Sapphire Universe (The Universe Series)

by Herrera, Devon

  I giggle. “I’m not sure you could last that long.” I look at the clock and it reads 10:00 pm. “I give you till midnight before you’re out cold.”

  Connor raises his eyebrows. “Oh Princess.” He shakes his head. “You have no idea what you just got yourself into.”

  I reach out and run my fingers down his body till I reach the part of him I want the most and I trace his length through his boxers. “Why don’t you clarify things for me.” I whisper.

  Connor strips off his boxers and hovers over me on the bed. “Crystal clear.” He says and although he makes his point clear in the next moment when we connect, he spends the entire night polishing it.

  “Connor. Get the alarm.” I mumble from under my pillow. I hear a smack and the annoying buzzing stops. Connor starts to run his fingers down my back and I roll over and chuck my pillow in his face. “Don’t touch me. I’m trying to sleep here you jackass.”

  Connor chuckles at my mood. “Hey, if you wanted to sleep last night you shouldn’t have thrown down the gauntlet like that. I’m a man Princess. Wearing lingerie to bed is like offering us a buffet. We won’t stop eating till the restaurant closes.”

  I snort at him and roll back over to my stomach. “This restaurant is shut down. We are out of food till tomorrow at the earliest. So go get your nourishment elsewhere. And make me some cider while you’re at it.”

  Connor throws his head back laughing harder. “So the honeymoon is over then?”

  I look up at him from underneath the comforter. “Lots of sex, lingerie and apple cider. This is as honeymoonish as it gets baby.”

  The husky chuckles fade out of the room once I duck back under the covers. I close my eyes and try to go back to sleep, but Samson has other plans for my morning and they do not include sleeping. I squeal and try to shield myself when he attacks me licking and pawing. When he starts to make those adorable throaty wines, I finally give up and snuggle the little cutie.

  Connor comes in with my mug and scratches behind Sam’s ear. “Sam you old traitor. How come she gets out of bed for you and not me huh? I’m the one that gave her multiple orgasms and makes her beloved cider.”

  “Remember what I said about the best man being a silent one. Sammy doesn’t talk back. Do you boy? No, you just sit there looking cute and let me pet you.”

  Connor snorts. “Didn’t hear any complaining last night.” He mutters under his breath.

  I roll my eyes at him. “Connor, last night was amazing. You blew my mind and rocked my world you big buff sex God you.” I say sarcastically in my sex kitten voice.

  “That’s more like it!” He says chuckling. I gulp down my cider and stretch, attempting to wake the rest of my body up. “We have got to clean this house today. This place is a wreck.” Connor says to me on our way to the kitchen glancing around at all the wrapping paper and dishes lying around.

  I cringe at the mess and chug the rest of my cider. “I think I can handle some cleaning today. After that, we are ordering pizza and drinking wine. We are not going anywhere so get all your energy out of your system before then alright?” I say pointing at him sternly.

  “I can think of a few good ways to burn energy that we don’t have to leave the house for.” Typical man.

  I swat him on the chest and gesture towards the kitchen. “You are on kitchen duty you incorrigible caveman. I will work on the living room.” I walk over to the stereo and crank up the tunes.

  Connor and I were sitting by the fire later that night snuggled in each other’s arms. Even though we technically celebrated yesterday, I love that we are spending Christmas like this. All my other holidays have been spent alone or with Lo and her family and being held by Connor is such a wonderful change. I could sit in silence with him just touching me forever, but the portrait of his mom at the mantle catches my eyes and I begin to wonder what Christmas was like for him as a kid. After spending a few moments picturing a beautiful blond haired blue eyed boy waking up to a tree full of presents, I realize there is so much that I don’t know about this man that I am so in love with.

  “Let’s play 20 questions!” I say breaking our peaceful silence. Connor chuckles at my enthusiasm and cranes his neck to look at me.

  “Okay but we need to set some ground rules first.” He offers and I frown at him. “If we are going to be asking each other questions then we need to make sure that the other is going to be honest.” I think about that for a minute. I’ve told him everything that I would have at one point lied about anyway so I don’t see the harm in promising to be one hundred percent truthful. “And, there is no passing on any questions. I don’t want there to be any more secrets between us Princess, so if you want to do this we are going all the way.”

  “I accept your terms.” I say kissing him on the cheek with flourish causing him to laugh at me…again. “I get to go first.” I crawl off of him and sit cross legged across from him on the rug. Hmmm, what to ask, what to ask? So many questions run through my head so I just pick one at random. “What’s your favorite color?” I ask him and he raises his eyebrows at me in surprise.

  “I give you the opportunity to ask me anything you want and I have to answer honestly and you pick, what’s your favorite color?” I giggle at him.

  “Well if it’s pink you can’t lie and say its black.” I offer as an explanation. Connor laughs again and shakes his head.

  “It’s green, you silly beautiful girl.” He responds just above a whisper.

  “Green? That’s not very macho.” I am a little surprised at his answer, but I shouldn’t be because he never says anything I expect him to.

  “Well it used to be red but I’ve recently met this girl with beautiful green eyes and I think she might have something to do with the change.” His answer and the look of complete adoration on his face make my heart stutter. “Okay same question. What’s your favorite color Princess?”

  “Sapphire.” I say too quickly without thinking it over. He smiles at me at kisses my lips once. Oh well. He already knew that I’m sure. “My turn. Ummm, when is your birthday?” I ask him and his always-there-smile turns down a little.

  “Actually its next week, on Saturday. I totally forgot.” He says making me squeal and clap my hands together.

  “OOOHHH you have to let me throw you a party!” I demand.

  “Nina, you are such a girl sometimes. I’m turning 29 not 12. I don’t need a party.” He huffs and I just give him “the look.” Every guy who has ever had a girlfriend in the history of the universe knows what “the look” means. If you ever want to get laid again, you had better let me have my way. “Fine! Fine! We will have a party.” He caves.

  I throw my arms around him and kiss his face. His mouth holds mine for a second and I can feel the small smile on his lips. I pull away and it’s his turn to ask a question. I see a look cross his face and I immediately get nervous. Every guy also has a look he gives his girlfriend when the tables have turned and it just happens to be the one that Connor is wearing. “Well I already know your birthday so I guess that one is out. Hmm what should I ask Nina?” He pretends to be contemplating and I know that he already has a question and is just letting me squirm. After a couple of tension filled seconds, he snaps his fingers together. “I know! Do you masturbate?”

  I blink up at him and my eyes are probably the size of dinner plates. I cannot believe he just went there. “What?” I mouth, though I know I heard him correctly.

  “I said. Do you masturbate? And you have to answer honestly.” He repeats clearly proud at himself for obtaining the upper hand.

  “What kind of a question is that?” I snap, irritated.

  Connor isn’t fazed one bit by my attitude. “One that I really, really want to know.”

  I groan and cover my face, giving myself over to the inevitable answer. “No, but I’ve tried it once or twice. It felt really impersonal, as weird as that sounds.” I open my hands and see that Connor is looking at me intensely. “What?” I ask surprised at seeing that look.

/>   “I think I can help you with that baby. You can be so tense and controlled I’m not surprised you had problems. Will you let me show you?” God he is so sexy. My body is saying “SHOW ME NOW!” But my head really wants to get to know him better outside of the bedroom.

  As a compromise, I give him a saucy wink and repeat his earlier words. “You are such a boy sometimes baby.” That seems to appease him because he smiles back wolfishly. “Okay my turn again. Have you had any other relationships?” Connor’s smile melts and it makes me all the more curious. “No secrets Connor.” I remind him and he nods but still seems to be thinking about it.

  “I’ve…had one other serious relationship. There was this girl in New York.” He visibly swallows before he continues. “I thought we were going to get married.”

  My heart sinks at his words. Why haven’t I ever asked him this before? Oh right because I was too focused on myself and my issues to ask him anything about him. Once again I kick myself for being an idiot. “What happened? Wait, you didn’t get married did you?”

  Connor shakes his head and I my whole body relaxes in relief. “No I didn’t marry her. It wasn’t meant to be.” He says simply with a shrug of his shoulders. There has to be more to the story than that though.

  “Why did you guys break up?”

  Connor takes a deep breath I can tell he doesn’t want to talk about it, but I have to know. “She decided that she didn’t want to be in a relationship. She worked for the same marketing firm. She was one of the Creative Director’s and told me that she didn’t want to be tied down anymore. She was too invested in her job and having a family life didn’t appeal to her. So, she broke up with me.” Oh God. I feel sick. Connor has loved someone else. He wanted to marry someone else and she broke up with him. What if he still has feelings for her? Yup, I’m going to be sick.

  I don’t know what to say to that so I just clutch my stomach and look down at the floor. I hear Connor sigh before his knees come into my vision to rest against mine and his fingers grasp my face to tilt it up to him. “Princess it was a long time ago. Nadiya is my past. You’re my future now.” Ugh, even her name is sexy.

  “Nadiya? Her name is Nadiya? I hate her even more now.” Connor smirks at my jealous tone and I smile back a little. “Do you ever wish that…”

  “No, Nina. I don’t wish anything was different. I want you. You’re the girl for me. Okay?” He says searching my eyes.

  I nod and decide this game is over. I know enough to know that I love Connor and he loves me. We will figure out the rest as we grow together. For now, I just want to show him that I’m not going anywhere, that I’m not Nadiya. “Connor?” I say and try to make my voice husky and seductive like I have heard other girls do. He raises his eyebrows and his sapphire gaze instantly darkens. “I think I want you to show me now.” I barely get the last word out before Connor moves faster than I’ve ever seen him and pushes me down underneath him.

  “Oh Princess, it will be my pleasure.” He says and other than his detailed instructions, there is no more taking for the rest of the night.

  The next morning while Connor heads to the gym after work, I call my best friend. No one can plan a party like Lo so I need her help to make sure this is the best birthday party ever. We decide to meet for drinks to start planning. Lo shows up at my house with pre mixed margaritas and as soon as she gets in the house she busts out a notebook and pen and sits down at the counter.

  “Okay, I think we should do a “Welcome to Wyoming” theme. It will be funny since he is from New York.” Lo says writing her idea down. I can picture Connor laughing at the western theme so I agree to it. “Here is the tricky part Nins. Who the hell are we going to invite? He doesn’t exactly know a ton of people here in town and you don’t know any of his friends from New York. It’s also kind of short notice so even if you could get a hold of them I don’t know if many of them could come.”

  I think about that for a minute and then decide to at least give it a shot. Connor would love it if even one of his old friends could come out to see him. “I could try and figure something out I guess.”

  “Good idea. Now you must have a cake and I insist on getting that for you. What do you want to do for music?” She asks going down her list and I’m suddenly a little overwhelmed with this whole ordeal. I had no idea there was so much involved in planning a party I only have a few days to get everything together.

  “I have no clue! Maybe I should just do something small Lo, I don’t think I can get all this done.” I huff, feeling a little deflated.

  “Not a chance girl! I can always help out with the details. You know how slow the riding club gets in the winter. You take care of inviting everyone and pick a spot. I will get the decorations and the cake and work out something for music and we should be just fine. I’ve planned parties in half the time. Getting somewhere to have it and making sure there are people there is the important part.” I hug my best friend with all my strength and she pretends to suffocate. “Nins your killing me!”

  “Thank you so much girl! I don’t know what I’d do without you!” I hear the front door creak open and throw Lo a look as she quickly throws the notebook in her bag and we act as though we are doing nothing other than having girl talk while drinking margaritas. Connor walks through the living room to the kitchen and gives me a quick kiss.

  “Hi Princess. Hey Lola, what are you two up to?” He asks as he picks up my drink to look inside then set it back down. “Is that tequila I smell?”

  I smile and slurp some of the frozen drink through my straw and Connor just chuckles. “Well if you can’t beat em.” He reaches into the cabinet and grabs a glass. Lo suddenly gets the “light bulb!” look on her face and within seconds it turns into a Cheshire cat grin.

  “So, Connor.” Lo says nonchalantly, after finishing off her drink. “What’s the status in New York?” Connor gets this serious look on his face and I can tell he thinks she’s referring to the Maxwell Holden situation. I’m not sure where she was going with it either, but I haven’t mentioned it to her yet. “Do you have to sell your place or anything like that?”

  “Oh. No my old roommate just had to find someone to move in with him. It sounds like he hates the guy so far but I didn’t really have to do anything. I brought most of my stuff with me and told him to sell the rest.” Connor replies easily, looking relieved.

  “Were you and your roomie good friends?” Lo asks and it hits me what she’s doing. My best friend is a freaking genius.

  “Yea we’ve been friends since college. I actually kind of miss the big jerk. Nick isn’t like anyone you’ve ever met before. He always says exactly what he’s thinking and he’s actually kind of deep for a guy. I think it’s from listening to all those drunken tales of heartbreak at the bar.” Connor says looking into space for a moment with a small smile on his face.

  “Oh, so Nick’s a bartender?” I ask putting two and two together.

  “Sort of. There’s a little more to it than that. Nick has his Cicerone certification and he’s really knowledgeable about beer and liquor. He’s a really popular bartender in New York because of it.”

  “Oh that sounds interesting.” I say, trying to be enthusiastic. I’m sure it is, but honestly I just drink the stuff. I know nothing about alcohol except for what it tastes like and what it does to me. Connor doesn’t fall for my act and just laughs at me.

  “Yea it’s definitely an unconventional interest but he’s good at what he does.”

  “Do you have many more friends in New York?” I ask going right along with Lo’s line of questioning.

  “A few but I worked a lot and didn’t go out much so Nick was really the only one that I saw on a regular basis.” Connor answers, taking a drink of his margarita. “Okay enough about New York. How are things going with Drake Lo?” Connor directs at my friend who has suddenly clammed up.

  “Nothing really to tell. We aren’t together. Just friends.” Lo mutters without taking her eyes off of her drink.

&n
bsp; Connor and I exchange knowing looks. “I know what you mean.”

  Lo doesn’t stay very long after that and I wonder if maybe Connor’s question about Drake ran her off. I sit in bed and listen for the sound of the shower turning on before I reach for Connor’s phone and click on his contacts to search for a Nick. I come across a Nicholas and it’s the only name close enough to be the Nick that Connor was referring to. Under his name there are three logged calls in the last month, but before that there were a few per day. I quickly type the number into my phone and set Connor’s back where it was. I decide to call him tomorrow, strip off all my clothes and join my man in the shower.

  Back to Top

  CHAPTER 12

  The next day Connor once again occupies all my time, not that I’m complaining, but it makes it difficult for me to get away to call Nick. At some point during the day I come up with a plan to take Samson for a walk as my cover for calling Nick to invite him to Connor’s birthday. As soon as we get home from our movie I walk to the back door and let Samson in. Connor makes us the usual cup of coffee and cider while I change out of my date clothes and into something more comfortable.

  “Thanks baby.” I say giving Connor a kiss on the cheek before taking a drink of my cider.

  “Mmmm I love it when you call me baby. And I really love it when you wear yoga pants.” He says with the familiar gleam in his eye.

  I know that look and there is no way I will be making that phone call if I don’t get out of the house and fast. “I think I’m going to take Samson for a walk. He doesn’t get out enough and I feel bad.” I pretend I don’t notice “the look” and set my mug in the sink

  Connor frowns at me for a second and then just smiles and nods. “Okay Princess I suppose that’s a good idea. Don’t go too far though okay?”

  “I won’t! I call to him as I grab the leash from the hall closet, open the front door and whistle at Sam to follow.