a smile as I could make. We had finished our salads and were getting ready to eat dinner. This was also my second glass of wine. Thankfully Ayden was a master at covertly switching our glasses so it only looked like I was drinking it. In reality, not one single drop has passed my lips.
Nate set the bottle of wine back on the table before he glanced over to Ayden who was sitting beside me. "Mind helping me get dinner while the ladies talk?"
Even though I silently screamed my rejection to be left alone with Jules, I made sure to keep my composure as Ayden got up from his seat.
"Sure," he answered Nate.
I glanced up at my older brother. He shot me a warning look to be on my best behavior. For Nate, I would try. But I couldn't make any promises.
When the boys disappeared into the kitchen, Jules cleared her throat and took a sip of her wine. "So, I'm surprised you attended this little dinner."
And here. We. Go. "Why wouldn't I be here, Jules? He's my brother and this is my house."
She shrugged and studied her freshly manicured nails. "Yes, but you do everything possible to avoid me." When I didn't answer her right away, she added, "Look, just because you couldn't keep a handle on your ex boyfriend, doesn't mean you have to get jealous of what Nate and I have. You should really treat him better."
And that is how someone goes from zero to Furious Bitch in sixty seconds. "Fuck--"
"Here's dinner," Ayden said quickly as he walked into the dining room and sat the roasted chicken on the table. The look he shot me told me he heard what she said and knew I was going to lose it.
Nate followed behind him with the potatoes and bread. Everything smelled amazing and it helped keep my inner beast at bay.
"Hope everything is okay in here," Nate drawled as he took his seat.
"Of course, it is. We were just having girl talk," Jules answered.
Yeah, right. I started putting chicken on my plate and I noticed Nate was staring at me.
"What?" I asked. Was there something on my face.
He pointed to my meal. "You...never eat dark meat. You hate it."
I looked down and noticed I grabbed a chicken leg. Fuck. I was craving this chicken leg. I needed this chicken leg. "Oh, well, I wanted to try new things. New Year's resolution."
Nate's eyes widened. "Okaaaay, then. Just weird. You were never the resolution type. What brought that on?"
I added some potatoes and a slice of bread to my plate. Okay, two slices of bread. With extra bread. Sue me, I'm pregnant. "I got tired of the same routine, I guess."
Ayden squeezed my thigh comfortingly under the table. That seemed to mellow me out a little and I was grateful for it. The next few minutes went by pretty decently. Most likely because Jules had her mouth full with food so it wasn't flapping away with nonsense. But all good things come to an end...
"What are your plans after you're done with the Army, Ayden?" Jules asked as she batted her lashes.
He finished chewing his food and glanced at her awkwardly. "Uh, not to sure yet."
She looked entranced as she leaned forward. It was as if he told her he knew the cure to cancer. I felt like I wanted to vomit; and it wasn't because of the baby.
"Well, I think you should definitely consider New York as an option," she said before she gestured to Nate. "After all, Nate could definitely use more friends around here."
It took all my willpower not to roll my eyes at her. She really was ridiculous. I really hoped Nate was right about finding a real relationship after he got discharged. He deserved more than this, and someone who would feel for him the way I feel about Ayden.
Nate grinned at his best friend. "She's right. It'll be awesome to have you around once we finish our tour."
Ayden laughed and drank a little of his wine before he answered. "New York is definitely a consideration. When I came for Christmas, it was my first time here. It's definitely growing on me."
I took a bite of my bread to hide my smile at his statement. Deep down I really wanted him to move here after he was discharged. But if he did, was he going to get his own place? On one hand, it seemed like the normal thing to do would be for him to get his own place while we got to know each other better and see how the relationship went.
On the other hand, we were having a baby together. Did that mean we should move in together? It felt too soon for that, but I didn't like the idea of raising a child in two different houses.
I pushed that dilemma aside as I rose from my chair. "I'm going to get dessert."
"I'll help," I heard Ayden say as he followed behind me.
I didn't look back as I walked into the kitchen and went straight for the triple chocolate cake that Ayden made for me. As I eyeballed the delicious dessert, my mouth watered with anticipation. I want to take this whole cake into my bedroom right now.
"You okay?" He asked from behind me.
"Yes," I answered as I uncovered the cake and got a cutting knife from the drawer.
He circled his arms around my waist and put his mouth to my ear as he whispered, "Truth or lie?"
"Lie," I confessed with a laugh.
He placed teasing kisses to my neck. "What do you say we get desert over with so I can sneak into your room and make love to your luscious body all night?"
My eyes fluttered closed as heat flowed through my entire body. "That sounds like a plan, Sergeant."
He carried the cake to the dining room and I followed behind him. Dessert better be quick.
"So this is knitting, huh?"
I giggled like a schoolgirl as I leaned back against Ayden's hard chest in my bath tub. "No. It's better than knitting."
After dinner ended, Nate and Jules hung around for about an hour before he told me he was going to stay at her place. They left about three hours ago; and since then, Ayden has spent it kissing, and tasting, every inch of my body. That was up until he told me to show him how to knit. God, I loved this man.
He slid his hand over my belly under the water. "Do you think its a boy? Or a girl?"
I placed my hand over his. "It's going to be a while before we know that."
"I know," he said lightly. "Humor me."
I let out an amused sigh. "Well, sometimes I find myself saying 'he' when I think about the baby."
"I think it's a boy, too. Can you imagine us with a son?"
I smiled again. "I bet he would look like you."
Ayden snorted. "Yeah, with your stubbornness."
We both laughed at that. He was probably right. If anything from me was going to transfer to our baby, it would be my stubbornness. I tried to think about what it would be like once the baby was born. If it was a boy, what would he look like? What would it sound like when he cried? Would we even be good parents for him or her?
Of course that was if Ayden made it back from--
"What are you thinking about?" He asked as if he sensed my thoughts.
"Nothing," I lied. Even though my thoughts tended to get the best of me, I didn't want to spoil our last night together.
Ayden put his finger under my chin to turn my face towards his. I looked up at him as he stroked my cheek. Even though the water was nice and warm, goosebumps broke out over my body from his touch.
"We promised not to go there tonight, Lanie," he said quietly. "We promised to pretend like tomorrow doesn't exist."
He was right. We did promise to not let ourselves get caught up in the emotional part of it. Not to let ourselves get too worked up over the 'what ifs' of it all. It was going to be unbearable when he and Nate left tomorrow. But, Ayden was right. Tomorrow wasn't today.
I shifted in the large claw foot tub so I was straddling his thighs. I wrapped my arms around his neck and linked my fingers together. He smiled up at me as he stroked my bottom lip with his thumb. No one had ever looked at me the way he was just then. Total adoration and love.
My chest tightened with emotion as I leaned forward to kiss him. My kiss started out slow and leisurely. It was moments before I felt his tongue trace the seam of my lips at the same time his hands gripped my thighs under the water.
When I felt him grow hard beneath me, I rubbed myself against him. He groaned into my mouth as I deepened the kiss. I continued to tease him until he tore his mouth away from mine.
"Enough of this torture, Goddess," he said with a growl of erotic frustration that made me smiled with satisfaction.
But he was right. I wanted him just as badly as he wanted me. I lifted my hips just enough so I could take him inside my body.
We both moaned in unison once he was all the way inside me. He cupped my face with his hands and continued to kiss me with masterful talent. I moved faster against him, wishing there was a way for us to stay right here in this moment forever.
When he pulled his head back for a moment to meet my gaze, I knew he felt what I did.
This...this was our goodbye.