Baby, I Do Read online

  She stirred, and a sweet smile graced her face as she stretched out her body. The blankets dipped low, exposing her perfect breasts, and I had to shake my head to clear away the fog of lust threatening to distract me.

  “I brought breakfast,” I said, returning her smile as I helped her sit up. She scooted back to lean against the headboard, and when I pulled the sheet up to cover her, she quirked an eyebrow in question. “I’m only so strong, baby, and I want you to eat your breakfast, not become mine.” She opened her mouth to speak, and I covered it with my hand. “We don’t have time this morning. We have to leave for work in half an hour, and I’m not going to rush when I’m feasting on your delicious body.”

  Aurora’s eyes heated, but she nodded, so I removed my hand. I carefully lifted the tray of food and set it on her lap. She looked at the spread with delight and let out a little moan before licking her lips. It was absolute torture, and my body was screaming at me to discard all my plans and spend the day in bed worshipping my woman.

  I cleared my throat and stood, trying to think about anything that would take the edge off the desire clawing at me. A gagging sound had me whipping around to see Aurora bent over the tray, spitting out the food in her mouth. I rushed over and lifted her face to mine. “Aurora? What’s wrong, baby?” Since it was too early to know if she was pregnant, worry creeped in.

  “I think the strawberries went bad,” she croaked before taking a big swig of the coffee sitting on her tray.

  I glanced down at the red, gooey stuff slathered over the fluffy, golden pancakes. Since it was like a strawberry glaze, it would’ve been easy to miss if the strawberries were mushy with over ripeness. A sigh escaped my lips as I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. It certainly wasn’t the start I had envisioned for the day.

  Aurora giggled, and I glanced down at her twinkling blue eyes. It was impossible to fight my answering smile when she looked at me like that. I kissed her forehead and shook my head ruefully. “Sorry, baby. We’ll get breakfast on the way to work.”

  She trailed a finger down my bare chest and eyed me slyly. “Now that we don’t have breakfast taking up our time…” I grabbed her hand before she could go any lower and gave her a mock glare.

  “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you only want me for my body,” I said with a huff. Aurora laughed boisterously and smacked a kiss on my lips.

  Then she winked at me. “It certainly doesn’t hurt your cause.”

  I barked out a laugh and playfully tugged her from the bed. “Let’s go, beautiful.”

  With a pat to her juicy ass, I urged her toward the bathroom. It took a monumental feat of strength to ignore her “come hither” look as she sashayed toward the shower. When I remained firm, her face drooped into an adorable pout, making me laugh as I hastily left the room to escape temptation. The day was already off to a rocky start, but it wouldn’t ruin everything else I had planned.

  * * *

  “What a beautiful day,” Aurora sighed as she laid her head back and turned her face up to the sun. With the top of my convertible down, the wind blew her golden locks wildly around her. Rather than complaining and trying to keep her hair away, she just laughed and tossed on her sunglasses. I loved how relaxed she had become with me. She seemed to shed the persona she constantly wore around others and was just herself with me.

  Aurora was forever taking on the role of parent with her sisters and the demanding job of running the chapel. Her sisters worked just as hard and were brilliant in their roles, but it was Aurora who truly dealt with the stresses and demands that came with the business side of things. When I’d casually tried to bring up hiring help so she could take some much-needed breaks, she’d balked and refused to consider the idea. However, after thoroughly seducing her and driving home (double entendre intended) the idea of a blissful vacation where we had nothing to do besides each other…she became much more amenable to the idea.

  As far as Aurora knew, we were headed to work, but I’d asked Belle and Ariel to take over the chapel duties and wedding for the day. Since breakfast had been a bust, I decided to take her to a little diner she loved on the Strip. I’d make it up to her with the special lunch I had planned.

  We were a few minutes from the main Vegas drag when a loud pop sounded, and the car swerved dangerously. I managed to keep control of the vehicle and pull to the shoulder of the road. We came to a sudden stop, and I immediately turned to Aurora to make sure she hadn’t been injured. Her blue eyes were wide with shock, but I couldn’t see any visible signs of damage. My heart had dropped into my stomach and fear squeezed at my throat until I ran my hands over her—ignoring her protests—and decided she was unhurt.

  I stepped out of the car and exhaled harshly at the sight of my shredded front tire. “Fuck,” I whispered under my breath when what I wanted was to shout in frustration at this second unexpected and seriously ill-timed interruption of my plans. Silently seething, I stomped to the trunk to retrieve the spare. Aurora chuckled as she scooted to my side of the car and exited.

  “Relax, baby,” I told her. “I’ll take care of this.”

  She raised a brow and narrowed her eyes at me. “I know how to change a tire, Will. Knox made sure all his sisters could take care of themselves.”

  I dropped the tire and closed the distance between us, snaking my arm around her waist and pulling her close. “I have no doubt you could handle this, baby, but how about you let your man play the hero for his woman?” I finished my question with a wink, and it had the desired effect when she laughed.

  “By all means, Superman, impress me.”

  I grinned, feeling much less frustrated at the circumstances and quickly replaced the ruined tire with the spare. Unfortunately, the task was a grimy one, and my clothes and hands ended up streaked with oil and dirt. I was going to need a shower because I refused to romance my girl in my current condition.

  “I need to clean up, and we’re closer to my office than home,” I stated once I was back in the driver’s seat and restarting the car.

  “No problem. You can just drop me at work.”

  I shook my head, and after pulling back out on to the road, I took ahold of her hand. “I owe you breakfast.”

  She checked her watch and sighed with resignation. “I don’t have time now,” she said sadly. “I have to get ready for an early afternoon wedding.”

  “You’ve got the day off, baby.” I grinned and squeezed her hand.

  “What?” Aurora inquired, her brow furrowed in confusion. “But I have—”

  “Belle and Ariel have things under control, baby. I’m stealing you away for the day.”

  I readied myself for more arguing. Instead, a bright smile lit up her face, and she leaned over to kiss my cheek. “I like the sound of that.” My eyes were on the road, so I had no warning when I suddenly felt her other hand covering my rapidly hardening cock. I gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles were bleached white, but I managed not to swerve. “If that’s the case,” she whispered in my ear, “I fail to see why we aren’t still in bed.”

  I cleared my throat and picked up her hand, kissing the back before moving it over to her lap. She harrumphed and flopped back into her seat, facing forward. Shaking my head in exasperation, I murmured, “You’re insatiable.”

  “Are you complaining?” she asked tartly, without any real offense in her tone.

  “Abso-fucking-lutely not.” My voice was firm, letting her know I was one hundred percent serious.

  Luckily, I entered the Lennox parking garage right at that moment, saving me from further conversation on the topic. If I didn’t start thinking about something other than sex, I was going to find a remote spot and fuck her on the back seat.

  I steered into my spot and shut off the car before hopping out and jogging around to her side. She took my outstretched hand and let me help her to her feet. I hit the button to lock the car and led her out to the sidewalk and to my office door.

  We stepped inside, and I came to a sudd
en stop at the sound of shrill shouting. Chad was standing between a tall, skinny woman with a nasty scowl on her face and a man who stood an inch or so below her height with a matching expression.

  They were tossing insults and demanding an annulment. Chand had rearranged my agenda so I had no appointments, but we’d kept the office open so people in need of our services could be rescheduled. Apparently, this couple wasn’t willing to wait.

  “I can’t stand the thought of being married to this jackass another minute!” the woman shouted, pointing a finger at her husband.

  “I wouldn’t stay married to your bony ass if someone paid me,” the man roared.

  “If you two don’t cease your caterwauling,” Chad said, his voice at normal volume but with a thread of steel that made it clear he meant business. “I’m going to have you both thrown in jail, and you’ll have to spend more than just another day married to each other.” Both parties were breathing heavy, but they’d shut up when Chad spoke. “Now, I can make you an appointment for tomorrow, or you can march yourselves to some other divorce attorney, or stay married for all I care. Your choice.”

  I wanted to throw their asses out of my office, pissed that I’d dragged Aurora into a situation that depicted the ugly side of marriage the same day I planned to propose. I glanced at her to gauge her reaction, only to find her staring at Chad with fascination. It was then that I remembered how he reacted to Aurora and that she’d never seen the reason I kept him around.

  She tore her gaze away to meet mine and silently pointed at my assistant as her mouth dropped open in a little O. I laughed at her expression and nodded at her unspoken question. Using our clasped hands, I dragged her around the couple who now looked like chastised children as Chad continued to talk to them. We went back to my office and I shut and locked the door.

  “Will…” Aurora trailed off, still seeming to be in disbelief. “If I hadn’t just seen…”

  I laughed and shrugged. “I’ve never seen him react to someone like he does to you.” I walked to the private bathroom at the back of the office and turned on the shower. After stripping off my shirt, I poked my head out to see Aurora giving me a wicked smile and gliding toward me. I pointed at the couch on the opposite wall and glared. “Be a good girl and sit your cute ass down while I clean up.” She bit her bottom lip as she considered my demand, and I repressed a groan. The blue balls I was suffering from were making me seriously regret my decision to wait to have sex again until I was making love to my fiancée.

  Finally, she kicked off her shoes and padded over to the tan leather loveseat. I hurried through a shower and dressed in one of the two extra sets of clothes that I kept in the office for whenever I decided to hit the Lennox’s gym in the morning before work.

  Once I finished up, I checked the time and realized we were already half an hour from the reservations I’d made for a late lunch. I sighed, grateful to be getting the day back on track.

  Aurora was reading on her phone when I walked out of the bathroom, and she glanced at me, her eyes heating as they swept over me from head to toe. I hoped my dick didn’t get so hard it broke off before the day was over. I sat in my desk chair and sucked in a breath as my stiff cock pressed against the metal teeth of my zipper when I bent over to put on my shoes.

  Task completed, I adjusted myself behind the desk before rising to my feet. “Let’s go, baby.”

  I took her to a long, leisurely lunch at her favorite restaurant, where we talked and laughed, reminding me of every reason I loved this woman. Our insane chemistry wasn’t the only reason we were compatible. I was also drawn to her intelligence and sense of humor. I enjoyed being with her, in the bedroom and out.

  After our meal, I insisted on taking her shopping. She finally acquiesced but stated firmly that she would pay for whatever she bought. I remained silent on the issue.

  We were in no hurry, so we held hands and wandered in and out of the shops. Per my request, she selected a beautiful blue cocktail dress with matching strappy stilettos that I knew I’d be fucking her in later. She wouldn’t let me see her in it when she tried it on, wanting it to be a surprise, and laughed when I grumbled. While she was changing, I found the clerk and paid for everything, including some silk and lace items that I’d picked out. When she got to the checkout and learned what I’d done, she turned to face me with a thunderous expression and opened her mouth to verbally flay me alive.

  I grabbed her and slammed my mouth down over hers. Her arms flew around my neck, and I plundered her sweetness with my tongue, drinking from her like she was my first drink after a lifetime of thirst. When I finally forced myself to tear my mouth away, I was satisfied to see her eyes dazed with passion, her lips pink and swollen, and her skin slightly flushed. By the time the fog cleared, she was already settled in the car, and we were only ten minutes from home. She vowed to make me pay, but I just shrugged and hid my smile. I was confident she’d be singing a different tune when I had her naked with exception of her ring and those sexy as fuck shoes.

  The sun was hanging low in the sky when we took all the bags back to our house, and I insisted that she change into her new outfit for dinner. When she sauntered out of the bedroom in the clingy backless dress with a short skirt that made her legs look a mile long, I almost demanded she go right back in and change. I didn’t like the idea of other men seeing so much of her skin. And it was entirely too snug. No man who saw her would be able to look away from her mouthwatering tits.

  However, when I was ultimately able to drag my eyes to her face, I knew I was fucked. She looked excited and nervous as she waited for my reaction. No way in hell was I going to give her any reason to doubt how fucking gorgeous she was. “You look incredible, baby.” Her eyes warmed and lit from within as she gave me a bright smile. I was just going to have to constantly remind myself that she belonged to me so that I didn’t put my fist in some motherfucker’s face for staring at my woman.

  * * *

  “I can’t believe I’ve never done this before,” Aurora whispered as she snuggled into my side. I tightened my arm around her and dropped a kiss on top of her head, then nuzzled my nose in her silky hair.

  “What do you think?” I asked softly.

  She sighed and lifted her head so that I was looking down into her beautiful face. “It’s incredibly romantic.”

  The sun was just disappearing as we glided along the river that surrounded a hotel that transported you to Italy with authentic gondola rides. The ring was burning a hole in my pocket, but I wanted to wait more than a few minutes into the ride before proposing. It was a gorgeous night, and I was enjoying the serene moment with my girl cuddled into my side.

  My excitement got the best of me, though, and after only a short interval, I urged Aurora to sit up and face me. She was looking at me quizzically, and I opened my mouth to start my carefully rehearsed speech. I didn’t get one word out before a deafening crashing sound startled us. In the next instant, we were soaked to the bone as buckets of rain emptied from the sky.

  “Holy shit!” Aurora gasped as the cold precipitation drenched her and immediately started shivering. I dragged her into my arms to help keep her warm as the gondolier frantically paddled toward solid ground.

  I was utterly stunned at the turn of events. Not only was it extremely rare to have rain in Las Vegas, but a storm of this magnitude was even less likely. But what really had me dumbfounded was the fact that this unusual occurrence had chosen this moment to make an appearance. I was tempted to shout, “What the fuck?” to the universe.

  Aurora started shaking, and I held her tighter, worried she was getting too cold. Until I heard her muffled laughter from where she’d buried her face in my chest. Her small giggles grew into loud belly laughs and stole her breath. It was impossible to remain angry with the sound washing over me, leaving only love and joy behind. I shook my head even as I smiled at her and kissed the tip of her nose.

  At last, the gondolier was able to pull up next to the grassy area on the side of
the river where the hotel sat. I placed both hands on the ground and hauled myself from the boat before turning back and grasping Aurora’s waist and lifting her up to stand next to me.

  The rain was letting up, and the man decided to make his way back to the dock where we’d begun our ride. I gave him a hefty tip and waved as we dashed to the hotel where we’d have shelter from the rain.

  We were both laughing as we entered and shook off some of the water. “I must look like a drowned rat,” Aurora groaned.

  I yanked her against me and whispered in her ear, “You look unbelievably sexy, baby, but we need to get you changed into something that isn’t glued to your every delectable curve before I kill someone for looking at what is only for me.”

  Aurora shivered, but from the flames in her eyes, it was clear it wasn’t from the cold. My plans had gone to shit, but I had a sudden idea of how to salvage my romantic proposal. I led her to the gift shop where we bought a set of sweats for each of us. It wasn’t exactly fancy, but they were dry, and I was pretty sure our attire wouldn’t affect Aurora’s answer to my question.

  We quickly changed and used the shopping bags to hold our wet clothes. By the time we made our way to the front entrance of the hotel, the rain had stopped. I glared at the sky and mentally cursed a blue streak.

  “Looks like it’s let up enough for us to get back to the Lennox,” Aurora surmised as she took a tentative step outside. “I think a hot bath is in order.” She threw me a saucy wink, and I almost abandoned my idea for hers.

  No, I thought. I promised to sweep her off her feet and that didn’t mean asking her to marry me in a bathtub at home. “I just have one more thing to do,” I told her as I took her hand and set out for the hotel that sported a replica of the Eiffel Tower.

  When we arrived, Aurora was looking at me with a speculative stare. I was pretty sure she was debating whether I’d lost my mind. Today had certainly been off, and I hadn’t been myself, so I could understand why she might wonder.