Baby

Chapter 16

Whenever
The moon shines in the sky,
When the rain falls hard upon the road,
When the sun is warm and bright,
When the dew-glints on the grass that is freshly mowed,
Whatever the day, the time, the mood,
I think about how much I love you
-unknown

I giggle as Sammy pretends to drive his car off the table. He lands the truck on the floor, then rolls it around on the ground, making car sounds with his mouth.

I startle when I hear a woman's voice behind me: "Hi, I'm Beatrice." Sammy jumps, puts down his truck, and stands up. "Mama," he says, wrapping his arms around her legs. She chuckles as she lifts him up onto her hip, rubbing his back.

"It's nice to meet you," I tell her, standing up as well. She looks up at Sammy, smiling at me. "Sammy seems to really like you," she says as Sammy reaches his arms out to me for me to hold him. I smile as she passes him to me. Sammy rests his head on my shoulder, rubbing his eyes with his little hands.

"It's just about his nap time," she says, looking at her wrist watch. I nodded, going to hand him back to her, but he whined, gripping me and causing Beatrice to chuckle. I walk over to the couch, sitting down, as Sammy falls asleep on my shoulder.

Beatrice takes a seat beside me, smiling at me. "So how do you like living here?" she asks me. I smile at her as I rub Sammy's back. "I love living here with Aries," I tell her. She nods. "Yeah, he seems to really care about you," she tells me, causing my face to turn red as I blush. She smirks at me with a knowing look, about to say something when Aries comes back in.

He walks over to us, glancing down at me and Sammy with a weird look in his eyes. Leaning down, he kisses me on the lips. "Are you ready to head back?" He asks, glancing over at Beatrice. I nod slowly, standing, trying not to wake Sammy as I pass him back to his mama.

We say our goodbyes, then head over. As we are walking out the door, I notice one of the Aries men is following us back. I look at the man, confused, and move closer to Aries. I tug on his to get his attention. He stops walking and turns to me, causing the man behind us to also stop. I glance at him again before turning to Aries.

"He's following us," I whisper to him, confused. Aries chuckles at me, rubbing my hand. "Yes, I know, this is Stone; he is going to be guarding you until we catch this guy," he informs me gently. I glance at the man again, taking in his large figure and blank stone face, realizing that must be where he got his name from. I nod as we continue walking to the apartment, with Stone following.

When we reach the apartment, Stone stays outside the door, not following us in. Aries closes the door behind us. As we step inside, I turn to him and ask, "Why didn't he come in?" I ask him curiously. "He has to stand guard outside to make sure no one gets in," he tells me. I nod in understanding as we take a seat on the couch.

He suddenly pulls me into his lap, sideways, wrapping his arms around me. "So what do you want to do? I'm yours for the rest of the day," he tells me as I trace the tattoos that travel down his arms onto his hands. I turn to him, smiling, as I think of an excellent idea. Hopping up from his lap, I run into my room and grab the pack of pink nail polishes Viola gave me.

I run back into the living room and sit back down on his lap. In the same position as before. I hold up the nail polish pack, smiling brightly at him. He immediately shakes his head rapidly. "Oh no, there is no way you are painting my nails," he says.

I frown at him, pouting, "Please, Aries." I beg him with sad eyes. He groans, causing me to giggle excitedly, knowing I won and he was going to let me open the pack. I turn around in his lap to straddle him, causing my skirt to spread and my legs to rise up, almost revealing my panties.

His eyes snap down to between my legs, flaring as he brings his hands down, grabbing both of my thighs and rubbing them. I reach down and grab one of his hands, setting it on top of my skirt as I open up the bright pink nail polish.

I began painting his nails, running the brush along them as he sat, still grumbling under his breath. Once I finished his first hand, I brought his finger to my lips, blowing softly on each one, causing him to groan. I glance up at him through my eyelashes as he looks at me with heavy-lidded eyes.

I slowly bring his hand down, carefully placing it back onto my thigh, being careful not to let it smear as it dries. I pick up his neck, ignoring the bump I feel underneath me. I take my time painting his nails, enjoying the closeness between us, before I finish with that one and place it back down onto my other thigh.

"There, I'm done," I announce, putting the lid back on the nail polish bottle before setting it on the side table. Aries glances away from me, looking down at his name and grumbling again about the guys teasing him. I frown down at him. "Don't you like them?" I ask, a little sad that he doesn't like them. His eyes snap back to me in panic. "No, Baby, of course I do," he reassures me, pecking me on the lips.

I give him a small smile but still feel sad for another reason. Aries watches me, confused. "What's the matter?" He asks me softly. I pick at my own nails nervously, glancing up at him, hesitating. I begin to tell him, "Well, it's just..." I stop huffing. "Never mind, it's nothing," I tell him, beginning to climb off his lap.

He frowns, grabbing onto my thighs and pulling me back to stay straddling him. I quickly grab his hand to see if he messed up his nails, which he luckily didn't, before placing them back onto my thighs. "It's obviously not nothing if it's making you sad," he says, rubbing my thighs.

I frown, thinking it over again before nodding. "Well, it's just meeting Sammy and Beatrice and seeing her with him that made me realize that..." I pause again, struggling to tell Aries. He nods to me, waiting patiently for me to finish. I look up at him, taking a deep breath before letting it out and blurting out what I've been trying to say.

"I want to talk to my mama."

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