Blame It On The Carols (Sugarplum Falls #6)

Eleven | Aiden

Eleven

Aiden

“T his is the guest room , but as you can see, it’s not set up for guests,” I said with a heavy sigh, ignoring how my body felt having Makayla in such close proximity. The room was packed full of boxes that I had recently moved in while clearing out the garage.

“That’s okay. I can sleep on the couch,” she said as if she had a choice.

“I don’t think so.” I placed my hand on her lower back and guided her down the hallway to the master bedroom at the end. “You’ll be staying in my room with me.”

“No, I won’t.”

She turned to walk off instead of going into the room. I knew she was stubborn, but this was a new level, even for her.

“Yes, you will.” I tried pushing her in as gently as I could, but when she wouldn’t stop resisting, I had enough and tossed her over my shoulder before depositing her on the bed.

“Aiden!” she shrieked, eyes wide and mixed with a combination of shock and arousal. “You can’t just manhandle me like that.”

“I can if you’re not going to do what I say.”

“And since when are you the boss of me?” She sat in the middle of the bed with her hands planted firmly on her hips.

“Since I found out you have an obsessed stalker, Makayla. How do you think I’m going to protect you if you’re in the living room, sleeping on my couch?”

She worried her lower lip between her teeth as she stared at me.

“Well, obviously, they would have to break in, and you would hear that,” she answered with a soft shrug.

“Wrong. If this guy is as good as Curtis says, I’m not taking any chances. And you shouldn’t either, Makayla. Do you have some sort of death wish or something?”

“No. Why would you say that?”

“Because you’re making it awfully hard to protect you when you’re fighting me on everything.”

She lowered her head and sighed heavily, her chest rising and falling with the motion.

“If I don’t fight you, then that means I’m letting my guard down, and I can’t do that.”

“And why not?” I stepped closer to the bed, needing to be next to her.

“Because if I let my guard down, I’ll fall in love again. Neither of us needs that to happen.”

I nodded as the air rushed out of me. She looked so beautiful sitting on my bed, almost as if she belonged there.

“Well, I guess it’s too late for that because I never stopped loving you.”

I could hear the blood rushing in my ears as my heart beat wildly in my chest.

Did I just tell Makayla I still loved her?

Her head whipped up and cocked to the side, studying me as if she expected me to tell her it was some sort of joke. But it was anything but that.

“You love me?”

“Always have. Always will.” I shoved my hands into my pockets to keep from reaching out to touch her.

“Aiden,” she whispered, shaking her head. “You’re not supposed to be in love with me.”

“Yeah, well, try telling that to my heart.”

She looked up at me with a mix of emotions on her face that made my heart flutter.

“Why don’t I show you the rest of the house?” I offered, hoping to change the subject before things got even more awkward between us.

She nodded and climbed off the bed, seeming even more unsure about staying with me. I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable by telling her I loved her. Hell, I didn’t even mean to tell her. But I needed her to know that she meant the world to me, and I wasn’t lying when I told Curtis that I would die protecting her.

I gave her a quick tour of the house and then got lunch started while she waited for her mom to come by to drop off her stuff. Jackie had taken care of alerting those in town who would be essential in keeping Makayla safe—which meant she told those who could actually do something and not those who would just sit around and gossip about it.

My mind had been a jumbled mess from the moment I saw her the other night, but now it was like everything had been cleared, and there was only one goal I needed to focus on—keeping the woman I loved safe from harm.