The door to the guest bedroom creaks open the next night, and not one to be caught slipping, it wakes me immediately, but I pretend to still be asleep as I listen to the soft footsteps pad across the room until the visitor is standing by my bedside.
I peek an eye open with one hand under my pillow, but when I see Aurelia standing there wearing nothing but a gray grunge graphic T-shirt from Thorin as if we’re back at the cabin, I release the gun hidden there.
“What’s up?” I ask groggily as I roll over and rub my eyes. “Why aren’t you sleeping, Goldilocks? Something wrong?”
My room overlooks the pool on the first floor, so the light from the pool casts a soft glow inside the room allowing me to see her shattered expression.
“I need your help again,” she says shyly. Before I can ask her what’s wrong, she reaches out in the dark and fumbles for my hand. I close mine around hers the moment I feel her soft, slender fingers in mine, and then she’s tugging my hand toward her.
I think she’s about to tell me something’s wrong with the baby until she not-so-shyly slips my hand between her thighs, forcing me to feel the juices gathered there. “Aurelia… Where are your panties, baby?”
“I lost them,” she whispers as I play with her pussy. She’s fucking soaked.
“I know you hate me,” she sobs as I explore her lower lips with my fingers. “I know I don’t deserve it, but please. Just this once. I need you.”
Grabbing her waist without a word, I pull her onto the bed, twisting to plant Aurelia on her back inside the cradle of the pillows and blankets. “Are you sure?” I ask, knowing it’s the hormones that brought her to me. “You might regret it in the morning.”
Aurelia places her hand on my cheek. “The only thing I regret is leaving you.”
My gaze drops down to her stomach, and I place a trembling hand on the side when I realize I want to believe her. “So what are we having? Do you know?”
“A boy,” she answers immediately. I crack a grin that makes her smile too, like my excitement is infectious. “Yeah, I thought you might like that.”
“A girl would have been cool too.”
She rolls her eyes, her tone disbelieving. “Yeah right.”
“Nah, I’m serious,” I say honestly. “It wouldn’t have mattered because she would’ve been mine.”
Aurelia beams at that. “That’s cute. Thorin said the same thing when I told him.”
“Wait…” I stare down at her accusingly. “You told Thorin about the baby and not me?”
Goldilocks gives me a dry look. “Heasked.”
“And let me guess, Seth knows too.”
“Of course,” she answers lightly. “Seth asked the first night you guys arrived.”
Damn, I was the last to know, and it’s my own fucking fault for being stubborn. I’m stuck in my head when Aurelia starts squirming impatiently. “Khalil,” she whines. “Are you going to fuck me or not?”
“What do you want me to do?” I ask as I bend to kiss her naked thigh. “I don’t want to hurt you.” I already know what I want to do to her. I’ve known since that first night, but I need to know how far she’s willing to let me go. It’s not like at the cabineither. Here, she holds all the cards, and I know it gives her a little thrill ordering us around for a change.
“You’re not going to hurt me,” she grumbles. “You’re going to piss me off if you don’t get your dick in me.”
I’m pushing up her T-shirt when I pause to kiss her hard on her lips. “Don’t tell me what to do with my dick,” I warn.
“Fine. I’ll go to Seth’s room.” She pushes me away and swings her legs over the bed. I watch in amusement as I let Aurelia think she’s getting away before I give chase. I catch her at the door and then pick her up before carrying her through it.
“Fine,” I growl into her neck. “Let’s go to Seth’s room.”
Realizing she might have bit off more than she can chew once again, Aurelia squirms to get away while I carry her down the hall to the alter’s room and push inside. Unlike me, he doesn’t wake up, because he crashed from a sugar coma. He and Aurelia gorged themselves on sugar and fried snacks for dinner rather than the balanced meal her chef arrived to prepare before leaving.
After eating the chef’s cooking, I finally understood why Aurelia never bothered learning how to cook.
Seth is lying on his back on top of the covers when we enter. His head is turned and his arm is hanging over the side of the bed. He’s still wearing his clothes and shoes.
I carry Aurelia over to the bed and set her down. Seth jerks awake when he suddenly feels her weight, but then I see his confusion clear when he sees that it’s her. Since he doesn’t like the dark, the lamp next to the bed is already on, so I dim it until the room is mostly dark but still cast in a soft glow.
