He took her hand as another red light had him stopping. His eyes held hers as he said, “You are a rare person, my little peach. You have the light of the world inside of you, fighting to get out and show you what it can do. Trust in yourself. There’s more to you than you can even comprehend. I see it. I see it right there, shining in your eyes. And I want to see it out in the open one day very soon. I want to see that light fill you and take you over. It will take you to heights you never knew of before. And I want to be there for every step of your amazing journey, Aulora.”
She breathed in and held the breath as she looked into his golden eyes. “Are you some kind of an angel, sent to help me, Weston Calloway?”
“I think that about you, Aulora.”
The way their eyes held told them both something magic could happen if they’d only allow it to.
Chapter 2
Wearing one of Weston’s T-shirts, Aulora sat on the floor of the guestroom in the Upstate New York mansion Weston called his home. A piece of apple pie lay in a white Styrofoam box in front of her and she poised her plastic fork over it to take the first bite of it.
Dinner had been a cheeseburger and fries that she’d scarfed down while sipping on a chocolate shake as they watched some movie on the large flat screen in the giant bedroom.
She’d paid little attention to it as she and Weston joked and chatted lightly as they ate the food he’d bought just before they got to his place. Aullie tried not to get her panties in a wad over the many cars there were when they pulled into the garage. Mercedes, Porches, BMW’s were parked right alongside the beat up, orange bug he’d first picked her up in.
She’d told herself it wasn’t his fault he was born into wealth and his father actually loved him. Unlike hers. It wasn’t his fault that the entry floor was made out of marble and the giant staircase was made out of shiny mahogany wood. So similar to where she’d grown up.
A pain ran through her heart when she went into the bathroom attached to the guest room he’d put her in when he gave her the T-shirt and told her to change while he went to change too and that he’d join her in the guest room shortly. The Italian tile that was used in the bathroom was the same tile that was used in her parents’ bathroom back in the mansion they’d lived in before her father sent them to live in a small apartment in Queens.
She choked back the lump that had risen in her throat and looked at her reflection.
“It’s not West’s fault the same tile has been used in the bathroom of the guest room he decided to put you in, Aullie. Get over yourself. Yes, you had money once. More money than you knew what to do with. But that’s gone now and Weston Calloway is not to blame for that. Charles Wohrl is.”
She’d washed the heavy makeup off her face and brushed her hair out then went back into the bedroom that was larger than her entire studio apartment. There she found Weston, wearing a T-shirt that matched the one he’d given her to wear and a thin set of pajama pants.
His feet were bare and even they were perfect. She’d pranced up to where he’d made a carpet picnic and sat, Indian style, next to him. He’d turned on the television and put on some movie, she paid no attention to.
“I think you’ll like the burger. They use real, one hundred percent pure beef.” He placed the burger on top of the brown paper bag it had come in and emptied the container of fries on the opposite side. “Ketchup?”
She nodded and before she knew it, they’d eaten everything up, except the one slice of pie he’d bought for them to share. Even though it was a million-dollar mansion they were in, it felt like an intimate place where money didn’t matter.
Their plastic forks collided when they both went for the pie at the same time. They laughed and had a small fork fight before he let her win. She stabbed the first bite then held it to his lips. “You get this bite.”
His golden eyes sparkled as he opened his mouth and took the bite she’d offered him. Then he stabbed the next bite and fed it to her. Bite by bite, they fed one another until there was no more pie and no longer was he worried that alcohol was ruling over Aulora’s brain. Pushing her shoulders, gently, he eased her to lie back on the soft carpet.
Brushing her raven hair back, he gazed at her as she did him. “You’re beautiful.” He kissed her shoulder after he pushed the T-shirt away from it.
“As are you,” she whispered as she ran her hands over his shoulders and then down his arms.
His lips were warm upon her skin, her body was filling with desire, the playfulness was long gone and a heat was beginning to creep into places it hadn’t been before.
As he kissed trails over her skin, up her shoulder to her neck, his hands moved over her body, caressing her with a softness she’d never known. He was great at that. Better than anyone else had ever been. She knew he’d be great at sex. And she was less worried about how she’d be at it with him.
When his lips pressed against her ear, she felt the warmth as he whispered, “Can you feel it, Aulora?”
Her heart was beating in a way it never had before. It felt different. Not rushed. Not heated so much there was no room to think. It was different than anything she’d felt before. “I feel more than I have with anyone else.”
“Me too. And I want this to be special. So, you’ll understand when I don’t take you, entirely this first time?” His words stopped her and she pulled him to look at her.
“West, why are you so set on waiting to do this?” she asked him as she really had no clue.
The way his hand moved over her cheek as he looked deeply into her eyes made her feel good, and dare she think it, loved?
“I want you to know you’re special. I want you and I both to know that there’s real love between us when we fully give ourselves to the other one. I want you to be certain, Aulora. If we are intimate, I won’t let you run away from me again. That space I’ve been affording you will not exist any longer.”
His words should frighten her, she knew they should. That bit of dominating nature she’d witnessed between him and the other man at the museum moved through her memory. The man who hovered over her was sweet, endearing, and honest. But he could also be dominating. Could she accept that?
“Perhaps we should get to know more about each other.”
He smiled and pulled her up. They sat alongside each other, facing each other as their hands still moved over the other’s body. Arms, legs, stomachs. “Ask me anything you want to.”
She dipped her head, shyly. “I saw you talking to a man earlier this evening.”
The look of surprise on his face was quickly followed by a frown. “You saw me and didn’t say hello?”
She nodded. “Anyway, like I said, I saw you talking to a man. I overheard some of what you said to him. You were mean to him, West. Is dominance a thing you’re known for?”
“Mean? To Him? Oh, peach if you only knew. That man is a petulance to society. He was given a job to do. One, I’m not at liberty to discuss. With people like him, you have to be dominating or they will run all over you. It’s kind of an act. One I won’t be doing with you.” His finger trailed lightly over her lips. “Never with you. I see you as my equal. In all ways.”
She breathed out a sigh of relief but wondered if she should believe him. Her father had been dominating. He took care of her and her mother. He took such complete care of them it was a struggle when he left them so abruptly.
“I don’t want you to take care of me.”
“Then I won’t.”
“You already kind of do.”
“Perhaps you’re confusing taking care of with caring for you.”
Was she confusing the two? Was she being foolish? Was she going to really be able to give herself so completely to the man who sat, facing her, stroking her with deft fingers that told her they alone could bring intense pleasure to her the likes of which she’d never known?
But sex with him would mean she was giving up her independence, in a way. If she ran away from him again, he wouldn’t exactly let her go.
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“Are there circumstances you’d accept if I found it necessary to end this thing between us?” she asked then thought about it and added, “After we have sex.”
He looked at her and seemed to be calculating his words. Finally, he said, “I’m sure there would be. I’m not saying I can get away with anything. I am saying you’ll need to talk and let me talk before you go jumping to conclusions and hauling ass like you’ve been doing.”
“And if the reason is viable, then you will let me end things without a huge deal being made? You won’t come to where I’m working to fight with me over the decision?”
With a shake of his head, he said, “No. I wouldn’t need to. You see, you’d have to talk to me first. Explain what it is that upset you. Then you’d give me a chance to explain things to you. Tell you my side of things. Get it?”
“You want me to totally invest myself in you,” she said as she weighed his words.
“Yes.” He cupped her chin in his hands. “I’ll do the same for you, peach.”
“Like a marriage of sorts,” she mused as she looked off to one side.
He smiled as he leaned in and kissed her, softly and sweetly.
“Of sorts.”
She didn’t know what to say. That was similar to the arrangement her parents had had. And she wanted nothing like what they had. But she ventured further.
“Would a real marriage ever be a thing that could be considered, in the future? You know, is it against your family’s customs to marry someone of my poor financial stature?”
“Real marriage?” he asked her with a frown. “What’s in a piece of paper, peach?”
Her heart sank as she recalled her father saying something much along those same lines to her mother. She nearly got up and ran right then. But something made her sit tight. She had to know more.
Chapter 3
He could read her better, now that he’d known her longer and seen how quick to run she was. His hand moved over hers as she looked a bit like a rabbit who was about to bolt.
Weston knew she had no way to get anywhere. She was his for the night, whether she liked it or not. The marriage thing seemed to have set her off and he quickly moved that topic off to one side. Marriage was huge to a person of great wealth.
There were prenuptial agreements to be made and lawyers to be met with. A real nightmare. No romance to it at all. No. Marriage was a thing he wasn’t the least bit interested in. But a relationship was. A committed relationship was what he wanted with Aulora. And he would do what he had to, in order to get her to make a commitment to him.
His hands moved over her shoulders and he drew her in close.
“How about I show you a bit of what a relationship would be like with me?”
She nodded and asked, “First, is marriage really a thing you’re against?”
“Against, no. Just not keen on. Paperwork isn’t sexy or romantic. It’s cumbersome and boring. I want you and I to have a romance, peach. A real romance.”
“Most romances either end in tragedy or marriage, eventually,” she said as she watched his reaction.
“Some marriages can be considered tragic, don’t you agree?” He stood and took her hand, pulling her up too.
She had no idea what to say to him. He was showing her the typical rich guy signs. Let’s mess around and play at the commitment game but not really invest entirely in it. But her curiosity had been piqued.
Romance, even a failed one, could be fulfilling and help her art career. Great love and even great heartache could lead to great paintings that might help her further a career that was just beginning to bud.
She let him lead her to the bed. A dark blue comforter that looked as if it was filled with goose down feathers, covered the king-sized bed. Not two but six fluffy pillows were covered in a pale blue silk material. It told her the sheets under the blanket would be the same.
She’d slept on silk sheets before. She’d had the finest of everything, once upon a time. And those memories were flooding back to her as he pulled the blanket back, revealing the same pale blue sheets she knew would be there.
“Care to lie down, Aulora?” he asked her as he pulled his shirt off, revealing the ladder of abs she knew he’d been hiding.
She could merely nod as she couldn’t take her eyes off his tanned and toned skin. It flowed over his stomach and chest like a satin. Before she took her place on the bed, she let her hand drift over his midsection. “Tight.”
“Yes, they are,” he agreed. “Now, perhaps you’d allow me to see what’s tight on you.”
Her breath hitched as she looked at him with wild eyes. “Weston, if I let you do this, does it mean…”
His fingers touched her lips, stopping her. “No. It doesn’t. I won’t hold you to a thing until I take you. Once I take you, Aulora, I will consider you to be mine. In all ways. I want you to understand that, completely.”
She shuddered at how that sounded. His, completely. So, she asked, “And you will be mine, completely?”
He nodded and her heart dropped a beat. He’d become hers. The wealthy, gorgeous man who stood before her would belong to her. Yeah, she could see that rocking her world!
The way his chest and abs felt under her palms gave her so many inspirations about paintings and even sculptures that she knew there would be some good to come out of this thing he wanted. And she had to admit that she wanted it too.
“Yes,” came out of her mouth without her knowing it was on its way out.
A gleam in his eyes made her smile. “Yes?” he asked her. “You mean yes, you want to commit to me?”
She nodded. “I do.” She moved her arms up to wrap around his neck. “I’ve never felt this way before, Weston. I love you. I know I do. I don’t want to wait. I want this just as much as you do. Maybe even more. I want to commit to you, Weston Calloway.”
“Wait,” he said as he pulled her arms off his neck and held her hands. “Say it again, Aulora.”
“What?” she asked with a tantalizing smile. “I want to commit to you?”
He pulled her in tight and pressed his forehead to hers. “No. The other thing.”
“I’ve never felt this way before?” she asked with a grin. She knew what he wanted to hear again, she was just toying with him.
“The other thing,” he said, and then gave her ass a smack.
“Oh! You must mean when I said, I love you.”
He sighed and said, “Yes, that’s what I wanted to hear come out of your sweet mouth. And I love you, Aulora. I think I always have since the moment I first saw you.”
She stared at him, unable to really believe he meant the words which had just fallen off his tongue.
“Don’t lie to me, please, West.”
“Lie to you?” he asked her as he slid into the bed next to her and ran his hand through her silky dark hair.
“I do love you, Aulora. I do.”
She blinked twice and relaxed a bit as his hand, moving through her hair, made her tension melt away.
“Weston, will you make me yours tonight?”
“Not tonight, peach. You see, I want not an ounce of alcohol in your system. I want you to make the real decision when you’re one hundred percent sober. A thing you’re not right now, even though you may think you are.”
“Noble to a fault, aren’t you?” she asked him then kissed the tip of his nose. A straight nose, a powerful looking nose. Everything about the man was regal, majestic even. And he wanted them to be exclusive.
“I am,” he told her as his hand moved to caress her cheek. “And you are gorgeous. Resisting the temptation to be intimate with you is taxing. But I will handle myself, appropriately.”
“Too bad,” she moaned as she moved her body closer to his and moved in to kiss him.
She was a bit surprised when he let her kiss him, using her tongue to navigate the recesses of his warm mouth. His arms enveloped her and she settled into his wide chest, her breasts mashed against his hard pecs.
Aulora fel
t his hands move down her back as the kiss grew. All the way down they went until he had her ass cupped in his large hands. He squeezed it, making her moan with how right it all felt.
She mused in her mind about the fact she was falling, much like her mother did, for a man who could buy and sell people. She was accepting the same damn thing her mother had accepted from her father. In the end, her mother was left out in the cold, with a teenage daughter to support.
But the way his mouth felt as it moved with hers was amazing. A thing she’d never encountered before. The way his body capitulated to hers and hers to his was beyond anything she’d ever imagined.
He too was feeling the difference in being with her and any of the other women he’d ever been with. His mind was a flurry of ‘what if’s’. Aulora may well be the one who could break his heart, entirely. And his heart had been broken before. It had been nearly destroyed once.
Weston had been young when it had happened. But the scar was still there, he supposed it would always be there.
His affection for her grew with each passing moment and before either of them realized it, they were all over one another, grinding into each other’s sensual places, moaning with near abandonment.
Weston made her release his mouth and he moved to kiss down her neck. Her nails dug into his biceps where she tightly gripped him. Her feet ran up and down his legs and she was effectively pulling his pajama bottoms down. Only their underwear separated them from actual penetration.
Her T-shirt was keeping her soft tits away from him and he couldn’t stand it any longer and pulled it off her, stopping to look at her perfectly plump and pert breasts, he bit his lip then leaned in and took one of them in his mouth.
She made a wonderful sound as he suckled her. Her hands ran up and down his back as she arched up to him. She needed him, wanted him, but he had to make her wait. He had to make her ache for him. He had to make her understand where it was she belonged.
As his mouth left her tit, his hands moved to play with them as he kissed his way down her stomach. His tongue dipped into her belly button and then he ventured lower. “With my intimate kiss, you will better understand how good I can make you feel, peach.”
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