Vegas, Baby: The Complete Series by Fiona Davenport

9

Aurora

Ileaned back in my chair, more than a little worried when my sisters marched into my office with determined expressions on their faces. Whenever two of us teamed up against the other, it usually meant nothing good for the odd woman out. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing much,” Ariel assured me as she dropped down onto one of the chairs in front of my desk.

“Why are you looking at us so suspiciously?” Belle asked, claiming the other seat and turning to look at Ariel with wide, innocent eyes. “I feel like she doesn’t trust us or something.”

“Yeah, and I can’t imagine why,” Ariel agreed with a nod and similar expression.

I opened my calendar on my computer and turned the screen toward them. Then I pointed at the current time for today before scrolling down to a spot later in the afternoon. “Probably because there’s no reason for you both to be here right now when we have our regular weekly roundup meeting scheduled for four o’clock.”

“It’s just that we’re curious about something a not-so-little birdie told us this morning and couldn’t wait any longer to talk to you about it,” Belle explained.

“More like an ostrich,” Ariel snorted.

Belle’s brows shot up. “An ostrich?”

“What?” Ariel shrugged. “It makes sense to me since ostriches are the biggest birds at like nine feet tall and three hundred plus pounds.”

Belle snorted. “I wouldn’t let him hear you call him that. It’s not exactly manly.”

If I didn’t put a stop to their verbal ping pong, they’d go back and forth like this for the next hour without ever getting to the point. “Is it safe to assume the ostrich in this scenario is Knox?” I sighed, my fingers tapping an impatient rhythm on the desktop.

Belle nodded, and Ariel said, “Of course it is. How many other big lugs do you know who’d be telling us stuff we’d want to talk to you about?”

“It could’ve been one of your husbands,” I gritted out.

“Hey!” Belle cried. “Griffith isn’t even that big,”

“And this wouldn’t have been half as interesting if it’d been Maddox who’d threatened Will with bodily harm since they already know each other,” Ariel added.

My hand ceased the tapping as I froze for a second. “Whoa! Wait! Back up.” I glared at my sisters until I had their full attention. “Are you trying to tell me that Knox threatened Will?”

Belle rolled her eyes and sighed, “Um, yeah.”

“When? Where? Is Will okay?” I picked up my cell phone to make sure I hadn’t missed any calls or texts from him and frowned when I didn’t find anything there.

“He’s fine,” Ariel reassured me. “Knox surprised him in his office like two days ago.”

“Two days ago?” I echoed softly, more than a little stunned that Will hadn’t mentioned his confrontation with my brother since we spent all our time together when we weren’t working.

“Yeah, but don't worry. Will handled Knox like a pro,” Belle reassured me. “From what our big brother told me, it sounded like Will didn't even blink when Knox threatened to tear him limb from limb.”

“Who knew that the eyeglass-wearing lawyer wouldn't back down from the big lug?” Ariel mused with an impressed smile.

My cheeks warmed as I thought about Will’s take-charge attitude in bed. At first, it had surprised—and thrilled—me. Considering his alpha ways, I wasn’t too shocked that he held his own with my overbearing brother. “When it comes to Will, you definitely can't judge the book by its cover.”

“It sounds like you mean more than just the tattoos,” Ariel replied slyly.

Belle clapped her hands together. “Yes, do tell! And don’t skimp on any of the dirty details.”

“Yeah…” I leaned forward and paused just long enough to let them think I was seriously considering telling them about my sex life. “Nope.”

“Awww, c’mon,” Ariel complained, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling belligerently. “You’re our big sister. Isn’t it your responsibility to talk to us about the birds and the bees?”

“Nice try,” I snorted. “Not only was I there when Mom gave you the sex talk, but I’m also one thousand percent sure that the last thing either of you need is a refresher talk. You have men of your own who’ve more than aptly demonstrated waaaay more about sex than I would’ve covered talking to you about it. Or at least it seems that way, judging by how they can’t keep their hands off you even when I’m around and making gagging noises about it.”

“She’s not wrong,” Belle agreed with a pointed look at Ariel’s belly. “Since you’re already knocked up and all.”

“Like you have room to talk,” Ariel huffed. “Griffith didn’t exactly wait to get you pregnant, either.”

I flashed my sisters a smug grin. “There you go. You’ve both proved me right.”

“You’re no fun,” Ariel grumbled as she slouched down in her seat.

“I have to disagree with you about that.” At the sound of the deep, sexy voice, my sisters twisted in their seats while I glanced over their shoulders. Will was leaning against my doorway, holding a brown paper bag in one hand and a tray with two fountain drinks in the other. “I always have fun when I’m with Aurora.”

“Oh, I’m sure you do,” Ariel snickered.

Belle stood and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring daggers at Will. “You’d better not be implying that the only thing Aurora is good for is a bit of fun in the sack.”

“Yeah,” Ariel agreed, her smile wiping clean from her face as she jumped up to stand next to Belle. “What’re your intentions toward our sister?”

I stood so I could see around the wall they’d created. But Will just strode across the room, walking past my sisters to set the bag and tray on my desk before rounding it to come to my side. He wrapped his arm around me and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Hey, baby. I was hoping you weren’t too busy to take a break and have lunch with me.”

“Nope.” I gestured at my sisters. “These two aren’t even supposed to be here right now.”

“Great,” Will murmured before he kissed me as though he hadn’t seen me just that morning.

Belle cleared her throat, and when we drew back from each other, she waved. “Um, hello. We’re standing right here.”

“And we asked an important question that you haven’t answered yet,” Ariel snipped.

Will stepped to my side and scowled at my sisters. “Because it’s fucking ridiculous to think that the only reason I’d be into Aurora is for sex,” Will muttered, his hand fisting at my hip. “I’m in this for the long haul—love, marriage, and baby carriages; the whole shebang.”

“Marriage?” I echoed softly, staring up at him in shock. I didn’t want to address the “love” part of his statement with my sisters standing right there.

“Damn straight, marriage,” he repeated, shifting his stance so we stood chest to chest. “Where did you think this was headed? We’ve been having unprotected sex since our first time together. You could already be pregnant.”

“I think that’s our cue to give them some privacy,” Belle whispered. My gaze didn’t leave Will’s, but I heard the door shut behind my sisters after they left.

“I don’t know.” I shook my head, my mind reeling. “I guess I didn’t think you’d want to get married since you spend your days helping people get divorced.”

“Of course, I want to marry you, Aurora.” He cupped my face with his palms. “If anything, all the years of watching marriages fall apart have taught me every lesson there is on how to make one work. My intention has never been to break people up, but rather to make a potentially volatile situation happen as calmly as possible. Especially when kids were involved.” Will’s eyes darkened with anguish. He exhaled slowly and touched his forehead to mine. “I have always been a firm believer in marriage. And the one thing I know for certain is that it will only work if you find the right person.”

Pulling back, he grinned at me, the smile reaching his eyes. “Besides, I’ve been doing my best to fuck my baby into you, and I haven’t exactly been hiding it. Did you really think all this time that I wanted you for my baby mama and not my wife?”

I shrugged my shoulders, cursing my fair skin as I felt it heat in embarrassment. When he put it that way, I should’ve considered he’d want to get married at some point. “I didn’t really think about the future as much as I probably should’ve. I was just enjoying what we have now. And it’s hard to think straight when you’re naked. Which is pretty much any time we aren’t at work lately.”

He chuckled and smiled. But just as fast as it had appeared, the happy expression slid off his face. “Wait.” His head reared back, and his eyes filled with a possessive gleam. “Did you not question it or push for more from me because you don’t want to get married?”

“No, I do want to get married.” I gripped his arms as though I was afraid he would run away.

“Good.” He nodded his head and pulled me close. “Then it’s settled. Tell me when and where you want to do it, and we’ll get married. Just make it sooner rather than later.”

I took a step back to glare up at him. “Um, how about, no?”

He glared right back at me. “What do you mean, no?”

I planted my hands firmly on my hips. “First of all, I’ve been dreaming about my wedding ever since I was a little girl. When I get married, I’m going to take as much time as I need to plan the whole thing. The ceremony and reception will have all the bells and whistles, and my groom will be happy about it because he’ll want me to have my dream wedding.”

“The only groom you’re ever going to have is me,” he growled, yanking me flush against his chest.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “And the only way that’s going to happen is if I get a real proposal after you’ve put some thought into asking me to marry you instead of a spur-of-the-moment decision because my sisters backed you into a corner.”

“Let me get this straight.” He grinned down at me. “What you’re saying is that all I have to do to get you to agree to marry me is prove that the idea is all my own and come up with a romantic way to pop the question?”

I nodded, the gleam of satisfaction in his green eyes making me a little nervous.

“I don’t think the bar is set as high as you think it is, baby. But consider your challenge accepted anyway.”