Page 73 of Aaron's Patience

“I’m not backing down, Aaron.” She dropped her hands as I took another step her way. “Kennedy wants this. You had no problem with Kyle’s costume.”

“Kyle’s costume covers him. My five year old daughter will not be out trick-or-treating in a costume that was designed by nerdy, middle-aged men to ogle a woman’s body!” I seethed.

“She’ll be wearing tights and we can get her to wear a cape, like in the movie.” Her voice was still full of resolve but it had softened just a little bit.

I ground my teeth, mulling over her words. I hated compromising. On anything. It was a sign of weakness.

“Please.”

“You’re still angry I forced your hand into this marriage?”

Her eyes blinked, a V deepening on her forehead. “Where’d that come from?”

“You just said it.”

“I didn’t–”

“You said I didn’t give you a choice in this marriage.”

She sighed, looking down and away from me. “Youdidn’tgive me a choice. It was either marry you or lose my children.”

“Ourchildren,” I corrected.

I should’ve felt some type of guilt or remorse but I didn’t. “You don’t enjoy your life here…with me?”

Another force of air from her lips. She shook her head. “Aaron, don’t do that.”

“Ask for your honesty?”

“Yes, you always ask formyhonesty,mytruth but never tell me yours.”

“I never tell you the truth?”

“When it suits you. You’ve never given me the full story–” She held up her hands. “No, we’re not doing this right now. This is about Kennedy being able to wear the costume she wants.”

“She’ll wear it with tightsanda cape. A very long cape.”

“Fine.”

She waited, hesitated, to turn from me. I knew she wanted me to shed light on the events of our past. I knew that’s what Emma had meant when she said Patience and I had so much further to go to get to the place we deserved. Patience wanted me to explain Alicia, my ex-fiancée. The one who’d shown up on her doorstep as we’d slept in her bed, after yet another night of pleasuring one another into the wee hours of the morning. But I had no explanation. Not yet.

“I’m going to bed,” Patience informed, giving me one last look before turning and heading out of my office.

I watched her back until the door closed behind her. Picking out a bottle of water from the fridge, I opened the cabinet doors that held the TV monitors connected to the security cameras. I turned them on just in time to see Patience moving up the stairs then down the hall to our bedroom. I surveilled the monitors while she climbed into bed and pulled her Kindle out from the nightstand next to her side and began reading. I stared intently for some time, the contentment of just knowing she was mine was all I needed for the night.

Shutting the monitors off, I turned to the computer on my desk to finish up some work before I headed upstairs to bed myself.

Chapter Twenty-One

Aaron

“No! Stop! Please!”

I roused out of my sleep, anxious, every muscle in my body tensing, ready to fight.

“Stop! Stop!” came more shrieks from the woman lying beside me.

I reached up, turning on the bed’s overhead light. I glanced down to see Patience squirming in bed, her eyes tightly shut, but cries and pleas still pouring from her mouth. I relaxed but only a little at realizing she was just having a bad dream. Slowly, I turned to her, pressing a hand to her shoulder.