Page 41 of Liberating Love

Jesus, Aiden has to what?“Okay, do you want to come here when you leave? What can I do?” I ask.

“No, but thanks, Dad. If I don’t go to Mom’s house, she’ll go ballistic, but… I’ll come see you tomorrow night,” he says with a warmth I’m coming to expect from him.

As soon as we hang up, I head for the kitchen while messaging Aiden. Even if he can’t talk right now, I want him to know that I’m thinking about him and that I have everything under control.

* * *

The screechof the front door opening shatters the silence. I stride quickly toward it just in time to see a deathly pale Aiden stumble through the door. “God, Freckles, there you are.” I gather him into my arms, and he immediately sinks into me. My arms tighten like steel bands around his middle crushing him close enough to feel his heartbeat, and for the first time since Jovany’s call, my body relaxes.

Aiden’s hands on my arms push me back just enough so he can look up at me. “W-wh-what are you doing here, Delaney?” His gaze roams behind me. “Where’s Mom?”

“Jovany called me from the station to tell me what happened. When I didn’t hear from you after an hour, I headed over here to check on your mom.”

“Crap, I didn’t tell her—”

Putting two fingers against his lips, I reassure him. “I didn’t tell her anything other than you got held up at work and asked if I could come make dinner. We ate a nice meal together, played cards, and then she let me help her get ready for bed. She’s been asleep for about an hour.”

Aiden’s beautiful hazel eyes fill with tears. “She let you help her get ready for bed?”

“She did. I can be very persuasive when I want to be. You’re the only McGuire who seems to be immune to my charms.” I grin.

Aiden shakes his head, still appearing unsure. “Was she, I mean?”

“She was having a good night. Everything was fine.”

Instead of replying, he steps into me so close it’s like he’s trying to crawl inside of my body. His arms, clutching at my back, claw at my shirt, and he begins to tremble. “It’s okay, baby. You’re home now.”

From where his head is tucked into my neck, I strain to make out his mumbled words. “... clean… I tried… blood… shower… so much… clean… I can’t...”

Piecing his words together as he repeats them over and over, I realize he’s wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt. “Come on, Freckles.” The initial relief of him coming through the door is replaced by concern when he doesn’t protest me swinging him up into my arms bride style and carrying him into the bathroom. “Sit here,” I say as I sit him down on the toilet lid.

While he stares blankly ahead he begins unconsciously rubbing at his arms. I turn on the shower to warm the water, and by the time I turn back, he’s pawing frantically at his own face. “Hey, hey, hey.” I grab his hands and hold them between mine before he can hurt himself.

With a tear-streaked face he looks up into my eyes. “I can’t get clean, D. I tried. I scrubbed my skin at the precinct until I was raw, but there was so much blood. I couldn’t… I tried… but I can’t.”

“Okay, baby. I’ve got you. I’ll get you clean.” As if he’s a child, I carefully lift his shirt above his head, then stand him up to divest him of the sweatpants, socks, and his shoes. To occupy his mind, I tease him about going commando while I quickly yank my own clothes off. His eyes register a faint glimmer of amusement, but the tears continue to trickle down. Once we’re both naked, I hold his arm to steady him as I move him into the shower, following closely behind. “Let me get you clean.”

His gaze is trusting as he nods up at me, and my heart splinters. My stubborn, brave, impossible Aiden—who holds me at arms-length with everything in him—standing so helplessly guts me. The scent of coconut filling the shower as I squeeze shower gel into the palm of my hand centers me. It smells like my Aiden, and I get to work lathering his body so that he’ll feel clean. I know my soap-slicked hands on his body won’t wash away the memory of what happened today, and this isn’t about sex, but hopefully my touch will replace the feelings of blood covering his body. Jovany couldn’t go into details so he only said that he and Aiden were involved in a drive-by shooting and someone had been shot, but from Aiden’s words it’s obvious that he was standing close enough to the victim to be hit with blood splatter.

He stands listlessly while I wash him from his face down to his toes. I make sure to run my hands repetitiously over every spot of skin, then I wash his hair, twice. I take comfort in the fact that he supports his own weight and he’s no longer trying to scratch his own skin off. When I’m done, I shut off the water and reach for a towel. As I lift it to dry his hair, his hands come up to encircle my forearms. “Thank you, Delaney. There was no reason for you to come take care of my mom or wait for me, but thank you.”

I kiss the tip of his nose. “That’s where you’re wrong, Freckles. There was no way I couldn’t.”

Before he can voice the question in his eyes, I place the towel over his head and vigorously dry his hair, rubbing it until I hear him choking out a small sound suspiciously like a laugh. “Okay, okay. I don’t have that much hair.”

My answer is to move the towel down to his face, gently patting it dry before winking at him and proceeding to slowly dry the rest of him. As usual, the sight of his freckle-clad body spikes a rush of lust through me now that his tears have dried and he’s faintly amused, but I ignore my half-hard dick and drape the red bathrobe hanging on the back of the bathroom door over his shoulders. He works his arms into the sleeves while I quickly throw my clothes back onto my air-dried body.

Once we’re both covered, I guide him to the couch and hand him the remote control. “Why don’t you find something mindless to watch, and I’ll go heat up your plate?”

“My plate?”

Reaching a hand down, I run it through his damp hair. “Of course. I make a mean shepherd’s pie. You don’t think I fed your mom and me and didn’t leave you some, do you?” I bend down and drop a kiss on his head, then turn back to the kitchen to heat up the plate I left for him in the microwave.

Aiden manages to eat half his food before leaning forward to set the plate on the living room table. “That’s delicious, but I’m still a little queasy from earlier. Thank you again.”

As he sits back, I scoot closer and pull him into my arms. “When are you going to realize you don’t have to thank me for being here? Aiden, this is exactly where I want to be.” I tilt his chin up so that he can see how sincere I am. “This is where I’ve wanted to be for months. I’m just waiting on you to catch up.” A small, hesitant grin appears before he leans up and kisses my cheek. “You want me to go so you can get some sleep?” It’s the last thing I want to do, but I did come over uninvited and I don’t want to outstay my welcome.

“No, I just want to rest here and watch TV.” The grin on his face grows a fraction. “With you.” Then he settles in next to me, laying his arm across my stomach and holding me tighter than he ever has before, except during sex, as he lays his head on my chest.

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