His stomach heated up. “Oh? What are you thinking? I’d be happy to accommodate you.”
“I hope you will.” Her dark eyes were so beautiful he was lost.
“What can I do for you?”
“Kiss me until Thor makes us come eat dinner,” she said sweetly.
“Yes, ma’am.” He was done fighting his feelings for her.
He let her feet slide to the floor of the pool and wrapped his arms around her lower back, pulling her flush against him. Then he captured her lips with his. Fireworks seemed to explode inside him as she returned the pressure of his kiss and they traded beautiful kisses in the tranquil pool, the birds and a soft wind through the trees their only accompaniment.
When the sliding glass door opened and the delicious smell of savory meat drifted out, he forced himself to release her from the kiss.
“Sheesh,” Thor called to them. “Are you two pruned yet? Or maybe your mouths are raw from all that kissing. Get in here and eat. And no, don’t you dare ask if you can shower first. It’s all hot and ready and no matter how ugly Aiden is, he’s my twin and I love him enough to feed him delicious food fresh, not stale and reheated.”
Melene laughed and Aiden joined her.
“We’re coming,” Aiden said. It was torture to release his tight grip on Melene and wade out of the pool.
They wrapped up in towels and endured lots of teasing from Thor. Greer was his normal, non-judgmental self and didn’t so much as smirk, wink, or blush as they all consumed the delicious pulled pork and jalapeno jelly on hot rolls with potato, pasta, and green salads. Thor had even made a beautiful chocolate cake with the words ‘Happy birthday Thor and Aiden’ written on the top.
“What’s this?” Aiden asked. “Our birthday was back in June.”
Thor gave him the most serious look Aiden had seen in a while. “Do you know how many birthdays I’ve celebrated without you?”
Aiden was taken aback and had to admit, “I … haven’t kept track.”
“I have. Ten. Ten years since we had a birthday in the same location.”
Guilt punched Aiden in the gut. He knew his family, particularly his mom and Thor, would love nothing better than for him to settle down in Summit Valley. And Papa would love having a highly-trained special ops soldier to help with the Delta Protection Detail.
He hated to disappoint them, but his path was set. He risked a glance at Melene. She looked sad for both of them, but she also had a lot of understanding in her gaze. She knew how hard it was to be away from family, but feel certain your path was the one you’d been called to. He didn’t even want to think about how that equated to him needing to stop kissing Melene nonstop.
“Sorry, bro,” Aiden said to Thor, facing his brother again.
“It’s okay. I love you and I’m proud of you. Let’s eat some cake, then you’re going to shower. And please don’t waste any time trying to improve your looks. It’s hopeless. And then we’re watching Sahara.”
Aiden laughed. He loved that his brother could get back to teasing in a blink. They used to love watching Sahara as teenagers and both had claimed they were the main character, Dirk Pitt played by Matthew McConaughey. Though they honestly both loved his sidekick, the hilarious Al Giordino, played by Steve Zahn.
They ate cake, showered, and he and Melene snuggled through the movie. All the brothers were stunned she’d never seen it and she laughed in all the right places and admitted it was the “best movie ever” as they all insisted it was.
After the movie, his brothers said their goodnights and headed up to bed. Aiden would’ve loved to kiss Melene for a few more hours, but he felt an impending doom. He’d experienced it a couple of times before—right before Mike had been killed in Afghanistan and when Esther had been targeted by a psychotic serial killer and Aiden had been too far away to help. He pulled into himself, trying to target what was causing the uneasiness and if he could do anything to prevent what was coming.
“You’d better get some sleep,” she said, standing and offering a hand. She’d misread his worries for exhaustion. He was tired, but he’d survived without sleep plenty of times before.
Aiden let her tug him up. He clung to her hand, not ready to lose this sense of home and the thrill and joy of Melene in his life. They walked slowly up the flights of stairs. Neither of them said anything. Aiden wondered where her thoughts were. Was she dreading that they would have to go opposite directions sometime soon? Was she worried about General Phillip finding them again? Was she simply enjoying the fun afternoon and evening they’d had after such a horrific night last night? Was she feeling uncertain like he was and only wanting to kiss some more?
They made it to her bedroom door. She turned and pressed back into the wall, smiling beautifully up at him. “Thank you, Aquaman,” she said.
“For?” He leaned in, pressing closer to her and inhaling a light, sweet perfume.
“Protecting me, being there for me.” Her voice lowered. “Kissing me.”
“I’m thrilled to do all three,” he told her. The impending doom would have to wait for now. Thor and Greer would monitor the cameras and sensors, and there had been no alert. He had no doubt his brothers had set everything up correctly and they were safe. The unease he felt wasn’t due to someone coming. It was something bigger-picture, more emotional.
She reached up and grabbed his shirt, tugging him against her. “Let’s work on number three.”
Aiden willingly complied. He took her lips in a long, drugging kiss and was able to forget any unease of fear of the future. When they came up for air, she smoothed his shirt and murmured, “Sorry. I got a little intense there.”