Page 23 of Made For You
“So, what do you say?”
I was torn. I knew I should say no. My past reminded me that I should decline. But the butterflies in my stomach fluttered wildly at the thought of saying yes. I was smarter than that though. I just needed to envision the disappointment of my family if I came home a married woman.
“I don’t think I can,” I whispered and watched the devastation consume Talon. Something about his reaction made it seem like he’d put all of his eggs in my basket. And I hated that I did that to him. Maybe there was a way we could compromise.
“What if I let you think about it? I’ll leave the contract with you, and you can read it over. Please, Aurora. I promise I’ll make it worth your while. I can answer any questions you have.” He checked the expensive looking watch on his wrist andmumbled a curse. “I have to head to a meeting. Aurora, please give it a shot.”
“Okay,” I caved. If there was a contract, I could look at this entire thing as a business transaction. No hearts would be broken at the end. No family wreckage when the two of us went our separate ways. No picking up my pieces like before.
“Tomorrow?” he asked with childish hope in his eyes. His thumbs rubbed across my knuckles, and I never wanted him to stop.
“I’ll let you know tomorrow,” I croaked.
Talon stood with a flourish, and I fell back into the chair, more exhausted than I’d ever felt in my entire life. My eyes were drawn to his retreating back… and lower, and just as he turned the corner, he peered over his shoulder and winked at me.
Damn my stomach for flip-flopping in response.
Dean lingered in my kitchen, and I felt embarrassed that he witnessed my perusal of his friend. He smirked at me in that sneaky way, as if he knew my darkest secrets. And I feared maybe he did, and they had nothing to do with Talon.
“He’ll do right by you,” Dean assured as he turned to leave, and I watched him turn the corner. My eyes stayed glued to the wall far after I heard the door to my room slam shut.
Dean must have known the weight of his words, because they were carried with me through dinner and drinks, and then later in bed.
He said Talon would do right by me, but would I do the right thing for myself?
Chapter Seven – Talon
Leaving Aurora’s room the night before had taken every bit of strength I had. She calmed me in a way that no one ever could. And even though I was throwing this outlandish suggestion her way, she stayed and listened. I could honestly say I wouldn’t have done the same.
In the elevator, Dean assured me she would say yes to the contract. I wasn’t so positive. But he was confident, and that left me wondering what about her past would steer her in that direction.
At my apartment, I spent the better part of the night thinking about how I could convince her to say yes. A hundred different reasons and scenarios came to mind, but I had a feeling all it would take was honesty. Aurora seemed like a woman who didn’t care for being lied to, which was why she was hesitant in the first place. All of this would be one big lie.
My thoughts sprang back and forth—when I wasn’t imagining all the ways she’d say no, I was making plans of how to make her say yes. She would be mine, and I wondered if she’d let me have her more than just on paper. I thought about running my hands through her thick hair and grasping it in my fist as I thrust my cock down her throat. I bet she made the most delicious sounds.
All of that was pushed to the wayside when my phone chimed with a message from Allison. She had the audacity to threaten me after I kicked her out the day I found her in my bed. I regretted ever sleeping with her in the first place, and I was certain we didn’t have sex the night she snuck into my bed. Completely certain… except the small sliver of worry that crept down my spine like a spider.
Allison: You’re going to pay for what you did. I’m going to ruin you, Talon!!!
After taking a screenshot of the message, I sent it off to my lawyer with a note about what happened the night I called security on her. He said he would take care of it, and if she tried to claim a pregnancy as a way to trap me, I’d have evidence of her malicious intentions.
What was I doing, bringing someone good and sweet like Aurora into my life? All I knew and was surrounded by was deceit and greed. Everyone was looking out for themselves. Other than my grandmother, no one in my life—not even in my family—truly cared about anyone else.
I wouldn’t put it past my uncle to partner with Allison to keep me from taking over the company. That man seemed to make it his life’s work to make mine hell. It was why he refused to step down as CEO, instead spending his time wandering about with his girlfriends, not even caring about the trouble his kids were getting in.
My work out this morning had been brutal. I’d overstretched my muscles by extending my run three miles longer than normal and now I was paying for it. My legs felt like jelly as I sat behind my desk. I thought about using the hotel pool to cool them down, but fire after fire landed on my desk after a rough case of food poisoning hit a couple of guests. Luckily, I was able to narrow it down to a local restaurant across the street that had served all the parties involved. My keen eye kept us from a nasty lawsuit that I really didn’t want on my plate while I tried to take over the hotel.
“Mr. Beckett, Mr. Wilder is on line two,” Olive announced through our phone system. I always found it interesting that the men who married into the Wilder family took their wife’s last name. For as traditional as they claimed tobe, it was the most unconventional thing ever. Gigi said my uncle couldn’t wait to change his last name to Wilder after he married my mom’s sister. Which was yet another mark against my mother when she ran off with my dad. She wanted to take his last name, and her father scoffed that she had the audacity to drop the Wilder name. Whenever my aunt or grandmother told me the stories of why my mother distanced herself from her family, the Wilder name was always the first thing they mentioned.
I didn’t want to speak with my grandfather. He was the reason I was in this entire mess to begin with, but I knew if I didn’t, he’d continue to call until I answered. Better to get it over with and give myself more time to agonize over what answer Aurora would give me.
“Hello, Grandfather,” I said as I picked up the phone.
“I hear you have a girlfriend,” were the first words from his mouth. I had my grandmother to thank for that one. I hoped her excitement wouldn’t be my downfall.
“Rumor mill swirling again?”
“Is it true?”
