The steak was perfectly cooked and delicious. I devoured it with gusto, and still had room for the salad Alaric tossed. By the time I finished both, and a second glass of wine, I felt relaxed. Even happy.
“Let’s take our glasses and sit outside,” Alaric suggested.
“Sure.”
We sat on the deck at the back of his house, listening to the rush of the ocean and looking up at the stars. I ignored the negative thoughts that wanted to seep into my mind, and told myself to be content with the moment. I sat next to a good man on a beautiful evening, had money in the bank, and more options than I used to have.
So what if it was only temporary.
Nothing lasts forever.
My head buzzing pleasantly, I rose from my deck chair. Alaric glanced up in confusion as I sat in his lap and slid my arms around his neck. “As long as we’re married, I’m going to enjoy it. While it lasts.”
Alaric nuzzled my neck, nipping my flesh in the most erotic fashion. I quivered with anticipation as his hands slipped under my shirt to fondle my breasts. My nipples grew hard, liketiny pebbles, under his gentle touch. Heat spread through my pussy as Alaric’s shaft rose under my legs.
“Inside,” he whispered hoarsely, his mouth against my throat.
As effortlessly as he’d picked up a kitten, Alaric stood up with me in his arms. He carried me through the steak smelling kitchen to the front living room where I’d slept after Brad’s attack. Rather than set me down on the plush sofa, he sat with me in his arms. I kissed him, my tongue in his mouth, his hand sliding between my legs.
His fingers teased me until I gasped for breath, my pussy throbbing with an ache only he could satisfy. Needing him inside me, I wriggled off his lap and quickly dropped my panties. I knelt on the couch, my back to him with my legs spread, inviting Alaric to mount me.
The couch shifted under his weight as he knelt behind me. I heard his zipper come down, then felt the first nudge of his shaft between my legs. I leaned back, meeting his thrusts as he gripped my shoulders. I shut my eyes at the exquisite pleasure of his cock filling me, Alaric gliding in and out of my honey pot.
I moaned as he pounded me from the rear, his breath hissing through his teeth near my ear. His chest brushed my back as he changed position, his arms holding himself up while he nipped and licked my shoulder. I climaxed almost immediately. Pleasing heat consumed my pussy as I cried aloud at the sweet torment my orgasm spread.
Alaric pumped hard, filling me, knocking at my G-spot. This time I screamed with the pleasure as my body quaked, my core throbbing with a near pain, a sensation so powerful my body shook.
His body stiffened. Alaric groaned, hissing through his teeth as he came, exploding deep within me. I collapsed underhim, exhausted, his softening shaft pulling from me. Flopping onto my side, I sucked in one ragged breath after another.
Lying beside me, Alaric pulled me against his chest, holding me tightly. He, too, panted, catching his breath. Snuggling into his arms, my face against his shoulder, I felt as though I could stay there forever. No worries, no hate filled sister screaming insults – just a blissful sleep next to a strong man who cared for me.
“Don’t leave,” Alaric whispered, his voice husky. “Please don’t.”
Chapter Eight
Alaric
“It’s done.”
Willow’s triumphant expression mirrored mine as she waved a piece of fax paper in the opened window between our offices. “Finally, Alaric, it’s all yours. Everything.”
I took the paper from her and read it, feeling as though a great weight had been lifted from me. “So many years of waiting now over.” I grinned and slapped my desk with my open hand. “It’s about damn time.”
“I know.” Willow laughed. “We can go home now. Take Hayley with us.”
At this, I glanced at Hayley as she worked on her computer, her silver hair caught up in a professional bun. In the days since our wedding, she’d returned to work as my receptionist, and never informed the rest of the staff of her new status. After work, she came home with me, but slept in a room separate from mine.
“Alaric?”
I grimaced, my new triumph fading. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Willow.”
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to dump her now,” Willow snapped. “She’s the best thing to happen to you since we came here. I’ve seen your face. You’ve never been happier.”
“I do care about her,” I admitted slowly. “But she’s staying distant. Physically and emotionally. She won’t sleep with me, not since our wedding.”
Willow also studied the back of Hayley’s head. “Well, you haven’t exactly promised her unicorns and rainbows. She’s looking at this as a business transaction. She fulfilled her part of the deal. Yes?”
“Yeah, I know.”
