by Aurora, Lexi
“You’re so fucking beautiful, you know that? You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
She smiled at that, and then her hips began to move. They moved slowly at first, driving him more deeply inside of her—and driving him fucking insane. He pulled her in closer to him, taking her nipples into his mouth one by one, running his tongue over them until they were hard enough to cut glass. He cried out, her arms twining around the back of his neck and using his body for leverage to help her speed herself up. The rocking motion of her hips pulled him deeper into her and then further away, made him feel as if he was made to be inside of her, as if he was made to fuck this girl. He could feel a trembling growing inside of himself, and his hands dropped down to her waist, signaling to her to go faster, something she did without having to be told twice. She rode him like a horse, until he felt her stiffen beneath his fingers, and she let out another cry that was basically a scream. The walls of her cunt closed in on him more tightly again, and he knew he couldn’t hold on any longer. He let out a yell and spilled himself inside of her, coming harder than he had ever done in his life. After it was over, she rolled off him and the two of them lay there together until they both fell asleep in the early morning light.
Chapter Six
“You sure you want to do this? You look pretty uncomfortable if you want to know the truth.”
“Truth? I am, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to do this. I do, Keira. I think it’s about time I started acting like a halfway decent human being.”
Keira laughed and took Tyler by the hand, still feeling a little thrill over the fact that she was able to do something like that with the elusive, too handsome to live Tyler Evans. She had fought her attraction to him as best she could, but looking back on that fight, now it was painfully easy to see that it had been a lost cause. It seemed almost as if their first night on the couch together had been inevitable, only a matter of time, and now three weeks later she was more than glad about it. She had spent almost every night with him since that first one, and as far as she knew his dad was still none the wiser. All of this sneaking around—that and sleeping with a man like Tyler, to begin with—was totally unlike her, which was probably part of why it was so terribly enticing. In the end, she supposed it didn’t really matter. There was much more to Tyler than she ever gave him credit for, and she actually felt sort of guilty when she thought back on how nasty she had been in the beginning. Now she knew that Tyler was a lot more than what he allowed the tabloids to see, and she was lucky enough to be one of the few to see it. Not only that but now he was coming with her to the hospital to read to the sick children, something she’d been doing for years and hadn’t really thought he would be willing to do with her. He was nervous, that much was painfully obvious, but as she led him by the hand, she thought she also detected a hint of excitement. He was glad to be doing something for somebody else, she was sure of it.
“Here we are. This room is Delilah’s. She’s one of the girls I always make sure to read to.”
“How old is she?”
“She’s eleven.”
“And she’s been here for a long time?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Certainly longer than any child would want to be in a place like this.”
“And what’s... what’s the matter with her?”
“Cancer. I know it’s awful, and I can see from the look on your face that you think so too, but try not to let her see it. She only wants what most of these kids want.”
“Which is what?”
“To be treated like a normal child. That’s all. Not a major request, right? It can be super difficult, more difficult than you would believe sometimes, but it’s worth it to see them smile.”
“Hey, Keira?”
“Yes?”
Her face burned when he said her name that way, made her think of that first sweaty night on his impossibly expensive leather couch, but she did her best to shrug it off. There would be plenty more time for that kind of thing after the hospital was over, but for now, they were going to do some good. Tyler’s father was beyond thrilled about it, assuming it was about an opportunity to have his son photographed doing something good for once, but for Keira, it wasn’t about that at all. It had ceased to be about the job and had become about him, about wanting him to be the man she knew he had inside of him. She reminded herself of this and then looked levelly at Tyler, waiting to see what it was he wanted to say to her.
“You’re amazing, did you know that? You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
And so the two of them entered little Delilah’s room and sat beside her bed, reading her whatever stories she asked for but, more importantly, just talking with her. Keira did most of the talking at first, but she gradually became quieter and quieter, giving Tyler the opportunity to understand the man he really was underneath all of the bullshit he’d allowed himself to believe was important. Sitting back and watching was the best part of the whole outing, and it allowed her to see for herself all of the best parts of Tyler Evans coming to the forefront. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she almost didn’t hear when Delilah asked Tyler if he was her favorite reader’s boyfriend. She almost missed the question, but she was pretty sure she couldn’t have missed Tyler’s answer, not in a million years. She couldn’t have forgotten the answer, because it was yes.
Chapter Seven
“Sir? Sorry to interrupt.”
“Rosie, come on! No sir, okay? No more sir!”
“Yes, sorry, sir, but it’s your father. He’s here to see you again.”
Tyler groaned and rolled his eyes, moving his hand away from his intercom without bothering to respond. So that was where the return of the word "sir" had come from. It might as well have the code word for “Dad's here,” seeing as it was the only time Rosie ever felt compelled to use it. It had been almost two months since his dad had come to pay him an unexpected visit at the office, and as far as Tyler was concerned, that time had been blissful. When it came to Charles Evans, no visit was a good visit, and he was sorry to see the streak broken. Yet when his dad came striding into the office, he wore a very different expression than the one he’d worn the last time he’d been there, and before he even spoke he laughed loudly and genially.
“Son! Good to see you. I can’t stay long, hope you don’t mind.”
“Um, no, I don’t mind at all. What brings you here?”
“Why, you do! I was driving by the office and thought it would do well to stop in and congratulate my son, who finally stopped acting like a jackass and got his shit together.”
“How do you figure?”
“That story on the front of Us Magazine ? You with the cancer kids? That was priceless! Keira was worth every penny I paid her, that’s for sure. I may even keep her on indefinitely, so long as you think you can stand it.”
“I’m pretty sure I can manage. Do you want a drink or something? We’re getting close to six o’clock.”
“No, no, I can’t stay. I’m on my way to dinner. Just wanted to tell you that you’re doing a good job. I’m glad to see it, Tyler. Glad to see you got on board with the way of the world.”
Without even giving Tyler the chance to reply, Charles Evans turned and strode right back out of the office. Tyler just sat for a minute, just sat and shook his head at how utterly bizarre the turns of the world would be. He pressed the intercom again when he finally came back to himself, finding that he’d been sitting there for more than an hour. He pressed the intercom once more, grimacing a little when Rosie promptly answered.
“Tyler? Do you need something?”
“No, but you do. Go home, Rosie. I’m sorry I kept you so long. I’ll be on my way out in a couple of minutes, so go home. Make me feel like a little less of an asshole for keeping you so late.”
“All right, Tyler,” Rosie answered with a laugh. “If you say so. But only if you promise me you won’t stay too long after I’m gone.”
“I promise. Go on now.”
/> Rosie said that she would do just that, and pretty soon Tyler could tell that he was probably the only one left in the whole building. There was a feeling an empty building gave you, a certain feeling that he used to hate but that over the last two months he’d come to sort of like. He poured himself a glass of scotch and watched the clock, killing time until it was time for him to go and pick Keira up. He allowed his thoughts to get caught up in the anticipated feel of Keira’s skin beneath his hands and became so wrapped up in it that he didn’t even hear the sound of his office door opening. He only became aware of another person in the room when he smelled perfume. It was a very familiar perfume, one that he had come to hate and would still recognize anywhere.
“Tyler, my love.”
“Camilla? What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Come now,” she pouted, her thick dyed-blonde hair pulled up into a knot on top of her head and her lip poking out at him like a sulky kid. “Is that any way to greet your wife?”
“Ex. You aren’t my wife anymore, Camilla. You made sure of that when you spent our whole short marriage messing around behind my back.”
“But that’s why I’ve come! It was a mistake, love. I’ve come to beg your forgiveness. I’ve come to get you back.”
Before he had time even to form the words needed to tell her to go fuck herself, Camilla had crossed his office and planted himself firmly on his lap. He tried to push her off, but her arms were tight around his neck, and she pulled herself closer to him despite his protests.
“Come on, Tyler, you know we’re meant to be together.”
“Bullshit, we are.”
“We are, and you know it. Kiss me and tell me you don’t feel it anymore. Kiss me, and if you tell me you don’t feel it I’ll go away—brokenhearted, but I’ll go.”
And she leaned forward and kissed him, shoving her tongue into his mouth and kissing him with an enthusiasm he didn’t think she’d ever used when the two of them had been together. For a minute he was terrified that he would feel something, that despite all of the crap she’d pulled, he would still feel something for this woman. When there was nothing, he could have thrown a parade of celebration. He pulled away from her, ready to tell her to get lost and to do so for good when a broken, strangled voice spoke from the office door. He knew who it was immediately, just as he knew that he was in a whole world of trouble he hadn’t asked for at all.
“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’m happy for the two of you.”
Then, before he could stand up and insist it wasn’t what it looked like, Keira was gone, fleeing his office as if she was fleeing the devil himself.
Chapter Eight
“Keira? There’s someone here to see you.”
“Tell him to go away. Tell him I don’t ever want to see him again.”
Keira spoke from around the pillow she had her face firmly planted in, a pillow that lay on the bed that had pretty much been her home for the last two weeks. Ever since she’d walked into Tyler’s office, intent on surprising him a little early for their date, she’d been sure that she would never want to leave her bed again. What a fool she had been to think that Tyler really cared about her, that he could ever change the kind of person he was. And now he had the nerve to show up at her front door? To act like nothing had ever happened? Well, screw him , she thought bitterly, trying very hard to pretend not to notice the tears that had again begun to flow down her cheeks. Screw him and his stupid promises, his claiming of her as a girlfriend. She’d never fall for somebody like him again, not for as long as she lived. She was never going to leave her room again if she could help it.
“All right, that’s enough of this shit,” Christie said hotly, actually stamping her foot so loudly that Keira could hear it. “It’s time for this to stop. I’m going to read you something, and if you still don’t want him to come in, I’ll tell him to get lost. Deal? Good.”
And so Christie began to read an article from a magazine, which Keira tried to ignore at first, then sat up and listened to it feeling as though she had lost the ability to breathe. It was Tyler—Tyler’s words given in a letter he’d sent to her by way of every magazine and paper that would take it. He said all of the things a woman hoped to hear but mostly never did. He told her how sorry he was, how much less of a man he’d been before her. He told her that his life would never be as good without her in it, that he would never again be so happy. In the end, he told her that he loved her, and it was those words that finally got her to her feet.
“And he’s here? He’s here right now?”
“He is, looking like a puppy that got kicked.”
“Will you ask him to come back?”
Christie didn’t answer, only let out a triumphant crow of delight as she hurried down the hallway to retrieve Keira’s lovesick suitor. Keira scrambled around the room, desperate to make herself look halfway decent despite the two weeks of self-neglect. By the time she heard the knock on her door, she was sure it was useless. He would just have to take her how she was or not at all. She was pretty sure that if his letter were even halfway true, he would be glad to have her at all.
“Yes?” she answered in a slightly wavering voice at the sound of the soft knocking on her door.
“It’s... it’s me. Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
It didn't take a genius to see that he hadn’t been sleeping or eating well, and as Tyler let himself into her bedroom and then shut the door again, it took everything she had not to just go to him right then and there. It was a crazy strong urge, but one she managed to resist. His letter had gone a long way toward mending the pain he had caused her, but she still wanted to see what he had to say for himself. She could still see the image of Camilla in his lap, her face attached to his like a succubus, but she wanted to hear what words he had for her. As if he already knew this, he stepped forward, his hands limp by his sides and his pain so real it was almost a physical presence in the room.
“Keira, I’m so, so sorry. You have to know that. I need you to know that.”
“Okay.”
“I didn’t invite her there. I didn’t want her there, but before I could stop her, she was on my lap and clawing at me. It was right before you got there, I swear. Nothing happened. I... I love you. I know that sounds crazy, I know we’ve only known each other for a couple of months, but I love you. I need you to know that.”
And there it was, all she needed to hear. Maybe it would have been better if she’d been able to hold out a little longer but it wasn’t in her nature to make a person suffer, and she didn’t have enough female cunning in her to make him suffer. She rushed toward him, taking his arms and wrapping them around her as she nuzzled her face into his chest. It took a moment or two for him to register that the fight was really and truly over, but then he held her closer, using all of his strength to make her feel safe and at home. His movement acted like some kind of spell on her, setting her on fire and igniting the greed of her physical need for him. Her hands rose to the collar of his shirt and began to undo the buttons, fumbling with them slightly but determined to make him naked as soon as she could possibly manage. His skin was hot beneath her fingertips, his heart thundering in his chest so quickly she thought she could almost see it. All the while, she kissed along the line of his breastbone, then got up on her tiptoes and kissed his mouth deeply, greedily. It was in a tangle of the clothing they both still had on and the clothing they struggled to get off that they made it to her bed, somehow both naked by the time they got there.
All Keira knew was that she couldn’t get his hard, thick cock inside of her fast enough, and she pulled her knees up to her ears as he plunged himself between them. A quick thrust saw him inside of her, and she let out a cry, not caring if Christie could hear them or not. Her hands found his strong shoulders, using them to steady herself as Tyler plunged himself into her over and over and over again. Her legs wrapped around his hips, her own hips rising to meet his each and every thrust. Nobody in the world a
side from the two of them existed at that moment, nobody but the two of them and the rising heat building in her loins. Her hands flew up over her head and grasped for the bars of her brass headboard, and he reared up so that she could see every chiseled muscle of his impressive body. He took her ankles in his hands and threw them over his shoulders, pulling her toward him so that her hips left the bed, supported only by his hands. He plunged into her harder now, something that might have been considered rough if it wasn’t for the love between them. It took only a few more thrusts before she was biting into her own hand to keep herself from actually shouting from the force of her orgasm. Everything in the world around her fell away, all of her senses reduced to just the feeling of him sliding in and out of her as she came harder than she ever had in all of her life.
Dimly, as if from underwater, she heard him utter an expletive and then felt his body shudder both above and inside of her. Then they were both coming, hard and fast and in a way that left them exhausted directly after. When he withdrew from her, she felt a little twinge of sadness, but when she looked at his face she felt that sadness leave her. This was not the end of something, but only the beginning. When she looked at his warm eyes, she could actually see the love there, and as she slipped off into sleep, she knew the two of them would be together for a very long time.
Bonus: The Shifters
THE SHIFTERS
Chapter One – Jared
“D ADDY! DADDY, PICK me up!”
“Ooof! You’re getting heavy, Maddie girl!”
“Don’t care, Daddy! Pick me up! You’re strong. You can do it!”
Jared Lowe grabbed his daughter and hefted her into the air, tossing her like she was as light as a feather just as he had done since she was still a tiny child instead of a girl of six years already. In truth, she really was starting to get too heavy for these kinds of games, but he knew he would continue to play them until his physical strength no longer allowed it. He would have done anything for his little dark-haired beauty, a girl who looked so much like his own deceased mother that it sometimes made him feel as if his heart was stopping a little. His beautiful little blue-eyed girl, still young enough to believe that everything he did and said was close to perfection. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe that this was something that would last forever, or even believe it would last for much longer, but it was something he wanted to soak up as much of as possible while he still could.
