Aries - Mr. Adventure: The 12 Signs of Love (The Zodiac Lovers Series Book 4)

by Tiana Laveen

  “I agree with you there, but I plan to get my way nine times out of ten.”

  “If that’s what you need to tell yourself to go to sleep at night.” She giggled before turning away from him, opening up the refrigerator and retrieving a glass pitcher full of water with lemon slices floating on top. Pulling a mason jar out of a cabinet, she filled it to the brim. “I’m not bungee jumping with you, either. I don’t trust men… but I trust you.”

  She turned back towards him, sipping from the glass, then leaned against the sink counter and crossed her arms. He stood to his feet, grabbed the hem of his shirt, and pulled it over his head. Tossing it across the room he bridged the distance between them until he had the glass out of her hand and set on the counter. With a groan, he brought his lips to her neck and ushered her legs apart, resting between her warm thighs.

  Running his hands up and down her lower back and ass, he pulled her close, sucking and licking anywhere he could. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and drew him in for a kiss. Their tongues slid slowly against one another, drawing heat and desire he wouldn’t dare relinquish even if he wanted to.

  Hoisting her up in his arms, kissing her along the way, he made the journey out of the kitchen, into the hall, up the stairs to his bedroom. Shoving the door open with a nudge of his arm, he went and placed her gently down upon the bed.

  “I can almost taste you right now… I can’t wait to feel your warm, wet pussy again.” He ripped his pants and underwear off, observing her unbuttoning her blouse and casting it aside, which left her in only her bra and panties. “Take the rest of that shit off too. It’ll only get in the way.”

  The woman hastily undid her bra and cast it across the bed, then her black sheet panties hit the floor. She yelled out and shuddered against him when he took a fistful of her hair and dragged her across the bed. When she gave him a hard punch on the shoulder, he simply laughed—the woman beat into his flesh, but it felt more like a tickle. Nibbling and biting along her shoulder, he kneed her thighs apart, falling in love at the mere feel of her soft, black pubic hair rubbing against his groin.

  “That hurt!” she yelled as she gripped his chin, making him look down at her. “Why’d you pull my hair?”

  “To see if it was real.” He burst out laughing when her palm landed hard against his cheek. In response, he wrapped his body around hers, rendering her immobile, and she started giggling. “Now you know you don’t get off that easy…”

  “What are you talking about?” She looked up into his eyes, panting hard, her beautiful eyes glossy with obvious want and desire.

  “You treated me like shit… all that mess you put me through. Most of it was fun, could have done without the last situation though.”

  “I apologized. I thought we were beyond this.”

  “I forgive you, but that still doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay up.” She screamed out and arched her back when he thrust deep within her.

  “Fuck!” Long nails clawed into his back as he rocked into her hard and steady, her roars music to his ringing ears. “Damn it, you feel so good! So fucking good!”

  “You like that big cock slidin’ in and out of your sweet pussy, don’t you, Counselor? Had to come back for more and get you some…”

  “Yes, yes, yes!” She grinded hard and fast into his thrusts, forcing him deeper within her. Her eyes rolled back as he churned his hips in slow, circular motions then returned to deep thrusting. It wasn’t long before he was covered in sweat, rivulets of his work in progress running down his face and chest. Sliding out of her, he journeyed low, spread her legs wide, and flicked his tongue frantically against her clit while sliding his forefinger inside her. He took his fill of her sweet nectar. Reaching for his nightstand, he took out a bottle of lube and set it aside.

  “Turn your ass over!” He flipped the gorgeous vixen onto her stomach, slapping her ass so hard, her left butt cheek jiggled and his handprint was visible to the naked eye. Grabbing the lube, he dumped a dollop of the clear fluid in his palm then slathered his cock with the liquid. Wrapping his arms around her stomach, he brought her to him and entered her ass, mounting her from the back. Sprawled fingers scratched and skidded across his ivory sheets. She gasped and violently shook against him, white-knuckling the sheets, clutching hard, breathless as she was.

  “Oh God…” she gasped. “You’re going to fuck me in my ass, baby? Be gentle, baby… gentle.” She purred like a kitten and he detected the naughty delight in her tone.

  “Breathe, baby… don’t forget to stay alive. You’re going to love this, trust me. I love seein’ you on all fours for me.” Gentle and slow, he pushed himself inside her until he was fully engulfed, then introduced short and quick thrusts. A shaky hand slid against his thigh, pushing him back as if he were in too deep. He paused, leaned down, and kissed her shoulder. “You all right, sugar?” He whispered the words as he caressed her back and kissed the side of her neck.

  “Yes… just take it easy on me.”

  “Okay, baby. No problem.” He started up again, this time slower, much slower.

  Ten minutes in, the woman was cumming as he strummed her clit and moved at a snail’s pace in her hot, tight ass. He stiffened when she glanced at him from over her shoulder and winked. That mere glance was the final straw in his undoing. Flooding her ass with milky love, he came hard, unable to slow his thrusts as his hips propelled forward at lightning speed. Her screams urged him on, her nasty words making him fall apart inside her. Minutes later, they lay curled together as if they were born that way, neither independent of the other.

  “We should’ve used protection,” she finally said, caressing along his arm that he’d wrapped around her, bringing her close to his chest.

  “Yeah, we should’ve… got caught up in the moment. It was just so good to see you, to have you. Let’s go and get tested together this week sometime, all right? That should put you at ease.”

  “Okay. I use the vaginal ring, so I’m on birth control but—”

  “No, I understand. We’ll get it straightened out.”

  He kissed her forehead. Last thing he recalled was her talking to him about a vacation she’d taken in Michigan as a little girl. At some point he dosed off, but she didn’t seem to mind, because when he woke up, she was kissing all over his body, prompting him for round two…

  CHAPTER TWELEVE

  Bruised Pride, Bruised Ribs, Bruised Hearts

  Where Forgiveness Once Lived.

  A couple of weeks later…

  Burnt orange walls with paintings of Italian men holding vibrant vegetables, their sunburned bodies draped in burlap sacks, filled the eatery. Wild Olive restaurant was an Italian bistro Alex found Snow adored; in fact, she made it a habit to go at least once a month. So, he made a reservation and was pleased to obtain a table at such late notice. He’d only been a handful of times, the place being not really his speed, but he figured it was time for them to have a night out.

  The past two weeks had been filled with abundant late-night phone calls that lasted hours at a time, lovey-dovey text messages, lunch hook ups whenever time permitted, and a few quickie sessions, one of which almost didn’t happen when he was called in to deal with a car fire down on Maybank Highway.

  As he sat there waiting for her to arrive, he perused the menu. Chicken parmesan… I’ll probably just get that. Something safe.

  He dabbed at the sides of his mouth with his napkin, just in case a few crumbs from the chips he’d scarfed down in his truck moments prior were clinging to his beard. As he reached past the glass of wine he ordered for the glass of water, he took note of a sight to behold. He held his head high with pride as Snow sauntered in wearing a form fitting chocolate brown skirt with matching blazer.

  That’s mine right there… all mine.

  Her high heels clicked on the floor with each confident step she took and her black hair swayed as she drew near. A waiter chased behind her, pulled out her chair, then promptly scooted her in at the table.

&n
bsp; “Thank you, I appreciate that.” She glanced over her shoulder before placing her pocketbook onto the table.

  “You’re welcome, Ms. Apperson.”

  Soon, their orders were taken and they were left on their own. He wasted no time in gliding his hand across the table and gripping her long, delicate fingers.

  “Good to see you, honeypie.” His lips curled in a smile as he admired her from various angles.

  “Good to see you too and I’m glad we both finally have a bit of down time that lasts longer than thirty minutes.” She chuckled before grabbing her napkin and laying it across her lap.

  “Yeah, been a busy week. I had to fill out some more paperwork about that fire that happened a while back that I told you about. I hope that’s the end of it. Mrs. Brassie’s funeral was last week; they’d held off I suppose, allowing some of her family from England to get into town.” He sighed as he slumped back in his chair.

  “Yeah, you told me about that. I’m so sorry, Alex.”

  He shrugged, trying to push the hard feelings away, the ones boiling within him that he couldn’t seem to put words to.

  “I didn’t even know she had family in England, I thought all of ’er folks were from here. Anyway, it’s a cryin’ shame but unavoidable. People die in fires all the time, I knew what I signed up for but it’s been harder to shake this one. It won’t turn me loose. Don’t worry about me though; I’ll be all right.”

  “Well, you did say that you’d known her since you were a boy, Alex. I wasn’t familiar with her but it seems many people were. She was active in the community and a retired school teacher, loved by many. It’s understandable that you’d feel this deep in your heart.”

  “People I know have died though, Snow. I mean…” He shrugged. “That’s life. The worst death I experienced was my father’s.”

  The beautiful woman cocked her head to the side, rested her elbows on the table, and clasped her hands. “Do you want to talk about it, baby? I mean, I know it’s not exactly dinner conversation but I—”

  “No, it’s fine… I mean, do you want to hear it right now?” he whispered, then looked around the restaurant, not wanting to set anything at her feet she wasn’t in the mood to deal with. After all, this was her favorite place to dine. He didn’t want to spoil it.

  “Of course I do.” She folded her hands over her lap.

  “Well, okay. You wanna hear about Mrs. Brassie or my dad first?”

  “Whichever you choose to start with is fine.”

  He picked up his glass of water and took a swallow.

  “All right, well, my parents are divorced. They split up when I was fifteen. My sister and brothers and I were tryin’ to figure out who to stay with after the separation.”

  “You couldn’t just divide your time between the two?” She took a slow sip of her wine.

  “No. See, my father stayed here in Charleston and my mother moved back to Florida, where she is from originally. She was born there, moved when she was about eight, but still had a lot of family there.”

  “Ahhh, okay.”

  “My sister left with her, along with one of my brothers, and my other brother, Lance and I stayed with my father. Everything was fine for a few years but then Lance moved to Oregon for college, after getting a scholarship. Lance is a couple years older than me.” He grabbed his wine and took a sip; the water would no longer do the trick. “So, for the longest, it was just me and my father. We were always close, but even more so at that point.” Snow nodded, urging him silently to continue. “So, a couple of years passed and I went on to college, moved out, took my tests, went through the training to get into the fire department and my career began. Things were goin’ well. Mama and Daddy were even getting along again.” He smiled sadly. “Some folks are better as just friends.

  “I think they just kind of outgrew one another. It wasn’t a surprise to any of us when they split up and even though neither I nor my siblings wanted them to divorce, we all seemed to understand it was only a matter of time and probably for the best. So anyway, things were fine for a while. Then my father started havin’ some trouble, pains here and there. This went on for years. He went to the doctor a few times but they never found anything except for minor stuff—nothing that would explain the pain in his chest. They told ’im it was stress; they told ’im all sorts of things, Snow. They gave him happy pills, but none of it helped. I was concerned and forced him to get a second opinion, but by then, it was too late. He had coronary artery disease, ended up having a heart attack and then it, uh…” He stared down at the table and took a breath. Even after all this time, it was hard to tell the tale. “That was it. He died.”

  “I’m so sorry, Alex.” The woman’s voice was soft, reassuring, nurturing. “That must’ve been really hard on you and your siblings.”

  “I was at work when it happened… gotta call that afternoon that my father hadn’t been answerin’ his phone. He and his friend Sam would always go out to lunch, and my dad rarely missed it. Well, he didn’t show up at the restaurant they were meetin’ at and he wasn’t answering the phone. Sam was worried. I left work, went on over to his house and… there he was.”

  “Baby…” The expression on her face said it all as she ran her soft hands over his hard, calloused ones. He looked down at her long, perfectly manicured nails against his fingers covered in cuts, bruises, and knots of old scars that had piled up over the years. Perhaps she could be the soothing balm to the anger that at times burned within him like an inferno… so much anger…

  “Yeah, it’s hard. I’m not gonna even lie about that. He was my best friend.” He took another sip of his wine, thinking the shit was watered down.

  Don’t they have any Scotch, bourbon, or moonshine in here? All they showed me was the damn wine menu. I don’t want this shit. Where’s the brown liquor at? The shit that makes your toes curl and puts hair on your chest? he was tempted to ask.

  “And Mrs. Brassie?” she asked with a sympathetic expression, bringing him out of his deliberations.

  He looked down at the table. Never in a million years did he think he’d open up this can of worms… After a long pause, he pushed through his pain and decided to place this in her hands, to trust her, to finally tell a soul.

  “Mrs. Brassie had a secret. She had a stellar reputation but, uh, there were problems in her home. See, her husband used to beat on ’er real bad.” Snow’s brows furrowed but she remained quiet. “Nobody knew, and I mean nobody… ’cept me. Well, let me put it this way, and it’s probably closer to the truth: If someone else knew then they weren’t talking about it.”

  “That’s common, Alex. It’s like a family’s dirty little secret.” She shook her head in disgust.

  “I think he would only do it when they were alone. Never in front of the kids, their friends, things like that. He didn’t want to get found out and put his reputation at stake. He was in there beating on his woman, tossin’ her around like trash. Fuckin’ coward… I hate cowards.” Another wave of heated rage burned inside him.

  “How did you find out?”

  “Around the time my parents divorced, I had more freedom. I mean, things were goin’ on at home and neither of them was keepin’ as much of an eye on me.” He chuckled. “So, I’d be out and about more. I was on my bike one late afternoon on a Saturday and heard fightin’ comin’ from her house. See, her house is not close to anybody else’s. I mean, you can see other homes from her front stoop, but it’s on a pretty damn big lot of land so if she was gettin’ her ass kicked, nobody would hear it unless you were real close to her front door. I was trespassin’ because she had these plum trees in her front yard.” Snow gave his hands a squeeze. “I took a plum, then heard a noise. Figured it was some stray cats fuckin’. That happened a lot around there because of this guy that used to feed the damn cats cans of sardines, milk and shit like that.

  “I picked another plum, heard it again, and knew it was no damn animal… It was a woman screaming her head off. That front door burst open
wide as a whale’s mouth. It slammed against the porch and I saw that woman running down the steps, barely able to keep herself upright. I dropped them damn plums fast as lightning and got ready to book it outta there, but then I realized she wasn’t comin’ after me at all. Her husband came out the door a few seconds behind her, yellin’ and carryin’ on. He saw me, then stopped… I will never forget how we looked at one another. He was in mid-sentence, Snow, yelling and calling her everything but sweetie, and then, just like that, he slowly disappeared back into the house like a ghost. I’ve always been big for my age.

  “I imagine he might have thought I was older, maybe even an adult. I looked to see where she’d gone off to, but she hadn’t gotten far. Mrs. Brassie fell to the ground. I went up to her. She got real quiet, but her shoulders were goin’ up and down as she kept on crying. I looked down at her and said, ‘Ma’am, are you all right?’ She looked up at me, startled. I could tell she hadn’t even seen me until that very moment. She ain’t say much at first. I helped her up and she thanked me. She gave me some silly excuse, talkin’ about he’d been drinking and was just playing with her. She was talking to me like I was some five-year-old kid, gullible and stupid.

  “But I saw a big bruise on her leg when I was helping her up, like someone had taken a bat to it. It was an old bruise, too. Her skirt had ridden up from when she’d fallen in the grass and exposed it. She and I got to talking right then because she finally got her wits about her and asked why I was there in the first place, whose boy I was, things like that. I told her I was in her yard stealing and that my name was Alex Valentine, but it wasn’t my fault; she had the best plum trees I’d ever had the privilege of pillaging. She started laughing at that. She then asked what school I’d went to ’cause she didn’t recognize me, and I told her. She said she was a teacher at a different school and gave private tutoring lessons for English, pronunciation and speech. She’d heard my stutter.”