Chapter 21 Aurora
Aurora
I stomp up the stairs as Rafael stays one step behind me, insisting he walk me to my door.
That was the longest car journey of my life.
He clammed up the moment his father came up in conversation while we were dancing.
Which is a shame, because for the first time I was enjoying his company.
But I need to forget about how much I was enjoying it – namely the feel of his hands on my back, and the heat of his body pressed against mine as we danced.
This is Rafael. I still loathe him.
‘Home sweet home,’ I announce at my door. ‘Good night, then.’
He’s towering behind me like walking tuxedo porn, eyes burning.
‘Invite me in.’
‘What?’ I splutter. ‘Why would you want to come inside my “not fit for vermin to inhabit” place? Checking on your investment, are you? Still can’t believe you bought it.’
‘I bought it to ensure you wouldn’t be forced to listen to men wanking next door.’
‘You just gave me a job at your office so I could watch them doing it instead. To my videos.’
Everything inside me freezes. I cannot believe I just said that out loud to him. Mortification slithers up my spine.
‘So you did watch?’ His voice lowers to a rich purr like he’s amused.
‘I didn’t say that. I just saw, that’s all. For one second.’
He shrugs. ‘Didn’t do it for me, anyway. Too . . . bland.’
‘As if!’ I scoff. There’s no way I’m going to sit here and let him insult me like that. ‘Your phone probably needed drying out, the amount it got covered in!’
His lips curl into a ghost of a smirk. ‘Thought you didn’t watch for more than one second?’
Irritation bubbles inside me. I walked straight into that one.
‘You’re a wanker,’ I seethe.
‘Evidently. But only to your videos,’ he replies drily.
I hate that his words send a shiver up my spine.
One with a fiery heat that spreads out through my veins and threatens to infect my blood until it pulses to his command.
One that has me immediately picturing being railed into next week by him on my tiny bed that’ll probably break with the way I bet this man fucks.
‘I want you,’ he says calmly. ‘This evening has proved to me that I . . .’ He tilts his annoyingly handsome head, his gaze narrowing on me in thought. ‘. . . need you. Just once. You can pretend it never happened tomorrow if that’s what you want, never talk to me again.’
The hallway falls silent enough to hear a pin drop.
I’ve never wished for Mike to be on one of his calls to Mistress so badly, just to provide a distraction.
Something, anything, other than having to stand here staring at Rafael Fairfax with my mouth hanging open like I’ve just witnessed him turn water into wine.
I fight to regain control over my body, because my panties seem to have forgotten that we hate him and are rapidly dampening under his heated gaze.
‘Why on earth would I ever—’
‘Before you say no, let me kiss you like we both wanted in my office.’
‘What?’
My jaw isn’t just on the floor, it has left the building and is halfway down the street.
He licks his lips subtly, like he’s preparing.
‘You think it’s going to be so good I won’t be able to say no? Is that it?’
He tips his chin, arrogance personified.
‘Oh my God, you do!’ I scoff.
‘I’m going to kiss you now, Aurora.’ He moves closer, and I gape up at him, as my core flutters with heat like a traitor. ‘But you can tell me to stop,’ he rasps, all deep and husky and delicious.
I blink. ‘Oh, so reassuring—’
He slides his hand around my neck, cupping it gently, pausing for a beat, his molten irises searching mine for hesitation.
Then he lowers his mouth and covers my lips with his.
They brush mine oh so gently at first, like he’s giving me a chance to back out.
But when I do nothing other than question if I’m about to have a heart attack from the way it’s fighting to escape my ribcage, he presses them more firmly against mine, drawing me into a kiss.
It’s warm, soft, confident.
And all hope of me ever being able to deny him obliterates with the rich groan that comes from his mouth and pours straight into mine.
Everything fades around us. His cologne washes over my senses like a warm wave, and the sound of his breath mixing with mine fills my ears.
I’m inside his bubble. Under his spell.
It’s a kiss that’s painstakingly tender, and in complete contrast to what I’d expect from him.
He kisses me the way a lover would if they were told it was their last moment together.
His hands sink into my hair, and he holds me in place, my head tilted back with such care, like he’s scared he could break me.
‘I’ve thought about doing this for so bloody long,’ he whispers against my lips.
He sinks into me again with more insistence, a rougher groan escaping from the back of his throat as he slides his tongue out to taste me. I gasp as the feel of him inside my mouth sends my core into meltdown.
I’m kissing Rafael Fairfax.
I hate this man. But even as my mind wages a war with itself, my body arches into his, fighting to get closer, to fuse with his like it’s the only acceptable outcome. I kiss him back like it’s instinctual. Like I both want and need him.
‘Please,’ a voice whimpers, and it takes me a moment to realise that it’s mine.
I’m begging Rafael fucking Fairfax.
‘Beauty,’ he chokes, running his thumbs over my cheeks before he surges forward with vigour, stealing my breath from me like it’s his.
That one word. The way he says it, like it means everything . . .
It sparks a fire in my soul, smashing the final thin barriers that remain.
I grab the lapels of his dinner jacket, hauling him to me. His balance falters and we slam back against my front door, our kiss growing frantic.
‘Tonight never happened,’ I gasp against his lips.
They curve with a flash of a dark smile. ‘Finally. Something we agree on.’
I kiss him back with explosive desperation, and he matches me stroke for stroke, breath for breath. It takes everything in me to tear my lips from his and turn to put the key into my front door.
Commanding, warm kisses cascade up and down my neck from behind, and I moan as he grabs my hips and yanks them towards him, grinding his erection into my arse.
‘Hurry up before I fuck you right here,’ he hisses, sucking on my skin, then grazing it with his teeth and sending heat racing up my spine.
There’s no mistaking it. The man is a certified big-dicked arsehole.
But right now, I couldn’t care less. Common sense has deserted me, waved off by my conscience, which has happily boarded the Rafael Fairfax fan club train.
I open the door and he spins me, hoisting me up into his arms and barging through it like the entitled prick he is.
Wrapping my legs around his waist, he slams the door closed with his foot and crosses the room in two strides, until he’s standing beside the tiny alcove that contains my bed.
‘You have to get on from the foot end,’ I pant against his mouth. ‘Because it’s a tight fit.’
‘Jesus,’ he groans, sinking his hands into my arse as I grind over the solid dick in his trousers.
I tug on his hair, deepening our kiss and tightening my thighs around his torso.
He pulls his lips from mine. ‘You need to stop, Aurora. I . . .’
‘Why?’ I pant.
He kisses me again like he can’t control himself, sliding his teeth over my lower lip in a final, lingering tug before he withdraws and places me on my feet.
‘Can I use your bathroom?’
I blink at him in surprise. ‘Now?’
‘Right now,’ he says in a strained voice.
‘Um . . . sure.’
He stalks into my bathroom, cursing to himself, and closes the door without looking back.
I’m left, standing alone with soaking panties, and a chest heaving with lust-fuelled pants as I wait for a man I don’t even like to exit my bathroom.
Tanya’s house creeps out of the recesses of my memory.
This is what he did there. Sounded really into it with her, then escaped to the bathroom, acting like taking a piss was a more enjoyable experience than going back into a room with a woman who clearly wanted him.
He’s going to flush the toilet any moment, then walk out of there, declaring he’s changed his mind, and this was all a mistake.
And I’ll be left here like an idiot.
The toilet doesn’t flush. Instead, a roughly bitten curse echoes through the closed door, followed by the sound of the tap running.
A moment later the door flies open and Rafael strides out. He makes a beeline for me, his eyes blazing.
‘You’re wearing too many clothes,’ he growls, his eyes drinking in my dress as he rips off his tuxedo jacket then his bow-tie, like he’s fuming.
Oh my God, I’m about to get fucked, and I’m fully here for it.
The guy might be an arsehole, but it’s been a long time since I had sex with a man who knew what he was doing. Really knew what he was doing. In fact, I’m not sure any man I’ve slept with has ever—
Rafael’s hands land on the back of my dress, grabbing the zipper.
‘Be careful!’ I warn, scared my monthly rent payment will fly out of the window if it gets ripped.
He arches a dark brow at me, holding my eyes as he slowly slides the zip all the way down to where it ends, just above the curve of my arse.
‘It’s a nice dress,’ he rasps. ‘You look beautiful in it. But it still has to come off. I’m far more interested in the beauty beneath it.’
Hearing such words of admiration from him has my core tightening with arousal.
‘I filmed it for my vlog earlier,’ I blurt, over-talking like I’m nervous. ‘It’ll be posted tomorrow.’
He runs his tongue over the edge of his perfect teeth, his tone lowering to something dark and filthy. ‘Is that so? In that case, my schedule for tomorrow is already looking promising.’
My breath hitches as he lets go of the silk and it slides down my body like an expensive curtain at an art unveiling, letting my breasts spill free, and leaving me standing in nothing but a lace G-string and heels.