13. The Rabbit and the Wolf Man
THE RABBIT AND THE WOLF MAN
Marlon.
“What the fuck happened tonight?”
I kept my phone to my ear with eyes forward.
“The event went well,” I answered. “The turnout was solid and the staff handled it perfectly.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
I glanced at Aurora in the reflection of the window. She had the rat in her lap, head tilted back against the seat, eyes half-lidded. She’s either tired or buzzed.
“Aurora’s fine,” I said.
“That’s not what I’m talking about either,” Dillon replied. “Wyatt had to step away early because there was an issue with one of the deliveries?”
“There was.”
“What is the issue and why is it costing us $50,000?!”
I had a headache already.
“First off, calm down. Second. The bottles we shipped were mislabeled and the vendor was pissed. That’s all.”
“That’s all? How could you let something like this happen?!”
I waited for him to get his emotions together. When I heard the sigh of resignation, I continued.
“I usually review the shipments but I have been busy lately.” I let his mind put together what has been keeping me busy. “Nevertheless, Wyatt knows the product so he should be able to identify the issue and correct it.”
“And then?”
“And then it’s handled. But it was my error so I’ll pay to fix it.”
A pause.
Dillon exhaled slowly. “Wyatt’s useful, Wolf. You sure we should let him go?”
“He’s out.”
Silence on the other end again.
“Is it that big of a deal that he offered to invest?”
“I’m not taking his money. The business belongs to your daughter like we agreed. We have no need for him at this point.”
“We got no need for him but he’s putting out your fires.”
I grimaced. “Well if you ain’t send a lil’ fire of your own with me back to Napa, maybe I wouldn’t be slipping like this. I’m only one damn person. But I said, it’s handled. Wyatt’s out and so his he’s money.”
“But why though? I thought you two were getting along great.”
I didn’t answer right away.
Because the truth sounded a little like this:
I don’t like the way he looks at Aurora. The two of us ain’t bout to be tussling in this vineyard over her either and I refuse to pay somebody to fuck on who I’m fucking on.
“He got too comfortable,” I said instead.
“With the company?” Dillon asked.
“With things that don’t concern him.”
That wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. The whole truth was I didn’t like it. I didn’t like how natural it seemed between the two of them. I didn’t like how much she seemed to enjoy him. And I damn sure didn’t like how much it bothered me.
Since when do I put a woman over business?
“Look Dillon, I appreciate the call but as you can imagine I got shit to handle. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
I hung up before he could respond and looked over at her.
“Did you eat?”
She didn’t look at me. “I’m not hungry.”
That wasn’t an answer I was willing to accept, but I let it pass for now.
“Did you drink something?”
“Wine.”
“Water?”
“No.”
I reached into the cooler, grabbed a bottle of water, twisted the cap, and held it out to her.
“Finish it,” I commanded. “I need you hydrated.”
She glanced at the bottle, then at me, then back to the bottle before she took it and brought it to her lips, taking a small sip.
“Not enough,” I said.
She sighed under her breath but took another.
I leaned back and checked my phone, answering a few messages while she drank. I kept my responses short. Everything could wait until morning, but I didn’t like leaving things open.
“Marley?”
“What?”
“Did you give the wine-tasting experience money?”
I typed quicker now. “Yeah, so?”
“You didn’t need to do that. It’s a lot of money and I don’t want to owe you more than I already do.”
I scoffed. “I don’t need a cent from you, Aurora. Any money you make will go back to the company anyway, so it’s fine.”
“So what’s the reason you did it?”
“It would’ve taken you forever to start making returns on investment. The ventilation system, the stock, the materials and everything? You would have taken a lot longer to get your money back on all that so I just helped. That’s all.”
“So this is because I can’t profit yet? You want me to get the money I owe you together quicker or something?”
“The investment got nothing to do with the money from New York, Rabbit.”
“So why?”
I looked at her. “Because I wanted to.”
Her eyes grew and she sunk into her seat.
I explained further. “I wanted you to run it with no strings. Since you’re under the Sucré brand the board will still need to be advised on any changes but all decisions will fall to you. It’s your responsibility. Understand?”
She nodded.
“Good. Now finish that water.”
She turned it to her head again and I went back to typing. I got five minutes of quiet before she started again. “Why don’t you hold me?”
My hand paused over the screen.
I turned my head and looked at her. She was already watching me.
“Huh?”
“Why don’t you hold me?” she repeated.
I held her gaze for a moment before answering.
“I don’t like to be touched, Aurora.”
“Well I do,” she said.
I looked at her again before I shifted my attention back to my phone, finishing the message I was typing.
“I’ll keep it in mind,” I said.
That wasn’t what she wanted. I knew that. But it was what I could give her for now.
The rest of the drive went by with her finishing the water in slow sips. I kept an eye on it until the bottle was empty. Only then did I take it from her and set it back in the cup holder.
When we pulled up to the house, I stepped out first and came around to her side. I opened the door and placed a hand lightly at her waist to guide her out.
She didn’t resist or comment.
The house was lit the way I left it. Every item placed where it needed to be.
No clutter.
No dust.
The same structure as the office, but maintained. She stepped inside slowly, looking around without saying anything at first. The rat shifted in her arms, still half asleep.
I closed the door behind us.
“What’s wrong?”
She walked a few steps further into the foyer, taking in the space like she was trying to place herself in it.
“I’ve never been to your place before.”
“I know.”
She nodded slightly, adjusting her hold on the dog.
“I think I’m more nervous than I thought I’d be.”
I watched her for a second.
“No need to be,” I set my keys on the doorway table and toed off my shoes. “The dog can stay on my rug in the living room. Anything he destroys comes out of your paycheck, which means you will owe me more.”
“How chivalrous.”
“That or outside.”
She held him tighter. “Over my dead body.”
I step closer. She adjusted her stance to look at me but I could tell her heart was racing.
“What?” She tried. But I didn’t reply. Instead I lightly cupped her through her dress and it caught her off guard.
“You still wet?” I asked like I didn’t literally have the evidence in my hand.
“Y-yes.”
The thought of her pussy marinating in my cum all this time…
“How wet, Rabbit?”
She bit her lip then answered. “Very.”
Fuck.
“Go put the dog down,” I pointed in the direction of the living room. “Now.”
Suddenly she had a pep in her step.
I rolled my shoulders and pushed every thought that screamed this was a bad idea to the back of my mind. I need release. I can’t function with this ticking time-bomb on me, taunting me, tempting me.
Especially since what happened in New York was child’s play. The best way to get my focus back was to let all my fucked up desires out.
One last time.
It’ll be good for both of us.
Across from the foyer was my cigar closet. I walked over and picked a Montecristo, barely getting it to light before I hear heels clacking my way.
“Remind me,” I said without looking up. “How wet are you again, Rabbit?”
“It rubs against my clit when I walk and it makes me cum even more.”
Smoke filled the room as I got the cigar to light and take a puff. “Fuck Rory.”
“You like that, huh?”
“I fucking love it, Bunny.” I faced her then, looking at her innocent smirk. I put the cigar between my teeth and watched her. “Why don’t you take those panties off and lemme see.”
She ain’t even hesitate, arms going under and up the hem of her dress ‘til it hooked the side of her thong. I leaned next to the closet door and watched as she slowly dragged it down her thighs, over her knees, then heels, carefully stepping out of them.
“Fuck,” I was dazed. “It’s soaked.”
“Told ya.”
“Hm.”
She used her finger to swirl it around. “Want it?”
“Nah,” another smoke cloud. “You suck it up.”
“Seriously?”
She looked taken aback but I was dead serious.
“Taste us,” I commanded.
It was a challenge. One she was up for because surprisingly, she took the fabric in her mouth and sucked, and sucked then moaned and swallowed. All while maintaining eye contact.
“Yum.”
I haven’t felt this excited to fuck something in a very long time. Maybe I never felt this level of desire before.
“Upstairs. Now.”
A smirk. “Which door, Marley?”
“Third door at the end of the hallway.”
She gave a quick nod and took off in a hurry.
“I’m ripping whatever you have on to shreds when I get up there, so if you care about that dress you better take it the fuck off!”
I stood there a bit longer, letting the cigar do its thing to calm me. It worked for the most part but a glass of Macallan would really set it off so I poured it up.
Yeah.
This feels good.
Sometimes it’s nice to be underhanded just to get your way.
Should I feel bad for kicking a friend off a project because he was getting too close to fucking on Aurora?
Yes.
Should I also feel bad for sleeping with my even closer friend’s daughter?
Absolutely.
Do I at this moment?
Fuck no.
In fact, I even went and grabbed my kit. I had a lot of toys I wanted to try on my little bunny rabbit.
“Ms. Rodriguez,” I announced before I slid my room door open. Whatever demands I had died on my tongue when I was met with the absolute marvel laying across my bed.
“You know what they say about people with mirrors on their ceilings, Marlon?”
“What do they say, Bunny?”