She hugged him hard and murmured at his ear, “You’re changing in ways I hope you don’t regret.”
“I won’t. I couldn’t. Stay strong enough for both of us.”
With one more achingly beautiful kiss, she opened his door and worked her way out of the car. Bending over, she buttoned his pants while she rested her head on his shoulder. She rubbed her hand over his length and he knew he would spend a lot of time ravishing this woman the first time he got her naked.
And every time after that.
“Go before I can’t leave, Aubrey.” He swallowed hard. “I’m only a man and I can be very persuasive.”
Leaning in, she kissed him lightly, took off her heels, and ran like a deer across her lawn to the porch.
Elliot waited until she lifted her hand and blew him a kiss, closing the door softly behind her before he drove to his own home a mile away.
After a shower and a round of masturbation from replaying the events in his car through his mind, it took a long ass time to fall asleep.
He wanted to drive back to her house and beg her to let him take her until neither of them could stand up.
Dawn came far too soon.
Chapter Thirteen
Early November 2013
When Aubrey appeared at the main house of the McAllister compound, Tiffany met her in the foyer. The enthusiastic woman was practically jumping up and down.
“What do we do first?”
Laughing, Aubrey linked her arm through the blonde’s and grinned. “Plan, make a task list, and execute them one by one.”
“Not gonna lie, girl. That sounds terrifying.”
“Painless and fun is how this will be. There’s etiquette we have to follow and I know some of it will make you impatient. Hold it back by remembering that Gage is already your husband. This is simply a public celebration of the commitment you’ve already made. A necessary one to bring you fully into the fold. He’s the oldest. Making sure his wedding is commemorated is crucial to your future, Tiffany.”
Inhaling carefully, Tiffany nodded. She led her through the house to Octavia’s parlor.
“Aubrey. How lovely you look even when wearing casual clothes.” The older woman walked around her desk to kiss her cheeks. “You’re brilliant in so many fascinating ways. That you thought about this before I did boggles the mind. Let’s get started.”
She settled into one of the chairs on the opposite side of Octavia’s French provincial desk and Tiffany scooted the other chair closer. Their shoulders were practically touching.
“First things first, we need to set a date. I suggest after the holidays but definitely before your one-year anniversary. What do you think about late March? Spring will mean cool weather without hard freeze. There are no corporate events within two months before or after. We can make the focus on you and Gage.”
“Excellent foresight, Aubrey.” The older woman nodded approvingly.
It was impossible not to blush at the praise. “What are you thinking for the color scheme?”
Tiffany answered instantly, “Hot pink.”
Aubrey blinked. Inhaling carefully, she met the eyes of a woman who expressed her love of life in ways that would scandalize the locals. “Can we compromise?”
“Hot pink is whorish, huh?”
Unable to help it, she burst out laughing. “You’re wonderful. I happen to love hot pink and you aren’t the least bit whorish. However, what do you think about a pink blush? It’s classy and understated but I’ll be sure to throw in some hot pink in the accents.”
Tiffany laughed happily. “That sounds so pretty. You’re really good at this stuff.”
Pausing, she took the other woman’s hand. “You’re naturally buoyant and social. All of this stuff is the stupid little details but you’re doing great. None of this should scare you or make you feel off-balance.” She smiled warmly. “Gage adores you, Tiffany. That means that the spiteful biddies in this town better accept you and be polite or else. You’ll be a beautiful bride, it will be a party that everyone talks about for years, and no one is going to make you feel off on your special day.”
“Thanks. You’re awesome.”
“Have you picked a dress?” She shook her head. “Let’s do that next weekend. Your figure is going to be so easy to find the perfect gown. I think classic with a nice dose of sparkle.”
Clasping her hands under her chin, the blonde breathed, “I love sparkle.”
From her laptop bag, she withdrew several printouts and a notebook. “The dress is absolutely your choice because there are going to be a thousand photos of you in it. I found several styles I thought you might like. A blend of sexy and classy that you carry so well. These are just to give you some ideas.”
Aubrey started making notes while Tiffany went through the photos. “These are so gorgeous.” She smiled at Octavia. “She didn’t make me stuffy.”
“Darling girl, you could never be stuffy. Trust Aubrey to guide you. We already love you and wouldn’t change a thing about you. I’ll not have the assholes in this town repeatedly hurting your feelings.”
“That means so much from you.” Standing up, she went around the desk and hugged her mother-in-law firmly. “I’ll make you proud of me.”
“I’m already proud of you. My son has a new lease on life because of you.” She discreetly blotted tears. “Now stop making me cry.”
Grinning, Aubrey patted the chair and Tiffany sat sedately. “You can scroll through invitations on my laptop. Here are a few samples.” She placed the stack of invites on the desk beside the dress photos.
“Once you pick paper and basic style, I’ll have them professionally designed for you. Naturally, there are a million flower options but I narrowed it down to twelve to start. We can add pops of hot pink to the greenery and foundation of white.”
Glancing up, both women were staring at her. “What?”
“You’re so much more organized and together than I could ever be. You’re like a machine.”
“Untrue. You simply haven’t done stuff like this before. Once you do, everything will click and we’ll check off our tasks together. I’ve done this a hundred times over the years. I was a nervous wreck when I planned the first event for the company.”
“Nonsense,” Octavia said in surprise. “It was wonderful.”
Shaking her head, Aubrey confessed, “I threw up from nerves before the first guests arrived.”
“I’ve always thought you were unshakeable.”
“No, ma’am. I just hide it well.” She patted Tiffany’s hand. “We’ll get it all done together and you’re going to have the wedding you deserve.” Sorting through her notes, she murmured, “You’ll need to start making your half of the guest list, Tiffany.”
“My dad is in jail and my mama died. I have lots of family in Savannah but I only talk to a few. My aunt raised me and I’m real close to my cousin Shay.”
“Your matron of honor? Excellent. I was going to ask that next.” She wrote a few lines in her notebook. “I’ll make arrangements when we have firm dates in mind to fly them out and put them up in the new hotel.”
“You’ll be in my wedding, too. Won’t you, Aubrey?” Looking up in surprise, she started to object. “Please? I know we haven’t known each other long but you’re real important to me already. It would mean so much to have you involved.”
“Are you sure, Tiffany?”
“Damn right I am.”
“Alright. That’s so sweet of you.”
“Also selfish. You class up the whole thing.”
She laughed while she pulled two stapled stacks of paper from her bag. Handing one to each woman, she explained, “We have a few months. We need to give out of town guests plenty of time to plan.”
To Octavia, she added, “I threw together the basics for your family and the usual people invited to events here in town. Add and subtract as you see fit and I’ll get it updated.”
“Brilliant.” She briefly reviewed the list of people.
; “As the oldest, Gage’s wedding needs to be slightly over the top. I’d say plan on three hundred guests to start and work from there.”
The woman stared at her with lovely green eyes but didn’t speak. Her smile spoke volumes.
A couple of hours later, a frazzled Gage appeared in the doorway. “Are you still working?” Tiffany nodded and he met Aubrey’s eyes. “Well...do you need her here the whole time?”
All three women lost their composure.
When she caught her breath, she replied, “Take your wife, Gage. I can see you’re experiencing separation anxiety. I’ll call her tomorrow.”
Without another word, the oldest McAllister son walked into the room and scooped his wife out of her chair and into his arms. He walked out in silence as Tiffany waved happily over his shoulder.
Turning back to Octavia, they waited until they heard the front door close before dissolving into laughter. It went on for a long time.
It was how Elliot found them. “You’re here.”
Off balance at the way he said it, she nodded. “I am. We were wedding planning with Tiffany until your brother kidnapped her without a word.”
“Gage is my hero.” So saying, he walked forward and began gathering all of Aubrey’s notes into a neat pile. She tucked them into her bag with a small frown. Then he bent and lifted her to her feet. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hello, Elliot.”
“We have to go now.”
“I see that. Aubrey, we’ll talk when you’re…available.”
“Elliot, I have things to…” He ignored her as he practically manhandled her from the room. “O-kay. I’ll send you my notes from today, Mrs. McAllister.”
Octavia’s smile was smug. “You must call me Octavia. There’s no rush, dear. We’ll catch up later.”
The man she dreamed about every time she closed her eyes walked through the house to his car and shoved her in it.
“My car is…” He shut the door in her face. She watched him stomp around the front. Behind the wheel, he looked like a man in the midst of a very stressful situation. “Elliot, are you alright?”
He shushed her and she stared at him in shock.
Two minutes later, he stopped in front of his house. Though it was considered a guesthouse, her own would have fit inside it three times over.
She tried to ask questions but found herself yanked out of the Mercedes, thrown over Elliot’s shoulder, and in his foyer before she could register what was happening.
On her feet, he pinned her to the wall and stared down in her face. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“My phone was on silent. I didn’t want to be interrupted while I was with your mom and Tiffany.” Swallowing hard, she added, “It’s Saturday. I don’t get many calls on the weekends.”
“I called you several times.” She frowned and he sighed. “I was worried.”
It took her almost a minute to process what he was saying and she reached up to stroke his jaw. “Thanks. That’s the first time anyone has said that to me.”
He picked her up and her legs went around his waist.
“All I could think about was when someone flattened your tires. Then I saw you in the house where I grew up. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you there. I…I kind of lost my mind for a minute.”
Then he was kissing away her ability to speak. While he stole her most basic brain cognition, he rocked himself against her and every part of her body went on high alert.
He felt incredible.
“I want you so bad my jaw hurts from clenching it all the time. I think about you day and night. Aubrey…you smell so good it makes my mouth water.”
She touched him back, kissed him back, and wondered if today would see the end of more than a decade of sexual frustration.
“Let me feel you come for me. I want you to feel good.” Cool air struck her stomach and she realized he’d lifted her t-shirt up her torso. “I won’t take everything but please god, let me take a little.” Tugging the fabric of her bra down, he revealed her nipple and groaned. “I just…I want it so bad.”
Then his lips covered the tip and she jerked in his arms, grinding her pelvis against him. She tried to loosen the grip she had on his hair but couldn’t.
“Elliot…”
“Come for me. Please come for me so I can be strong.”
It felt like his hands were everywhere and the warmth sank through her skin to the deepest part of her. His mouth returned to hers for a kiss that demolished any objections she might have had to him taking everything he wanted from her. He never stopped pumping his hips against her center.
“I feel how warm your pussy is through our clothes. My mouth waters for you. Just like that…take what you need, sweetheart.” He held her painfully hard. “I want to give you so much.”
She came apart in his arms and distantly registered him chanting her name. His movements didn’t slow and when his body tightened moments later, she held as much of his shaking body as she could.
It was a long time before he lifted his head from her shoulder and stared into her eyes. Aubrey wanted to ask the question and his expression was one of anguish.
“Not yet. A little longer.”
Petting his skin and raking her fingers through his hair, she whispered, “Are you…doing penance, Elliot?”
“Yes.”
That he felt the necessity caused her heart to pound in her chest. “You don’t have to. I’m okay.”
“I’m not.” He hugged her hard and murmured at her ear, “You’re worth the wait. You’re worth whatever it takes. I won’t ruin it.”
Kissing her deeply for several minutes, he broke it to rest his forehead against hers. “Let me clean up and change. I want to take you to dinner.”
Slowly, he lowered her to her feet. When he would have stepped away, she pulled him back and pressed herself against him. “You’re worth the wait, too.” Her kiss wasn’t as skilled as the ones he gave her but she put everything she felt into it. Then she let him go. “Dinner sounds great. I’ll be here, Elliot.”
She watched him go and felt as if she was vibrating apart on the inside.
The man deconstructed her so easily. She hoped she’d be able to rebuild when his fascination waned.
Chapter Fourteen
Mid-November 2013
Aubrey arrived to work an hour earlier than usual to decorate Elliot’s office for his birthday.
She’d prepared everything during his rare trip out of town to smooth the ruffled feathers of a client.
They hadn’t seen one another in two days and she admitted that she missed him horribly.
As she set up metallic balloons around the room and placed several gifts on his credenza, she looked back on the last two months and declared them the happiest of her life.
The time spent with Elliot, being included with his family for random occasions, and the ability to touch him after more than a dozen years of want…it was a dream.
Part of her knew she would eventually wake up but she refused to think about that. Instead, she soaked up every moment and swore she would make their time something he looked back on fondly.
His family planned to meet them for dinner at a steakhouse in Tulsa. Octavia had stopped by her office the day before.
“How have you been, Aubrey?”
“I’m good. I…” She met the older woman’s eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m happy. I know it won’t last, Mrs. McAllister. I’m not a silly girl. Still. He’s a lovely man and maybe I can help him see things differently than he has.”
Elliot’s mother held her shoulders. “I like the woman you are very much, Aubrey. Don’t be nervous. I know you love him.” Opening her mouth to deny the words, she received a gentle shake. “Don’t. You’ve loved him for years and he was a fool not to see it.”
“I’m not very flashy.”
“You have all the flash you will ever need. When he asks you how you feel, tell him the truth. Believe in the power of the love you want to give him
.”
She twisted her hands together tightly. “It will likely scare him away more than anything else.”
“Then you’ll know. You deserve a man who understands the value of who you are. I hope he’s that man but if he isn’t, don’t settle for less.”
Inhaling carefully, she nodded and Octavia insisted on taking her to lunch. They talked about many things and Aubrey was thrilled with her stories about Lilly.
It was a lovely afternoon.
Now, she stepped back and pronounced her work done. Returning to her office, she found herself sidetracked with one of the vendors for the annual Christmas party.
She was removing a file from her cabinet when strong arms wrapped around her from behind.
Closing her eyes, she let the scent of him settle around her. “Elliot. You’re back early.”
“I took an earlier flight.”
Turning in his arms, she smiled up into his face. “Happy birthday. May you have a hundred more, each happier than the last.”
He kissed her deeply and she fell into him as she always did. The man could overwhelm her brain so easily.
When he finally pulled back, he stared into her eyes. “What did you do while I was away?”
Frowning, she asked, “You haven’t been to your office?” He shook his head and the implication made her heart thump loudly in her chest. “You came straight to see me?”
His answer was to kiss her again and she let herself wish silently for everything she’d always been too shy to say aloud. Elliot represented so much to her heart and her mind. For just a minute, she let herself imagine what it would be like to belong to him, to have him belong to her.
Then he hugged her so hard that she wanted to cry and he pulled back to stare into her face. She couldn’t speak.
“I won’t hurt you.” His words were barely audible. “I won’t hurt you, Aubrey.”
She felt ridiculous and immature. Forcing a smile that felt funny on her face, she told him, “You need to open your gifts. Come on.”
Stepping back from his hold, she held out her hand and he took it.
Somebody: A Country Romance Page 8
