And then he let go.
It was the same feeling of glittering warmthIhad basked in whenJackandIhad fucked at his house.Butthe water was twice as cold, andIfelt twice as empty.
Slowly, he rose to his feet and backed toward the door.Hiseyes never left me.Notfor a second.
Jack scrubbed his palm down the side of his day-off stubble. “I’mnot teasing you,Aurora.I’mjust making sure you know what you’re missing.”
23
JACK
VENGEFUL COCK BLOCKING GHOSTS
“You know, tricking me into helping you move furniture by saying you wanted to get together for beers is a dick move,”Drewgrunted as he heaved the front side of the mattress upAurora’sstupid staircase.
The plastic cover made the damn thing slippery as shit.Ireadjusted my grip on the bottom of the mattress and continued to heave it up to the balcony.
Drew poked his head around the mattress and glared at me. “Seriously?She’sone person.Doesshe actually need a king-size bed?”
“Pick it up and walk.I’mlosing my grip again,”Ihissed through gritted teeth.
“You better be getting laid for this,”Drewsaid. “AndIbetter get credit for it.”
I wasn’t getting laid, butIwasn’t about to tell him that.
We eased the mattress onto the balcony and paused to take a breather as the midday heat beat down on us.
“Tell me why you’re doing this again?”Drewsaid as he used the hem of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face. “Becauseno girl is worth building furniture for on your day off.”
Aurora was.
I pulled my phone out of the pocket of my shorts to check the time.She’dbe back in a few hours.
We slid the mattress in the door and navigated it around the living room mess before finally getting it through the bedroom door.Thankfully,Ihad already gotten the bed frame built.
Aurora would be temporarily mad thatIhad packed up her air mattress, but one night on a real mattress and she’d change her tune.
“Damn, dude,”Drewsaid when we had heaved the mattress on top of the box spring. “Didyou do all this?”
I looked around at the room.Itwas night and day compared to whatAurorahad left the night before.
The walls were painted a moody emerald color she had been eyeing at the hardware store.Thesecond coatIdid this morning was almost dry, thanks to the open windows bringing in the heat.Ihad bought the simple bedside table at a thrift shop down the coast and gave it a littleTLCat my place.Thelamp was another discount find.Ithad character and just needed a new shade.I'dfound the rug on clearance.
The drafting table was another beast entirely.
Aurora loved to spread out as much as she could in the cramped widow’s watch to write.Shewould curl up on the floor and have pages, drinks, and notebooks scattered all around.WhenIcouldn’t find a desk that was functional enough for her,Ihad one commissioned.
There was a benefit to small towns—everyone knew everyone.Afew months ago, we responded to a structure fire that started because a local artist was burning designs into furniture.Thewood-burning tool he had been using accidentally rolled across his workspace and lit his curtains on fire.
When the aftermath was cleared,CedarIslandpitched in to build him an outbuilding so he could continue making pieces.
And this was amasterpiece.
The drafting table could go from sitting to standing.Theworktop could tilt up or lie flat.Thelegs were carved in ornate swirls.Thesurface had been burned with a mural of the aurora borealis.Theartist had used stains to add a whisper of color against the dark wood.Itwas subtle and breathtaking and completely unable to fit in her little car for the drive back toColorado.
That was the point.
If she wanted it, she had to stay.AndIknew she would want it.
