Following The Light (Out of the Dark Book 3) Read online

Entering the bathroom, he does as I ask and puts me down. We stand there without saying a word, lovingly looking into each other’s eyes. He gently and slowly runs the backs of his fingers across my cheek. “You are the most beautiful woman in the world to me.”

  I take his hand and kiss the palm of it—then, without warning, get the worst headache I have ever felt. I place both hands on my head. “Aiden, help me wash up so I can go to bed.”

  After shampooing my hair and washing my body, he slips a t-shirt of his over my head and helps me under the covers. “I’ll get you some water and aspirin.”

  I have to close my eyes because everything seems to be spinning. Within minutes, Aiden is back, and gives me the glass of water and the aspirin. “I’m sorry, Aiden; it’s just that my head hurts so much.” He hushes me, fluffs my pillows, and brings the covers up to my shoulders. He turns off the light, then comes to lie beside me slowly. My new husband softly rubs his hand up and down my arm, soothing me until I fall asleep.

  ***

  Sunday morning, I wake up alone. I go in search of Aiden, finding him in his office. I walk in quietly as he is on the phone. He looks up, sees me, and smiles, then pats his lap, signaling me to come sit down on it in his huge black leather wingback chair. After a few minutes of him simply saying, “yes” and “no,” he says, “Thank you, doctor, we will be there at two o’clock tomorrow.”

  “Who was that? And who will be there tomorrow at two o’clock?”

  “Baby, that was Dr. Shaw. I made an appointment for us to go see him.”

  “Are you okay, Aiden?”

  “Not for me, Alexis. The appointment is for you. You were in such pain last night from your head that I want him to take a look at you.”

  Standing up and crossing my arms over my chest, I glare at him. “It was just a bad headache, nothing more. Don’t make a big thing out of this. People get headaches all the time.”

  He pulls me back down to his lap. “You are such a stubborn woman. I know people get headaches all the time, but you were in such pain last night. Even after you fell asleep, you were moaning. You kept talking in your sleep, saying odd things.”

  I tilt my head. “What did I say?”

  “‘It can’t be true’ and ‘It has to be real.’”

  Not wanting to make a big deal about this, I stand, hold my hand out to him, and say, “Come, let’s go clean that kitchen before Ms. Miller sees it and has a heart attack.”

  Aiden rises from his chair, pulls me in closely, and wraps his arms around my waist. “No need. I cleaned the kitchen after I was certain you were sleeping soundly.” He spins me around and pats my butt. “But I need to make sure you eat a good breakfast. I don’t want you feeling ill again.”

  “I’m fine, but I am famished.” Walking into the kitchen, I’m impressed as to how clean it looks. The floor is once again shiny, the counters all clean. Not one single dish is out; you wouldn’t be able to tell there was flour, eggshells, or oil spilled anywhere.

  I’m instructed to have a seat at the island and not lift a finger to do anything. I do as I’m told. As I watch Aiden whip up Belgium waffles, I can’t help but grin, remembering the sight of him last night. Never in a million years after seeing him in ads or commercials, even on runway shows, would I have thought I’d one day be watching him trying to bake me a wedding cake or make me breakfast. If the world could see this side of him, they would love him even more than they do now. “Hmmm, it smells so good. I’m starving.”

  He sets the plate of waffles in front of me. I pour maple syrup on them and dig in.

  “Oh, sorry baby, I didn’t get you any juice.” Aiden pours a glass and sets that in front of me as well. After a while there isn’t anything left. I clean my plate. “You were really hungry, huh?”

  Cleaning my mouth, I giggle. “Yes, I was. It was really good. Thank you.”

  “Baby, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”

  I help Aiden with the dishes even though he protests the whole time, telling me I should take it easy. “I’m not a porcelain doll. I won’t break.”

  “You are my world, and I will do everything in my power to protect you. Now let’s get showered. We can spend the rest of the day doing whatever you want to.”

  Once in the bathroom, Aiden turns on the water. After he makes sure that it’s the right temperature, he turns to me. “Raise your arms, amore mio, let me take that t-shirt off of you.” He slips it off and caresses every inch of me with his gaze. “Bellissima, you have the body of a goddess. I will spend the rest of my life worshipping it.” As the words leave his lips, I can feel myself tremble. The goosebumps work their way down my back. A moan escapes my mouth as I lick my lips. My breathing becomes rapid. I can feel my heart racing. I lean my head back and let the sensation take its course.

  Aiden starts to kiss my jawline, working his way slowly to my neck and down. He stops at my breast, sucking it. He gently bites my nipple, causing me to moan even louder. “Oh Aiden, that feels so good.”

  When he lifts me up, I wrap my legs around his waist, my arms around his neck. He continues licking and sucking my breast with such force. Again I throw my head back in ecstasy. Walking us into the shower, he pins me against the wall, lifting me up even higher. The strength this man has, it’s as if I don’t weigh anything. He picks me up with no effort at all. His mouth is between my legs, which are now on his shoulders.

  Aiden starts to open my folds with his tongue, finding his way to my clit. His teeth gently pull on it. His tongue is working me as only he can. His hands squeeze my ass.

  My arms are out to my sides against the wall. “Oh yes, yes, you’re going to make me come.” With that, I am spiraling out of control. The orgasm comes in a rush, my entire body trembling as if it controls every cell, every fiber, and every nerve in me.

  “Baby, you taste so sweet.”

  As he lowers me down, I notice that Aiden never got undressed. He walked us into the shower with his shirt and shorts on. “Your clothes are soaking wet.”

  He laughs. “At least I didn’t have my shoes on, not that it would have mattered.”

  I help him out of his wet garments and start to kiss his chest, nibbling and licking my way down. Now it is me who pushes him against the wall. I slide down to take his dick in my hand. With the other hand I grip his ass, digging my nails into him, pulling him as close to me as possible.

  Now it is Aiden who is moaning. He has both his hands on the back of my head, my hair between his fingers. I take him all into the back of my throat. Then I work him in and out, swirling my tongue around him. From the tip of his crown to the base of his big, beautiful cock. I bring up my other hand and start to squeeze his balls. I hear his moans getting louder and feel his thighs tense. A few more thrusts and he is spilling his hot semen into my mouth. I drink it all down, not letting one drop out of my mouth.

  I’m lifted up in one swift move. His mouth finding mine, our tongues do their familiar dance with each other. It’s as if we are both on the edge once again. Aiden spins me around so I face the wall, bends me over, and suddenly he thrusts himself into me. I scream out in pleasure. Aiden grunts through gritted teeth. I feel myself on edge once again. I take one of my arms from where it braced me against the wall and reach around back to grab Aiden’s ass. “I need you deep. I need you now.”

  The power of the orgasm takes over my body. I am trembling from the pure pleasure of it. A few more thrusts and Aiden is shaking as well. “Oh, Alexis, I fucking love you, baby. You feel so good.”

  We both slide down to the floor, panting hard and fast. We stay there for a good while wrapped in each other’s arms. After a few more minutes, I look up at him. “I love you with all my heart.”

  He smiles down at me and says, “You are my heart, my whole heart.”

  Helping one another up, we take turns washing the other’s hair, then bodies. After drying myself off and wrapping a towel around me, I go to comb my hair. Aiden puts his hand out for it and starts to gently glide th
e brush through it for me.

  I close my eyes and tilt my head to the side.

  “Keep doing that and I won’t be able to finish brushing your hair out without getting you in bed again.”

  I open them, smiling at him. “Doing what?”

  “Looking so beautiful and sexy. You’re making me hard again.”

  I can’t help but giggle. “Give me that brush, go get dressed. You said we could do whatever I wanted the rest of the day, right?”

  Walking away, he says with a small chuckle, “And the demands from the wife have started.” He calls out from the closet, “What do you wish to do? How should I dress? Are we staying in or going out?”

  “I thought we could have dinner out with Shannon and Johnny. We could go to Marea for some Italian.”

  “As you wish, my wife.”

  I finish blow drying my hair and go to call Shannon. I haven’t spoken to her since the wedding on Thursday. I hear her laughter as she answers the phone. “Well hello, Mrs. Steffan.”

  We both start laughing. “Cut it out. Hey, we’re going to eat dinner at Marea and would love it if you two could join us.”

  “Yes, give us about an hour. We’ll meet you there.”

  I choose a simple sleeveless green V-neck dress that hugs every inch of my body and black stilettos to go with it. My hair has gotten a bit longer now; it reaches just below my butt. I decided to not straighten it, so it has the natural waves tonight. I’m looking in the mirror when I hear Aiden say, “You will have every eye on you tonight. You are stunning.”

  As I turn to gaze at him, I have to catch my breath. He’s wearing that tailored, dark pinstriped suit he wore on one of our first dates. Only tonight, instead of the red tie, he is wearing a royal purple with a sheen to the fabric. The intensity of the two colors combined leaves me just staring at him. “I can’t wait to take that off of you tonight.”

  A smile comes over his face. “Why wait till tonight? We can cancel our plans; I could pour us a glass of wine. Get cozy in bed.”

  “You are incorrigible, Aiden. We are going out tonight, and we are going to enjoy our time with Shannon and Johnny, understand?”

  “Boy, you have this wife thing down, don’t you?”

  I playfully smack him on the ass as I walk back into my closet.

  “What are you doing, Alexis? It’s time to leave.”

  I say over my shoulder, “I can’t wear this green dress. It doesn’t go with that blue suit at all.” He mutters something in Italian as I’m changing. Then I hear him say, “I really loved that green dress on you.” He’s about to say something else as I walk out of the closet. His eyes get a sparkle to them as he smiles. “Whoa, baby, you look even more breathtaking. Nobody will be able to look away from you.”

  I am wearing a royal purple dress, with long sleeves and low cut in front, putting the girls on just enough of a display. Made of charmeuse, this dress hugs me perfectly, but has a light flow to it.

  As we walk out to the garage, Anthony gives us both a smile. “You make a perfect couple, if I may say so.”

  Chapter 5

  The night air is crisp. As always, the lights of New York seem to be dancing all around us. The leaves in the trees are tinted orange and yellow now. Winter is definitely creeping upon us.

  My phone goes off, alerting me to a text. I open it up and bust out laughing.

  “What’s so funny? Who’s it from?” I show Aiden the text. He starts laughing while reading it.

  Shannon: Hey you two, we are starving, get out of bed and come join us already.

  Anthony pulls up in front of the restaurant, comes around, and opens the door for us. Aiden slides out, holding his hand out for me. Then flashes start going off in our faces.

  “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this.”

  Aiden tries to shield me as much as possible, but there are at least four or five paparazzi taking pictures all at once. One of them is shouting different things at Aiden. “Alexis came back to you! You took her back after she cheated with the other guy!” Then he directs a question at me. “Alexis, how much did Aiden have to beg for you to come back?”

  Aiden releases my hand and charges toward the reporter. Anthony stands in front of him and helps me to usher him into the restaurant. I look over my shoulder once we are inside and see Anthony helping the waiters that have gone out to deal with the paparazzi.

  “Aiden, please try to not let people like that get to you. We know the love that we feel for each other. Everyone else doesn’t matter as long as I know you love me, and you know that I love you, only you.”

  Pulling me close to him, he kisses my forehead, then my nose. “You’re right, baby, I’m sorry.”

  The hostess comes up to us, flashing a big smile and batting her lashes at Aiden. “Your regular table, Mr. Steffan?”

  I tug on his arm. “No, my husband and I are meeting family here. We’ll be requiring a table for four. Thank you.” I bat my lashes at her.

  She seems to stutter as she says, “Yes, of course, this way.” As we follow her, I see Shannon wave at us. I tell her that we see our family and to please send the waitress over to take our drink order. “Very good, as you wish, Madame.”

  When we get to the table, Johnny stands. He and Aiden give each other a brotherly hug. Shannon and I hug as if it has been years since we have seen each other. When we step back, we both have the biggest smiles on our faces. “How is married life treating you?”

  “Oh, she has got the whole wife thing and attitude down. Already telling me what to do and everything.” We all start laughing.

  “Good for you, Alexis. Show my big brother that you are boss.”

  “Yes, well, wait till you two are married and Shannon is telling you what to do. See how you like it.” I give Aiden a look. “Baby, not that I mind in the least for you to tell me what to do.”

  We sit down. Aiden pulls me close to him, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. The waiter comes and takes our order. Johnny asks him to bring us the best bottle of wine they have. Aiden says, “Make it a bottle of Amarone, please.”

  “As always, a very good choice, sir.”

  After he walks away, Shannon reaches across the table for my hands. “You look good, Lexie. You’re being good to my sister, right, Aiden?”

  “He is being very good to me.” I lean over to give him a kiss on the cheek, but he turns and we kiss on the mouth.

  We start talking about the wedding. “Alexis, I think we should have a Valentine’s Day wedding. It is the day to celebrate love, after all.”

  I look over at Aiden in shock. “But Valentine’s is in February. That’s only a little over two months away. I can’t plan a huge wedding in two months—that would take a miracle.”

  “Amore mio, you won’t have to do everything all alone. My mother and sister will help you, as I am sure that Shannon will help as well.”

  Shannon winks at me. “Yes, we got this. Aiden, I will help give you and Lexie the biggest wedding New York has ever seen.”

  “Amore mio, I would like us to get married in Italy. There is this historic church that my family has belonged to ever since I can remember. I’m sure my parents would love it if their oldest son were to have his wedding there.” I can see how important this is to him. Johnny is wearing the same expression.

  I smile and say, “I guess we are having the biggest wedding Italy has ever seen.”

  Shannon gives a small yelp. “Yes! I haven’t been to Italy in a long time. Exactly where in Italy is it, Aiden?”

  Still looking at me, he answers her with a huge grin. “Tuscany.”

  “I’ve never been to Tuscany, let alone Italy.”

  “My parents should be here in New York at the end of the week. They are anxious to meet their new daughter, as is my sister Ysabel.” A knot develops in the pit of my stomach. The thought of meeting Aiden’s mom and dad has me nervous all of a sudden. Of course, I knew it was going to happen—I mean, without a doubt they would want to meet the new dau
ghter-in-law.

  “Shannon, do you have any aspirin? I have a splitting headache.”

  “Are you okay, my love?” Aiden caresses my face. “You don’t seem to have a fever. Is it the same as the other night?”

  “I’m fine. It’s probably just all the excitement of the wedding and meeting your parents.”

  Johnny chimes in. “Our parents and sister will love you, Alexis, just as we do.”

  The food arrives, and everyone begins eating. The dinner is delicious, but I can’t eat much with my head wanting to explode on me—that’s what it feels like. I don’t want to worry anyone about how bad I really feel, so for tonight I’ll just play it off. Shannon seems to have a hundred ideas for the flowers, the table settings, and the gifts for all the people in the wedding party. She’s even planning the bridal shower already. “What colors have you two chosen for the wedding?”

  Looking over at them all, I shrug and shake my head a bit. “Oh god, to be honest, we haven’t even thought or talked about it.”

  “Well, you two need to decide. With less than two months till the wedding date, we need to hurry. Hold on, I’ll be right back.” Shannon gets up and walks toward the hostess. We all stare at her, not knowing what she’s up to. Upon her return, she has a pad and pen in hand.

  Johnny laughs and says, “Are you taking our orders for dessert now?”

  “Oh, are you trying your hand at being a comedian?” She playfully slaps his arm, then opens the pad. “Let’s do this. First, what colors do you see for the wedding?”

  I tilt my head to the side, letting out a deep sigh. “Well, my favorite color is purple, but it would have to be a light shade of it. Nothing too dark. Is that color fine with you, Aiden?”

  “Baby, whatever you want is fine with me. This is your special day.” He brings my hand up to his lips, with which he gently brushes each finger.

  “It’s our special day. You are just as big a part of this as I am.”

  “Okay, you two, stop with all the mushy stuff for now. We have a wedding to plan here.” Johnny laughs. “I think we’re going to need another bottle of wine. Looks like we’ll be here awhile.”