Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 103010 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103010 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“But you need to, precious boy.”
“I’m going to school, and I’ll admit I like it. Can’t that be enough?”
No… I knew I should tell him no. It was selfish not to; it was binding him to me when logically I knew he needed to have the means to take care of himself. Still, I said, “For now.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
As I lay there, feeling the sun kiss my skin and taking in the blue sky, which rivaled Finley’s eyes, I wondered if there was anything I wouldn’t give him if I could.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Finley
I fell asleep. I didn’t know how long I’d been out, but the sun and being in Aidan’s arms just made me feel so safe, so loved, that I’d drifted off.
And when I did, I’d dreamed of my mom. She had always loved the beach. She smiled brighter there, said it made her feel invincible. Her problems looked a whole lot smaller when she compared them to the vastness of the ocean.
I felt horrible that I’d suggested we come here. That I didn’t even think about Aidan’s loss or the fact that his mother had taken him to the ocean before she died.
But he’d stayed because I wanted it. Maybe it was selfish of me, but all I could think was, Maybe that means he loves me. It was one thing to order someone around and take your pleasure from them, but another to make a sacrifice like this.
“Thank you, Sir,” I said against his skin.
“Oh, you’re awake. I was going to get you up soon so you didn’t burn. And what are you thanking me for now?”
“For this…bringing me here. It was her favorite place. It reminds me of her.” Could Aidan and I have ever been at the beach together? Probably not, since he was so much older than me, but I’d like to think we had.
He cleared his throat. “You’re welcome. Would you like to go in the water now?”
I shot up into a sitting position. “Can we?”
Aidan snickered, then sat up and cupped my cheek. “You are so easy to make happy. I love that about you. No matter what has happened to you, you’re still able to find joy in the smallest things. Don’t ever lose that.”
Love… He’d used the word love. God, I wanted to climb on his lap and tell him I love him, to beg him to love me too because that would make me happier than anything in the world. Instead, I said, “You make me happy. No one has before you,” then pushed to my feet. “Now come on!”
I began to run, and I couldn’t have been more shocked when Aidan ran too. He chased me into the water, where he tackled me, keeping his arms around me to hold me up. I was laughing and then he was too, this loud, passionate laugh I knew began deep in his chest. I felt it radiate out, vibrate through me, and it made me laugh more. I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard this sound from him before, this pure, joyous, almost glee. I wanted to do everything in my power to make Aidan do this every day for the rest of my life, because I didn’t think he took delight in many things.
We played in the water together, splashing and swimming and dunking each other. He was never out of arm’s length, holding me and protecting me as if I really was precious to him and he truly did own me. I was Aidan’s, meant to take care of him, and he took such beautiful care of me. Every now and again he would kiss me, sometimes with tongue, others just a press of his lips to mine. Strangely, those felt even more intimate.
When my limbs were tired and I’d laughed more than I ever had in my life, Aidan pulled me close and pushed my wet hair off my forehead. “Are you ready to go home?”
Home. Living with him was the only home I’d felt was mine since my mom died. “Yes.”
“We’ll pick up dinner on the way. It’s been a long day.”
“No!” jumped from my mouth, and when he cocked a brow at me, I said, “Sorry, Sir. I just… I want to cook for you and David. Can I serve you?”
He looked at me for what felt like an eternity, like he had this special way of seeing beneath my skin, deep inside me, before nodding. “You may.”
Aidan held my hand as we walked out of the water. We packed up together, dried off, and once we were finished, walked to the car. When everything was closed in the trunk, I went to walk to the passenger side, but Aidan’s hand wrapped tightly around my wrist. “Thank you, for today.”
“What did I do?” I asked, my heart pounding against my chest.