Chapter 10

Rob didn’t know how the weekend had gotten away from him. He’d spent about half an hour with Aurora after Grace’s book club ended and had left when he felt himself getting out of control. Lynn had torn into him on the way to Mystery Canyon about treating Aurora like the princess he called her, not like one of his conquests from before the incident. It properly chastened him when she’d mentioned it, but a few minutes with Aurora in his arms, her lips on his and his on hers, and all thought about going slow and growing into a relationship before getting passionate had disappeared from his mind. It wasn’t until he’d felt his bare chest rubbing up against her nylon lace bra he woke up to just how heated they’d gotten again. He’d slid his arms from around her back and taken her arms in his hands, separating them with a little space.

He’d almost come undone when she whimpered at the loss of contact and tried to reclaim both his lips and the feel of their bodies in contact with each other. “Princess, as much as I want to carry you over to that bed and finish this, I think it’s time for me to leave.”

His already racing pulse was sent skyrocketing as she pouted, with that deliciously swollen bottom lip stuck out, just begging to be nibbled. “No, stay.”

Holding her still, he took another half step away. “As much as I want to, this isn’t the way I want us to move to that next step.” He leaned in and gave her a quick, chaste kiss.

“But I’m ready.”

He started buttoning up her blouse, covering the delightful treasures he’d uncovered just minutes before. “I am too, except—Aurora, we just had our first date two days ago. When we make love the first time, I want it to mean something more than our hormones got away from us. I want it to mean we’re convinced that our love is the Happily Ever After kind.”

“Like you wrote on my coffee cup.”

His brow furrowed. He had no clue what she was talking about, but he knew that if he didn’t leave soon, he wouldn’t. He kissed her again. “I’m leaving while I still can, and I’m not coming back the rest of this weekend. I need to write, and we need some space.”

She bit her lip. “I’m coming over tomorrow to go over Julie’s old files and figure out that massive office space you want me to use.”

“Princess, I’m not sure that’s wise. We need to take some time away from each other to cool off. Honestly, you’ve got me so hot I’m going to need all weekend to do that.”

“I won’t bother you. You said you need to write, so I’ll just stick to my office and you stick to yours. You won’t even know I’m there. But if that agent of yours thinks she is going to come in on Tuesday and embarrass me because I haven’t had time to know what’s what, she’ll be highly surprised.”

“Angie isn’t coming to try to humiliate you. She just wants to make sure that I’ve got the best help possible.”

“Whatever. I know what she’s doing even if you don’t see it. I still plan to be ready to do my job come Monday, and that means I need time in that office tomorrow. So, I’ll be there. I won’t bother you and I’ll leave without interrupting you, but I am coming. So make sure you let Rosa know. I don’t want to upset her.”

Rob smiled. He could see that Aurora was going to be a spitfire when it came to their working relationship. The exact opposite of Julie’s laid back quiet style. It meant that he wouldn’t have to spend a lot of time with her, helping her get up to speed. “That’s fine. Come down to the car with me. I’ll give you the keys that I had made up for Julie when she was working for me. That way, you can come and go as you need. The key fob has the alarm code inside, too. Just hold it close to the panel and press the green button if I’m not there.”

“Well, you should probably button up first. My sisters will undoubtedly watch as you leave, and I don’t need Jasmine to go blabbing to Daddy that you left my place half naked.”

Rob swore, and then quickly buttoned up his shirt and tucked it back in his pants. Aurora giggled and took his hand as they headed out onto her deck and down to his car. “How did this car get here, and when did Paul leave?”

“He left right after your mom fed him. He and his wife dropped off my Jeep so I could leave when I was ready.”

He reached in and got the small key set and what looked like a garage door opener out of the glove box. “This is for the front gate.” He held up the clicker. “There are keys to the house, garage, and your company car. Paul will show it to you on Monday. Any errands you need to run for me, you use that car, not your own. I pay for gas and insurance on it, and Paul keeps it maintained and records mileage.”

“Okay, good to know. I’ll see you tomorrow, Cowboy. Sweet dreams.”

Rob pulled her into his chest, and putting his hand at the base of her head, he tilted her face up to his and kissed her. It wasn’t chaste, but it wasn’t the forget-everything passion of earlier, either. He pulled back when he felt her try to deepen it again. “Take your sweet little ass upstairs, Princess, and dream of me.”

She gave him a sassy look. “How do you know my ass is sweet, cowboy? Maybe it’s spicy.” She started walking away with an exaggerated sway in her hips. “I have a feeling, Princess. It’s probably both sweet and spicy.”

She stopped at the bottom stair and gave him a look that almost had him racing back up the stairs with her. “Well, you know where it is anytime you want to find out.”

Then she fled up the stairs as he tried to get his body under control. If he tried to drive home in the state he was now, he’d end up with a speeding ticket and possibly one for indecent exposure.

*****

Aurora looked at the growing pile of files she had on the floor beside her desk. She really needed to show this to Rob, but she didn’t want to disturb him. She’d come on Saturday and part of the day Sunday to work on organizing the office. Saturday started as just a familiarize-herself-with-everything trip, but after she found the altered employment contract in the file cabinet, her days had become about tracking the issues she was finding.