That's okay, though. Fair play. And I'm not letting anything fuck with my mood tonight. I haven't felt this good in…well, actually, I know exactly when I last felt this good, but I'm not going to let myself think about that right now.
Aurora comes to drop the devices into my hand, and I almost argue that she should keep them.Almost,but I stop myself. Now isn't the time. But we will have to revisit this option if Ambrose gets any more hands-on with his surveillance of her. And I will not take no for an answer if her safety is on the line. She can be mad at me all she wants. It's like Eli said, if I have to be the villain, then I'll be the fucking villain.
I will never feel what I felt that night at the edge of that bypass again. Not if there'sanyway to stop it. Even one she doesn't like.
"You could've brought them tomorrow."
"I wanted them gone tonight."
I grunt and go to put them back in the case, but when I open it, an explosion of color erupts from inside. Ellie barks, and I instantly whirl to shield Aurora from the blast, my stomach dropping, but she's already out of its radius, petting Ellie to calm her down and…snorting.
Little bits of metallic confetti rain down, falling like helicopter seeds from a maple tree, spinning and swirling. About a hundred of the little things are stuck to my black sweater, and I pluck one from the fabric, finding a tiny golden dick.
Aurora's snorts turn into a full-on belly laugh that echoes in the room.
I look down at the floor. At my desk. There have to be tens of thousands of micro penises coating every fucking surface.
There's no doubting it this time. This part of her 'congrats' is definitely for me and only me.
When I turn to face her, she's struggling to stop laughing long enough to blow through a dollar store party horn she's pulled from her pocket, but the sounds come out stilted when she fails to control herself long enough to blow into the fucking thing.
The combination of the sad sound and her face, all red and alight from laughter, makes me clench my teeth, but it's not rage in my chest that I'm trying to hold back.
"Oh, you think this is funny?" I ask, almost unable to keep the smile from my face. Her laugh is completely infectious.
She wipes at a tear as it runs down her cheek. "Funny?" she asks between laughs. "It's fucking priceless."
I purse my lips and nod, examining the mess. And yeah, this shit is going to suck to clean up. It's stuck in between the keys of my keyboard, for fuck's sake, but…
Aurora's expression shifts as I stalk toward her, crowding her against the wall. Not touching her. I won't touch her. But when the laughter starts to die in her throat, and she looks up at me with those threatening jade eyes, I remember what it was like to have her like this—against the record shelves. Aching for me to touch her.
"So this is payback?" I ask, and a knot forms between her brows at something she sees in my eyes.
"Ha!" she sneers. "As if."
"Then what? Trying to get my attention?"
Did she not like me pulling away? Giving her space?
I smirk, and she looks like she wants to slap it right off my face. I hope she tries.
"No. And it would take at least fifty pounds of dickfetti before we're even close to even."
Her eyes drop to my mouth. My blood heats to a fucking boil, and it's almost impossible to rein myself in, but I do. I told myself I wouldn't touch her. Not unless she asked me to. And she isn't asking. Not with her words. Not how I need her to.
I lean closer, instead, so my mouth is barely an inch from hers. "Bring it on, Trouble."
She shoves me back,hard, and I do her the service of allowing her to think my backward step is actually due to her strength, but she's knocked the laugh from my chest. The one I'd been holding in.
Aurora looks at me like I'm deranged as a low chuckle leaves my lips, and I shake my head. Fuck, man, I forgot what it was like. What itcouldbe like.
Before Florence passed…
Before Ambrose took everything and broke us…
I didn't think I'd ever get this back.
"You win this round, Trouble. Now get out of here before I make you stay and help me clean this fucking mess."
