Page 39 of Hired By the Consigliere

She looked like a kid at Christmas, practically bouncing with excitement as the instructor went through the steps.

Once we were finally ready, we held hands as we slowly descended into the water under the watchful eye of our instructor.

He guided us deeper and my heart kicked up a few beats as I looked up to see the yacht's bottom getting smaller and hazier.

Aurora squeezed my hand and pointed. I followed the gesture to see the large stern coming into view. It was incredible.

We swam farther, following the instructor closer to the ship and I motioned for Aurora to get in front of it for a picture. I wanted her to have a good memory once it was all over.

The instructor also took a picture of the two of us before we explored the wreckage more.

Being down there was like being in a different world and I was so happy that I'd been able to give that experience to Aurora. She deserved every happiness the world had to offer. And that's when I realized that I wanted to be the one to give that to her.

That realization terrified me. My heart raced and I found it hard to breathe in my scuba gear, but I couldn’t let Aurora see. I focused on the ship, the details, the tranquil quiet of being underwater and soon I was calm enough to at least fake my way through the rest of our dive.

After thoroughly exploring, the instructor motioned for us to swim to the surface. It was freezing above water in the cold January air and the towels we wrapped around ourselves didn't do much to keep out the chill.

Aurora shivered and I wrapped my arms around her, rubbing my hands up and down her back.

“You're freezing. Come with me.”

Our wetsuits had kept us relatively dry once we changed into our regular clothes, but we were left with a deep chill. I led Aurora through the first room where we’d changed earlier, into a cozy lounge. There were comfortable couches and chairs with blankets and throw pillows so that Aurora could relax and get warm.

“Make yourself comfortable.” I motioned toward the couch and Aurora curled up with her feet underneath her, and I wrapped a blanket around her shoulders.

“This is really nice.”

“I'm glad you like it. Here, let me light the fire.”

“There's a fire in here?”

I nodded and lit the gas fireplace. Aurora scooted to the edge of the couch, leaning toward the fire’s warmth.

I squeezed behind her on the couch, wrapping my arms around her, and pulling her against me.

“This is incredible.” She let out a content sigh as she rested her head back against my chest. “And the scuba diving was amazing but I'm not sure I understand why you did all this. It clearly wasn't for the press or to convince Ludovic.” Aurora turned around to face me, still in my arms.

“I just felt like we needed a little bit of time to relax and have some fun after everything we've been doing. I wanted to do something special for you because I know the situation is strange and sometimes even a little scary.” I tenderly brushed a stray strand of her damp hair from her face and cupped her cheek, losing myself in her eyes.

She blushed and broke the intense eye contact, tucking her hair behind her ear. “It's been an adjustment for sure.”

I wasn’t sure what came over me at that moment, but I held her face in one hand, my free arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer to me as my lips crashed onto hers. Her kiss tasted sweet, and I found myself exploring her mouth with my tongue, deepening the kiss. She ran her fingers through my hair, adjusting so that she was straddling me but there were far too many clothes between us. I needed to feel her skin against mine, to kiss and claim every inch of her body.

I tugged her shirt up over her head and tossed it on the floor before kissing down her collar bone, to the swell of her breasts, slightly salty from our dive. I unclasped her bra, taking a few moments to appreciate her bare nipples before moving back up her neck and growling in her ear, “I need you out of those clothes. Now.”

She quickly jumped off of the couch and tugged her pants down, kicking them the rest of the way off while I worked my zipper, setting my aching shaft free. Her eyes darted down, and she took a step closer until she stood between my knees. I pulled her forward onto the couch to straddle me again. I eagerly aligned myself with her entrance, gripping her hips, I shoved her down onto me as I bucked my hips upward, plunging deep into her warm, wet depths.

She cried out, throwing her head back in ecstasy, giving me perfect access to kiss and lick her breasts as she grinded her hips into me.

She felt amazing but I needed more. I needed to be deeper, to thrust harder. I held her to me as I laid her onto the couch, her legs locking around my waist as I reached a wild, unrestrained pace. Her insides quivered around me, tightening as her body coiled, ready for release.

I thrust harder, my fingers tangling into her hair as I tugged her head back, letting my teeth drag along the slender curve of her throat. She bucked under me, writhing like a wild animal as I claimed every inch of her sultry body. Her moans and little cries of pleasure were the sexiest things I’d ever heard. As soon as her slick walls clamped around me, I exploded inside her, barely keeping myself from crushing her.

I rolled over on my side on the couch, pulling her back against my chest. We laid there in comfortable silence for some time before the realization of what I’d just done sank into the pit of my stomach like a bolder.

A wave of nausea crashed over me. I needed to get up. I needed some distance from Aurora.

“I—uh—I’m going to take a shower.”

---