CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
AURORA
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I roll over and snuggle into Parker’s chest. His arms immediately wrap around me.
“Good morning.” His voice is deep, but he sounds way too alert for someone who just woke up.
My eyes blink open and we lay staring at one another for a long while.
“What time is it?”
“Around nine, I think,” he replies, and I snuggle back into his chest with a small moan.
“I don’t want to get up. I’m going to stay here for about ten years. Wake me then.”
I feel him laugh, his chest shaking. “I thought you wanted to talk.”
Oh. Yes, I do, and I’m not going to miss the opportunity.
I lift my head and put a few more inches between us so we can more easily look at one another and chat.
“What should we talk about?” I ask.
An awkwardness washes over us and I realize we don’t know much about each other at all. Our first date had been strange because of my lack of confidence, and since then it’s been almost purely sexual.
Parker, despite being moderately broody, doesn’t feel like the deep and meaningful conversationalist. I was going to mention the lack of condoms despite being on birth control, but given it's been weeks, I can wait a few minutes and start with an easier topic.
“Whatever you want. Food. Family. Favorite color.”
“Green.” I say. “You?”
“Black.”
“Black isn’t a color. Choose another.” I smile.
“Pink.”
I giggle. “Liar.”
“Fine, then gray. I’m not a big color person. As you can probably tell.” He glances around the room.
I lean back and look around, ending up on my back. “Well, you carried me through your home and into the shower, so I’ve barely seen anything.”
Parker copies me and lies on his back.
“It’s fairly monotone, with a lot of black, cream, and gray.” He tells me. “Kyra, who you met last night, told me I needed some pops of color in here.”
I wish I’d had more time to chat with her. She seemed very nice. I would’ve liked to have spent more time with all his friends instead of being dragged off by my handsome caveman.
Although, I’m not complaining about the amazing sex that ensued because of it.
“How did you meet the guys?”
“School. How did you meet Chloe?” Parker asks.
“College. We’ve been friends since then.” I stare at the artwork above his dressing table. A cream canvas with black sketching. I can only just make it out in the dim light of the bedroom, but it appears to be a little boy walking down a dark street in the rain.
It feels very alone and makes me sad.
“You know, they say the images you put in your room manifest in your life.” I turn to Parker. “That painting is very deep, but it could mean you might remain alone in your life.”
“Says who?”
“Feng Shui people.”
“I’m not alone right now.” He rolls back on his shoulder, studying me as he props a hand under his head.
“I think they mean big picture. Like, in life.” I clarify.
Parker blinks and I can almost hear the cogs of his brain spinning. “Is that what you want? To not be alone?”
My brows shoot up. “Yes. Doesn’t everyone.”
“No,” he replies immediately.
Oh.
I feel my cheeks heat, feeling stupid. Like I’ve just told him I want to be with him forever, but that’s not what I was meaning.
Or was it?
“What is the club?” I ask to distract him.
Parker’s eyes darken. “Don’t ask about that.”
I frown. “Why not? Your friend invited me.”
“No. Travis said I should take you next time I go. They’re two different things.” He growls and climbs out of bed.
I sit up, bunching my brows at his overreaction. Then I get distracted by his naked tight ass as he pulls up a pair of briefs.
Good lord that man has the most incredible body.
“Parker,” I finally say, and he turns and glares at me. “We’re talking.”
“We were talking. Don’t ask about the club. That is off limits.” He tugs on a T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans.
I haven’t seen him look casual before and it’s all I can do to not toss back the covers and encourage him back into bed.
But I’m irritated, so I kick back the covers and his gaze immediately lands on my bare lower half.
I fight my smile.
I like the way he can’t keep his hands off me. Or how I’m learning I have a lot more power over him than he’d ever admit.
Climbing out of bed, I pad across the luxurious carpet and stop before his inked broad chest. In bare feet, Parker towers over me even more than usual.
He takes my hips almost automatically and tugs me against his body. “Stop asking.”
“No.”
“Aurora.” He warns.
“I want to go. I want to see your friends and get to know them. Know you .”
His grip tightens and dark blue eyes roam my face almost as if he’s in pain. But there’s a softening around his eyes as if he’s considering it, so I keep pushing.
“Please. Let’s take Chloe with us. She wants to get to know you more, too.” I’m not lying. She wants to meet his friends more so, and I would be remiss if I didn’t introduce her to them after meeting them.
Because, damn, they are hot.
“Aurora. It’s...adults only...a sex club,” Parker says as my mouth falls open. “Travis owns it. We go there to fuck and if I take you, they’ll think you’re on the menu.”
I keep blinking.
Flashbacks of Travis snug behind me as I came, the way he watched me the rest of the night. The sex toy. The week that I didn’t see Parker after he first made me come.
“You go there?”
“Yes.” He nods.
“All the time.”
More nodding.
“Have you fucked other women since we met?” I try to move away, but his grip is tight on my hips, not letting me go. But I don’t belong to him. Not if there’s been no exclusivity in this relationship.
God, we haven’t used condoms.
I’m the fool who just assumed there was, and didn’t ask any questions.
“Aurora,” Parker warns.
I struggle and push until he lets me go.
“Aurora.” He repeats as I storm around the room looking for my clothes.
I don’t have any panties so it’s just my bra, shoes, and the black dress.
When I rip off the T-shirt and throw it at him, his eyes flare at my nakedness.
Nope.
He is not touching me again.
“Keep away from me! I am so dumb. So, so dumb.” I hiss, fumbling with my bra.
Like an animal, Parker stalks toward me and rips my bra out of my hand, tossing it across the room. With fire blazing in his eyes, he cups my breasts and then pushes me back against the bed.
My knees crumple as he falls over me.
Then he’s pushing my legs apart, and his mouth slams down on my pussy.
Jesus.
His teeth tug on my clit, and I scream, my core flooding with arousal. Like a starving man, he licks my pussy, sucking at my flesh while I shake with both pleasure and anger.
I can barely remember what we were fighting about, but then images of a club with naked woman all over him fill my mind. I fight my orgasm, but this man is too talented with his mouth.
“No,” I cry, tossing my head.
“Do not run from me,” Parker growls, plunging his fingers inside me.
“I’m not yours.” I grip the covers in my fists.
“Yes.” His fingers fuck me roughly while he looks at me between my legs with those blazing angry eyes. “Yes. You. Are.”
I lose the battle and fall right over the cliff.
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PARKER
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T HERE HAVEN’T BEEN any other women. If you exclude Maya sucking my cock at the club the day I met Aurora. Since then, I’ve been a visitor, not a participant at the club, but I doubt she’ll believe me.
I probably wouldn’t if I were in her shoes.
I don’t like this new feeling. The one I have of losing her.
I’m not keeping her.
I felt like Superman with her on my arm last night but equally would have been happier with a semi-automatic in the other so I could shoot every man who stared at her.
She’s not a fucking filet mignon.
I know they’re thinking about her sweet, tight cunt. Unfortunately for them, I’m the only one who has access to it.
I don’t want to lie to her, but if Aurora learns about Maya, she will be hurt. I can’t let that happen. Not when I’ve squandered a lot of time enjoying her sexually instead of searching her mother’s house for the evidence I seek. Interrogating her subtly for information she might hold.
For this reason alone, I agreed to take her and Chloe to the club.
“Fine,” I’d replied, sliding up her body after she came. “I will take you to the club. Chloe may join us.”
Aurora, still pulsing from her orgasm, threw her arms around my neck and kissed me.
Then I plunged my cock inside her.
An hour later, with my dark sunglasses over my eyes, I carried two steaming hot coffees into the elevator of Mary-Anne’s penthouse and glanced down at my fake girlfriend.
Dressed in last night’s little black dress, I smirk knowing her pussy is still bare.
She catches me.
“No.”
“Saying no just makes me want to fuck you more.” I shrug.
“Then, yes.”
I smile wider as the door pings open.
Her penthouse is a far cry from the small apartment she lived in when we first met, and it’s exactly where I need to be.
Aurora will shower, giving a chance to do some snooping.
She tied one of my black shirts over her dress before we left my penthouse. Seeing her in it does something in my chest, like she’s getting under my skin, creating a reaction I’ve never experienced.
Feelings I didn’t know I could.
We share a past she has no memory of—apparently—so unless she’s one hell of an actress, it’s time I started digging, then leave her to grieve her mother.
Whether I’ll tell her what I find, I’m unsure.
The desire to hurt Aurora is fading.
A fact that makes me resentful in some ways but also questions whether I’m as fucked up as I thought.
Probably am.
Aurora’s relationship with her mother is an interesting one. She hasn’t been as brokenhearted by the loss as I assumed she would be. At the funeral, she seemed almost numb. Also drunk. The opposite of what I’ve perceived the tiny green-eyed child would be. The one whisked away from her loving mom.
What have I gotten wrong?
For decades, my hate and resentment have simmered away, assuming a number of things, but the real picture looks quite different.
Smoke and mirrors, perhaps.
“I’m going to shower. Be right back,” Aurora says and disappears down the hall.
Right on track.
“I’ll order breakfast. What do you want?” I call out.
“Eggs. Bacon. More coffee,” she replies, then the door closes.
Tossing back the rest of the coffee, I decide on a second one myself. I didn’t drink all that much last night, but I fucked her for hours, so large servings of both caffeine and protein are required.
After quickly ordering, I wander around the penthouse seeking places Mary-Anne might have hidden information. I figure a pedophile, or sex trafficker, or whatever she was, wouldn’t keep incriminating proof on their coffee table or bookshelf. So, I need to look deeper.
While Aurora is in the shower, I head into the spare rooms and dig through drawers, cupboards, and under the beds.
Bingo. I find a shoe box with a pathetic lock on it. Gripping the sides, I rip it open. Inside there are dozens of printed photos. Flicking through, my chest tightens when I see her face as I knew it decades earlier.
Hurry.
I shove a few in my jacket pocket—it was cool this morning, so I threw on my black bomber jacket over jeans and a T-shirt. Aurora approved. I saw her eyes dilate as they slid down my body—then put the box back on the top shelf of the cupboard where I found it.
I hear a noise which sounds like the shower turning off.
Shit.
I have a couple more minutes. Where would someone who’d run a criminal organization keep things?
A safe maybe?
I move a few paintings as I head back to the living area, looking under them for one, but have no luck.
These photos might give me a lead to find the other predators who were involved. With technology and the right experts—and a lot of money—it’s amazing what you learn.
I found Mary-Anne, but through a death notice. The images could lead me to a living criminal and that means these could be the first solid lead I’ve ever found.
Until Aurora trusts me, getting her to share her childhood memories, or nightmares, is going to take time.
It could happen.
But what I don’t like is how possessive I’ve become of her. Keeping my distance is going to be key.
In fact, taking her to the Alliance Club will be a good test.
She isn’t mine.
I will be walking away.
Therefore, I will sit back and let...
My phone beeps announcing our breakfast has arrived, which is good timing, as I can’t finish that train of thought.
I let him up to the penthouse and give the driver a tip.
“Cheers mate.” The Australian grins cheerfully at the fifty-dollar bill. “Shit. I might take the rest of the day off.”
I laugh and wait until the door closes before taking the food into the kitchen.
“Oh god, I’m starving.” Aurora walks out wearing little black shorts and a matching tank top, and wet hair.
Not mine.
Fuck that, she’s mine.
She squeezes her hair with a small white towel while I contemplate how bad microwaved eggs might be if I dump this bag of food and bend her over the sofa.
Aurora strides past me, chucks the towel on a stool and pulls the boxes of food out of the bags. My stomach grumbles, so I reluctantly choose the food.
After we eat and take a nap, that ass is mine.