Aiden hadn’t slept well. For the first ti in what felt like ages, his usually dreamless rest had been plagued by disjointed nightmares—flashes of things going horribly wrong. His instincts, honed over years of navigating uncertainty, were screaming that sothing wasn’t right and might go horribly wrong. That unease stayed with him, as the hours of the night crawled by making him unable to sleep.
He didn’t know if these mightmares were a result of anxiety because of Ella and his father or sothing else entirely. Sothing, a niggling doubt, seed to remind him that he was missing sothing. But he could not rember what that was.
And then, when he sensed soone entering his room just before dawn, every nerve in his body went taut and once again, he forgot his niggling doubts. He didn’t move but remained perfectly still, his breathing slow and asured, as he prepared himself for whatever—or whoever—might dare to co in,
The sound of soft, deliberate footsteps reached his ears, each step bringing the intruder closer to his bed. His muscles coiled, ready to spring into action. But then, sothing gave him pause—a faint, familiar scent carried on the air, a whiff that made his tension falter.
His eyes snapped open just as a delicate hand reached out toward his face. Moving with practiced speed, he caught the wrist in his grip, firm yet careful, and pulled the figure down onto the bed in one smooth motion. The soft gasp that followed told him all he needed to know. She landed with her back pressed against him, and in the sa instant, he tugged the blanket over them both, cocooning her in his hold.
Relief washed over him like a balm, soothing the jagged edges of his restless night. He buried his face in the curve of her neck, inhaling deeply, grounding himself in her presence. The tension that had gripped him so tightly began to ebb away as he murmured, his voice rough with sleep and lingering worry, "You’re back early."
Serena tilted her head slightly, her lips curving into a smile as she adjusted herself, pressing closer to the warmth of his embrace. "Why are you awake so early?" she asked softly. "I thought I would surprise you in the morning."
Aiden’s arms tightened slightly around her, a hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips despite the lingering fatigue in his eyes. "You have a lot of surprises for ," he murmured, his voice low and gravelly from sleep.
Serena chuckled softly, her breath brushing against his skin as she nodded. "Hmm," she mused, her tone teasing yet affectionate. "But I’ll tell you what—I won’t make you wait anymore." Her fingers traced idle patterns along the back of his hand, adding weight to her next words. "I’ve already had Assistant An clear your schedule for today."
"You have?" he asked, his voice laced with a mixture of disbelief and amusent. "So," he said, drawing out the word playfully, "I’m officially at your rcy all day today."
Serena giggled, "You sound awfully pleased about that," her tone carrying a note of mock suspicion.
"I am pleased to be at your rcy all my life." Aiden murmured with a smile.
Serena giggled, her tone carrying a note of mock suspicion. "You sound awfully pleased about that," she teased.
"I am pleased to be at your rcy all my life," Aiden murmured with a smile, his eyes twinkling in the dim light of the room as he tried to nuzzle even more closer to her. He would simply rge into her if he could...
Serena thought for a mont and felt his clinginess. It didn’t take her long to realise that he was probably worried about sothing. So she thought carefully for a mont. Then a mischievous glint sparkled in her eyes and she jumped out of his arms and stood up, pulling him with her. "We should leave right away," she declared, tugging gently at his hand.
Aiden followed her tugging without hesitation, rising slowly from the bed, his movents smooth despite his weariness. "At least let get dressed first," he suggested, raising an eyebrow.
She gave him a thorough once-over, her gaze lingering on his bare arms a mont longer than necessary. A slow grin spread across her face as she patted his biceps gently, her touch light yet teasing. "Since you’re at my rcy today," she said, her voice low and playful, "I like you like this."
Aiden couldn’t help but laugh. He could literally feel his nightmare slipping away as he walked to her and hugged her, placing his chin on her shoulder. "You’re impossible," he murmured.
"Exactly why you are crazy about ," she whispered with a smile as she leaned back against him." Let’s go, Aiden Hawk. I’ll bring you back a ’taken’ man. We need to elope."
He blinked, montarily caught off guard by her bold declaration, before bursting into another laugh. "Elope? I thought you were going to propose to .." he repeated, arching an eyebrow, his arms tightening around her.
"Yes yes. I am. But we still need to elope. We’ll just not get married. Live scandalously without marriage and all that. Ruin your reputation so that no one else will marry you..."
Aiden grinned and extended his hand even as his lips twitched, threatening to break out into laughter," Okay then. I am all in favour of ruining thoroughly as long as you promise to take in."
And then, giggling like teenagers, the two people sneaked out of the large house like little thiefs.
Serena pressed a finger to her lips, signaling for silence as they walked down the path, but her efforts were undone by her own laughter when Aiden purposefully exaggerated a tiptoe walk behind her.
"Stop it," she whispered through her giggles, swatting playfully at him.
"You’re the one dragging into this, rember?" he whispered back, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he looked back at the house one last ti, thankful for this unplanned rescue.
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