Chapter 9
ALONZO
Weeks Ago:
I don’t think my cock can get any harder. I stare at the woman in front of me, watching her laugh and tossing the ball I bought for Hades. I don’t know why I bought the fucking thing, but seeing the smile on Rori’s face light up when I gave it to him makes it worth it.
Which is a fucking problem, but I can’t seem to stop. I can’t seem to stay the fuck away from her.
Aurora O’Brien is exactly my type. She’s the kind of woman who will always gain attention no matter where she is, but she’s not seeking it out.
She doesn’t care that every time she walks into the room, everyone looks at her.
She simply exists. Then there’s that smartass attitude of hers.
Every time she gives me that saucy, blood-red-lipped smile, I want to fuck it right out of her.
See all that red surrounding my cock as I fuck her mouth.
I like a woman who knows what she wants, isn’t afraid to go after it, and is a total badass.
Rori is all of those things, but I also don’t know where this feeling is coming from.
It’s like something in my head has suddenly switched.
We went from me not trusting her, thinking that she’s here to cause problems and report back to her family and their Russian connections, to wanting her terribly and realizing that she’s so much more.
She’s got a soft side that I’ve only seen a few glimpses of.
The glimpses she guards just as much as she does her dog.
The same dog that is starting to relax around me. Well, enough that he doesn’t growl every time I get too close to him. Now he looks at me with a stare that’s more of a warning.
Still, even with all that, I have warnings blaring in my head.
This woman is connected to the Russian Bratva, even if it’s not directly.
That can’t be discounted. She has secrets, too.
Ones that she’s careful to keep herself, or expertly dodges.
Any time I ask her about her past, about her family life, or about her work, she either distracts me or finds a way to give me a roundabout answer that actually says nothing at all.
It took a few times for me to pick up on it because she’s that fucking good, but now that I’m on to her, I’m paying more attention.
I’m also noticing more of her as a whole.
The way she moves, the languages she speaks to the dog, and the way she expertly makes sure that I can’t get too close to whatever it is she’s trying to hide.
I’d put it down to her not trusting me either, considering that until earlier we treated her as enemy number one, but it’s more than that. My gut is telling me to pay attention, and I never ignore it when it pushes something like this at me. It’s never steered me wrong yet.
Trying to get that kind of information, though, won’t be easy. Especially when I’m so easily distracted by her. Or pissed at her. At this point, it’s a toss-up which emotion is going to show up when the two of us are in the same vicinity.
“Why the hell are you scowling now, Goliath?” Rori demands in exasperation.
I look at her, saying nothing. I didn’t even realize I was scowling in the first place. And that stupid fucking nickname. The joke isn’t a new one, but coming from her, it makes me want to take her over my knee and spank her ass.
My cock jerks at the image. Fuck. I try to ignore the sensation. The last thing I need is her spotting me with a hard-on.
She rolls her eyes at my refusal to give her any information. “Whatever. I’m ready to get ready for bed. It’s been a long fucking day. And I suppose that means I still have to sleep in the same room as you?”
Technically, no, since Pietro said we can trust her now, or at least act like we do, but I find myself nodding.
The thought of her being in another room, far away from me to cause some kind of trouble, has me irritable.
“And tonight, that bed hogging asshole is sleeping on the floor,” I add with a jerk of my head toward the dog currently chomping away on his ball and ignoring us.
Rori snorts. “And you’ve seen how well that order has worked out, Goliath.
” She whistles for Hades and heads toward the house.
Damn it. I stalk after her, my stride long enough that I catch up to her easily.
Hades glances back at me, ball still in his mouth, and a low warning growl echoing around the ball.
I glare at him. Yeah, I’m kicking his grumpy ass to the floor for sure tonight.
I have a rule about no animals in the bed, but she allows this one to break it. The last thing I want to do is roll over and find myself face to face with a dog instead of a sexy ass woman. Especially one that only wore one of my T-shirts to bed.
Fuck, I need to stop. I should be grateful that the dog slept in the bed and I didn’t do something stupid. Like curl myself around her and feel that perfect ass cradling my cock.
My cock jerks again. Damn it. I need to get over this shit. Wanting Rori is a bad idea.
When we reach my—ours now, I guess—suite, Rori doesn’t even glance at me as she heads for the bathroom, giving a quick command to Hades that has him going to his dog bed with his ball to lie down.
I guess I’m dismissed.
The bathroom door shuts and I let out an annoyed sigh as I scrape my hand through my hair.
What the fuck am I going to do? I can’t allow myself to be distracted by her.
She’s doing my head in and that is unacceptable.
No woman should be able to distract me. Hell, no one should be able to distract me.
My entire focus needs to be on keeping Gia and Sienna safe from their wacko family.
The bathroom door opens and I curse under my breath. Why is God tempting me? What the fuck have I done to deserve this early version of hell?
Rori steps out, wrapped in only a towel that barely covers her ass and shows off her long, toned legs, along with the tattoos that I’ve only been able to get a glimpse of when she was in that barely-there swimsuit.
I’m hard as a fucking rock. I don’t even bother trying to hide it, watching her as she makes her way to the walk-in closet, searching around for something. I need to look away. My cock does not agree, in fact, he thinks we should do a lot more than look.
Bad idea. Very bad idea.
Out of sheer willpower I force my body to turn away, but the willpower evaporates when I see her emerging from the closet with another one of my shirts. “What the hell are you doing?” It comes out as more of a snap than a demand.
“I don’t have anything to sleep in, so unless you want me naked in the bed, you get to share some of your clothes, Goliath.
” The shirt shakes in my direction. “Besides, with how big you are, this thing is like a dress on me. And if you don’t want me to use your clothes, then you should see about getting me some pajamas since I’m not allowed to just go shopping myself.
” Her eyes turn sly and her dark red lips pull up into a wicked, knowing smile.
“Unless, of course, this has always been your plan? You just want to see me running around naked, don’t you, Goliath? ”
Yes!
Fuck.
“Why aren’t you just sharing with Sienna? Isn’t that what you women do? Steal each other’s clothes?” Perfectly reasonable argument. No fucking way am I touching the other questions.
She gives me a pitying stare. “I’m taller and leaner than Sienna, big guy.
It’d be like wearing doll clothes to me.
Or like I had some kind of weird growth spurt.
So your shirt it is.” That same look resurfaces.
“Unless, of course, you don’t want me to wear your shirt.
Just say the word, and I’ll put it back. ”
“Fuck, I don’t care. Go shower. You’re not the only one who needs to use it.”
Her green eyes turn molten as they slowly take me in.
Shit. Her eyes linger just a little too long on my erection, and a primal triumph flashes over her face.
She licks her lips before she practically purrs, “There’s a bench in the middle of the shower, Goliath.
You can shower on one side, and I’ll shower on the other. No reason to waste the water, right?”
She’s playing with fire, and I’m teetering on the edge of doing something very stupid. Fuck. I hold on to my control with my fingernails as I growl harshly, “You’re playing with fire, Aurora, so cut it the hell out.”
I realize my mistake as her smile widens.
“That’s your problem, huh? You want me, clearly, but you don’t want to want me.
” White teeth flash as my shirt drops to the floor.
I stiffen. What the hell is she doing? “That’s too bad, Goliath, because I think that you and I would be really hot together, don’t you?
” Her hand goes to the towel, fingers dipping into her cleavage.
Alright, it’s confirmed, I’m in hell. The devil himself has to be watching this shit and laughing. My cock jerks, weeping with desire as I watch her pull the piece of fabric away from her body, dropping it to the floor.
The curse that slips from my mouth is sharp. Fuck, seeing her naked is almost too fucking much.
Her skin is pale, contrasting against the bright colors of her tattoos.
Lean muscle mixed with just the right amount of curves.
I greedily take in her perfect sized tits, her dark pink nipples hard and tight, making my fingers itch to pinch and tease them, and my mouth water to taste them.
I’ve been with women who can come just from sucking on tits.
I wonder if Aurora O’Brien is the same? I really want to find out.
My eyes trail down, taking in her pronounced abs that she’s worked hard to keep up.
Over her slightly curved hips, showcasing more of her ink along both sides, before trailing down to mid-upper thigh.
Which is exactly why until now I didn’t know that she had them, and my hands also itch to trace them.
Fuck, who am I kidding? My hands itch to touch every inch of her. Including the bare folds between her legs, currently shifting, as if trying to contain her desire. Is she already soaked at the thought of us being together?
I clench my fists together to keep from adjusting myself, or worse, reaching for her.
“This isn’t happening.”
Her chuckle is husky, pure temptation. “You keep saying that, but we both know that you want me, Alonzo. You want me bad enough that you try so hard to hide it. Acting like you hate me, but that’s not right, is it?
I think you actually like me and you hate it.
You despise that you want someone like me, isn’t that right? ”
“Being attracted to you is a reflex.” Lie. Lie. Lie. It’s as natural as breathing and that’s what worries me. I should not want her this much.
Sex with her can’t happen. Falling for her can’t happen.
“Huh, I think that’s the first time I’ve ever been told I’m a reflex instead of hot.
” She chuckles, unoffended, slowly turning away and walking back into the bathroom.
She stops in the doorway, glancing over her shoulder at me.
“You keep lying to yourself a little longer, Goliath, but we both know we’re not going to be able to hold out on this forever. Attraction is a bitch.”
I barely contain the groan that’s building in my chest as she shuts the door. I’m itching to follow her. To taste every inch of her and feel her against me. To feel her walls wrapped around my cock, squeezing every last drop out of my balls.
I grip my cock tight, trying to get myself under some semblance of control. How the hell am I supposed to survive this? I need to get the hell out of here, or I’m going to do something I’ll regret.
Like, walk into that shower and find out exactly how combustible our chemistry really is.
I look at Hades, who is still munching away on his ball, but his gaze moves to mine, and I swear to God that damn dog is laughing at me. “Fuck,” I mutter.
Turning, I stalk out of the bedroom. I really don’t need to do something stupid, no matter how tempting it is.