Aris: A Sexy Romance Novel (Thief of Hearts Series Book 1) (16 page)

“The urge to control everything.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?”  Aris smiled at her,  “Seer, feeding me your dinner doesn’t count as you eating.”

She shrugged a little bit.  “Weren’t you the one who was talking about sharing with friends even when there wasn’t enough to go around?  There’s enough here for two.”

Aris kissed her.  “You are wonderful.”

They sat talking for a little while longer.  Aris kept handing her the bottle of water.  She’d take a sip and hand it back.  It was almost becoming a game to Aris.

He looked at the lights on the bay.  Someone was out night fishing.  Their boat bobbed along the water.  A fire would have been nice tonight but he was too tired.

Seer saw him looking at the beach. “I guess you’re stuck with the bed until those stitches heal.  Nicholas would probably have a kitten if we had to take you in to see him because you got sand in them.”

“Come on.”  Aris walked into the bedroom stripping as he went.  Saoirse crawled into bed curling up next to him.  Aris sighed contentedly closing his eyes.  This was the first time his bed had not been empty.

*****

“Aris? Aris?”

“Right here.”

“What are you doing out on the balcony?”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Are you in pain?”

“A little bit.”

She put her arms out to find him in the half light.  He took hold of her hand letting her pull him to her.  “You’re awful warm.  Maybe we should call Nicholas.”

“It’s nothing that serious.  Just healing.  The stitches will start to itch when they dry out in a day or two as well.  It’s normal, nothing to worry about.” 

His back hurt but not nearly as much as she felt perfect underneath him.  She was propped up slightly on the pillows holding him with his head high on her chest letting his torso rest on her hips.  Her legs were spread out on either side of his.  She had folded her arms across the back of his shoulders resting her cheek on his head. 

Her breasts, crushed against the weight of his chest rubbed against him as she breathed.  His nostrils filled with the smell of her skin.  He couldn’t help it.  He tilted his chin down slightly brushing his lips on her collarbone.  She shivered and jerked underneath him.  He tilted his chin the other way lightly kissing her throat.

“Stop it.  You’re tickling me.”

“You haven’t been ticklish there before.”

“You haven’t done that to me before.”

“Hm, what else haven’t I done?”  he pushed up on to all fours. 

He leaned over her kissing her lips while her hands reached up to his chest.  His skin tingled from the coolness of her skin as she moved her hands on him.  He leaned in closer, kissing her deeply as his tongue circled around hers.  His body was more than ready.  The question was, would she follow his lead?  

He let his kisses fall on her cheeks and chin before he nipped at her jawline.  Sliding his hand under her neck, he let his thumb caress her jaw as he lovingly pulled at her ear.  A soft moan escaped his lips as his body anticipated what might be.

“I love the way you taste.”

The head of his cock drew circles on her stomach as his hips rocked back and forth.  His lips caressed her skin just below her collarbone as he slowly moved down her body.  Shifting his weight to his forearms, he slid his hands under her shoulder blades before he rolled over with her. 

His hands gently squeezed on her shoulder blades, as he held her legs together between his, while his hands explored the back of her bare body.  The warmth of his palms came in hot gliding motions down her back.  He squeezed down on her bare buttocks while his hips lifted against her, waiting until she relaxed, before rolling her over onto her back again.  His cock nudged at her body, as his lips found their way to her tits, her body quivered under his intense affections.

Encircling her nipple with his lips, he sucked on it with restrained eagerness, while his fingers found their way to her other nipple teasing it.  She wrapped her fingers around the back of his neck.  He raked his teeth across her nipple before sucking on it again.  Her body snapped, arching her back toward him, she gripped his shoulders, groaning softly as her breathing started in short pants.  His hands and tongue moved deeper down her body making her clit throb as he kissed a line down her stomach.

His hands squeezed her ass cheeks, lifting her hips up to him, as he nipped at her hips, before running his hand up the center of her body reaching for her neck.  Lifting her head to him as he kissed her, he left a string of hot kisses along her jaw and down her neck before laying her back down on the pillows.  His hand ran down the center of her chest swirling around each of her breasts, catching her nipples between his fingers.  His lips found her nipple again, his tongue flicked at it, alternating with pressure with the flat of his tongue as she moaned softly under his touch.  

He dropped his foot over the side of the bed standing up.  His hands firmly gripped her hips pulling her sex toward him on the edge of the bed.  Kneeling down in front of her, brushing his lips inside her thighs caused his body to ache wanting to taste her.  He ran his hand up her thigh and across her stomach before pulling it straight down to her center.  The flat of his hand applied a light pressure across her pussy before he let his fingers slide between her wet folds.  Her breathing was ragged again.  Aris took his time letting her get used to the feeling of his fingers caressing her.  He kissed her thighs again as his other hand moved them over his shoulders.  Trying to keep control of himself, he took a deep breath before he put his mouth on her.  She jerked and gasped.  His tongue traced the same folds his fingers had, just a moment before, eliciting moisture from his cock as her taste crossed his tongue.  She was glorious.  His body demanded more of her as his tongue found its way to her clitoris.  Flattening his tongue against the little nub, he let her feel his heat before he pulled back enough to let his tongue flick against the sensitive bundle.  She groaned quietly as her breathing turned in to a soft pant.  Giving in to his own body’s demands he let his tongue slide inside her.  Electricity rushed through his body.  He could hear his heart pounding inside his head.  He felt his cock strain that last little bit as his blood engorged his organ under the pressure of his pounding heart.  His lips brushed against her folds again as his tongue traced its path back to her clit, more swollen now than it was a minute ago.  He ran his tongue around it, choking her breathing as she gasped.  He fought hard to control his own desires as his body realized she was close to the edge.  The pressure of his tongue made her groan.  He pushed just hard enough to let his teeth graze her nub before he flicked it with his tongue moving back from her.  The sensation contracted everything as her orgasm ripped through her body.  Aris tasted her cream, before he coated his cock with it, driving himself deep inside her to his own release. 

Saoirse was still panting hard on the edge of the bed.  Her body glistened as he lifted her legs for her, moving her back into his bed.  She bent her knees slightly rolling over onto her side.  He leaned over her kissing her.  She put her hand to his cheek as she waited for her breathing to slow down. 

It amazed him how much satisfying sex could solve.  The pain in his back had been enough to wake him up earlier in the night.  He hadn’t noticed anything for at least the last hour that he had been focused on Seer.  Now that the sun was rising, he was too tired to feel anything but contented.  Aris pulled the curtains against the morning light, so they could sleep, before he crawled into bed beside her.  She was already asleep.  He curled up against her, putting his arm around her.  She shifted slightly putting her hand on top of his.

Chapter 13

Aris became anxious as the time grew short.  Saoirse had made alot of changes in her attitude, about him, and herself, but he wasn’t able to tell if it was enough.  She seemed happier.  She was wearing more stuff out of the closet, mixing it with the stuff that she brought with her.   There were even a couple of bracelets she got into the habit of wearing.  The house was more comfortable, there was no more guessing what she was upset about.  There was the sound of women laughing in the house again as Denise, Anaya and Soairse congregated on couches or in the kitchen.

He hadn’t been able to do everything he wanted to do with Saoirse, but at least when he said, “try this...” offering her something she obliged him.  They seemed to have figured out how to share and compromise better too.  Still, he was dreading that day coming.

On the nineteenth night he couldn’t take the stress any longer.  Seer crawled into bed beside him as he lay propped up reading on his tablet.  He laid his tablet down putting his arms around her.  He let his hands play with her hair as he cuddled her in closer to him. 

“Saoirse, I need to know what arrangements have to be made for two days from now.”

She could hear his heart beat pounding in his chest.  “I don’t know.  On the one hand, I didn’t comply with our agreement.  It’s only been in the last few days or so that I have done what you originally asked for.  But, the more I think about it, the more unsure I am.  I’m learning to trust you, but there’s also that little voice that is nervous about what your life is really like.”

“But you have seen that.”  Aris struggled to control the tone of his voice.

“No, I’ve seen you with time on your hands.  You said that you had cleared your responsibilities for the weeks that I would be here so you could spend time with me.  What were the weeks leading up to that like?  What would the weeks after that be like if I wasn’t here?  If I stayed could I handle that?  And what would I be doing?  I can’t sit here and wait for you to come home.  What’s worse is not knowing whether or not I can deal with knowing there’s a possibility you won’t becoming back every time you step off the island.”

Saoirse sat up shaking her head.  “I can’t tell you in the next two days whether I want to spend the rest of my life with you or not.  I don’t know.  My gut says go home.”  the color drained from Aris’s face like pulling the stopper in the sink.  She put her hand up to his cheek, “but it doesn’t say never see you again.  I know it’s not the answer you wanted, but I don’t think I can give you what you want.”

“What if we compromised?”

“How are you going to do that?”

“What if I arranged it so that you had more time to make a decision?”

“Agnes had a big enough kitten when she found out we were going to be here for three weeks as it was.”

“Hm, about Pierce.  I don’t like it that he’s sitting on a half million dollars of our money, but it was the means to an end, so we did it.  What if we undo it?  What if we terminate his firm’s services, and you take Martin’s job as our corporate counsel?  It’s not the work load that you’re used to I know, but you move from his payroll to ours.  You can stay here in the house with me, or if you want a house of your own, we’ll arrange that.  If you can’t do it after a few months, or it’s not what you want, then we’ll help you find another practice and move you back.  At least this way, I get time, and you don’t have to feel like it’s going to damage your career.”

“I don’t know how I feel about living with the boss.”  Saoirse wrinkled up her face.

“You’re not.  You’d be under the corporate framework.  That’s Jerith’s area.”

“And what does Jerith think about this plan of yours?”

“I haven’t talked to him about it.  I don’t see that he’d have a problem with it since he didn’t have a problem with you taking it on under Pierce’s practice.”

*****

It’s said in the corporate world that Monday’s are the one day most people suffer heart attacks and stroke.  Today was going to be such as day for Agnes, and her boss Pierce.

Her email box was the usual flood, but one email in particular caught her eye.

Dear Agnes,

Please find attached my formal letter of resignation from Rutherford, Ratliff, Stratton and Rawls.  Please let Pierce and the other senior partners know I wish them the best.

Thank you,

Saoirse MacLear

“Well, good riddance anyway.” muttered Agnes.  She printed off the letter and put it in the pile for Pierce to look at when he came in.  The new message bell went off on her computer as a new message came into her email box.

Dear Ms. Bynes,

Please be advised that our corporate officers have reviewed the terms of the contract for your firm’s services and voted against it.  Please have your accounting office refund the balance of our retainer fee to your firm, less the total charges due for services rendered, to my attention at the address on file.

Thank you for your attention in this matter,

Jerith Gatelyn

“Oh my god.”  Agnes set her cup of coffee down on the desk and put her forehead on her fingertips when the notification sound for another email went off on her computer.  “Could I be so lucky as to have Pierce call out sick today?”

Dear Agnes,

Please note the forwarded email from my former paralegal, Denise Tupman.  I have just cleaned up my email from the weekend and noticed it. 

Thank you,

Saoirse MacLear

 
Dear Ms. MacLear,

  Please accept this as my formal resignation from
Rutherford, Ratliff, Stratton and Rawls.      I appreciate the opportunities at the practice but I have decided on a change of career     path.

  Sincerely,

  Denise Tupman

“Helen,” Larry’s admin assist looked up from her computer. “please give these to Pierce when he comes in.  I’m going home, I have a migraine.”  Agnes Bynes set the folders down on the corner of her desk and walked out of the office.

Helen looked at the pile suspiciously.  She stood up opening the top folder with the emails in it in summarized format.  “Bitch.”  Helen hissed under her breath sitting back down to wait for Pierce to come in and the explosion that was going to be her Monday morning.