Smiling, I approach them. "So early?" I ask Luke.
It's unusual that he's home this early—it’s not even evening yet. That's so rare for a busy businessman like him.
He shrugs. "Had I stayed in the office longer, I wouldn't have had the chance to play withmy wifeand..." He turns to Aiden. "Our little Aiden!" he growls, attacking Aiden with tickles too, making the boy burst into laughter again.
I giggle, watching them with adoration, ignoring the strange feelings I have from hearing his words just now.
"Our little Aiden."
It doesn't mean that Aiden is our son—it means that Aiden is someone we both cherish. But somehow, I can't help but feel strange.
"So, who's the demon now?" I ask them, knowing that it's Aiden's turn to be the demon, but Luke has just arrived and declared himself as one.
"Me!" Aiden exclaims.
"Alright, demon, let's start the count," Luke says as if he's a soldier on a battlefield.
Aiden covers his eyes with his tiny hands and starts counting. Before I know it, Luke has already rushed out to God knows where.
Damn. He's hella excited about this game—I find it funny, though.
I snap my head around, looking for a place to hide. Unfortunately, there's nothing in this living room that can hide my body.
The thought of losing to Luke fuels me to look for another place to hide. It's indeed funny that even though this is just a game, losing to him would hurt my pride.
Damn. I feel like a kid.
Stepping out of the living room, I totter along the hallway, Aiden's voice fading out. I come to a halt when I notice a door to a guest washroom that's slightly opened.
Without thinking further, I slip in.
Just as I step in, I bump into someone's chest. Shocked, I look up and find Luke hiding here too. I'm about to step out, but Luke grabs my hand, putting his finger on his mouth, telling me to keep quiet.
I gulp as he pushes the door until it's almost closed. The place is too small for the two of us—it's just a square space with a sink and another door leading to the toilet.
I can feel his breath as he corners me, my back pushed against the wall.
Silence falls, and I close my eyes, secretly hoping that Aiden is smart enough to find us soon. I snap my eyes open when I feel Luke moving my hair from my neck.
Oh, God, it’s happening again.
A frown touches his lips as he stares at one hickey. "I see that you were trying to cover it with your hair," he whispers.
The hickeys are fading out, but they're not completely gone. However, it's too hot to wear a turtleneck during the day, so I'm wearing a shirt dress instead, hiding one hickey on my neck under the collar, covering it with my hair too.
Luke leans closer and breathes on my neck, sending chills through my body. To my surprise, he begins unbuttoning my shirt dress.
What is he doing? Is he going to inspect all of his marks?
"Luke?" I’m aware of what’s going on, but just like before, my mind is far away from stopping what’s going to happen.
Before I know it, Luke has already unbuttoned my shirt dress until my bra is exposed.
He stares at my skin, at all the marks he has created on me. My heart almost stops when he places a soft kiss on one of them.
"Does it still hurt?" he whispers again, so softly.
No, it doesn't hurt anymore.
