He stretched and faked the world’s worst yawn.
“I can barely keep my eyes open,” he said. “I’m going to bed.”
“Chicken,” I muttered as he walked away and climbed into bed.
I started to just slide the panties on and be done with it. But, of course, I was too petty for that. So, I turned my back to him, then bent over to step into my undies. I slowly pulled them up, knowing I had an audience watching my every move.
I took my time pulling them up to let him look his fill and see what he was missing out on. I was turning my own damn self onwith the way I was sliding them up my thighs and over the curve of my ass.
I made sure my sleep shirt crept up so he could get a good view of what these panties were about to cover up. Once they were high over my hips, I glanced over my shoulder to see if the savage had emerged.
This motherfucker was lying on his side with the cover pulled over his head. He hadn’t seen one second of my slow seduction.Coward!Chuckling, I stood up straight and adjusted my clothes.
I grabbed the towel from the floor and took it back to the bathroom, tossing it in the hamper. He didn’t say a word or move when I climbed into bed beside him. He just lay there like he was asleep.
I slid beneath the covers, pulling them up to my chest as I lay flat on my back, staring at the ceiling. I was in bed with my husband. This felt strange, almost unreal. Everything was too still, too quiet.
Now that I’d noticed how quiet it was, my breathing sounded too loud in the dark room. I stared over at Aiden, who still had the covers pulled over his head with his back to me. When I said I wanted him to sleep in the same bed as me, this wasn’t what I meant.
He may as well be sleeping down the hall at this point. I glared at him for a long time, hoping he’d look my way. He didn’t. Had he really fallen asleep just like that? A yawn slipped out before I could stop it. If he wanted to sleep, then we’d sleep.
I turned onto my side, facing away from him. My eyes drifted shut, but sleep didn’t come. Instead, my head was filled with all kinds of thoughts. Today was only day one. Just one day out of the hospital, and things between us had shifted so much.
We’d gone from my refusal to believe he was really my husband, to wariness, to acceptance, and even hope. I’d gonefrom not wanting him anywhere near me to wanting him to sleep with me.
In just one day, I’d gone from suspicion to trust. From refusing to let him touch me to aching when he didn’t.One day.That’s it. Was this too much of a change in one day? Yeah, maybe. But it didn’t feel like too much. Not really. Honestly, this felt so much better than how I’d felt in the hospital.
The way we laughed together, his subtle touches, his intense stares... I liked it.Allof it. Experiencing it made me feel like I was returning to my rightful place. Like I’d just forgotten where I belonged, and now I was remembering in pieces.
Or rather, Iwouldremember it in pieces... in time. Then again, maybe I was just convincing myself of that because the alternative would be hard to accept. Though I tried not to think about it, those thoughts crept in anyway.
What if I was wrong about him? What if this whole thing, this warm, tender, beautiful thing that was reforming between us, what if it was just one long, carefully orchestrated lie? I closed my eyes against the pain that thought caused.
If this was a lie, I didn’t think I could handle that. Tears stung my eyes. I blinked them back, refusing to let even one of them fall. I would not let my spiraling thoughts make me fall apart. Only time would tell whether our love was real or fake. If it was indeed real, that would be a great thing.
If it wasn’t...
A cold feeling crept over me. If it wasn’t, I’d deal with that and Aiden when the time came. Another yawn escaped me, and I forced myself to stop thinking.Just rest. I was almost asleep when I felt Aiden move behind me.
So, he wasn’t asleep. His arm slipped around me as he scooted closer, his broad chest pressing against my back. The warmth of his body chased away the chill that was clinging to me.
“Sweet dreams, my love,” he whispered.
And just like that, the tension left me with those whispered words from my husband. My body relaxed against his like this was exactly what it had been waiting for.Muscle memory.
The chaos in my mind and heart quieted. The doubts dissipated as I began to doze off. Wrapped in his arms, I finally let go. Sleep came easily after that. I drifted off into dreamland, where Aiden was waiting for me in my dreams.
In my dream, I was outside in a garden. It felt like I was reliving the moment in my dream, because I couldn’t see myself, but I knew I was the person in the dream. I stared down at my feet and saw cute flip-flops, brown with thin straps.
The grass was tall enough to tickle the skin between my toes, and it was damp from the morning dew. The sky was clear blue, not a cloud in sight. Sunlight caressed my skin as birds chirped in the distance.
It was a perfect day to be outside. I stared around at all the things I’d planted. A sense of pride and accomplishment filled me. I’d done this. I was reaching for a tomato when someone called my name.
When I lifted my head, Aiden was there. He stood a few feet away, just watching me with a slight smile on his face. He looked younger. Happier. More carefree.
“You weren’t lying when you said your garden was thriving,” he said as he approached me, his voice making my heart flutter like it always did.
I stood straight and dusted my hands. “I told you it was coming along. You finally found time to come see it.”
