Chapter 4
brUNO
Night makes the windows dark, but I ignore the hour and keep working. I’ve been spending so long watching Aurora on the CCTV my work is falling behind. Forms that should have been filled are empty, and I even forgot to order the new tools I was supposed to.
She’s taking every space in my mind, becoming more important than anything else. And I should not be thinking about her, but it’s impossible. She’s become my obsession, and there’s not a moment in my day I don’t think about her.
I’m going through my emails once more—since I lost the meaning of them the first time I read through—when I see movement in the CCTV camera from the corner of my eye. It’s past nine, and the store has been closed for some hours. An alarm rushes through me, and I lean closer to gape at the camera.
Am I going mad? Is this the length of my obsession with her? Why am I seeing Aurora in my store at this time of night?
I watch her ambling among the corridors, then change the camera to follow her with my eyes. She goes to the front door. Closes a hand around the knob and yanks it. It’s locked, of course. I locked it after everyone was gone. Or when I thought everyone was gone.
What is she doing here?
She stops herself, then looks over her shoulder. She’s locked inside, but from the main floor, she can see I’m in my office. The lights are on. Why doesn’t she come my way?
Bitter feelings rush through my veins. I know why. She doesn’t want to be near me. She doesn’t want to be alone with a man like me. Too big, too rough, too worried about his job. Aurora has no reason to want to be around me.
Then she whirls around and starts to my office.
My heart shoots to my throat. I reach out and flick the CCTV off, turning to my computer like a teenager about to be caught watching porn.
The moment I turn to the screen, eyes unfocused, completely uncaring for what I had been reading, she knocks on the door.
“Come in.”
She does, cracking the door open and peeking inside. Her cheeks are this pale pink color that makes me wish I saw her flushed in every other situation possible. My cock goes rock-hard, and she hasn’t even looked at me yet.
“Mr. Miller, I’m sorry to bother you...” She steps into my office, and I leap to my feet. Then I remember my erection and shove my hands in my pockets to conceal it. “But I’m locked inside.”
“I’m the one who should apologize. I didn’t know you were still inside.”
She tucks a strand of hair behind an ear as she looks up at me. Her eyes are huge, brilliant under the artificial lights. Standing under her gaze makes my stomach churn. “I was loading up the storage. The boxes we were supposed to have put up this afternoon.”
I blink. “Johnny was supposed to fix them up. You were hurt.”
“My ankle is fine now. I can almost put my entire weight on it.” And she looks down at her foot, the heel off the ground.
My jaw drops. Rage bubbles inside me, but not for her. No, never for her. What the fuck did Johnny have on his mind? Instead of doing his job when she was hurting, he just... what? Did he leave? Did he sit back to enjoy some time off? And Aurora had to stay late and do it when she’s...
My hands close into fists. I slam my eyes shut and take deep breaths in. What the hell was he thinking? This was selfish and irresponsible, and...
“It’s alright, Mr. Miller,” she whispers, and she’s close, so freaking close. When did she get this close to me? Aurora reaches out, hand brushing my clenched arm, and her touch electrifies me. “I’m mostly alright.” And she smiles.
And it’s the way her lips tug to the side, the regret on her face, the timidness.
It’s how pretty this woman is, her hand still touching me, and the softness on her face.
It’s the way she looks at me, as if she’s both in awe and taken aback.
Everything collides together and breaks every single one of my restraints.
I don’t know what I’m doing, but I lean in and capture her lips with mine.
Softness crushes my lips, and the scent of hers mixes with the taste of cherry in my mouth.
My hands curl around her head, and I press our mouths together, parched for her taste.
My stomach rumbles with a hunger for her, and I feel myself going mad.
Second by second, I lose my mind as I taste her.
She’s unique and delicious, and I don’t think I can live a day without this.
Then Aurora’s hands touch my shoulders and instead of pushing me off, she pulls me in.
She hugs me closer, fingers sinking into my muscles, nails biting into my skin.
Aurora sighs, her breath touching my face, and we’re the only ones in the entire world.
Her warmth seeps into my body, making me shiver.
It’s like I’ve been standing in the cold my entire life. Waiting for her to arrive.
She’s the sun. She is warmth and light when I’ve been living in bitter loneliness my whole life. I can’t help but lean in. Can’t help but hope she’ll suck me in with her gravity.
Aurora breaks the kiss. She doesn’t pull away, doesn’t step out of my grip, but she gasps for air, and I may have been kissing her for too long.
She’s small in my arms, eyes looking up with bright curiosity when my gaze meets hers.
Hopeful? Confused? I don’t know, and I don’t know what to say or how to act.
She’s so beautiful it blinds me. It fogs my mind and makes me confused. Words fail me, and nothing makes sense but the two of us. Nothing matters to me but her taste on my tongue.
“Mr. Miller...” she whispers, a broken sound, and I want to devour it.
“Bruno. You call me Bruno.” Only her, only her.
“Bruno, I... This...” And she shakes her head, subtly, but it’s enough. It’s enough to show me what she thinks. Aurora is shy, quiet, and too correct to tell me what she thinks straight on.
She doesn’t need to say anything, because I get it. I get how she feels.
My hands fall away. I don’t want to force anything. She’s feeling confused, maybe attacked, even compelled. And that’s something I would never, ever do to her. I swallow hard, my hands itching, begging to touch her again.
“You’re right,” I say before she can do anything else. “You’re right. This is wrong. I shouldn’t have done it.”
She licks her lips, opens and closes her mouth, and I watch her cheeks grow redder. But she says nothing. Pressing her lips together, she looks at her feet. “Could you unlock the door, please?”
And shit, I shouldn’t have done this. And it will haunt me for the rest of my life.