Awakening Beauty (13 page)

They kissed as if both were starved for oxygen only the other could supply. Joel’s cock pressed insistently into her belly, but he didn’t enter her yet. Right now it felt good simply to tussle on the bed, rolling over, limbs twining, hands grasping for flesh. His every molecule felt more alive and vibrant whenever he was with her, not just when he was enjoying the pleasure of her body crushed against his.

Joel flipped them over so Aurora was on top. She pulled away, her flaming hair curtaining both their faces, and gazed into his eyes. “Joel,” she murmured and the sound of his name spoken in that husky, hungry voice sent a shaft of lust spearing through him.

“Woman, you
are
a witch,” he muttered as he slid his hands down to cup her rear and adjusted his cock so it aimed at her entrance.

She smiled quite wickedly and slid onto him slow and easy, enveloping him in heat and wetness. “You give me power,” she whispered back. “Every time we do this, I feel like the most powerful magical being.”

He chuckled and lifted his head off the pillow, reaching for her mouth again. Their tongues swept around each other as she rose and fell on him, setting a leisurely pace. She drew him deeper and deeper into her—not only physically, but mentally. She filled all his senses until he lost his perception of himself and knew only her.

He stroked his hands over her smooth skin, marveling at the miracle of her youthful femininity. She felt damned toned for a girl who’d been in hibernation for a thousand years.

Joel released her mouth with a gasp and dropped his head back against the pillow. His eyes nearly closed as Aurora rode him faster, sitting straight and bouncing on top of him. Her pert breasts jiggled in an enticing way that drove him crazy. He focused on them with his slitted gaze and on the unbearable friction heating his cock.

Aurora whimpered and bounced and, when she came, her body spasmed around him, her inner muscles clenching hard. She cried out, “Oh, Joel,” and this time hearing her call his name put him over the edge. He thrust his hips off the bed and filled her deeply once more. His release shuddered through him with the strength of a summer storm, bursting out of nowhere to leave the parched land drenched.

As he came back into himself, Joel opened his eyes and beheld Aurora sitting above him, watching his face.

“You appear to be quite in pain when you”—she hesitated over the word—“come.”

He grinned. “It’s a good kind of pain.”

“Yes, it is.” She smiled and lifted up to let him slide out of her.

They lay side by side in the aftermath, facing each other and not speaking for several long moments. Joel reached out and brushed bright strands of hair from her sweaty forehead, then caressed her lips with his finger.

“Such a soft, sweet mouth.”

She nipped his fingertip, then drew it into her mouth and sucked before letting it go. Her light hazel eyes were so open and direct. “Joel, have you…” She paused and licked her lips before continuing. “That is, were there many… Have you had many women?”

He shook his head. “Nu-uh. That’s a loaded question. No one ever really wants to hear the answer.”

“That many?” she said dryly.

“I’m over thirty and a single man. In today’s world, we don’t usually wait for marriage to have sex.”

“Of course. I don’t believe men in my time waited either. Only women are supposed to be pure on their wedding night.”

“These days women take what they want too. No one is expected to be a virgin much past puberty. And sex often doesn’t have anything to do with love.”

“Oh. I see.” She looked at their laced fingers on the sheet between them. “But don’t you feel something special is lost if you give yourself away to anyone whenever you feel…aroused by them?”

“I’ve never thought about it.” That was true. He hadn’t believed in love for so long that considering emotions hardly occurred to him.

“What about Vee? I suppose you’ve—”

“We can stop talking about this any time,” he interrupted. “I don’t want to discuss my past relationships with you.”

“I was only curious.” She pulled her hand away from his and rolled onto her back.

Perhaps it was best to make sure she realized the truth about him right now before she grew any more attached.

“Aurora, I’ve told you I don’t get involved. My work is all I have time for. That’s why an arrangement with someone like Vee is perfect for me. I don’t want to hurt you,” he said gently, “but you must understand, as wonderful as these past few days have been, our time together can’t last. My vacation is almost over. I have to return to my regular life, my responsibilities.”

There was a long pause before she answered. “I understand. I’m part of your holiday, a temporary diversion.”

“It’s the way it has to be. I’m sorry. But I’ll help you get settled into a place of your own and give you whatever money you need. I won’t leave you alone in this world.”
I just won’t be with you.

Silence fell between them, so profound that he could hear the refrigerator’s soft hum floating all the way from the kitchen.

“I do want to protect you from Valborga,” Joel added after some time. “I’m not sure how we can find out more about her or how to stop her, but I won’t leave you to fight her alone.” If the fairy was even real. The attacking vines and fluke fire seemed less magical now that he was back in his own apartment in his own world. Perhaps they’d been freakish anomalies with some physical explanation.

Aurora nodded. “I’d appreciate a little help learning to live in this modern world, but I’ll be all right on my own. It’s time for me to grow up and live my own life at last.”

Her voice was a cool breeze blowing through the room. It chilled Joel even lying beside her warm body beneath the covers. He should be glad of her attitude. She’d taken his words well. No tears or protests that they were meant to be together. She was still a young woman despite her thousand year sleep and could have been overly emotional and clinging. He should be grateful she was acting so mature and calm, almost regal.

Instead, his heart felt like stone as he rose from the bed to take a shower.

A somber mood infected the rest of the evening. Aurora appeared to enjoy the restaurant and the stage musical, but her appreciation was tempered by a sense of aloofness. The joyous, excited girl from the amusement park was gone and Joel spent the evening trying to find her again. He couldn’t break through Aurora’s new layer of reserve and knew he shouldn’t even try. After all, he’d asked for this. He was the one who’d put up a barrier between them.

They shared his bed that night, but not their bodies. Aurora turned her back to him and went to sleep, or pretended to. Joel stared at the back of her head and longed to touch the soft nape of her neck revealed between auburn tresses. But he couldn’t reach for her and pull away from her at the same time. It wasn’t right or fair. At last he turned away, rolling onto his side to stare at the glowing numbers on the bedside clock as they marked the night’s passing.

Chapter Ten

“You must try this on. It will look marvelous on you with your coloring.”

Vee smiled at Aurora, and the hair on her nape rose. She couldn’t figure out why Vee set her so on edge. The woman was more than kind and charming without a trace of sarcasm as far as Aurora could tell. That was precisely what continued to bother her. Vee didn’t display any jealousy or much curiosity about the stranger who’d entangled herself with Joel. That lack of feeling—coupled with the fact that Joel had certainly had sex with the woman—was enough to drive Aurora mad.

But at the moment, Vee was her host, escorting her on a shopping expedition while Joel went to his office to catch up on some work. The woman had taken time from her own busy schedule to go with Aurora and give her a woman’s perspective on current fashions. Aurora had no right to feel suspicious and jealous, but nevertheless those emotions churned inside her.

She accepted the emerald green sweater Vee offered her, appreciating the softness of the material that was not wool or cotton but a fabric she’d never felt before. “It is very lovely.”

“Oh yes, it will look stunning with your hair.” The older woman regarded her with the eye of an artist surveying a canvas. “We must find a dress in that same color for you to wear to my birthday celebration.”

Aurora smiled faintly. She turned to go to the dressing room, then stopped and faced Vee again. “I must ask you something”—she took a deep breath—“about your feelings for Joel. We can’t go on pretending it is not odd for him to come back from his holiday with a strange woman. Doesn’t it bother you at all?”

Vee’s smile dimmed. “I must admit I was taken aback when I came over to see Joel and found you there. But we’ve both agreed our relationship is a business arrangement. I don’t care for him in the way most women would find ‘normal’. I suppose that’s why it’s so difficult for you to understand.”

“Yes, it is,” Aurora admitted, almost with a sense of relief to finally have the words spoken. “How can you wish to marry him, even for political reasons, and not at the very least feel a proprietary attachment to him?”

“I do. I wouldn’t be at all pleased if our marriage plans were derailed by some sexual fling.”

Her total honesty took Aurora completely by surprise. She didn’t know whether to feel offended at being called a sexual fling or be impressed by Vee’s candor.

“But Joel is at heart as pragmatic as I am. I fully trust he’ll make the right decision, and meanwhile, I won’t stand in the way of this—whatever it is. Even after we’re married, if he wishes to have extra-marital relations, I wouldn’t be offended, nor would I expect him to be if I should do the same.”

Was this an example of a modern woman? If so, Aurora thought she would never ever fit into this new world. She couldn’t bear the thought of her man with another woman, even if the other woman had been there first like Vee. Aurora kept imagining her elegant features twisted in passion or her stylish hair mussed from bed or her body naked and her limbs wrapped around Joel. Not only was it difficult to envision Vee losing control in that way, but the pictures made Aurora almost physically ill.

But now Vee was looking at her expectantly. She must find some answer. “That is a very logical point of view. I don’t know if I could be so sensible about my husband.”

“You’re still very young. You’ll learn that relationships between men and women are never so easy and you won’t find the kind of happily ever after one reads about in fairytales.”

She had no reply for that so Aurora took the clothes Vee had helped her pick out and went to the dressing room to try them on. As she changed one outfit for another, examining the fit of each in a mirror, Aurora thought maybe Vee was less comfortable about her presence than she admitted to. Perhaps she was using this shopping excursion as a chance to learn about the interloper in her life, reconnoitering the enemy, as it were.

Well, two could play at that. Aurora would use this time with Vee to find out all she could about her and about Joel from another person’s point of view. Maybe then she could understand why he was pushing her away when every fiber of her being told her they belonged together. Her heart had felt shredded yesterday when he’d told her their relationship must end, but she wouldn’t believe it. She was almost certain Joel was fighting against the same irresistible bond. He was afraid to commit to anything other than his work and gaining power. She refused to believe those were the only things that mattered to him. He’d already admitted they weren’t.

Aurora emerged from the dressing room and smiled at Vee. “You were right. The green sweater is perfect for me. I also like the rest of these.”

Vee returned her smile. “I have Joel’s magic card that will make them all yours. After this I’ll take you to Aprille’s so you can choose a dress for my party.”

“Wonderful.” Aurora smiled even wider. “And you can tell me all about yourself. I want to know how a woman becomes as talented and successful as you are. I could use the lesson. It’s as if I’ve spent years sleeping and now I’m ready to wake up and truly start my life.”

The girl was as transparent as water. It was all Vee could do not to laugh at her pointed questioning as she tried to understand what made someone like Joel tick and how someone like Vee could capture him.

But she hid her laughter, along with her animosity. For the rest, she kept her answers candid, and offered honest advice about the evening dresses Aurora tried on in Aprille’s. And if she was conscious of a spasm dangerously close to jealousy as the younger woman emerged from the changing room looking heart-stoppingly gorgeous in a diaphanous green silk gown, well, that was easy to deal with too.

Joel might be falling in love with the chit. Aurora might be beautiful and sweet and charming. But it was still Vee he would marry, Vee whom he needed. And so she said without hesitation, “That’s the one. Buy it.” And sent the staff to find just the right shoes to go with it.

As Aurora happily handed over her purchases, a price tag dangled in front of her face and her eyes widened. Drawing Vee a little way back, she whispered, “Isn’t that an awful lot of money?”

“Not for Joel,” Vee said, both surprised and amused. “If he wants to buy things for you, let him. He can afford it.”

Aurora frowned, apparently wrestling with some unexpected scruple. “I don’t think…I don’t think I want to be beholden to him.”

“You already are,” Vee pointed out.

“Yes, but that was necessity. This is different.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Vee advised, smothering a yawn. “It’s good for him, and I’m sure it will allay the guilt later on.”

Aurora’s frown deepened, then her eyes widened. She bit her lip and turned hastily away. It wasn’t until they got outside the shop that she said in a small, hard voice, “You mean the guilt he’ll feel for severing our relationship in order to marry you?”

Vee sighed. The child was becoming tiresome. “I’ve already explained that it doesn’t have to be like that. In fact, whatever happens between you and Joel, I hope
we
will still be friends after the wedding.”

Aurora’s gaze was bleak as she climbed into Vee’s sporty car. “I’m sorry. I don’t think that will be possible for me.”