10. Aiden
Chapter ten
Aiden
T his wasn’t part of the game plan.
These thoughts about Aurora are like a sucker punch to the face. Every time I see her, it’s like I’m brought ten paces backward. It’s like I’m losing my edge.
The smart play would be to shut this shit down. To lock it away and focus on what matters.
“Such a damn dumbass,” I hiss at myself as I shut the bathroom door behind me. It’s been hours since I watched Aurora walk away, her shapely hips calling out from beneath stretched denim.
The memory of my arm curled around her waist plagues my thoughts since she and Katarina left. I can still imagine the soft blush of color across her cheeks. If not for the audience, I’d do something. I’m not sure what that something is, but I know it wouldn’t be acceptable.
At least my thoughts are my own, even when they’re filled with thoughts of Aurora and what it would be like to peel those shorts from her. I don’t know how my desire isn’t etched onto my face at this point.
I glance down at my hardening cock. It doesn’t take too much for me to get off these days. Even if it is always the same kiss-bitten lips and a smaller grip around my dick, that’s my own business.
At least I never act on it. The smart thing to do would be to get out and find someone to work off some of this tension with, and yet night after night I find myself at home doing the same stupid shit with my time.
“Fucking pathetic,” I say to my reflection in the mirror, who looks back at me with no answers to speak of. With a sigh, I pull my shirt over my head and toss it onto the floor before doing the same to my shorts.
My cock is already rising quickly, and I have zero desire to deny myself some self-loving. It’s all I’m getting these days anyway.
By the time I climb into the shower, steam curls around me, warming my skin. The water pelts down, relieving my aching muscles and making me sigh.
It feels damn good after these hard practices night after night. The season is starting in a couple of weeks, and I know taking time to indulge is going to be few and far between, especially when we get on the road. Despite my initial hesitancy, living with Jax and Aurora has proven more than a good idea, and I’m glad I let myself be talked into it.
I scratch a hand through the hairs on my lower stomach before turning my head to the side and cracking the tension out of my neck. I need a fucking massage so someone can take my ass apart and put it back together again. I make a mental note to schedule one for the next day before getting the show on the road.
I grab my dick, shivering slightly at the warmth of my own hand. The water doesn’t provide much of a slide, but I keep going, gripping with the pressure that I like.
My breath huffs out of me, and I lean forward to prop myself up on the wall in front of me. I run my thumb over the head of my dick, smiling slightly at the feeling. I spread the precum that drips from it, liking the slip it gives me. It isn’t the same as being balls deep in someone and having their slickness spread on me to ease thrusting, but it will have to do for now. I squeeze the head, pressing more liquid out and spreading it more. I stand up straight before spitting in my free hand and bringing it to my cock as well.
Double-handed gives me more to work with, and I squeeze one while rotating the other, giving me a writhing funnel to fuck into.
It isn’t as good as someone’s pussy, but fuck, it’ll have to do. Later, I’ll have a talk with myself about why it feels wrong to invite someone back to the house when I pay rent here too, but not right now. I don’t want to look at a fucking thing too closely this close to the season’s start. I have to have my head in the game, which means getting off as quickly as possible and moving the fuck on.
My breathing speeds up as I feel my stomach clench. I’m so fucking close and just need a bit more to get myself over the line. I stroke my dick, squeezing up near the head again and jerking as pinpricks of pleasure dance over my skin. With my eyes closed I try not to feel one bit of guilt as I bring up the image of Aurora in my mind. She’s wearing those fucking shorts that show off every curve and the little slit between her cunt. A shirt that could have been painted on, and the way the fabric frames her beautiful fucking tits. She has grown up so fucking well, and I would be a liar if I said I didn’t notice. I notice even when she’s in long-sleeve shirts and sweats.
I try to keep my eyes to myself in the house because fuck if I make her uncomfortable in her own home. We live together, and I’m not trying to start shit or make her think she needs to cover up.
But twice I’ve walked into the kitchen to find her bent over the oven doing something innocent like pulling out a dish of lasagna, and I can’t stop myself from imagining taking it out of her hands before bending her over again and tasting that sweet heat.
I’m a man half-starved, and clearly, I’m just fixating on the closest possibility. It doesn’t mean a damn thing.
Soft moans echo in my mind at the thought of being wrapped around Aurora, her soft curves pressed against me in that perfect way. I imagine grabbing her chin and turning those plush lips to mine, plundering them until they’re noticeably swollen. How does she taste? Probably fucking perfect.
“Shit.” I hitch my breath before looking down in amazement as my cock jumps and spurts. The relief at having come is soon replaced with frustration at wanting to come again. I’m too old for this shit.
Noises from the living room have me jerking away from the wall, and I wash up quickly, not wanting to be caught with my dick out and cum all over my hands.
When I’m completely dry, I wrap my towel and creep out of the bathroom. The hallway’s still dark, as is the living room, but I hear giggles coming from the other side of the couch.
I slowly pad over there and almost trip over a leg. When I click on the lamp beside the couch, twin yelps ring out, and I almost lose it laughing when I see Katarina and Aurora both lying, limbs twisted, on the floor. They blink up at me, both looking like a pair of baby owls.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you called for a stripper,” Katarina says before devolving into even more giggles. I raise an eyebrow at being mistaken for a stripper.
“I’m not—“
“Noooo,” Aurora says from where she lies on her side. “That’s Aiden. He’s not a stripper…I don’t think. Have you stripped before? Did you make good money?”
Her words are slurred, but they still have me chuckling. Clearly, they’re both completely pissed to the wind. With a grunt, I lean over and help them both up. They keep giggling like two schoolgirls as I help Katarina to the guest room. She slumps onto the bed before turning over and star-fishing.
“Ugh, just let me die here,” she says, her speech slurred. “The world is spinning, and I hate everything.”
“I’ll come check on you once I get Aurora in bed,” I say softly before hitching Aurora up more and walking her over to her room. Her weight on me is like in my imagination, but I push the thoughts to the side and focus on getting her into bed.
It’s the first time I’ve really been in her room, and it’s strangely bereft of personal items. When we were younger, she collected a host of things, but this adult version of her only has a few pictures dotting the walls. It’s so unlike her. I shake my head when Aurora giggles again and says something I don’t understand, and slowly ease her into bed.
“You’re a good egg.”
I snort. “Okay. I think you’re a good egg too, I guess.”
A hand pats me on the top of my head, and I look up at Aurora. She’s leaning back on her elbows, eyes half-lidded and glassy. Her lips are twisted in a crooked smile, and despite looking drunk as hell, she is still so damn gorgeous.
I shake my head to clear my thoughts and focus on getting her shoes off.
“No, you don’t,” she starts before giggles derail her words. She pats my head again, and I shake it, smiling at the ridiculousness of the situation.
It isn’t that I’ve never seen Aurora drunk before, but not to this extent, and she definitely hasn’t been as handsy that time. “You helped me before. You helped me again. You’re helping me now.”
“Did you want me to just leave your drunk ass in the living room?” I ask.
“No, you don’t get it,” she insists before pulling at my hair. Despite my annoyance, a thread of leftover arousal has me reaching up to remove her hand.
I don’t need things getting blurred here while she’s on a bender. Aurora’s grip is stronger than it should be, and she grabs my hand back, yanking me. I’m unprepared and fall over her.
“What are you doing?” My question is muffled by a pair of lips pressing against mine. For a moment, I forget where I am and let myself fall into it. The kiss is hot and so fucking good. When Aurora leans back, her eyes are bright, and her lips are sinfully red from up close.
“Even when Turner first pulled his shit, you picked me up and told me I didn’t deserve it. You went to prom with me and after…” I clench my jaw. We’re getting dangerously close to territory that we don’t wade into. “You made me feel so good. I thought my first time would hurt, but you were so—“
“Aurora,” I bite out, halting her words. “We shouldn’t talk about this. You need to get to sleep.”
She nods before pulling me toward her again. I don’t know if it’s her strength or my weakness that has me falling into her again, but when our lips touch, I lose my senses. Her mouth is heaven, and her taste is ambrosia, even with the hint of liquor.
I let my tongue dart out and tangle with hers before I regain my senses enough to pull away. Even if this wasn’t a horrible idea in general, I would never take advantage of her in this state of drunkenness. I have to be the voice of reason here when she can’t be.
“Aurora, no.”
Her whine has me clenching my teeth as my arousal roars to life, sounding exactly like I’ve imagined—her moaning while I’m deep inside her, thrusting hard and relentless. I don’t need this shit right now, not when I’m already so damn weak for her.
“But I want to,” she purrs. “I want to be with you again so badly. I dream about that night and wonder if I just imagined how good you were.” Her words are so soft I have to lean in to hear them. “Turner always hated that you were my first because he could never compare.” The thought of her dreaming of me beyond that first time has me leaping away.
“Sleep,” I bite out, fighting against myself. I have to get the fuck out of this room. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
Aurora smiles and nods before turning over. I don’t have any intention of us having a conversation, not while my walls are down and she’s looking so… perfect.
I have to figure out how to get over this before we do something we can never take back. As I pull her sheet up to her shoulders, my phone buzzes. A text from Jax:
“We need to talk about Aurora.”