Page 64 of Reclaim Me

“I love you too.”

23

RAE

Now

Iwake with a start, slick between the legs, with a moan parting my lips and Aaron’s confused eyes on me. He’s hovering over me, both brows knitted in confusion as I leave the warmth and safety of my dream—that involved a naked Hunter, a slew of mirrors and the main room of the empty building he purchased for me— for the stark reality of our bedroom. It’s early, right around the time I should be getting up to prepare Riley for her school day, and Aaron is already dressed for work. The tie I got him for his birthday dangles in front of my face, and I’m distantly aware of the weight of his hand on my shoulder. The placement and grip he has on me suggests he was in the process of waking me up.

“You were moaning in your sleep,” he says, removing his hand and stepping back to give me some space. There’s tension in the lines of his forehead as he examines me with a sweeping gaze I can’t read. “Are you okay?”

Another image from my dream washes over me when I sit up, and my hand goes to my throat, a pale imitation of Hunter’s wide, heavy palm and thick fingers. “I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, Aaron,” I snap, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and grabbing the glass of water I keep on my nightstand. He watches me drink it, waiting for me to finish before he continues with his unnecessary inquisition.

“You didn’t sound okay. Were you having a nightmare?”

I push to my feet, brushing past him on my way to the bathroom. There’s a cruel, shameful laugh building in my throat. “No, it wasn’t a nightmare,” I say, closing the door before he can follow me inside. “Far from it.”

“What was that?” Aaron asks through the door.

“Nothing!” I shout. “Would you mind waking Riley up for me?”

Normally, I wouldn’t ask him, especially since he’s on his way out the door, but I just need a moment to breathe, a moment to process that dream without him hovering. Things have been weird with us since the science fair, not bad—since Aaron agreed that he deserved the reaming out I gave him after dinner—but not as good as they could be, and me having sex dreams about Hunter is only bound to make it worse.

“She’s already up,” he says. “Mom is downstairs with her, making breakfast. She said she’s going to take her to school today.”

I should feel relieved to hear that Marcy is helping with Riley, but I’m not because I know she only does that when Aaron asks her to, and Aaron only does that when he wants to talk to me about something that will likely lead to us arguing.

“Oh, that’s nice of her.” I try, and fail, to keep the suspicion out of my voice. “Could you thank her for me on your way out the door?”

“Actually, I’m going in late. I wanted to have a chance to talk to you.”

My heart sinks. I don’t know what he wants to discuss, but I do know that his opening the door for honest communication means I have to walk through it, and that means telling him about the building Hunter bought for me even though I still haven’t wrapped my head around it yet. Since I’m in no rush to come clean, I take my time going through my morning routine, hoping that if I drag my feet enough, Aaron will run out of time or patience and leave for work.

No such luck.

When I emerge from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel with freshly washed hair and shaved legs, Aaron is sitting on the bench at the foot of our bed with his phone in his hand. He sets it down the moment I enter the room, a conscious display of his endeavor to be more present, and smiles. The sun is completely out now, and the clock on his nightstand says that it’s a quarter till eight, which means Riley and Marcy have already left, and there will be no interruptions or distractions from this conversation.

Aaron watches as I cross the room to my side of the bed, where I keep all of my moisturizing products, remaining quiet until I take a seat.

“I found you a job.”

I pause, my hand suspended in mid-air with a palm full of my favorite body oil dripping onto my thigh. “You did what?”

“I found you a job,” he repeats, grinning like he’s done some amazing thing, completely unconcerned with the frown on my face. “The Ballet Academy is hiring. They only need a receptionist right now, but it’s an established school that’s growing everyday, and I’m sure they’ll have to take another teacher on eventually.”

“Eventually?” Needing something to do with my hands so I don’t launch myself across the bed and strangle this man, I begin rubbing the oil into my skin, hoping the scent of coconut and honey will calm my nerves.

“Yeah.” Aaron stands, coming around the bed to sit close to me. “I’m sure once they need someone, they’ll be looking to hire internally, and you’ll be right there!”

“Mhmm.” I hum, nodding like I understand his foolish logic.

“Exciting, right?” His eyes are so bright, filled with hope and selfish intentions. “I even asked the lead instructor, Lena, nice lady, by the way, if you could use the space to dance sometimes, you know, just to make sure you stay sharp, and she said that’s something you two could discuss when you call her today.”

“I’m not calling her, Aaron.”

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