Queen of the Fireflies (Aurelia Chronicles Book 1)

by Rinna Ford

  “That feels amazing,” he sighed. I smiled around his cock and kept going. He moaned with pleasure and I knew he was getting close. He motioned for me to stop, and pulled me up the bed so I was straddling him. “Ride me,” he demanded.

  I slipped off the bed with a sexy smirk and removed the bathrobe as I walked to his dresser to get another condom.

  “Last one,” I told him. I slipped back onto the bed and handed it to him. I wasn’t very good at putting condoms on a guy.

  “I will get some more, if it means we get to do more of this” he smiled. He ripped it from the package and rolled it on. Brogan then lifted me up like I weighed nothing and impaled me on his hard cock. I moaned as he filled me up so perfectly. After a few seconds, I began moving on top of him, feeling better than I ever had before.

  He cupped my breasts, his thumbs flicking over my nipples as my movements became harder and faster. I screamed in ecstasy as waves of pleasure rolled over me. Brogan took over and began pumping into my from underneath harder and harder, until he finally stilled and groaned.

  I slid off of him and laid down on the bed. He got up to dispose of the condom, then came back. He pulled me to him so I was laying on his chest again. I scooted down so I could look up at his face. He looked down at mine and smiled. I really did love his smile.

  “Good morning,” he chuckled. “That was definitely the best wake up call I’ve ever had.” I smiled and starting writing words on his stomach with my finger.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He chuckled again and held my hand, stopping it from moving. He looked at the arrow tattoo on the inside of my right ring finger.

  “What is this for?” he asked. He rubbed it with his thumb.

  “Tessa has one too in the same spot. We both like the symbolism of arrows. Moving forward, hitting the target,…” I drifted off in thought. “We want to always be in each other’s life, so we got matching tattoos like couples do.”

  “She means that much to you?” He didn’t seem concerned, just intrigued.

  “She’s my sister in every way that counts. We didn’t grow up together, in fact we’ve only been friends for 3 years now. But, she’s a piece of me that I didn’t know I was missing until we met, and I’m a missing piece of her.” Brogan remained quiet, thinking about what I said. “Do you have any close friends?” I asked.

  “Elgin. He’s my closest friend besides my brother and sister. We’ve known each other since we were children. His family was poor, a lot poorer than mine and my parents didn’t want me to associate with him. But he was always around to challenge me, to stand up for me, and to hold me back whenever my temper got the better of me.” He let out a little huff. “I’d be dead several times over if it wasn’t for him. We even joined the military together, and work together to this day.”

  I smiled. “That’s nice that you get to work with your best friend. I hope Tessa and I can find jobs near each other after we graduate. If we don’t, we’ll definitely make an effort to stay in each other’s life.”

  Brogan lifted my chin with his finger and pulled me up so I could give him a kiss. After we moved away, he asked if I would like breakfast. My stomach started growling, which answered for me, making us both laugh. He ordered our breakfast and we ate in bed. He didn’t let me get up to help bring the food to bed and he definitely didn’t let me get dressed. Normally I would have been embarrassed, but with Brogan I felt confident and sexy.

  We talked about our lives as we ate, cuddled together under the rumpled sheets. Not long after we finished eating, I realized what time it was by looking over at the alarm clock.

  “I need to go soon,” I pouted. “I have to work at 1:00 and I’m training a new girl.” He held me in his arms tighter, seeming to not want to let me go. “But I can see you tomorrow afternoon.” I hopefully looked at him.

  Brogan smiled down at me and slowly released me. I got to my feet to look for my bathing suit and cover up. They were going to be fun to wear home. Hopefully my mom didn’t decide to come home early from her trip. That would be embarrassing.

  Brogan noticed my hesitation to put my bathing suit back on, so he got out a pair of shorts and a tank top of his for me to wear home. The shorts were too big so I had to roll them up several times so they wouldn’t fall down. I wore my bikini top as a bra and put on his shirt. It didn’t look like I was doing the walk of shame at all, I sarcastically thought. I sighed. But it was better than the alternative.

  He put a shirt and his flip flops on (he was already wearing shorts because he had to get the food when room service came to the door) and waited for me by the door. I grabbed my keys off the couch and followed him through the door and down the hall. He held my hand tightly.

  When we got to my jeep, he kissed me slow and deep, then let me go. He gave me a small smile and watched me leave the parking lot and pull out onto the street.

  Chapter Eleven

  My mom wasn’t home waiting on me when I got there, thank goodness. I rushed inside hoping the neighbors wouldn’t see how I was dressed, and decided to unpack the cooler after my shower. I took Brogan’s clothes off and put them in the hamper, and made a mental note to make sure and do my own laundry this time so my mom didn’t see his stuff mixed with mine. I usually did my laundry, but sometimes Mom liked to grab my dirty clothes if she needed to fill a load in the washer.

  I turned on the shower and stepped under the spray. My muscles ached in a satisfying way and a smile crept onto my face. I couldn’t wait to see him again. Just as I finished washing the last of the conditioner out of my hair, I heard a banging on the front door. I turned off the shower, wrapped a towel around my head, and put on my bathrobe. I walked to the door and looked out the peephole.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mumbled. On the other side of the door, banging and yelling was an obviously drunk Jesse. “Go away, Jesse! Or I’m going to call the police!” I yelled through the door. I made sure all the locks were in place then walked into my bedroom to get my phone. I slipped it into the pocket of my robe.

  “Please, Alya!” He yelled. “I need you!”

  Oh my goodness, this was bad. It wouldn’t be long before the neighbors heard him and called the police themselves. Or worse, called my mother.

  I turned the locks and opened the door. He started to walk in but I blocked him from entering the house. This was going to be quick, if I had anything to do with it.

  “I told you we were done, Jesse,” I said in a low, don’t mess with me voice. “I’ve moved on. Leave me alone or I will call the police.”

  “You’re with someone?!” he exclaimed. He started pulling at his hair, making it stand up in different directions. “You’re lying! You couldn’t get over me that fast! You love me! I know you do!” I rolled my eyes at how childish he was being. “Please, baby! Come back to me! I need you!”

  “Believe me Jesse, you were very easy to get over. I don’t usually care for guys who think very little of me. Sleeping with other girls behind my back showed me you never cared for me at all. You only cared about your ego. Now, leave me alone and go back to Atlanta.”

  “You heard her,” a voice said from Jesse’s car. “Leave her alone, Jesse.” I looked behind Jesse to see Joe leaning against the driver’s side door. His arms crossed over his wide chest. “I’m sorry, Alya. He was going to come here with or without me, and he’s been drinking non-stop for the last 18 hours. I figured he would get here without hurting anyone if I drove. Now that he’s heard it from you, he can move on, right buddy?” Joe walked up the steps, clapped Jesse on the shoulder, and began pulling him away.

  Joe may be closer to my height than Jesse’s, but he was definitely bodybuilder strong. Besides, Jesse could barely stand up straight let alone put up a fight.

  Joe dragged Jesse to the passenger side of the car and threw him in the back seat. Jesse started to yell and tried to open the door, but he was seriously too drunk to figure out the child safety locks. I was surprised he made it from the car to my front door
, honestly.

  “I really am sorry,” Joe said again. He looked embarrassed that he got dragged into this.

  “It’s okay, Joe. I’m sorry you have to drive back with him.”

  “Nah. He’ll probably pass out here before we even hit the interstate. He’s been up for the last 27 hours and drinking for most of that.”

  “Well then, drive safe.” I started to go back inside, but stopped and yelled, “Give Tessa a big kiss for me!” My face broke out into a smile when I saw him blush scarlet red. He had a crush on my best friend just like she had a crush on him. They really needed to talk and get it all out there. But that was for another time and place.

  I locked the front door again when I heard the car pull out of the driveway and went to my bedroom to finish getting dressed. I looked at my alarm clock and sighed. I barely had enough time to blow dry my hair and grab some lunch before going in to the floral shop.

  “Hello!” I called out as I walked into the store, taking my sunglasses off as I shut the door.

  “Hey there sweetie!” Harlan exclaimed. Next to him was a petite woman with fire red hair, blue eyes, and trendy green glasses. She gave me a scathing look, and I wondered who peed in her Cheerios. But, she was more than likely the new employee, which meant I’d have more time to spend with Brogan if she worked out. I needed to be nice to her.

  “Hi,” I said, holding out my hand for her to take. “I’m Alya. My mom is the co-owner of the shop.” She gave me a fake smile and weakly shook my hand.

  “Angie,” she said with a sneer. Wow. The next six hours were going to be fun. A little lost for words, I turned to Harlan. Giving up any hope of Angie and I being friends, I asked him what needed to be done that afternoon.

  “There’s some inventory coming in before 5:00 that will need to be sorted and put away in the coolers. There are also four flower arrangements that need to be made to be picked up in the morning.” He showed me the specifications of the arrangements.

  “You got it, boss.” I smiled at him. Then I looked over at Angie, making my smile fall. She was scowling at me like I wronged her somehow. Man, she was going to be a real delight to train. Harlan went home, leaving me alone with Angie. I decided to clear the air because I couldn’t stand one more second of her nasty attitude.

  “Angie,” I begun. I wanted to be as nice as possible in case is was all just a misunderstanding. “Is there something that I’ve done to offend you? Because you seem to not like me and we just met.” She cocked her head to the side and gave me a dead stare.

  “People can not like you, ya know, miss perfect.”

  “You’re right, but they usually have a reason. You haven’t known me long enough to really have a reason yet.”

  “Oh, I have a reason.” She straightened, stepping closer. “I don’t like spoiled stuck-up brats like you. You think you’re better than me because your mom owns the shop.”

  Wow, this chick was nuts.

  I took a step toward her, closing the gap. I wanted to show her that she didn’t intimidate me for one second.

  “Actually, I don’t think I’m better than you. It’s a fact, I know more about working in a floral shop than you because I’ve been working here on and off for the last three years.” Her eyes lit up with angst. “I came in the shop hoping to have a good afternoon of training someone who can help out my mom and Harlan so they don’t have to work as much. But if you’re going to keep with this attitude, I’m sure I’ll be wasting my time if I even try. You can leave if you want, but I’m not going to train someone with a chip on their shoulder the size of Texas.”

  “You can’t fire me! You’re not the boss!” she yelled. What was with grown adults acting like children today? I rolled my eyes at her behavior.

  “No shit,” I plainly said. “But I will be sure to tell Harlan and my mom that you were unwilling to be taught by me on how to work here. I’m sure it wouldn’t go over very well.”

  “I’ll tell them that you were awful to me and kicked me out!” What a piece of work.

  “I honestly don’t think they’d believe you, but you can try.”

  She let out a scream, then huffed over to a chair in the corner of the work room. How did such a fantastic morning turn into a shitty afternoon? I sighed and went out to the front counter, leaving Angie alone to stew.

  The flower delivery came at around 4:30, so I was busy sorting and putting everything away when I heard Angie’s annoying voice from the front desk. It sounded like she was flirting with someone hard. I walked to the front to check out this unfortunate soul, when I saw Brogan standing there looking uncomfortable.

  “So are you looking for flowers for your mother?” She asked him as she leaned over the counter showing off what little cleavage she had. “Because it would just kill me if it were for a girl you’re fucking.”

  “Actually, Angie he’s here to see me,” I said. I walked around the counter with a genuine smile on my face. He smiled back at me when I gently pulled on his shirt to make him lean down to reach me. He gave me a slow, sweet kiss. “Hey you,” I whispered against his mouth. I pulled away and sighed. “You have no idea how much I needed that today.” Angie’s jaw practically hit the floor and she stormed into the work room.

  “So this is the person you are meant to be training today?” He asked.

  “Yes. I hoped it would work out, but I’m not so sure. She doesn’t want to learn anything from me, and has hated me from the moment I walked through the door.”

  “She is just jealous,” he tried to make me feel better. I shrugged my shoulders.

  “Whatever her problem is, she needs to work it out.”

  “I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do.”

  “Me too. But, such is life.”

  “Can I take you out to dinner after you close?” He looked at me hopefully.

  “I wish you could. My mom is coming home from her work trip this afternoon, and she wants to go out just the two of us. I’m meeting her when I leave.”

  “I understand, your mom is important to you.” He so got me.

  “Yes, she is. But I love spending time with you too.”

  “I know you do. Now tell me what else has your face looking like this.” I didn’t want to tell him, but I needed to talk to somebody. I hadn’t had the chance to talk to Tessa yet, even though she probably already knew what happened. I looked down at the floor. Brogan’s phone beeped, signaling that he had a message. He ignored it.

  “Jesse, my ex-boyfriend showed up at my house today.” I looked up to Brogan’s face to see his eyes began to rage. “His roommate, Joe was there and with the two of us, we got him to go home. Hopefully he won’t be bothering me any more.”

  His phone beeped again. He still ignored it.

  “What is Jesse’s last name?” he asked. He looked calm. Too calm.

  “Don’t worry about it, really. I handled it.” He didn’t look convinced. Honestly, I wasn’t too convinced either. But, I didn’t want Brogan to do something to get himself thrown in jail or something.

  His phone beeped for a third time, making him pull it out of his back pocket. He looked at it and sighed.

  “I need to go,” he said. “But I want to know more about this Jesse.”

  I pushed his chest and smiled, which made me move back instead of him. He was seriously a brick wall.

  “I’ll tell you about him, but you’ll let me take care of him. Deal?”

  “We will see.” He leaned down to give me a slow, loving kiss then walked out the door.

  He wasn’t my boyfriend, but he definitely acted like he was. Maybe the idea of us making a relationship last beyond the summer would work. I really hoped so.

  Chapter Twelve

  I walked into the diner where my mom used to work and looked around for her. She was in a booth to my left with Harlan sitting across from her. I strolled over and sat down in the seat next to my mom. I smiled and gave her a hug. I loved my mom’s hugs.

  “I didn’t know we were bringin
g dates,” I told her giving Harlan a wink. He returned it with a smile.

  “I was just telling your mom about Angie,” he said. He was obviously fishing for what happened after he left. I sighed. I really hated being a tattletale.

  “I don’t think she’s going to work out.” I said. My mom looked confused while Harlan gave me a look like he understood.

  “I thought she was great in her interview!” Mom exclaimed.

  “I’m sure she was. But the moment I walked into the shop she gave me attitude. I asked her what she had against me, and she called me a spoiled, stuck-up brat because my mom gave me the job. That I didn’t earn it.”

  My mom’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline in shock.

  “She’ll more than likely tell you that I refused to train her, which is a lie. I told her that I would probably be wasting my time trying to train her because she obviously didn’t want to learn from me, someone who has been working in the shop for three years. But, I kept asking her if she’d like to see what I was doing, trying to train her. She didn’t move from the stool in the work room for most of the afternoon.” I looked from my mom to Harlan. “I’m sorry guys.”

  Harlan started to speak but I cut him off. “Maybe she’ll do better if one of you trained her. I obviously rubbed her the wrong way.”

  “You have a big heart, sugarplum.” Harlan smiled at me and squeezed my hand. Then he looked at my mom and the two of them seemed to be have a silent conversation, because no one spoke while I gave the waitress my order.

  “You’re probably right, sweetie,” my mom finally said “She was probably just threatened by you, being another young person working at the shop. I’ll try to train her tomorrow afternoon in your place, and we’ll decide after that.” I nodded and gave her a tight smile. I wasn’t convinced even though I basically told them to give her another chance. But, I’d take it because that meant that I got another whole day off.