Too Late Mr. White! I'm Married To Your Rival Now novel Chapter 288

Aria's POV

Darkness cradled us both, our mingled breaths the only sound between us. Time stretched and contracted until my lips felt parched from our earlier heated exchange.

God, I needed water.

I shifted slightly against Aiden's solid frame beneath me, instantly feeling him tense.

"Baby," he groaned, his voice husky with restraint. "What's wrong?"

I heard the unspoken warning in his tone—if I kept squirming against him like this, his impressive self-control would snap.

"I'm thirsty," I whispered, feeling the vibration of his chest as he let out a low chuckle.

Aiden patted my back gently, signaling me to move. I rolled off him reluctantly, my body still tingling from where we'd been pressed together. He sat up and switched on the bedside lamp, bathing our bedroom in a soft golden glow.

"I'll get you some water," he said, sliding out of bed.

The mattress rose as his weight left it, and I sat up, pressing my palms against my flushed cheeks. My heart still pounded like I'd run a marathon—all from just making out with him. The things this man did to me...

Footsteps approached, and Aiden reappeared in the doorway, water glass in hand. My eyes drifted over his broad shoulders and the defined muscles of his chest. Even after all this time, the sight of him still made my mouth go dry for reasons completely unrelated to actual thirst.

"Here," he said, extending the glass to me.

Our fingers brushed during the exchange, sending a tiny jolt through my system. I took several long sips, feeling his eyes on me the entire time. When I glanced up, his gaze had darkened again.

"Want more?" he asked, his voice deeper than before.

I shook my head, setting the half-empty glass on the nightstand. "I'm tired now," I admitted, feeling the day's events suddenly catching up to me.

Aiden's lips curved into that smile that always made my stomach flip. "Sleep then. I'm turning off the light."

Darkness enveloped us again as I slid under the thin sheet. The mattress dipped beside me as Aiden settled in, his familiar cedar and sandalwood scent wrapping around me like an invisible embrace. I gravitated toward his warmth, my eyelids growing heavier by the second.

As consciousness slipped away, my last thought was wondering why Lillian hadn't texted me back yet.

The hospital parking layout confused me. I wandered around trying to find my way, eventually emerging through what turned out to be the outpatient clinic entrance rather than the inpatient wing I needed. I'd just gotten my bearings and figured out which direction to head when I spotted a familiar face.

"Aria," Owen Duncan said, his hazel eyes flickering with recognition as he spotted me.

I glanced at Vivian standing beside him and simply nodded back. "Owen."

"Are you feeling unwell?" he asked, his voice carrying that perfectly practiced concern that never quite reached his eyes.

"No, my father's been admitted," I replied, the weight of those words sitting heavy on my chest.

I didn't know Owen well enough for a lengthy conversation, so after exchanging a few obligatory pleasantries, we parted ways. As I walked toward the inpatient building, my phone buzzed again - probably Aiden checking in. I smiled despite myself, wondering how the man who once intimidated half of Manhattan's business elite had become the person who texted to make sure I'd eaten lunch.

My thoughts drifted back to last night, heat rising to my cheeks as flashes of our bathroom encounter replayed in my mind. I'd never been with anyone who could read my body like Aiden did - who knew exactly when to be gentle and when I needed something else entirely.

I pushed those thoughts aside as I approached the hospital entrance. Dad needed me focused right now, not daydreaming about my husband's particularly talented hands.