Page 136 of Fostering Chemistry
I woke feeling warm.Sore. A little squished—and unbelievably content. The firm, muscled chest I was nestled up against was Aaron’s. My hair spilled over his shoulder, and I could hear his deep breathing as his chest rose and fell steadily. He was still asleep.
I ran my fingers lightly over the planes of his abs. It seemed too good to be true that I got to cuddle up with a man like this. To touch and be touched by him.
There was another warm presence at my back. I could tell by the arm flung over my hip that it was Diego. I felt cocooned in the best possible way, except there was one person absent. Lifting my head carefully so as not to disturb anyone, I spotted Cody on the far side of Aaron.
He was on his back, his eyes open and staring up at the ceiling. His head was bobbing up and down to a silent beat. He was either playing music in his head or perhaps creating it.
“Hey,” I whispered softly.
He looked over, blinked twice, and then gave a slow smile that made my heart skip a beat. I hoped that the smile I returned was a fraction as warm and welcoming as his was.
I wished I were touching him too, but he was in his happy place with music. And I hoped his happy place also included being in this bed with me, with us—because mine sure as hell did.
Warm lips nuzzled my neck from behind. Diego was waking up. I could almost feel his grogginess behind me. I could also feel the way his muscles clenched as he rejoined the world, and as he slid his hand down my stomach, holding me tighter.
I’d never really appreciated the spoon position, but now I did. It just felt so good to be in alignment with someone else—his knees behind mine, his thighs behind mine, his chest behind my back.
We fit together well. I don’t think he meant to, but the finger Diego slid along my stomach tickled, and I flinched, causing Aaron to stir. His hazel eyes, with those gorgeous flecks of gold, opened and zeroed right in on me. His smile was almost as beautiful as Cody’s.
“Morning,” he whispered.
I whispered it back even though everyone was awake and planted a kiss on the side of his neck. His arm tightened around me, and I rolled onto his chest so that I could kiss his mouth.
Diego moved with me, his hand sliding down my back and coming to rest on my ass—not as if he wanted something from me, but just as if he liked touching me. I could understand that since I couldn’t get enough of touching their incredible bodies.
I ran my hand up and down Aaron’s bicep, marveling at the hard muscles. He wasn’t a bodybuilder—none of them were—but Ijust had never known male bodies could be this sculpted and fun to touch. Their defined abs, the hard muscle biceps—I wanted to touch all three of them at once. It was too bad I had only two hands.
Then I froze, my fingers gliding along Aaron’s arm. There was a line there that felt puckered and uneven.
Blinking, I tossed my hair out of my eyes and examined his arm. In the morning light, I saw it then—what I’d never noticed before under the ink. Scars and ugly marks.
They all looked old and mostly hidden by the tattoo. Tears filled my eyes, and I couldn’t quite bring myself to look him in the face. I hadn’t known this. I’d only seen what his life was like now. His hand glided down my back.
“It’s okay, Mia.” Aaron’s voice was gentle, comforting me when I should’ve been comforting him. “Don’t cry, sweetheart.”
But I couldn’t help it. I buried my face against his chest, and his arms wrapped around me, one hand stroking my hair.
“It’s all right,” he said. “It was a long time ago.”
I wept for that. I wept for what he’d been through, what Cody and Diego had been through, what so many foster kids had been through.
“Look at me, Mia,” Aaron said, lifting my chin with his finger. As I did, I realized that Cody wasn’t on the other side of him, and Diego was no longer behind me.
They’d given us some space.
“I didn’t know,” I whispered. “I’m sorry.”
“I said I won the lottery at age seven, not before,” he said softly. His hand glided down my back. “I’m pretty damn happy with my life these days.”
I couldn’t look at those old marks any longer, so I let myself get caught up in those lovely hazel eyes. “You got the tattoo to hide them?”
“Not to hide, exactly. More like to make lemonade out of lemons. It was my grandfather’s idea.”
That made me smile softly. And here I’d thought his ex-politician grandfather would’ve disapproved. I kissed him then—not with heat or passion, just the desire to show him how much I cared about him, and how much I wished his childhood had been different.
“Shhh,” he said, stroking my hair. “We’re all a long way from where we started. I like where I am now.”
Looking around the gorgeous bedroom in the luxurious suite, I had to agree with him. “It’s so beautiful here.”
