by Sarah Bailey
Pulling back, I dropped my hands from her face and clasped her fingers instead.
“I’m not going to apologise for telling you that, but whilst you process, I’ll start at the beginning.”
She continued to stare at me, her eyes wide. The only lighting we had in the room was the moonlight streaming in through the windows. It felt right to tell her my secrets under the cover of darkness.
“I told you a little about my family… how they’d gone through a scandal with my grandfather and the abuse.”
She nodded, biting down on her lip.
“Well, reputation is very important to them. At least, it was three years ago and even before, but I’ll get to present day later. Between the time we first met and us seeing each other again, I wanted to know more about you and your family. It sounds stalkery and creepy, I know, but my curiosity needed satisfying. My uncle, Brent, knows how to dig into people’s lives for various reasons I won’t go into now, but I asked him to help me.”
I rubbed my thumb along the back of her hand, hoping she wouldn’t hate me for all of this.
“When he discovered who your family really is… who they’re connected to, he made me promise not to get involved with you. Being the heir to the company meant I couldn’t embroil myself in anything which would damage our reputation. Your grandfather being affiliated with the mafia and… your parents’ pasts, well, those were deemed as the wrong people to be associating myself with.”
Aurora stiffened, but she didn’t pull her hands away.
“When I saw you again, I couldn’t help myself… I wanted you. I think I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you, but I was too busy hating the way you made me feel to accept it. That’s beside the point. I broke my promise to my uncle when I started seeing you… and then… I fell in love with you even knowing I could never truly be with you. I could never make you mine no matter how much I wished otherwise.”
Her fingers tightened in mine. She released her lip from her teeth and let out a breath. Probably good she stayed silent. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get through this otherwise.
“The day I took you to my parent’s house, my uncle told me to end it. It’s why you saw us arguing. I didn’t want to let you go. You know how messed up I was over the whole inheriting the company business, guess I bowed to his pressure because family comes first and I could do nothing but agree with him.”
I couldn’t look away from her face, knowing I had to confront what I’d done. Had to show her I wasn’t going to be a coward. Owning up to my mistakes was the only way.
“I couldn’t do it when I dropped you back, it hurt too much, but then your father came out and started on at us. I knew I had to let you go… so I said all those things to you, none of which were true. It was my way of depriving you of any hope there could be something between us. There was no way either of our families would approve of our relationship.”
Aurora let go of one of my hands and rubbed her leg. I didn’t know what she thought about my explanation so far, but I couldn’t stop. It all had to come out. Everything.
“After I left your house, I went to see my mother. The whole story came out and she was mad, like seriously fucking pissed. Especially at my uncle for interfering. She cares more about my happiness than anything else. That night, I told my father the truth and he… well, he was okay about it. He never wanted me to feel obligated to run the company if it’s not what I wanted. Honestly, at the time, I had no idea what I wanted, only it wasn’t that.”
It’d been a difficult conversation, but one which needed to be had. Dad was good about the whole thing. It’s why everything changed. It took many long conversations between him and his siblings, along with my cousins, to come to our current circumstances. The right people would be in charge when the time came.
“Is that why you disappeared from the public eye?” she said, her voice quiet in the dark.
“Yeah, it is. I’m still going to inherit the company, but it’s being shared equally between me and my cousins. I’ll merely be a silent partner so to speak.”
It wasn’t something my family had officially announced yet. My dad and his siblings had no intentions of retiring any time soon. Now I’d returned, they’d release a statement. I’d asked them to wait until I’d sorted my own shit out first, a part of which was resolving things with Aurora.
“And before you ask, the reason I’ve been out of the country is that my mother and my best friend encouraged me to go volunteer abroad on this twelve-week placement in animal conservation.” The thought of it brought a smile to my face. “My mum is a zookeeper. I guess you could say I’ve always had an interest there. I enjoyed myself so much, I didn’t want to come home and ended up going on another trip. Two years later, I started working with some of the foundations I’d volunteered for and now, I guess it’s my career. I’ve been helping them with their business plans, funding and so on. It’s why I came home, to allow me to work on those things here.”
Aurora was silent for a long minute, absorbing everything I’d told her. I didn’t push her for a response. Who knew what she would say. I wasn’t proud of the way I’d behaved or my family. It was a shitty thing to do.
My heart lurched when she tugged her other hand from mine, but it was only so she could lean back on the counter with both her hands planted on the granite top. She tipped her head up which made her hair cascade down her back.
“I feel like we’re Romeo and Juliet without all the dying for love and tragic shit.”
I stayed silent, though I hadn’t expected her response to what I’d revealed. Star-crossed lovers would be the most accurate way to describe our circumstances.
“Just so we’re clear, I wouldn’t die for you or anything. I’m not that dramatic, plus I think it goes against my empowered and independent woman thing.”
I couldn’t help grinning.
“I wasn’t expecting you to.”
“Good.”
I reached up and tugged at my tie, finding myself on tenterhooks. She’d told me to wear a suit, but now I was plain uncomfortable in it. This whole situation had me on edge.
“Has your family’s opinion of mine changed?” she asked after a minute.
I wouldn’t lie to Aurora about the situation.
“No.”
“Then why are we here?”
I wanted to touch her so fucking badly to reassure her things were different now, but I kept my hands to myself.
“Who I’m with isn’t their choice. It never was to begin with. And my parents basically told my uncle to stay the fuck out of it after I told them in no uncertain terms I didn’t give a shit who you’re related to. I never have.”
“You stood up to them?”
“My parents weren’t the ones who objected in the first place. Not so funny story, but my dad once interfered with his sister’s relationship. Mum went absolutely ballistic over it. He vowed never to stick his oar into anyone else’s love life. At least, that’s what he told me. I mean, to be honest, he had every reason to be unhappy. She was sleeping with her therapist.”
Aurora’s head dropped and she turned to me, her eyes wide.
“Her therapist? Holy shit. Couldn’t he have lost everything for sleeping with a patient?”
“Well, yeah, but it didn’t get reported. Jensen isn’t a bad guy.”
“Wait, that’s Leo’s dad, isn’t it? Oh wow, Colleen has no idea.”
I shook my head.
“Leo wouldn’t have told her about it and you can’t either. It’s not common knowledge.”
“I won’t tell anyone, but fuck, I didn’t think your family was so… scandalous.”
I snorted. My family had a bucket load of secrets. How they’d maintained a decent reputation was a mystery to me. Guess the public was on their side after all the shit with my grandfather.
“So is yours.”
She smiled and shrugged.
“Yeah, though I’d say what they did
is way worse and I’m kind of glad I don’t have to explain it to you. It’s not exactly a pretty story. And to be honest, it’s not the first time their past has got in the way of me and my siblings having a relationship with the person we want.” She straightened and reached out, grasping my hand and linking our fingers together again. “Did you think I’d get mad about it all?”
“Kind of.”
She canted her head and levelled me with an intense gaze.
“I’m not angry. The crazy thing is I understand. My family is fucked up and even if I don’t agree with it, reputation is important in this world. Maybe if you’d told me three years ago, I would have thrown a fucking fit, but I’m not that girl any longer. Working at the casino has taught me a lot of things. Guess I grew up like you clearly have.”
Her reaction had me worried she was hiding how she really felt. Maybe she needed more time to process it all.
“I don’t want to fight, Logan,” she said with a sigh, “And I don’t want to hurt you, even less so now I know the truth. Not saying it isn’t fucked up. It is. Like really fucked up. You made me think you didn’t give a shit about me. That everything we shared was meaningless. I’ve never let anyone else in because of you.”
“Aurora…”
She put her free hand up.
“I know you’re sorry. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have told me the truth. I just don’t know where this leaves us.”
My heart hurt. I had no right to ask her for anything. Not after the way I’d treated her. All I could do was wait for her to decide.
“Your family might not be an obstacle any longer, but mine is.”
“Are you saying what I think you are?”
“No, this is not me agreeing to anything, Logan. I might understand why you did it, but it doesn’t mean I’m okay with it or I can forgive you. I’m merely saying my dad is still a problem, although he promised me he would accept whoever I wanted to be with. I kind of made him promise because we fell out big time after everything with you. We’re fine now, but I guarantee if he knew you were back in my life, he wouldn’t be happy.”
I nodded. Her forgiving me was a big fucking ask. Didn’t stop me from wishing for it. Hoping beyond hope she could find it in herself to let go of our past.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, her words settling in the space between us. My secrets were out in the open. My heart fucking laid bare for her. There was no doubt in my mind this girl in front of me was the one.
“You should probably take me home.”
My heart sunk.
“Okay.”
“But I don’t want to go.”
“No?”
She shook her head and moved closer, reaching up to touch my cheek. Her eyes searched mine for several moments.
“You want to know the truth?” she whispered.
I nodded.
“Always.”
“I’ve missed you. The way you look at me. I swear to fucking god your eyes drown me and I’m not sure I want to come up for air yet.”
Her face was inches from mine now, our breath mingling and making me all kinds of crazy for her.
“Then what do you want?”
Her mouth parted, those beautiful lips I’d kissed earlier such a fucking perfect shape.
“Keep drowning me, Logan. Don’t stop until I’m breathless and unable to think straight. And I don’t just want it, I need it.”
Chapter Thirty Seven
Aurora kissed me. And kissed me fucking hard. Her lips demanded mine in a way that left me powerless to do anything but give in. She pressed herself against me as much as she could with us sitting on the kitchen counter. My hands went to her hair, tangling in the soft strands. My body had memorised every inch of hers. I could no more help my reaction than I could stop. Need flooded every inch of me. I wanted to drown her like she’d asked me to.
A part of me was concerned about what it would mean if we did this, but common sense wasn’t my strong point when it came to this girl.
Her fingers were at my tie, loosening it and pulling it off me. Then she was unbuttoning my shirt, her fingers brushing against my bare skin. I groaned at the softness of her fingertips and the slight graze of her long nails.
Somehow, a single thought broke through the haze of lust descending over us.
“Rora,” I mumbled against her mouth, “I don’t have condoms.”
She shifted back, putting space between us even as her hands still worked to undress me.
“I have some in my handbag.”
My eyebrow shot up.
“Why?”
She smirked.
“I always carry them. Better to be safe than sorry.”
I didn’t respond as her mouth was on my chest, kissing her way down my bare skin whilst her hands undid my belt. The confident way she touched me turned me on. Aurora was taking what she wanted, which happened to be me.
“Don’t you want to?” she murmured a moment later, her fingers brushing over my cock, which was hard as fuck, “You did say you wouldn’t sleep with me.”
I stared down at her.
“I didn’t want you thinking that’s what this is about. I want you to be mine, Rora, as in I want you to be my girlfriend.”
She paused, her eyes flicking up to mine.
“If we have sex now, doesn’t mean I’m forgiving you… besides, you haven’t asked me to be your girlfriend.”
“Do you want me to?”
“Not right now. I want you to fuck me before you take me home and let me think about things.”
I couldn’t help shaking my head. Aurora was the only girl I’d ever been with who’d never left me in any doubt of her needs.
“You want me to fuck you on my brand new kitchen counter, huh?”
“Think of it as christening your new house.”
I laughed before burying my fist in her hair and pulling her head back. No more questioning what we were doing. Aurora made it clear she wanted me. I couldn’t deny her. I’d never deny her anything she needed again.
“Spread your legs, little masochist. Show me where you want me.”
She bit her lip as I shifted off the counter. Aurora spread her legs wide, allowing me to fit myself between them, pushing her dress up. I kissed my way down her jaw, keeping my fist in her hair. My free hand ran down her chest, cupping her breast, my thumb brushing over the hardened nub. She rubbed herself against me, encouraging my exploration of her body.
“Have I ever told you how much you look and taste like sin?” I murmured, pressing kisses to her cleavage, “You’re my very own version of heaven and hell.”
I glanced up at her face, finding her head tipped back and her breathing accelerated. My hand dropped from her breast to her thigh, pushing her dress higher until I’d exposed her underwear. I fingered the lace edge, making her buck against my touch.
“Logan,” she hissed, “Don’t tease.”
“No? What if I want you dripping and aching with need?”
“I already am. I imagined you fucking me the first day we saw each other again, and it’s only been worse since then.”
Her leg wrapped around mine, pulling me closer whilst my fingers dipped beneath her underwear, finding the clear evidence of her words. Her pussy was slick with her arousal. I couldn’t help the low groan escaping my mouth at touching her intimately for the first time in three years.
“Fuck, Rora.”
“Please. I want you.”
I caught her mouth with mine as I shoved her underwear aside and stroked her clit.
“You already have me,” I whispered against her lips, “I’m yours.”
She didn’t respond, but I didn’t expect her to. Her hand fumbled next to us, dragging her handbag closer. I allowed her a moment to pull away and dig out a condom, which she gave to me. Whilst I opened it, her fingers worked to pull me out. I grunted when her hand stroked down my cock.
Fuck me. I need inside her.
I chucked the wrapper on the counter and rolled it on before lining myself up against her entrance. My eyes met hers right before I shunted my hips forward. She gasped and I felt like I was on cloud fucking nine. Her pussy was so fucking wet and hot. I inched deeper, wanting to give her time to adjust to me. She curled her hands around my neck, dragging me closer until our foreheads touched.
The intimacy of this moment struck me hard. We were watching each other’s expressions whilst I buried myself in her. There were so many emotions in her eyes. The most prominent ones were of lust and need, but there was a sense of belonging there too. Aurora was supposed to be mine, and I was meant to be hers.
The moment I bottomed out, I held myself there, revelling in the sensation of her fully wrapped around me.
“Do you really love me?” she whispered.
“Yes.”
“Say it.
“I love you, Rora.”
“Show me how much.”
I pulled back and plunged inside her again. Neither of us moved our heads, keeping them pressed together. I could see all her small reactions to my thrusts. The way her pupils dilated. The little pants escaping her lips and the way her jaw ticked when she shuddered.
I gripped both her hips, using them to anchor me to her whilst I fucked her, though this wasn’t exactly fucking. It was more. We were more than that, even if she needed time to work through my revelations today. No one could deny the connection we shared. It was clear as day between us.
“Harder. Give it to me harder.”
I gripped her tighter and put my weight behind my thrusts. She let out a little whimper and it was fucking music to my ears. I couldn’t stop, needing to chase the high between us but never wanting this to end.
Her hand fell from around my neck, digging between us. Aurora stroked herself, eliciting more gasps and moans from her lips. There was no better sight in this world. Watching this woman drive herself to climax whilst I pounded her tight pussy. The pussy I never wanted to leave again. I would die a fucking happy man if I could have her for life. Not only her pussy, of course, but her. Everything about her. I wanted to keep Aurora Knox by my side.