“I don’t want you to buy any more of my art, West. I will give it a month. If my art sells to people, other than yourself, and it makes enough money to meet my bills then I will quit the bar. Not before then, though.”
“You won’t have bills if you move in with me,” he said. “You and Bruce can come live with me.”
“Too fast, Weston! Way too fast!”
“Why do you say that? Don’t you want to be with me?”
“I do. But let’s take it slow.”
“No,” came his spoiled, entitled, rich man’s answer. “Move in with me!”
“No!” she yelled in his face. “I need at least a month to see how things go before I make more commitments to you than I already have.”
He turned and got out of bed, his chiseled ass making her mouth water as he walked away in all his glorious nakedness. “Fine!” he shouted as he left her alone in his bed. “One month, Aulora. Not one day longer than that!”
“Bossy, much?” she mumbled as she snuggled back into the comfy bed.
She was well aware that most women would’ve never argued over what she’d just argued about. They would’ve done as the hot, sexy man told them to. But Aulora Greene was not most women. No, Aulora Greene was a special kind of stubborn.
As Weston brushed his teeth and looked at the love bites Aulora had left all over him, his anger with her turned into something else. She was strong, independent, and had a will he likened to that of an Ox.
Who was he to try to change that?
His demeanor changed, he went back into the room and scooped her up in his arms. “I’m sorry for trying to run your life, my little peach.”
She ran her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. Now, how about a sexy shower?”
He carried her off to his shower to lather her up in more ways than one. She would prove to be harder to handle than the other women he’d had in his life but he thought she might just teach him a thing or two, where the others hadn’t.
And there were some things he did need to learn.
Total Loss: Part five
Vibrant reds filled her pallet, combined with a few yellows and one orange. Aulora was heady with enthusiasm as she mixed the colors to bring her great mood into them. Weston and she had seen each other every day, at one time or another, for the last week. Things were going better than she had ever dreamt they would.
He knew just the right amount of time she needed for herself and gave it to her without any argument, what so ever. A thing she was happily surprised about. Monday meant she had been to classes and had the night off. He promised to give her until ten o’clock to paint then he’d come over and spend the night with her.
And their nights, and sometimes afternoons, had been amazing. Each day found them growing closer. Sweet words were exchanged often throughout the days. Even when she worked at the bar, they managed to let each other know they were thinking about them and bid one another a good night.
Britt had made fun of how Aullie was saying some words the same way that Weston did. She claimed his British accent was rubbing off on her. A thing that Aullie denied vehemently.
Aulora had gotten through with school at two in the afternoon and had been painting the day away and before she realized it, a knock came to her door. She looked at the old clock that ticked away on the wall above her bed. The day had turned into night without her realizing it.
Her hair was a mess. Tied back with, of all things, a shoestring. Paint was absolutely everywhere and her old, ratty T-shirt was on backward. She was the epitome of an absent-minded artist. With a shrug, she sat her brush down and went to open the door.
She was met with a curious smile. “My, my. Would you look at you?” Weston said then gave a wolf whistle. “Sexyyyy!” He grabbed the bottom of his pristine, white shirt and pulled it over his head. “Let me lose this before I give you a hug.”
“Afraid of a little paint?” she teased him as she turned to walk inside. He followed her, taking his shirt off and deciding to take the dark slacks off too.
Kicking off his shoes, he was down to his skivvies when she turned around and saw him. Her jaw hung as he pulled her into his arms. “I’ve missed you, peach.”
She sighed and wrapped her arms around him when their lips met. Sweet, endearing, and a bit on the wet side, he left her mouth all too soon. “I missed you too.”
Swaying her back and forth with him, he looked around the small room to find no evidence of any dinner, lying around. “You haven’t eaten.”
“I ate breakfast and lunch,” she said as she caught his frown.
“I’ll order in. Anything you want,” he said as he let her go to get his cell out of the pocket of his slacks which were lying in a heap on the floor and he saw that was a bad idea as her cat, Bruce, was making a B-line for them, undoubtedly to lend some of his ever-escaping fur to them.
Weston gathered his clothes off the floor and found a better place to put them, in the small closet, hanging them up, properly. While Aulora went to tidy up her paints. “I’d love some Chinese. You pick, I’ll eat anything.”
“I’ve already eaten. I had a meeting with my…” he paused and seemed to be at a loss for words.
“With who?” Aullie asked as she too paused what she was doing to see what had stopped him.
“Cousin,” he said then walked out of the closet, closing the door. “Hayley. I had some information to give her about her husband.”
“What did you find out?” she asked, curiously.
“Oh, I can’t talk about it. Believe me, it is best if you don’t know a thing about any of that. Not a thing,” he said as he sat on the small sofa and made the call to order her something to eat.
She pulled off her backward T-shirt that she saw was also inside out. “My head was on this painting before I even walked through the door today.” She hadn’t put on any jeans or shorts when she got home. She pulled off her clothes, leaving her bra and panties on and pulled on the T-shirt and got straight to work.
“And what inspired you for this one, might I ask?” He ran his arm around her as she took the place next to him.
“You. The way you are. The way you make me feel.” She kissed his cheek then hopped back up. “I’m going to wash my face and hands then I’ll be right back.”
“Yeah, but leave that sexy shoestring in your hair. I can use that later to tie your wrists together,” he joked and she stuck her tongue out at him before she left the room.
When she looked in the mirror, she saw the shambles she was in. Paint was in various places all over her face and even on her neck. Her hair was looking kind of ratty as she’d merely pulled it back and tied the shoestring around the major portion of it, leaving loose strands all around in an unruly fashion.
Quickly, she washed up and brushed her hair out. Leaving the shoestring out of it. When she emerged, freshly washed, she found him smiling at her.
“I liked the war paint, Aulora.”
“I did look a bit like a savage, didn’t I?” She sat down next to him again and he pulled her to sit on his lap.
The gaze they shared spoke more than words could. When he could stand it no more, he kissed her. The kiss was meant to be sweet but their chemistry was too much and soon she was straddling him as their breathing grew hard.
Until a knock at the door interrupted them. “The food,” he said as he wrenched his mouth from hers.
“I’m not even hungry,” she said, as she tried to catch her breath.
With a quick peck, he moved her off his lap and grabbed a throw off the back of the sofa, covering her up. He grabbed another and wrapped it around his waist then went to answer the door.
She watched his every move, mesmerized by his perfect physique. Her finger traced her lips that were still pulsing from their kiss. When he returned with the food, she attempted to push it away.
“No, peach. You must eat,” he told her as he pulled the things out of the bag.
“How about I eat afterward?”
With a shake of his head, he put that idea to rest. “Eat first. I plan on tiring you out tonight.”
She sat up, eager to hurry and eat and see what he had planned to tire her out. “Really?”
He nodded and smiled a naughty smile. She bit into the eggroll first as he opened the container of egg drop soup then plunged a plastic spoon into it.
“Really.”
Her interest was piqued and she felt the food would give her the energy she’d need for his big plan. One spoonful of soup after another soon had the container empty and she finished off the eggroll then wiped her mouth with the paper napkin.
“I’m all done.”
He picked up the mess and went to toss it in the trash, which he found was full. “Okay, this is full. Where are your trash bags?”
“Oh, those.” She shrugged. “I’m out. Just put it all back in the bag it came in and leave it on the table. I’ll try to remember to get some tomorrow. But I have a full day and night, so it might be later in the week before I get to that.”
“And by that time, you could be infested with vermin. How I wish you’d come live with me. You’d have no worries. Anyway,” he said as he placed the bag on the table and went to her. “This weekend I want you to come and spend it with me. Bring Bruce. I want to show you what I made for you.”
Her eyes narrowed as she said, “What did you make for me?”
“Something that will help you become the artist you aspire to be. And not a starving one, either.” He kissed the tip of her nose then took her hand and led her to her loft bed. Boosting her up on it, he jumped up behind her. “It’s kind of like a treehouse up here.”
“Kinda,” she agreed as she looked around. “About the weekend, West. I’m on the schedule to work on Saturday night. I do have Sunday and Monday off. I can stay Sunday but I don’t want you to have to wait for me so late on Saturday night.”
He sighed as he unhooked her bra. “That stupid job, Aulora. Really, how much money did you make in the last week?”
The bar had been slow all week long. Her tips didn’t amount to a hill of beans. And everyone told her she was an idiot for not taking him up on his offer to live with him. Even though they barely knew each other, everyone told her she was certifiable. They all saw the huge change in her usually blah demeanor.
Aulora was head over heels in love and there was no hiding it!
His hands held hers above her head as he teased her aching nipple with his mouth and played with her pulsing clit with his free hand. He was true to his word, he was toying with her, making her climax time and time again, wearing her out.
When she moaned with her fifth orgasm, he saw fit to let her hands go and finally move inside her. She was panting as he entered her and soaking wet. “Yes!” she moaned as she ran her hands over his muscular back. “That’s what I’ve been craving!”
He was pleased she wanted him so badly. The previous week had brought them closer and they’d gained so much knowledge about what made the other happy in the bedroom and in everyday life too. He kissed a soft patch of flesh just behind her ear. It made her arch up to him every time. He whispered, “I love you.”
She moaned the words back to him, the way they’d fallen into doing. Their bodies knew how to work together. There was no denying Aulora brought more out in him than anyone had ever done before.
Weston found himself looking at engagement rings one afternoon as he waited at the mall to meet her for a quick lunch. The jewelry store was nowhere near the caliber he’d really buy a ring from but he’d stopped and looked them over. One of them caught his attention, and he’d toyed with the idea of looking for a real engagement ring for her.
When he told his friend, Dylan, what he’d done, they guy smacked him on the back and told him he should go for it. He’d told him that he’d never seen him so smitten. “Why wait?” were Dylan’s actual words.
But he decided to wait anyway. Things had been going so great. So smooth. So unlike how things had started for them. He didn’t want to press his luck. And he’d had bad luck before when things got rushed.
Weston made easy, long strokes as he looked into her steely blue eyes. Her hands moved over his cheeks as she gazed back into his. They had a deep connection, of that there was absolutely no doubt. He knew he should tell her the truth. But that had always led to words about feeling sorry for him and he hated to hear those words.
Most of the time, he didn’t let that dark memory come to the surface. It was too painful. It had been ten years since things had changed so drastically. His future had been altered but only for what seemed like a moment. Then it was back to normal again. Only a hole was left in his heart that he knew would never fully mend.
A swift intake of breath from Aulora had him focusing on her face as she gave him what he wanted. Her body squeezed his and he had no choice but to give into what her body demanded from his.
They watched each other through their simultaneous climaxes. At the end, they both whispered, “I love you.”
Never had he felt more for anyone. Not another soul. Aulora was it for him. He just wished like hell that time would pass rapidly, so he could ask her the question he wanted to so desperately.
Pushing her damp bangs back off her forehead, he asked her one question that had been bobbing around his mind since they’d gotten serious. “Aulora, do you think you’ll ever want to have kids?”
Her laugh was quick and caused him a sharp pain in the middle of his heart. “Kids? Not anytime soon.”
He nodded, kissed the tip of her nose and rolled off her. Lying back on the bed, he pulled her to lay her head on his shoulder and wrapped his arm around her. Venturing a bit further into what he wanted to know, he asked, “Do you like kids?”
“I haven’t been around any to know. I would guess I’d like mine,” she said then laughed again. “I’m only twenty-two, I have plenty of time to have kids. I want to focus on my art right now. I barely have time for you.”
He nodded. He knew she was right. But he also knew he wanted to have kids sooner rather than later. And he had an offer on the table he couldn’t ignore.
He hadn’t thought seriously about what had been asked of him. Until that very moment when Aulora told him kids weren’t anywhere near her mind at that time.
“Aulora, how long do you think it will be before you want kids?”
“I have no idea, really.” She leaned up on her elbow and looked down at him with a smile. “West, do you want me to have your baby or something like that?”
His smile told her he did but his words came out, “No. I just want to know when you think that would be something you would want.”
“So, you don’t want me to have your baby?” she asked with a frown, suddenly irritated that he’d bring up kids but not say he wanted them with her.
“Not if you don’t want to. That’s not a thing I’d ever push on you. Parenthood isn’t a thing that should be forced. If you don’t want kids, then I just want to know that.”
“I didn’t say I never wanted them. Just not now. With school, work, and my art that would be too difficult.”
“You graduate in six months,” he reminded her. “Work, at that bar, is a thing that should end soon. Your work as an artist doesn’t conflict with pregnancy or raising children. I should think you could start thinking about having children as soon as one year from now.”
“One year?” she asked with a high tone to her voice. “One year? Really? I think twenty-three is too young to have a baby. Especially, if you have no clue what to do with one. I’ve never changed a diaper, have you?”
He looked at her for a moment, weighing his answer.
“I have. It’s not so difficult.”
“What about learning how to feed them? Remembering to feed them?” she asked him. “I have to set an alarm to remind me to feed Bruce.”
“A baby pretty much lets you know when to feed them.” He pulled her back to lie in his arms, trying to settle her back down. Her brows had fu
rrowed and she looked like she might be getting upset.
“We don’t have to talk about this anymore. I can see you’re nowhere near ready.”
“I feel like that means something to you, Weston. Does it?” she asked him, sensing him closing off a part of himself to her.
“Let’s just go to sleep, peach. I shouldn’t have brought that up. It’s far too early in our relationship to ask such things.”
She nodded and they closed their eyes as he wondered to himself why he wanted to force something that important so early in what they had. He knew deep down that it had everything to do with what he’d been asked.
Once he’d loved another woman, a long time ago. Once they’d built dreams of a future together. That had all been lost and he knew that young love was nothing compared to what he’d found with Aulora. But something nagged at him about what he’d lost.
He wondered if he’d be able to keep the thing he longed for at bay, long enough for Aulora to want to give him what he so desperately desired. Or would he eventually give in to the offer that was made to him?
With a quick kiss, Weston left Aulora’s apartment early the next morning, so he could go out to his place and get ready for his work day. Aulora didn’t have to be in her first class until ten, so she went back to bed shortly after feeding the cat and letting him out for a minute. The cold air had him right back at the door, meowing to be let in.
Cozying up on the small sofa with him, she found her phone ringing and saw it was Brittany.
“Early for you, isn’t it?” she answered the phone.
“It is,” Britt replied. “And how was your evening, if I may ask?”
“Great. Well, anytime with West is always great. That sounds so weird coming out of my mouth. But it’s true. And yours?”
“I met someone last night,” Britt told her. “He’s tall, dark, and extremely handsome and I know this might sound insane but Aullie I think he might be the one!”
Dr. Orgasm (A Holiday Romance Collection Book 2) Page 53