Awakening Beauty (9 page)

“I think she can find me wherever I go. Whatever magic is linking us has survived the centuries. I don’t believe it’s going to end until I’m dead—or she is.” Aurora sounded much older as she made this solemn pronouncement. “Whatever has caused Valborga’s vendetta against me, her determination hasn’t wavered in over a thousand years.”

Joel shifted his feet uncomfortably, but she could well have a point. Whatever had happened to her, she had been left alone and unconscious up at the castle, and something or someone had set fire to this room. The threat to her was real.

“Power,” he said reluctantly. “That’s what usually fuels grudges. Someone has it. Someone else wants it. Maybe your enemy feels she was cheated out of something.”

“She said something about me standing in the way of her plans and needing something from me. What could I possibly have that she wants?”

He shook his head as he shouldered his bag. At least he could consider her problem more easily in those terms. “I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out somehow.”

On the ride to the airport, Joel almost broached the subject of his inappropriate behavior in the night. But he didn’t want the taxi driver to overhear, and besides, the trip was brief. Then they were at the airport and there were travel preparations to deal with. He couldn’t figure out a way to get Aurora on board a commercial flight without paperwork, so he simply chartered a private jet to fly them to Linderwylde.

She stared out the window with amazement as the plane took off from the runway and rose higher until the mountains of Schlaushagen were blue shadows below them.

“This machine is flying and you say it is not magic?” She turned to Joel, her eyes shining. “What a remarkable time you live in. What wonders men have devised.”

“I guess so.” He smiled. The girl had an uncanny knack for making his jaded eyes see the world anew and to marvel at it as he hadn’t done since he was very young.

“Tell me about this place you’re from,” she ordered imperiously.

Her wish was his command, and it kept him from having to tackle the sex topic, so Joel told her everything he could think of about Linderwylde. The country was as old as Schlaushagen and much of its history was shrouded in mystery. Only the childish or gullible believed the old tales that the gold on which the country’s prosperity was founded came from some magic underworld. Hard work, enterprise and ingenuity were the qualities that had really made Linderwylde the most powerful, successful nation in the world.

“We’ll land in the capital, Gwyn City,” Joel finished.

He fell silent, drinking his bottled water and glancing at Aurora’s profile as she looked out the window at the clouds. In the clothes she wore now, she could be any modern girl, but to him the very tilt of her chin and the fineness of her features proclaimed she was special. The idea of bloodlines and breeding had always been lost on Joel, a self-made man, but he swore he could see royal grace in Aurora’s slightest gesture.

He touched her arm, and she turned to him. “I think we need to talk about last night. Not the fire, but what happened before.” He drew a deep breath and blurted out an apology. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to attack you like that. At first I thought I was dreaming, but when I woke up, I didn’t stop. I should have, but I didn’t.”

She frowned. “You think what we did together was wrong? Well, of course you do. You’re practically engaged to that woman Vee.”

“No, it’s not because of that. She and I have no formal commitment to each other. I don’t feel guilty about Vee. I feel bad because I promised you it was safe to share a bed and then I was all over you.”

“I could have stopped you.”

“But you’re innocent. You didn’t know what you were getting into. It was up to me to put on the brakes.”

Her lush lips pressed together in a tight line. “I’m not a child, despite what you seem to think. I know my own mind. I know what I want. I’m sorry you feel guilty and wish it had never happened, because I very much enjoyed what we did.”

“You did?”

“Couldn’t you tell?” Her brows were drawn together in a scowl that only made her more beautiful.

Joel remembered her soft moans and the way her body had moved beneath his, how her lips had molded to his and her hands had clutched at him. His cock began to swell in response to the memory. “Well, yes, I noticed, but it was still wrong of me to take advantage.”

Her glare grew more fierce. “You’re still using words that suggest I’m a child or mentally incompetent. I’m a grown woman. I may not have had any choice about sleeping for a thousand years, but now that I’m awake, I make my own decisions. If I choose to kiss you or have…sexual congress with you, I don’t need to be protected from my inclinations. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Joel realized he wasn’t being ironic. The address tripped off his tongue as naturally as if he’d been her subject all his life.

“Good.” She turned back to the window with a little flounce that made him grin. He was glad she didn’t see his smile. It would’ve made her angrier.

The pilot’s voice over the intercom announced they were beginning their descent. The plane hit a little turbulence and began to pitch as it dropped. Aurora grew tense and gripped the armrests. Joel covered her hand with his until they touched down.

Since there were only the two of them on the eight-passenger jet, disembarking and gathering their baggage took only minutes. They walked through the terminal slowly as Aurora was distracted by the crowds and the shops. Joel hailed a cab from the queue in front of the building, and soon they were cutting through downtown traffic on the way to his apartment building.

As he took the bags from the trunk of the cab, Aurora stood on the sidewalk, shading her eyes and looking up to the top of the building. “You live here? It is like a castle.”

“It’s not all mine, just one apartment near the top. Apartments are like rented rooms,” he explained.

“Like the one we stayed in last night? I thought you were quite wealthy. I don’t understand. Why do you only have a rented room and not a proper home?” Aurora cradled the bag with her crumpled ball gown against her as if this link to her past might guard against all the changes coming at her so fast.

“More rooms than one. You’ll see.” He paid the driver, who was looking at Aurora curiously as he listened in on the conversation, and then Joel ushered Aurora into the foyer of the building.

She was impressed by the elevator. “I can barely feel it moving,” she exclaimed, then gasped and clutched his arm when it came to a sudden stop and the doors slid open.

Joel was surprised at the trepidation he felt as he unlocked the door to his apartment. He’d never been one to care much about people’s opinions. He’d grown up dirt poor, but hadn’t overcompensated by buying flashy cars, clothes or big boy toys to show off to others. But at this moment, he very much wanted Aurora to be a little impressed by the place where he lived. Of course, it was no castle, but in many ways it was superior to the medieval simplicity of her former home.

He felt a warm sense of satisfaction as she put down her bags and wandered around the open space, making approving murmurs. “Oh my, this carpeting is so soft. The amber shade of this upholstery is lovely.” She brushed a hand along the back of the couch, then hurried over to the shelving unit. “So many books! And you can see the entire city from this window.”

Then her attention was caught by the flat screen TV nestled in an alcove on one wall. She clasped her hands together in an attitude of worship as she stared at it. “You have a television. It’s even bigger than the one in the hotel last night. Can you make it show stories?”

He smiled. “Absolutely. But first let’s unpack and launder our clothes. Even those that were in the bags reek of smoke.”

“Wash our own clothes?” Her attention broke away from the blank TV screen as she stared at him in dismay.

“Most people don’t have servants these days, but we do have all kinds of machines that make work easy. I’ll show you.” He led her to the closet off the kitchen and demonstrated how to start a load in the washing machine.

“That is simply magical,” she exclaimed as she watched the washer fill with water and begin to churn before Joel put the lid down. “But with such marvelous inventions and people no longer hiring servants, what does it leave for the common folk to do for a living?”

“New inventions open new industries. The work people do has changed over the years. More jobs require skilled rather than unskilled labor. There’s no doubt that evolution has caused some trouble along the way, but life is all about change, and people learn to adapt.” Joel beckoned her to follow him and led her to his bedroom.

One glance at his bed and he realized how she might misinterpret his intention. “I’ll find you something clean to wear so you can wash what you have on. You can take another shower to get the smoke smell out of your hair.”

He focused on pulling a T-shirt and sweats from his dresser drawer and kept his mind off the bed that called him like a siren and his cock that began to rise at the mere thought of her lying in his bed. His reaction to Aurora was almost unnatural. It was as if he’d never had a woman in his apartment before, as if he didn’t deal with women on a daily basis at work, or as if he was some teenage boy who’d never been laid. Her presence made him jumpy, nervous, hungry and horny beyond all reason.

Joel slammed the dresser drawer closed with a little more force than necessary and handed Aurora the clothes. “They’ll be big for you, but at least they’re clean. Bathroom’s over here.”

He led her to the one off his bedroom. It contained a huge, luxurious spa of a tub and a lot of gleaming chrome and dull black tiling. “Maybe you’d like a bath instead of a shower.” He went over and started filling the tub with visions of Aurora in bubbles floating in his head.

“Thank you, Joel. You’ve been so kind in every way since the moment you woke me up in the castle. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

He straightened from turning on the tap, and she stood right beside him, looking up at him with those wide hazel eyes, so sincere.

“No problem,” he murmured faintly, his voice seeming to come from miles away as her eyes drew him in. Then he was leaning toward her, slipping an arm around her waist and drawing her up tight against him as he kissed her.

“Mm,” she moaned into his mouth. Her hands curved over his shoulders, holding on, and she snuggled her body even closer to his.

Joel slid his hands down her back and cupped her rear. His erection pressed into her belly. She must have felt it even through her clothes, and he couldn’t resist thrusting against her just a bit. The grinding only made him desperate to continue what had been so violently interrupted earlier that morning. He wanted to fuck her with an intensity that almost scared him. Last night he would’ve done it without a condom or any other kind of pregnancy prevention. His common sense was addled where Aurora was concerned.

Abruptly, Joel broke free, grasping her arms and pushing her away. “All right,” he said breathlessly. “Everything you need’s on the edge of the tub, and there are fresh towels in the cupboard.” He turned away, ready to flee the room.

“Joel, wait.” Her voice stopped him. “Are you leaving because you don’t want me or because you still think I don’t know what’s best for me?”

She’d neglected a third option—because he feared becoming entangled with her. Something deep inside told him he was on the verge of taking the biggest plunge of his life, bigger than any multi-million dollar corporate gamble, bigger than any political decision he might or might not make. The pulsing livewire of connection between them was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. At first he’d told himself he was afraid that naïve Aurora would become too attached to him. Now he had to admit he was more terrified he’d fallen hopelessly under her spell.

She reached out a hand to him. “Please stay. We could… We could bathe together.”

Just the words made his cock twitch and his balls ache. The idea of soaping her flesh, washing her hair, playing with her toes in the water… He groaned.

“Fuck it.” Joel seized Aurora, lifting her off her feet and into his arms. The moment he pulled her against him, he felt as if a lost piece of himself had clicked into place.

She wrapped her arms around him and their mouths melted together, his tongue dipping between her lips and seeking her heat. She pushed her fingers through his hair, cradling his head, and whimpered softly. The little sound drove him wild. He thrust against her. He didn’t want to go slowly or gently tutor her body in the ways of lovemaking. He wanted to possess her like a cave man. It took all his strength to reel himself in.

Joel broke off the passionate kiss and gazed into Aurora’s face. “You’re positive you want to do this?”

“Yes.” Her voice had dropped several notes and came out a husky drawl that made his flesh burn. She tugged at the hem of Joel’s shirt, lifting it up.

He peeled off his T-shirt and threw it aside, then stripped off her shirt, another of those little tank tops with the built-in cups. Her bare breasts were perfect globes, just the right size to fill a palm, and her rosy nipples stood at pert attention in the center of small, puckered areolas. If she’d slept for a thousand years, gravity hadn’t touched her.

Aurora blushed and averted her eyes as he studied her chest, but she didn’t raise her hands to cover her breasts.

Joel lowered his head and bent to draw a nipple into his mouth, sucking hard enough to elicit a gasp. He plucked at the other nipple, rolling it between his fingers and even pinching a little.

“Oh. Oh, my,” she whispered and her fingers stole back into his hair to hold his head to her breast.

He lavished attention on one, then the other, checking his rampaging libido and concentrating on her pleasure. Then he moved lower, trailing his lips and tongue down her taut stomach, which twitched beneath his mouth. He unfastened her jeans and tugged them over her hips. Aurora shimmied out of them and her panties, and he pulled them off her legs.

He kissed his way around the triangle of auburn curls that marked her sex and breathed in her musky scent, salivating for a taste of her. He trailed his fingernails lightly up the insides of her thighs, making her wiggle. Grasping her hips, he pulled her legs farther apart and buried his face between them. The first touch of his tongue to her clit made her jerk.