“Two days ago?” I echoed softly, more than a little stunned that Will hadn’t mentioned his confrontation with my brother since we spent all our time together when we weren’t working.
“Yeah, but don't worry. Will handled Knox like a pro,” Belle reassured me. “From what our big brother told me, it sounded like Will didn't even blink when Knox threatened to tear him limb from limb.”
“Who knew that the eyeglass-wearing lawyer wouldn't back down from the big lug?” Ariel mused with an impressed smile.
My cheeks warmed as I thought about Will’s take-charge attitude in bed. At first, it had surprised—and thrilled—me. Considering his alpha ways, I wasn’t too shocked that he held his own with my overbearing brother. “When it comes to Will, you definitely can't judge the book by its cover.”
“It sounds like you mean more than just the tattoos,” Ariel replied slyly.
Belle clapped her hands together. “Yes, do tell! And don’t skimp on any of the dirty details.”
“Yeah…” I leaned forward and paused just long enough to let them think I was seriously considering telling them about my sex life. “Nope.”
“Awww, c’mon,” Ariel complained, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling belligerently. “You’re our big sister. Isn’t it your responsibility to talk to us about the birds and the bees?”
“Nice try,” I snorted. “Not only was I there when Mom gave you the sex talk, but I’m also one thousand percent sure that the last thing either of you need is a refresher talk. You have men of your own who’ve more than aptly demonstrated waaaay more about sex than I would’ve covered talking to you about it. Or at least it seems that way, judging by how they can’t keep their hands off you even when I’m around and making gagging noises about it.”
“She’s not wrong,” Belle agreed with a pointed look at Ariel’s belly. “Since you’re already knocked up and all.”
“Like you have room to talk,” Ariel huffed. “Griffith didn’t exactly wait to get you pregnant, either.”
I flashed my sisters a smug grin. “There you go. You’ve both proved me right.”
“You’re no fun,” Ariel grumbled as she slouched down in her seat.
“I have to disagree with you about that.” At the sound of the deep, sexy voice, my sisters twisted in their seats while I glanced over their shoulders. Will was leaning against my doorway, holding a brown paper bag in one hand and a tray with two fountain drinks in the other. “I always have fun when I’m with Aurora.”
“Oh, I’m sure you do,” Ariel snickered.
Belle stood and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring daggers at Will. “You’d better not be implying that the only thing Aurora is good for is a bit of fun in the sack.”
“Yeah,” Ariel agreed, her smile wiping clean from her face as she jumped up to stand next to Belle. “What’re your intentions toward our sister?”
I stood so I could see around the wall they’d created. But Will just strode across the room, walking past my sisters to set the bag and tray on my desk before rounding it to come to my side. He wrapped his arm around me and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Hey, baby. I was hoping you weren’t too busy to take a break and have lunch with me.”
“Nope.” I gestured at my sisters. “These two aren’t even supposed to be here right now.”
“Great,” Will murmured before he kissed me as though he hadn’t seen me just that morning.
Belle cleared her throat, and when we drew back from each other, she waved. “Um, hello. We’re standing right here.”
“And we asked an important question that you haven’t answered yet,” Ariel snipped.
Will stepped to my side and scowled at my sisters. “Because it’s fucking ridiculous to think that the only reason I’d be into Aurora is for sex,” Will muttered, his hand fisting at my hip. “I’m in this for the long haul—love, marriage, and baby carriages; the whole shebang.”
“Marriage?” I echoed softly, staring up at him in shock. I didn’t want to address the “love” part of his statement with my sisters standing right there.
“Damn straight, marriage,” he repeated, shifting his stance so we stood chest to chest. “Where did you think this was headed? We’ve been having unprotected sex since our first time together. You could already be pregnant.”
“I think that’s our cue to give them some privacy,” Belle whispered. My gaze didn’t leave Will’s, but I heard the door shut behind my sisters after they left.
“I don’t know.” I shook my head, my mind reeling. “I guess I didn’t think you’d want to get married since you spend your days helping people get divorced.”
“Of course, I want to marry you, Aurora.” He cupped my face with his palms. “If anything, all the years of watching marriages fall apart have taught me every lesson there is on how to make one work. My intention has never been to break people up, but rather to make a potentially volatile situation happen as calmly as possible. Especially when kids were involved.” Will’s eyes darkened with anguish. He exhaled slowly and touched his forehead to mine. “I have always been a firm believer in marriage. And the one thing I know for certain is that it will only work if you find the right person.”
Pulling back, he grinned at me, the smile reaching his eyes. “Besides, I’ve been doing my best to fuck my baby into you, and I haven’t exactly been hiding it. Did you really think all this time that I wanted you for my baby mama and not my wife?”
I shrugged my shoulders, cursing my fair skin as I felt it heat in embarrassment. When he put it that way, I should’ve considered he’d want to get married at some point. “I didn’t really think about the future as much as I probably should’ve. I was just enjoying what we have now. And it’s hard to think straight when you’re naked. Which is pretty much any time we aren’t at work lately.”
He chuckled and smiled. But just as fast as it had appeared, the happy expression slid off his face. “Wait.” His head reared back, and his eyes filled with a possessive gleam. “Did you not question it or push for more from me because you don’t want to get married?”
“No, I do want to get married.” I gripped his arms as though I was afraid he would run away.
“Good.” He nodded his head and pulled me close. “Then it’s settled. Tell me when and where you want to do it, and we’ll get married. Just make it sooner rather than later.”
I took a step back to glare up at him. “Um, how about, no?”
He glared right back at me. “What do you mean, no?”
I planted my hands firmly on my hips. “First of all, I’ve been dreaming about my wedding ever since I was a little girl. When I get married, I’m going to take as much time as I need to plan the whole thing. The ceremony and reception will have all the bells and whistles, and my groom will be happy about it because he’ll want me to have my dream wedding.”
“The only groom you’re ever going to have is me,” he growled, yanking me flush against his chest.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “And the only way that’s going to happen is if I get a real proposal after you’ve put some thought into asking me to marry you instead of a spur-of-the-moment decision because my sisters backed you into a corner.”
“Let me get this straight.” He grinned down at me. “What you’re saying is that all I have to do to get you to agree to marry me is prove that the idea is all my own and come up with a romantic way to pop the question?”
I nodded, the gleam of satisfaction in his green eyes making me a little nervous.
“I don’t think the bar is set as high as you think it is, baby. But consider your challenge accepted anyway.”
10
Will
If Aurora wanted to be swept off her feet, I had absolutely no problem making her dreams come true. By becoming my wife and the mother of my children, she was doing the same for me.
It would take a few days for her ring to arrive since it was being custom made, so I spent the time putting everything in place for the perfect pr
oposal. When the day finally arrived, everything had been checked and checked again.
I started by waking her up with a breakfast of pancakes with fresh strawberries and cream. Quietly, I placed the tray on my side of the bed, then went back around to sit near her sleeping form. Leaning down, I brushed a soft kiss over her lips and whispered, “Aurora, baby, wake up.”
She stirred, and a sweet smile graced her face as she stretched out her body. The blankets dipped low, exposing her perfect breasts, and I had to shake my head to clear away the fog of lust threatening to distract me.
“I brought breakfast,” I said, returning her smile as I helped her sit up. She scooted back to lean against the headboard, and when I pulled the sheet up to cover her, she quirked an eyebrow in question. “I’m only so strong, baby, and I want you to eat your breakfast, not become mine.” She opened her mouth to speak, and I covered it with my hand. “We don’t have time this morning. We have to leave for work in half an hour, and I’m not going to rush when I’m feasting on your delicious body.”
Aurora’s eyes heated, but she nodded, so I removed my hand. I carefully lifted the tray of food and set it on her lap. She looked at the spread with delight and let out a little moan before licking her lips. It was absolute torture, and my body was screaming at me to discard all my plans and spend the day in bed worshipping my woman.
I cleared my throat and stood, trying to think about anything that would take the edge off the desire clawing at me. A gagging sound had me whipping around to see Aurora bent over the tray, spitting out the food in her mouth. I rushed over and lifted her face to mine. “Aurora? What’s wrong, baby?” Since it was too early to know if she was pregnant, worry creeped in.
“I think the strawberries went bad,” she croaked before taking a big swig of the coffee sitting on her tray.
I glanced down at the red, gooey stuff slathered over the fluffy, golden pancakes. Since it was like a strawberry glaze, it would’ve been easy to miss if the strawberries were mushy with over ripeness. A sigh escaped my lips as I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. It certainly wasn’t the start I had envisioned for the day.
Aurora giggled, and I glanced down at her twinkling blue eyes. It was impossible to fight my answering smile when she looked at me like that. I kissed her forehead and shook my head ruefully. “Sorry, baby. We’ll get breakfast on the way to work.”
She trailed a finger down my bare chest and eyed me slyly. “Now that we don’t have breakfast taking up our time…” I grabbed her hand before she could go any lower and gave her a mock glare.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you only want me for my body,” I said with a huff. Aurora laughed boisterously and smacked a kiss on my lips.
Then she winked at me. “It certainly doesn’t hurt your cause.”
I barked out a laugh and playfully tugged her from the bed. “Let’s go, beautiful.”
With a pat to her juicy ass, I urged her toward the bathroom. It took a monumental feat of strength to ignore her “come hither” look as she sashayed toward the shower. When I remained firm, her face drooped into an adorable pout, making me laugh as I hastily left the room to escape temptation. The day was already off to a rocky start, but it wouldn’t ruin everything else I had planned.
“What a beautiful day,” Aurora sighed as she laid her head back and turned her face up to the sun. With the top of my convertible down, the wind blew her golden locks wildly around her. Rather than complaining and trying to keep her hair away, she just laughed and tossed on her sunglasses. I loved how relaxed she had become with me. She seemed to shed the persona she constantly wore around others and was just herself with me.
Aurora was forever taking on the role of parent with her sisters and the demanding job of running the chapel. Her sisters worked just as hard and were brilliant in their roles, but it was Aurora who truly dealt with the stresses and demands that came with the business side of things. When I’d casually tried to bring up hiring help so she could take some much-needed breaks, she’d balked and refused to consider the idea. However, after thoroughly seducing her and driving home (double entendre intended) the idea of a blissful vacation where we had nothing to do besides each other…she became much more amenable to the idea.
As far as Aurora knew, we were headed to work, but I’d asked Belle and Ariel to take over the chapel duties and wedding for the day. Since breakfast had been a bust, I decided to take her to a little diner she loved on the Strip. I’d make it up to her with the special lunch I had planned.
We were a few minutes from the main Vegas drag when a loud pop sounded, and the car swerved dangerously. I managed to keep control of the vehicle and pull to the shoulder of the road. We came to a sudden stop, and I immediately turned to Aurora to make sure she hadn’t been injured. Her blue eyes were wide with shock, but I couldn’t see any visible signs of damage. My heart had dropped into my stomach and fear squeezed at my throat until I ran my hands over her—ignoring her protests—and decided she was unhurt.
I stepped out of the car and exhaled harshly at the sight of my shredded front tire. “Fuck,” I whispered under my breath when what I wanted was to shout in frustration at this second unexpected and seriously ill-timed interruption of my plans. Silently seething, I stomped to the trunk to retrieve the spare. Aurora chuckled as she scooted to my side of the car and exited.
“Relax, baby,” I told her. “I’ll take care of this.”
She raised a brow and narrowed her eyes at me. “I know how to change a tire, Will. Knox made sure all his sisters could take care of themselves.”
I dropped the tire and closed the distance between us, snaking my arm around her waist and pulling her close. “I have no doubt you could handle this, baby, but how about you let your man play the hero for his woman?” I finished my question with a wink, and it had the desired effect when she laughed.
“By all means, Superman, impress me.”
I grinned, feeling much less frustrated at the circumstances and quickly replaced the ruined tire with the spare. Unfortunately, the task was a grimy one, and my clothes and hands ended up streaked with oil and dirt. I was going to need a shower because I refused to romance my girl in my current condition.
“I need to clean up, and we’re closer to my office than home,” I stated once I was back in the driver’s seat and restarting the car.
“No problem. You can just drop me at work.”
I shook my head, and after pulling back out on to the road, I took ahold of her hand. “I owe you breakfast.”
She checked her watch and sighed with resignation. “I don’t have time now,” she said sadly. “I have to get ready for an early afternoon wedding.”
“You’ve got the day off, baby.” I grinned and squeezed her hand.
“What?” Aurora inquired, her brow furrowed in confusion. “But I have—”
“Belle and Ariel have things under control, baby. I’m stealing you away for the day.”
I readied myself for more arguing. Instead, a bright smile lit up her face, and she leaned over to kiss my cheek. “I like the sound of that.” My eyes were on the road, so I had no warning when I suddenly felt her other hand covering my rapidly hardening cock. I gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles were bleached white, but I managed not to swerve. “If that’s the case,” she whispered in my ear, “I fail to see why we aren’t still in bed.”
I cleared my throat and picked up her hand, kissing the back before moving it over to her lap. She harrumphed and flopped back into her seat, facing forward. Shaking my head in exasperation, I murmured, “You’re insatiable.”
“Are you complaining?” she asked tartly, without any real offense in her tone.
“Abso-fucking-lutely not.” My voice was firm, letting her know I was one hundred percent serious.
Luckily, I entered the Lennox parking garage right at that moment, saving me from further conversation on the topic. If I didn’t start thinking about something other than sex, I was going to find a
remote spot and fuck her on the back seat.
I steered into my spot and shut off the car before hopping out and jogging around to her side. She took my outstretched hand and let me help her to her feet. I hit the button to lock the car and led her out to the sidewalk and to my office door.
We stepped inside, and I came to a sudden stop at the sound of shrill shouting. Chad was standing between a tall, skinny woman with a nasty scowl on her face and a man who stood an inch or so below her height with a matching expression.
They were tossing insults and demanding an annulment. Chand had rearranged my agenda so I had no appointments, but we’d kept the office open so people in need of our services could be rescheduled. Apparently, this couple wasn’t willing to wait.
“I can’t stand the thought of being married to this jackass another minute!” the woman shouted, pointing a finger at her husband.
“I wouldn’t stay married to your bony ass if someone paid me,” the man roared.
“If you two don’t cease your caterwauling,” Chad said, his voice at normal volume but with a thread of steel that made it clear he meant business. “I’m going to have you both thrown in jail, and you’ll have to spend more than just another day married to each other.” Both parties were breathing heavy, but they’d shut up when Chad spoke. “Now, I can make you an appointment for tomorrow, or you can march yourselves to some other divorce attorney, or stay married for all I care. Your choice.”
I wanted to throw their asses out of my office, pissed that I’d dragged Aurora into a situation that depicted the ugly side of marriage the same day I planned to propose. I glanced at her to gauge her reaction, only to find her staring at Chad with fascination. It was then that I remembered how he reacted to Aurora and that she’d never seen the reason I kept him around.
She tore her gaze away to meet mine and silently pointed at my assistant as her mouth dropped open in a little O. I laughed at her expression and nodded at her unspoken question. Using our clasped hands, I dragged her around the couple who now looked like chastised children as Chad continued to talk to them. We went back to my office and I shut and locked the door.
Vegas, Baby: Complete Series Page 32