Aris: A Sexy Romance Novel (Thief of Hearts Series Book 1) (8 page)

“Then how did you get the job with her?”  Aris couldn’t help himself.

“Oh, don’t go there!” Saoirse got pissy as a shiver ran up her body that clearly disgusted her.

Aris wasn’t sure what he’d done wrong this time.  He should have just kept his mouth shut.  Things were probably going the best they’d been since she got here.  Well, there was last night in the hammock, but he wrote that off as being jet lag.

“Oh stop.”  Denise waved her away.  “It doesn’t bother me, it shouldn’t you.  I had been working in torts.  You know, negligence cases, that sort of thing.”

“Ambulance chasing.” Saoirse muttered under her breath.

“Um, yeah, well, anyway, I was assigned to Larry.”

“Eww.”  Saoirse let her whole body shake in disgust.  “I can’t listen to this.” 

“Where was I?  Oh, I was assigned to Larry.  Larry got grabby.  I busted him for it.  They couldn’t fire me because I had him dead to rights so they threw me to Saoirse’s office figuring she’d make me quit.  She’s good at that.  She and I bumped heads for a month or so, then it just clicked and we’ve been best friends ever since.”  Denise shrugged.

Aris must have looked hopeless standing there, “I don’t have month.”  he whispered, tracing designs in the papaya juice on the cutting board.

“You don’t need a month.  Just keep banging heads with her.  She’ll figure it out.  Let’s go sit by the fire.  Are you sure you don’t have any marshmallows?  You guys got everything else.”

Aris just shook his head.  The two of them crashed by the fire in the sand.  The warmth felt good interspersed with the cool night breeze.  Aris put more wood on the fire warning Denise that he was not far from sleep.  True to Aris’s word, he crossed his arms over his chest falling asleep within minutes of having gotten comfortable on the sand.  Saoirse wandered out of the house to find out what they were doing.  He was right they had satellite, but the remote was a bear to figure out, and everything was in every language but English.  She settled on the sand beside Denise.

The two sat together watching the fire, bantering back and forth about how well Saoirse was not handling anything in the last couple of days.

“Look at that face.  How could you be so heartless?  Especially when it doesn’t do anything other than run around worrying about you.” 

“He doesn’t even know me.  I spent, what, an hour, maybe two, with him seven years ago.  I was scared shitless having guns pointed at me.  I reacted the way I always do.  He thinks just because he kissed me before he left that it proves true love?  What is that?”

“Yes, but you kissed him back, didn’t you.”

“That was seven years ago.  I didn’t know anything then!”

“Well, it’s not like you were a virgin!”  Denise took a drink from her glass handing it over to Saoirse.

“No, but he had control of the situation.  It wasn’t like I knew what was going on.”

“Yeah, yeah.  I know.  But is he a good kisser?”  Denise leaned forward with wicked thoughts dancing in her head.

“Nise!”  Saoirse hissed.

“Well?”

She looked down at him sleeping on the sand with his head resting on the log they were sitting on.  She brushed the back of her hand along his cheek closest to her.  That urge began rising again the way it had this morning at the market.  That odd feeling inside her wanted to share, or give, or something. 

Seer handed the glass back across to Denise,  “Speaking of twenty questions, Ms. Inquistor, what’s all this Jerith stuff?”  she glanced down at Aris, cradling his jaw in her hand.

Denise giggled,  “Yum-my.”

Saoirse rolled her eyes, “Oh god.”

Denise burst out laughing.  Saoirse put her hand out for the glass. 

Denise handed it to her standing up, “I’m going to bed.  I have to be up early.”

Saorise sat alone beside the dying embers of the fire looking down at the sleeping god beside her.  His dark wavy hair fell back from his face.  He looked so peaceful.  Contented, as if there was nothing more in the world he could want.  She snickered at herself. 
‘Of course, he doesn’t have any wants.’
Looking at the empty glass she decided it was time to go to bed herself.  She hadn’t bothered with dinner so the alcohol she had split with Nise was making her sleepy. 

“Aris, come on, you have to go to bed.” she shook his shoulder from where she sat at his head.

“Mmm?”  Aris opened his eyes dreamily.

“Come on, the fire’s about died out.  It’s time to go to bed.”

“Good night.”  Aris closed his eyes again.

“No.  Aris, come on.  Get up.  You gotta go in and go to bed.”

“Bed?  I don’t need to go in.  The sand is warm, I’m comfortable here.  I’ll see you in the morning.”

“You can’t sleep on the sand.  Come on.  I’m tired, I need to go to bed too.”

“What’s wrong with the sand?  It’s safe here.  There’s no worries.  Go on to bed.  You don’t have to wait for me.”

“Oh for pete’s sake.”  Saoirse stuck her glass in the sand.  She stood up putting one foot on either side of Aris’s hips.  “Come on.  I’m tired.”  She reached down to pull on Aris’s hands.

The pulling startled Aris enough that he was fully awake now.  “What is it?  What’s wrong?”

“You’re supposed to be going to bed.”

“Do you need me to take you up to the house?”

“What!  The house is right there.”  Saoirse pointed to the lights thirty yards away in the darkness.

“I don’t understand.  What’s the problem?”

“You can’t just sleep out on the sand.”

“Why not?”

“Huh?  Well, because you’ll get chilly, the fire has died down.  What if you get sand fleas in the night?”

Aris smirked.  “If I were going to get sand fleas, they would have found me the minute I hit the sand.”  Aris started to settle back into the warmth of the sand.

Saoirse dropped to her hands and knees over him, “Come on.  I’m getting tired of this.”

Aris looked at her.  This was probably the closest she had been to him of her own accord since they got here.  He wasn’t too clear on what the problem was with him sleeping on the beach, but Anaya’s words echoed in his head. 

“Alright, come on.  I’ll walk you up to the house.  I have the rest of my life to sleep on the beach.”  Aris got up on his elbows.

“What’s that supposed to mean?  I don’t need you to walk me to the house!”

Aris put his hand up to her cheek, “Stop this.” he said gently.  “It doesn’t mean anything.”  Aris let his hand fall back to the sand shifting his weight back to both elbows with a slight yawn.  “I have slept out here thousands of nights.  I’m sure this won’t be the last chance I’m ever going to have to do it.  I don’t understand why you feel that I have to be inside.  It’s not anything to be upset over.  You want me to go in the house.  I’ll go in the house.” 

Aris was going to push up on his arms to sit up farther, but Saoirse hadn’t moved.  He could see in the dim light that she was staring at him.  He wasn’t sure if she was lost in thought or if she was preparing her next argument.  Either way he laid there, waiting for her to say something.  It was difficult to be certain in this light, but it seemed as if she was leaning closer to him.  Her lips brushed against his.  For a moment he considered that he might still be asleep on the sand.  Of course, his dreams were her wanting him.  Her being angry at him, was a solid indication he was awake.  He moved only slightly letting her decide whether she wanted to kiss him or not.  Saoirse put her lips on his tentatively kissing him. 

Alarms went off all over Aris’s body.  His mind argued with his body to stay perfectly still.  He wanted very much to put his hands on her.  He wanted very badly to let his tongue trace the path along her lips.  His cock was well past ready.  Every inch of his body was completely agitated, wanting to do what it knew how to do, but couldn’t at this moment.  He was absolutely intent on not upsetting her.

She leaned forward into her kiss, opening her lips more.  She liked the way he felt.  He made her stomach tight and her knees weak.  Aris kissed her back in an easy manner letting her have control of what she wanted.  His chest was warm through his shirt.  She could feel the heat against the insides of her arms as her hands sank deeper into the sand on either side of him.  She hadn’t really thought about kissing him, it just sort of happened.  She was drawn toward him like a magnet as everything else inside her melted from the raw sexual heat coming off of him.

It had been a long time.  Not just since she had seen him last, she couldn’t remember the last guy she dated.  Date.  Why?  All the men she knew were all about their careers.  Not that that was always bad, but it usually meant they thought they were as good at everything else as they were their careers.  Yeah, NOT.  He was a good kisser though.  His tongue slid against hers coaxing her deeper into him.

She nibbled at his lips getting familiar with him.  The night air was chilly but even his cheeks were warmer than hers were.  She nuzzled against them, sighing lightly, as she began to relax.  Aris rubbed his cheeks against her a little more firmly, careful to make sure he didn’t nuzzle her against the grain of his scruff.  If he’d had any idea he was going to end up in the sand with her tonight he would have showered and shaved again while she was in her room all afternoon.  She turned her head nuzzling into his neck.  He stopped moving, letting her kiss him lightly once or twice on his neck, before she leaned her forehead against him.  

She nestled against him.  This was so wrong.  He was a master criminal.  She shouldn’t being getting intimate with him.  But he felt so wonderful.  She could feel the shivers running down her spine.  Everything about him reached out to her.  She wanted to put her hands on him, but being on all fours, if she did, she’d end up on top of him.

“You want to go inside?”

She nodded her head against his neck.  Aris sat up underneath her.  Her breathing trembled as she sat up, his chest having brushed hers, sent electricity through her body. 

Taking her to the house now was a mixed blessing for him, his body was fighting to get closer to her while his mind was arguing for patience.  He brushed the sand off of himself.  Taking her hand, her lead her up to the house.  It was only a few yards, but Aris needed the walk to get control of himself.  His body screamed at him the way it had the night they danced at Sheffington’s.  His mind and his heart might know patience but his body did not. 

A single light was still burning in the outdoor room casting just enough light to see the bottom few steps of the staircase. 

“Aren’t you going to turn out the light?” 

“I’ll take care of it as soon as you are upstairs.”

“I’m fine.” 

“Good night.” 

Aris took a deep breath, flopping down on the couch, he closed his eyes.  That didn’t turn out anything close to what he wanted.  He thought about Anaya’s advice wondering how to balance that with Denise’s.

“Aris.”

He started, as someone touched his arm. 

Saoirse was leaning over him,  “How much did you drink?”

“Not that much at all.  I was thinking about something and sat down.  Do you need something?”

“No, you didn’t come upstairs.  I wondered what happened to you.”

“Nothing happened.  I just dozed off.”

“What were you thinking about?”

He reached up pushing her hair back as it fell around her face.  He shook his head, “Mmm, nothing.  I don’t remember.”  He was painfully aware of her body’s silhouette showing through her night gown. 

“You must have had more than you think.  You’ve been sleeping everywhere but your bed.”

“It’s not a big deal, my bed is empty.” he blurted out before he could stop himself.

She laughed at him,  “It wouldn’t be if you were in it where you belong!”

She either missed his point or was ignoring it, either way he was grateful.  

“Shall we try this again?”  she pulled at his wrist.

“Hm?”

“You.  You were going up to bed before you got side tracked.  Do you need the light on or will it just sidetrack you again?”

“No, I don’t need the light.”  Aris reached up over his head flipping it off. 

“Okay, maybe I needed it.”

Aris stood up taking both her hands,  “Close your eyes, count to ten.  When you open them they will have adjusted to the darkness.” 

“I hadn’t realized how dark it gets here with no streetlights or city lights.”

Aris pulled her hands,  “It doesn’t matter, follow me.” 

“You can see the moon on the bay from here.”  she was apparently looking out across the sand.

Aris stood letting her look at the bay.   She pulled her hand out of his as she turned moving back in the other direction.  Aris put his hands on her waist,  “Watch out for the coffee table.”

She put her hands over his shivering. 

“You’re cold.”

“No, I’m good.” 

Aris took his hands out from under hers.  In the darkness he took his shirt off draping it over her shoulders before he wrapped his arms around her pulling her backwards into his chest.

“Aren’t you going to get cold now?”

“No.  I’m holding you.” 

Aris was running his hands up and down her arms holding the rest of his body away from her.  His cock was swollen already.  There was no way she would miss that in the thin night gown she had on.  Worse, he was having a hard time keeping his cool standing that close to her wearing next to nothing.

Her knees felt weak.  Her heart began to pound.  She turned around abruptly.  Aris froze for a minute before he smoothed his shirt over her, wrapping his arms around her again.  Her hands flattened out against his bare chest, but she didn’t push him away. 

Little by little, he let his hands work in soft gliding motions across her back from her shoulders to her hips.  She rested her head against his chest listening to him breathe.  Somehow it made her relax.  She was getting sleepy.  His left hand played with the hair hanging down on her cheek while his right hand reached across her back to rest on her hip. 

Aris took a step backwards leading her with him.  Another step backward, and he was kneeling on the couch, his hands beckoning her down on the couch with him.  He laid her on top of him between his legs wrapping his calves and feet around hers.  Her toes were cold.  Aris rubbed his feet against hers.  Her head rested on his chest along with her hands.  He rubbed her hands until they were warm, then worked his way under his shirt to her shoulders, kneading the muscles through her shoulder blades, then down her back.  She could feel his cock against her stomach like she had in the hammock.  He was huge and hard, but she was surprised that he was calm about it, seemingly in no hurry.