The Proposition (8 page)

Mortified at what she might have said or done
in the heat of passion, Emma buried her face in Aidan’s neck. “Oh
my God,” she murmured.

“Yeah, you like to say that one a lot, too.
Of course, I’m a bigger fan of when you scream my name,” he mused.
When she continued hiding her face from him, he nudged her
playfully. “Come on, Em. Don’t be embarrassed. It was sexy as
hell.”

“Really?” she squeaked.

“Yes.”

After exhaling a satisfied little sigh, she
pulled away to smile shyly at him. “I guess I got carried away
because I didn’t know it could be like that.”

“You didn’t have sex like that with your
fiancée?”

“Yes, but I
loved
him.” At Aidan’s
furrowed brows, she blushed. “What I mean is I thought I’d never
enjoy sex unless I was in love with the person.”

“Well, I’m glad I could prove you wrong,” he
mused.

They lay quietly for a few minutes. Emma
could tell Aidan wasn’t one for post-coital cuddling, which further
cemented his image as a womanizer to her. She watched as he kept
staring up at the ceiling or shifting under the covers. He probably
didn’t sleep with most of the women he went to bed with. He cleared
his throat. “Wanna join me in the shower?”

“Not yet. I’m supposed to wait before doing
that.”

“Why?”

She blushed. “Are you sure you really want to
hear about all this?”

“Of course I am.”

Emma couldn’t believe that after just
sleeping with Aidan she couldn’t bring herself to say certain words
in front of him or explain to him some aspects of successful
conceiving.

He nudged her with his elbow. “Come on, Em.
What is it?”

“Fine. I read that you should wait twenty or
thirty minutes before using the bathroom or showering. You know, to
help the sperm along and everything.”

“That’s it? I thought by the way you were
acting it was something truly embarrassing.” Aidan grinned.

“Trust me. Talking like this to you is
mortifying.”

“Okay, whatever. So the deal with the sperm
is it’s kinda like a ‘you can’t go swimming for thirty minutes
after you eat’ kinda thing?”

“I guess,” she murmured.

“What else are you supposed to do?”

“Aidan,” she protested.

“Come on. You can do it. You just said sperm
in front of me, and I didn’t run for the hills. I think I can
handle it.”

A giggle escaped her lips. “Well, they did
say you could put a pillow under your hips. It helps tilt the
cervix and uterus.”

Aidan shook his head. “Okay, you got me. You
said the intolerable word, uterus. I’m outta here.”

She swatted him playfully as he pretended to
rise out of the bed. He kissed her forehead. “Damn, you’re sexy
even being embarrassed.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Seriously, Emma, I grew up with four sisters
in a small three bedroom, two bath house. I’ve seen and heard
enough female stuff to scar any guy psychologically for years. I
promise there’s nothing you can possibly say that will gross me
out.”

She laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m an only child
who took about a year before I could talk about my period in front
of my boyfriend.”

Aidan then took one of the extra pillows he
was propping on and snaked it under the covers. He slid his hand
under Emma’s bottom, hoisting her hips into the air. “All right,
then, it’s time to help the boys out!”

She laughed and squirmed against him. “I
could have done that myself.”

“I’m happy to help.” He wiggled the pillow
underneath her but didn’t remove his hand. “And I’m never going to
pass up the offer to grab your ass!”

“Don’t you ever stop?” Emma huffed.

“Give me another round, and you’ll be begging
me not to!”

“We’ll have to see about that.”

He gave her a wicked grin before flipping
back the sheet. “Round Two begins in the shower in fifteen
minutes.”

“Okay,” she replied.

Emma watched his gloriously naked form stride
into the bathroom and turn on the water. A shiver of anticipation
washed over her at the thoughts of sex with him again. Warmth
filled her cheeks and crept down her neck at what she had said and
done. But he had liked it, so that was all that mattered.

Time seemed to tick agonizingly slow as she
waited to get up. She wondered if there would be any hot water left
for her. Finally, she threw back the covers and hurried into the
bathroom. Steam enveloped her when she entered, and she heard Aidan
humming.

She opened the glass shower door and slipped
inside. “Wow, this shower is huge,” she remarked.

“Honeymoon suite, remember? They expect
couples to be in here together for long periods of time.”

“I suppose so,” she replied.

He handed her some body wash. She squirted
some onto her hand and started to lather it up when she felt
Aidan’s hands on her waist. When he started to pull her against
him, she backed away. At his puzzled expression, she smiled
sweetly. “I believe you said it was about me the first time.” She
reached down to grip his length. “This time it’s about you.”

Aidan smirked. “If you say so, ma’am.”

Her hand, slick with soap, slid up and down,
working him into a rock hard state. He gave a grunt of pleasure
when her other hand reached between them to cup his balls,
massaging them gently. “Hmm, pretty good technique for a girl who
claims she doesn’t have a lot of experience.”

“Oh, but I’ve only got started, Mr.
Fitzgerald.”

“Christ,” Aidan murmured when she sank to her
knees. She ran her hands up his thighs, washing away the soap. When
he was fully rinsed, she pressed his legs further apart. With her
hand gripping him, she licked a trail from his navel down to his
base. The water cascaded over her back as she licked his tip. She
swirled her tongue around him teasingly, causing Aidan to groan.
“You’re killing me.”

His breath hitched when she took him inside
her mouth. Drawing him in and out, she kept her hand working steady
as well. A faint sense of pride filled her when Aidan closed his
eyes and banged his head back against the tile. His hands went to
her hair, and he twisted his fingers through the long strands as
she bobbed up and down on him. When she started to feel like he was
coming close, Aidan gently pushed her away. “Don’t want to waste
it, babe,” he replied, when she glanced up at him.

Aidan gripped her shoulders and pulled her up
off the floor. Spinning them around, he pushed her up against the
tile. He grinned at her as he hitched one of her legs over his hip
and pressed himself inside of her. “You got me so worked up with
that performance Round Two may be a little shorter than
planned.”

“That’s okay,” she panted. She wrapped her
arms tight around his neck, pressing her breasts flush against his
chest. The water suctioned them together as he began to move. After
several deep thrusts caused her to cry out, Aidan glanced into her
eyes. “I’m not hurting you, am I?”

“No, you’re good.”

“Just good?” he teased.

She grinned. “Great, wonderful, magnificent,
Oh, God, Oh God!”

He laughed. “You’re such a smartass.” He
increased his pace, eliciting moans from both of them. Just when
Emma was getting close, Aidan grabbed her ass and swept her other
leg off the ground, impaling her on him. She gasped with pleasure
as he banged her back against the shower wall. “Squeeze me tight,”
he instructed. She wrapped her legs tight around him, taking him
deeper when she did. “Oh God, yes,” he groaned against her
collarbone.

Aidan moved frantically against her. Her back
burned from being smacked against the shower wall with his thrusts,
but everything else felt too good to complain. Instead, she panted
against his ear, crying out his name when the orgasm ripped through
her. Just as she clenched around him, he came, pinning her hard
against the wall. “Damn,” he murmured. He turned his head to grin
at her. “Yep, pretty damn good, Ms. Harrison.”

She laughed. “Thank you, Mr. Fitzgerald.
Think you could let me down now? I’m going to have tile burn.”

His eyes widened. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

When she was back on her feet, her legs felt
rubbery like they might not hold her. Their position wasn’t
actually on the “to do” list of conceiving, so she knew she needed
to get back to bed. “I better go lie down.”

“For the boys,” he mused with a grin.

“Yes, for the boys.”

After grabbing a towel, she stumbled out of
the shower and wobbled into the bedroom. Drying off quickly, Emma
grabbed the nightgown she had stowed in her purse and slid it over
her head. A glance at the clock on the nightstand showed it was
after midnight. She yawned and wondered how she was going to get up
in the morning for work. Turning back the sheets, she slipped into
the bed.

Aidan stepped out of the bathroom, a towel
wrapped around his waist. Self-consciously, she clutched the sheet
around her. “Did I wear you out?” he asked, with a grin.

A shy smile curved on her lips. “A little,”
she replied. She couldn’t bring herself to turn away when he
dropped the towel and slid on his underwear. But then her heart
sank as he started to reach for his pants. “Aren’t you
staying?”

He turned back to her. “I hadn’t planned on
it really. But you can. The room’s covered for the night.”

“Oh,” she murmured, unable to hide her
disappointment.

She felt the heat of Aidan’s stare before he
drew in a ragged breath. The bed sagged under his weight when he
sat down. “Em, you knew what kind of man I was before we got into
this. I don’t usually—”

“No, it’s fine.”

“You sure as hell don’t sound or look fine
about it.”

“It’s just you just threw me for a loop with
the lingerie and champagne. It all became less business-like and
more...” She shook her head. “But I get it now. It’s always going
to be just sex with you.”

Aidan groaned and ran a hand through his wet
hair. “I should have realized this would happen,” he muttered.

“I’m fine, okay?” At his skeptical look, she
sighed. “This is all a whacked out emotional roller coaster for me,
and I’m sorry. I’m sure you hate women who get all demanding and
emotional.”

He grimaced. “Sometimes.”

She gave him a sad smile. “I figured as
much.”

“Actually, it’s me I hate this time for
leading you on.” With a frustrated grunt, he dropped his pants and
started back to the bed. When his hand gripped the sheet, she
jerked her head up in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“What the hell does it look like I’m doing?
I’m coming to bed,” he grumbled.

“But I thought—”

“I guess since you’re going to be the mother
of my child, I can make an exception in your case.”

A strangled cry erupted from her lips. The
last thing she wanted from him was pity. The moment Aidan got into
bed she edged as far away from him as possible. In a huff, she
twisted around in the sheets, leaving him in the cold in more ways
than one.

“Em?” When she refused to answer him, he
scooted across the mattress to her. “Why are you so pissed off? I’m
staying, aren’t I?”

Emma turned back to glare at him. “I don’t
want you to stay out of obligation or pity, Aidan. I want you to
stay because you wanted to.”

“Fuck. I didn’t mean for it to come out like
that. I just meant that I should stay since you were different than
the others…someone special.”

She momentarily softened her expression.
“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Okay, then.”

“Can I have some cover now? I’m freezing my
ass off.”

“Of course. I mean, we can’t have anything
happening to that fabulous ass of yours now can we?”

“That mouth of yours is trouble,” he mused,
as he slid under the covers. Surprise flooded her when he spooned
up against her, and she couldn’t keep the satisfied sigh from
escaping her lips.

Sunlight streamed in through the open
curtains, warming Emma’s face. She rolled over, shielding her eyes
with her arm. For a moment, she forgot she wasn’t in the comforts
of her own bed. And then the revelation hit her. She was in a king
sized bed in the Honeymoon Suite at the Grand Hyatt.

When she turned over, she found Aidan had
already left, without a goodbye. A pang of sadness crisscrossed its
way through her chest, but she tried reasoning with herself that it
was already almost miraculous he had stayed the night. She couldn’t
expect for someone like him to wake her and give her a good-bye
kiss. It was way out of his realm of understanding.

She glanced over at the clock and saw it was
after seven. If she wanted to make it to work on time, she knew she
needed to get going. Slipping on her dress from the night before,
she lamented she hadn’t thought ahead of bringing something else to
wear. At almost thirty, she had never experienced a walk of shame
before, and now she would have one. After all, who in the world
wore chiffon at seven in the morning?

Thankfully, the hallway was silent as she
hurried down the floral carpeting to the elevators. When she got
downstairs, only the hotel staff milled around in the lobby. She
tried holding her head high as she passed them. She managed to keep
her dignity until she gave the valet her ticket. He eyed her attire
and rumpled hair and a knowing smile etched across his face. “One
minute, ma’am.”

Emma inwardly groaned and willed herself
never to forget an overnight bag again.

She barely made it into her office before
Casey stormed inside and slammed the door. “I can’t believe you
haven’t called me!”

Holding up her hand, Emma warned, “I haven’t
even had coffee yet. I’d hold off on launching the Inquisition for
at least thirty minutes.”

“Hmm, someone’s testy. Didn’t you get enough
sleep last night?” Casey asked, wagging her eyebrows.