- Published
AURORA
I woke up with the strange feeling that the world was… way too quiet.
It wasn't the comforting kind of silence—it was that heavy silence that only shows up when you know you've done something tremendous, terrible, absurd… or all three at once.
A second later, I realized Adrian's arm was wrapped around my waist.
Warm.
Firm.
Indecent.
And then consciousness hit me like a punch in the face.
OH. MY. GOD. WHAT DID I DO?
My whole body throbbed with the memory. Hours. So many hours.
Hours with the CEO.
In a huge bed, in a luxury motel.
For the love of all the saints—I had lost my mind.
I squeezed my eyes shut, as if that could erase the night before.
It didn't.
Not even a little.
“...Oh, no,” I murmured, my voice cracking.
In a somewhat desperate move, I freed myself from his arm and stood up—or tried to. Because my legs were not cooperating. The delicious ache in my body wasn't helping, either.
Neither was the memory of his mouth.
I staggered, tripped over the sheet, and almost went face-first into the floor, but I managed to grab my panties off the chair and start pulling them on with the urgency of someone fleeing a crime scene.
Adrian slowly lifted himself, propping up on his forearms.
His hair was tousled, his broad chest bare, his lazy gaze belonging to someone who woke long before the light touched the window.
Damn it. He looked gorgeous even awake.
“Hmm…” he murmured, his voice deep and rough with sleep. “I did not expect you to abandon me so soon.”
I swallowed hard, trying to pull my panties up my leg without looking like a complete disaster.
I failed.
The panties caught on my foot.
I lost my balance.
And fell—straight onto him.
His chest was warm. His hands caught my waist on reflex. And I stayed there for half a second, completely breathless, my face pressed against his, while Adrian watched the whole scene with that crooked smile that made me want to slap him and kiss him at the same time.
And it seemed that even he, with all that calculated coldness, seemed to think I was…
Well.
Cute?
And that only made everything worse.
I pulled away so fast I nearly knocked over the headboard.
“Uh… yeah… we should stop,” I said, my voice trembling, my face burning. “Like… really stop. This wasn't supposed to happen. Seriously. I… I shouldn't have—”
Adrian arched an eyebrow, clearly amused.
“Shouldn't have?”
“No,” I said, finally pulling on my panties and searching for the blouse I'd lost somewhere in the dark corners of the room. “This was… completely wrong. Very wrong. I'm an intern. You're my boss. This can't happen again. Like, ever.”
He rested his elbows on his knees, watching every one of my movements as if he were analyzing a puzzle.
“Did it seem wrong to you last night?” he asked, his voice low and precise.
I felt my soul tremble.
I hated how direct he was.
How he seemed to see straight through the lie I was desperately trying to piece together.
“I… was confused,” I replied, finally finding the blouse on the floor. I picked it up quickly, but in the process dropped my bra. Before I could grab it, Adrian picked it up. With two fingers. And a dangerously slow smile.
“Would you like to put it on?” he asked.
“I’D.RATHER.LEAVE.” I shot back, nearly yanking the bra out of his hand and pulling on my blouse without even buttoning it. “Seriously, Adrian, I… I just want to pretend this never happened.”
He tilted his head.
“Really? You do not even want to enjoy the hot tub?” He pointed with his chin. The hot tub gleamed beneath the yellow light, far too beautiful. Far too expensive.
I almost laughed—out of pure desperation.
“Are you kidding?” I pulled on my pants in a hurried motion. “It's crazy enough that I ended up in a place this expensive with you. My God, if anyone finds out… if someone finds out… I want to disappear. I literally just want to pretend I didn't…” I swallowed hard again. “…that I didn't spend HOURS here with the CEO of Thorne Enterprises.”
His mouth curved into a slow, loaded smile—a smile that said he remembered every one of those hours very well.
“Very… interesting hours,” he murmured.
I almost threw a pillow at his head.
But instead, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and headed for the door.
“Adrian, don't start. I'm trying to hold on to a minimum amount of sanity here.”
“So am I,” he replied, rising from the bed and coming toward me at steps that were far too slow. “Just do not pretend you felt nothing. You are not that good an actress.”
My heart beat far too hard.
Hateful.
Delicious.
Dangerous.
“I’m serious,” I said, taking half a step back. “This is not going to happen again.”
He stopped in front of me, so close that I could smell him—a mixture of nighttime cold and something indescribably warm.
“If you wish for it not to happen,” he murmured, “then it will not happen.”
I blinked.
Surprised.
Because he said it sincerely.
Was he… respecting my wishes?
What a miracle.
But then, the instant I turned the doorknob, his hand lightly touched the inside of his wrist—a soft, almost accidental touch, but one that made my entire body remember the night.
“Aurora,” he called softly.
I took a deep breath, not daring to look back.
“I will not force you into anything,” he said. “But do not think I am finished with you yet.”
That made me swallow hard.
“I’m finished.”
“We shall see,” Adrian replied, with that tone of certainty that made my spine shiver.
I left before he could say anything else—or before I could do something stupid like kiss him again.
In the hallway of the far-too-expensive motel, I breathed in the cold air, hugged myself, and thought:
I’m screwed.
Completely screwed.