by Bonnie Dee
Since she was splattered with water and some blood that had dripped off the steaks, she headed for Joel’s bedroom to change. But before she got there, she heard the scratching of his key in the door. Her heart seemed to lurch into her stomach. Gladness that he’d left Vee so early warred with panic as to how he would greet her, how she should greet him, and annoyance that she couldn’t be groomed and beautiful but flustered and dirty when he came in the door.
Before she could lift her frozen limbs and flee into the bedroom, the front door opened and Joel strode in, looking large and solid and so handsome that butterflies plunged and dived in her stomach.
“Hello,” she said lamely. “I was just going to change.”
Although he smiled, with a slightly sardonic twist that she was at a loss to account for, he didn’t seem to notice anything wrong with her appearance, merely brushed past her to the living room while she bolted for the fastest shower and change of clothes she had yet experienced.
Emerging with her damp hair brushed but still glistening, wearing jeans and a top that he’d bought for her in Schlaushagen, she found him in the living room, idly poking with his toe at the boxes and bags from her shopping expedition with Vee. He didn’t seem to have noticed her lovingly set table.
He had a glass of wine in one hand, barely touched. “I poured you one,” he said, glancing up as she came in. Neither his tone nor his cool expression was encouraging but at least he looked at her. In fact, she had the comforting notion that he couldn’t look away.
“What’s all this?” he asked, giving an extra toe-poke to the nearest bag.
“Oh. Vee took me shopping. She said you asked her to.”
“I did. Aren’t you going to open it all? Try it on?”
“No.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not going to keep it. You’ve been very generous, Joel, but I’ve seen the prices now in other shops and these items are too expensive. Far more than is right.”
His steady eyes didn’t leave her face. “That’s probably true. Vee only goes to the best shops. Over-priced, but tasteful.”
Relieved that she was right in this, she tried a smile. But he didn’t smile back. His mood was very odd; she couldn’t place it or reach him, and her brief upsurge of confidence seeped away.
“Aren’t you going to show me the goodies?” he asked.
“What’s the point when it’s all going back?”
He shrugged and set his glass on the table to crouch down and begin tearing open the bags and boxes. “Quite a haul,” he said, tossing a small, rectangular box at her so quickly that she only just caught it. “What’s in there?”
Aurora frowned. “I’ve no idea,” she said ruefully, opening it to reveal a necklace that sparkled so brightly it hurt her eyes. “Goodness. Where did that come from?”
“Aprille’s, according to the box.”
“Oh no. It was just the dress and shoes that came from Aprille’s.” And yet he was right. The box did have the shop’s label. “They must have put it in by accident. We never even looked at jewelry. Unless it’s Vee’s and it just got in the wrong bag? I suppose I’d better check with her before I take it back with the rest!”
As she reached past him for the phone, he caught her arm with more impatience than tenderness. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not going to take it back. I wouldn’t have you dressed in cheap, tawdry stuff when I can buy you something better.”
It was pure instinct to throw off his arm in outrage. Anger followed swiftly. Glaring at him, she uttered, “Actually, it isn’t up to you. I have accepted your gifts along with your help, but it stops here. I’m not a doll to be dressed or owned by you or by anyone else. I’m grateful for your help, Joel Thorne, but I will neither be bought nor paid off. Tomorrow, I shall begin to search for some kind of employment. Even in this modern age there must be some work I am fit for. And in the long term, I shall learn to be a physician.”
Without waiting to see his reaction, she stormed into the kitchen, wrenched the gas on full under the waiting frying pan and poured in a large dollop of oil. She was so furious that for once she didn’t even register his presence in the room. It was only when she reached for the steaks that she saw him standing by the door, one shoulder resting against the frame, watching her. She froze then, with her fingers gripping the cold, moist meat.
“I’m sorry,” Joel said quietly. “I was rude and ungracious, but I didn’t mean to be quite such a total bastard. What I meant was, it’s my pleasure to give you things you like, including everything in there. There’s no ulterior motive, no strings and no messages attached.”
Aurora swallowed. She had a sudden urge to cry, but the anger hadn’t dissipated; it was just directed at herself for allowing Vee’s insinuations to stick.
“I know,” she muttered and threw both steaks into the pan in quick succession. The oil sputtered and burst into a frenzy of sizzling and spitting. “Ouch!” She jumped as several spots of hot oil landed on her face and wrist.
At once Joel was there, drawing her back out of range. “Careful,” he warned. “I don’t think they’re defrosted. They’ll spit like anything. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I’m making dinner.”
His smile was warmer now, twisting through her stomach and loins. “I see that you are.”
She was very aware of his warm hands on her shoulder and waist, in no obvious hurry to release her.
“The table in the living room is beautiful,” he added, and she let herself smile at last.
“I didn’t know I was meant to defrost them,” she said, waving a spatula at the steaks. “Will they be all right? I’ve never cooked them before. Actually, I’ve never cooked anything before.”
“They’ll be fine.”
“I’ve dirtied these clothes now too, haven’t I?”
“You look beautiful.”
She recognized the hot desire clouding his eyes. It boosted both her confidence and her lust. She could win him, she could.
She turned away from him, poking the steaks with her spatula. “Sit down,” she said lightly. “I’ll bring everything out. Joel?” she added as an afterthought, as he reluctantly dropped his arms and walked away. He glanced back over his shoulder.
“Er—how long do I cook them for?”
Laughter sprang into his eyes as he came back to her. Her stomach jolted, for he took her straight into his arms. “About as long as this kiss,” he said and took it.
The spatula fell to the floor as Aurora’s arms lifted around his neck of their own volition. She melted into his kiss, almost weeping with the relief and happiness after the awful coldness of last night and the anxiety of today. None of that mattered, only the love, the rightness of them being together, of making Joel see that. And for this moment, at least, he did see it. Otherwise, he couldn’t have kissed her like that.
Their lips and tongues parted slowly. “I don’t think the steaks are quite ready,” he said huskily and bent to her mouth once more. But more than his lips were busy now. As she pressed into his hard crotch, his hand roved up her waist to her breast, eliciting a moan of need from her. Lost in the heady upsurge of lust, she was barely aware of being edged back until the corner of the table dug into her bottom.
His hand swept under her buttocks, lifting her off her feet and laying her on the table top. “I never thought of myself as a kitchen-table man before,” he muttered, unfastening the buttons on his trousers, “but you, Aurora, you do something to me. If it’s not magic, it’s something damned close.”
The table was flat and cool against her back and even more against her rear after he’d tugged her pants off, leaving her bottom naked. His body pressed against her hard, covering her as his cock insistently pushed its way to her entrance.
Aurora had never realized there were so many different ways for a man and woman to make love. Not merely physical positions, but the strength and speed or the intimacy of the act; sometimes rushed and desperate like now, sometimes a slow, sweet affirmation of feelin
gs. She enjoyed both ways, but right now hot and hard was very, very good as Joel thrust into her with urgency. She was open and ready for him, had been since the moment he’d entered the apartment, even when she was angry. Aurora wondered if that was quite normal for a woman, to unfurl like some kind of flower simply at the sight of the man she loved.
For it must be love, this bond between them. She’d never felt anything like it before, certainly not during the few times she’d met with her fiancé, Karl. This felt like what all the poets described, a glorious pain that rocked her to the depths of her soul and a certainty that she’d found something that had been missing for her entire life.
Aurora wrapped her legs around the backs of Joel’s thighs, hugging him to her. He rocked against her, pushing her a little farther back on the table with each thrust. At this rate, her head would fall off the edge in a moment. She suppressed a laugh and clung to his heaving back. And when his climax shuddered through him, she lifted her hips, rising to meet his final thrust.
For a moment, they both lay panting, listening to the sizzling of the meat on the stove, then Joel parted from her. He slid to the floor and helped her to her feet.
“Was that all right?” he asked. “You didn’t get to come.”
“That’s all right. We have all night.” And the rest of our lives if you’ll finally put down your guard and let me all the way in.
She smiled at him before returning to the stove to keep their dinner from burning.
Joel lay beside Aurora, their hands pressed together, measuring the size of palms and the length of fingers before clasping them together. He was absolutely content, more than he could ever remember being in his ambitious, grasping life. He was comfortably full from a good meal, and the woman he could finally admit he loved was lying beside him. So what if he’d known her only a few days or if she was perhaps a trifle young and unworldly for him, he’d given up fighting what fate seemed to have destined. Joel had never given up on a struggle in his life and was surprised to learn how liberating it was to simply cave in to a greater power than himself.
“I will find employment, you know,” she said abruptly. Her head moved on his chest as she tipped her face to look up at him. “I’ve been coddled and taken care of all my life. I allowed it. That is what a princess is meant to do. But I’m no longer a princess, and this is no longer the same world. I see how the women have their own power now to decide their futures. And I really think I would make a good doctor, just not yet.”
“I think you would too, and it’s right you should look into it. I’ll help you do that. In the meantime, I’m certain I could find some sort of entry level position in one of my companies. I can’t promise the work would be very challenging, but it would be a start.” He wondered if her agenda to be a modern woman included living in her own apartment for a while. As much as he’d wanted that yesterday, he dreaded it now. He wished she would stay with him, but he wouldn’t deny her the opportunity to grow. They could date like two normal people and eventually move in together.
She propped an elbow on the pillow beside him and rested her cheek in her hand as she looked down at him. “Even though I greatly appreciate the offer, I would like to find a job on my own. It would be far too easy to keep depending on you, Joel.”
He nodded his understanding. “Well, at least let me get you started. I can catch you up on some of what you’ve missed over the past thousand years and you can take classes to further your education. You’ll need to before they’ll let you in to medical school. But trust me, there’s no shame in having a friend help you get a job. People do it all the time. It’s what you do after you’re given that leg up that is the true test of what you’re capable of.”
“Is that how it was for you?” she asked. “You said your life was difficult and you had to fight to become successful. Was there anyone along the way who helped you?”
He paused, hating to bring up the name he knew she didn’t want to hear. He was aware Aurora was jealous of Vee even as she tried to forge a polite friendship with the other woman in his life. If he was being honest, he got a little charge from the fact that she cared enough to be jealous.
“Actually, Vee was the one who helped me achieve this level of financial success. I’d already come a long way on my own, but if she hadn’t given me help right when I needed it most, I doubt if I’d be here today.”
“Oh.” She lay back down so he could no longer see her face.
He brushed his hand over the living flame of her hair. “You don’t have to be jealous of her, you know. She has been a friend, a mentor, and I’ll admit, even a lover on occasion. But I’ve never felt about her even a fraction of what I feel for you. Vee has agreed to manage my political career, but I’ve told her today that marriage is not part of the package, and I swear to you she and I will be nothing but professional partners.”
“Good.”
He grinned at the satisfaction in her tone and continued to stroke her soft curls. They lay in comfortable silence for several minutes and he nearly thought she was asleep when Aurora spoke again.
“Joel?”
“Yes.”
“I think you will make a good leader. All that energy you’ve focused on business up until now will go toward making your country a better place for people to live in. I think…” She hesitated, stroking her hand over Joel’s chest, combing her fingers through the light pelt of hair.
“I think my father was a good king, although as his daughter I couldn’t really know what people thought of him. But I see in you many of his qualities. You are strong and determined yet you wish to be fair and to help those in need. Aren’t those the most important aspects of a leader?”
“I hope so.” He hugged her with the arm he had wrapped around her body. Her faith in him touched him. He’d never doubted his business acumen but hadn’t been certain his abilities would translate into the political arena. “I don’t want to be another of those leaders who makes a lot of promises he finds impossible to keep once he’s gained office.”
She nodded, her hair tickling his chest. “You can’t please everyone. The best you can do is to listen to all parties, then make the most just decision possible. That’s what my father used to say.”
He noticed she spoke of her father in the past tense, which he supposed was a positive sign, demonstrating that she accepted the fact her parents—and everyone she knew—were long gone.
“You know, Vee is from Schlaushagen,” he remarked, then realized it might sound as if he was trying to force a friendship between the two women in his life. “Not that I expect you to spend time with her if it makes you uncomfortable, but I thought she could share with you the history of your country after the time of your father’s reign. It might be nice for you to hear it from a fellow countryman.
“She didn’t mention that fact when we were shopping together, but I noticed she has no accent like yours. She speaks my native language more like what I’m used to than the people we met in the village, the doctor or the sales clerks. I should’ve guessed her heritage.” Aurora didn’t sound annoyed that he’d brought up Vee again, but then women sometimes hid their insecurities.
He shrugged. “Only if you’re interested. Honestly, other than attending this birthday bash we’ve already committed to, you don’t have to spend any more time with her if you don’t want to. You don’t have to like her.”
“Good, because I don’t.”
Her candor surprised the hell out of him.
She pushed up on her elbow and faced him again. “And it’s not just jealousy. There’s something about her that doesn’t feel right. She smiles and says all the right things, but underneath her charm I feel coldness, an emptiness. I’m sorry. I know she’s been your friend for a long time, but I don’t trust the woman.”
Joel had no idea what to say. He wasn’t about to defend Vee, which would only upset Aurora, but didn’t intend to abandon a friend simply because of a vague feeling. On the other hand, if he was truly going to commit t
o a real, solid relationship with Aurora, maybe he should consider her feelings more. He would certainly not like it if she had a close male friend who’d once been her fuck buddy, not at all. In fact, just the thought of this imaginary man sent a shaft of white-hot rage through him. He wanted to kill the guy.
Joel considered his next words carefully. “If having me work closely with Vee makes you uncomfortable, I’ll find another campaign manager. It’s not as if I can’t hire someone else.”
“You would do that?” Her brows knit together and she shook her head. “No. I couldn’t ask you to. If she’s the best there is and she can help you win, then you must have her. I may not trust her, but I trust you.”
He thought about the diamonds Aurora had said she’d never seen let alone purchased, and about Vee claiming that sweet, naïve Aurora was a gold-digger.
“And I trust you,” he said. “If you tell me she sets off some inner alarm, I’ll rely on your judgment. After this birthday party, I’ll tell her I changed my mind. I don’t want to say it before the party and ruin it for her.”
He owed Vee that much at least. But as he lay there holding Aurora while her breathing deepened and her small body grew heavier draped over his, Joel wondered if he’d been telling himself for too long that he “owed” Vee. Yes, she’d once helped further his career, but did that mean he must be beholden to her for the rest of his life?
The more he thought about their relationship, the more he realized she’d shaped it to her will every step of the way, so subtly manipulating him he’d hardly been aware of it. Not to say he hadn’t made plenty of bold business choices on his own, but whenever Vee had had a really strong opinion about something, he’d listened and usually deferred to her. It was because she offered sound, practical advice that advanced both their interests. But it was also because he’d subconsciously felt indebted to her.
