Naughty or nice, p.14
Naughty or Nice, page 14
Even for viral pictures, the pay is dismal, but I made a decent amount and was able to send every penny to the mom in Turin. My list of jobs built so quickly that I actually had to turn multiple clients away because I didn’t have the time. But, like any creative job, you have to capitalize on relevancy before the next best thing comes along, and that meant hopping from job to job and not having any time to meet Henry.
The one time we got close, he ended up stuck in Reykjavik because of a volcanic eruption. We talk every day, but I miss being tucked against his chest, his arms wrapped around me.
Now that we’re actually in the same place, though… The doubt is overshadowing the excitement.
“Rora,” Noelle chides, exasperated. “It’s going to be amazing. This is what you’ve been looking forward to for literally six months. Look, it might take a day or so for you to re-learn how to be together in person, but you have ten whole days. You’re basically all he talks about. He’s not going to suddenly decide he doesn’t want you. And he hasn’t forgotten how old you are because my dad gives him shit for it at least once a week.”
I blow out a long breath. “Okay. Okay. I’m going in.”
“I’ll stay on the phone while you get settled,” Noelle offers.
I wish I could hug her almost as much as I wish I could hug Henry. At least one of those things is happening today.
Before I lose my nerve, I hurry up the stairs and into the Royal Concert Hall. When I finally found a gap in my schedule and it lined up perfectly with the end of a climate conference Henry’s speaking at here, it felt like fate. I get to see him doing his last talk, and then we get ten days off together.
I stop by the sign-in table, and a woman smiles up at me. “Are you here for the talk on improving monitoring techniques and data in the arctic?”
“My god, that sounds boring,” Noelle says in my ear as I confirm I am.
“Great. Can I take your last name?”
“Stanley.”
She furrows her brow as she scans a list of names. “I don’t have any Stanleys. Are you with the group from Glasgow uni?”
“No, I’m a guest of Dr. Whitten.”
Her eyes light up, and she sits back in her chair, giving me a once-over. “You must be Aurora. I swear I feel like I already know you. Henry talks about you so much.” She rummages through a box of name tags and hands me one. “He put you under his last name.”
Noelle chokes on whatever she’s eating, and I have to tune her out to pay attention as I’m directed to the right door.
“He put you under his last name?” she squeals in my ear as soon as I walk away from the desk.
I inspect the name tag, and sure enough: Aurora Whitten.
“What was that you were saying about him not liking you anymore? Tell me, when you get married, are you going to take his name or—”
“Shut up,” I say, but my stomach is fluttering as I shed my jacket and clip the name badge to my sweater.
“You can’t say you haven’t thought about it.”
I have thought about it. Aurora Stanley-Whitten has a nice ring to it. But if I say that, Noelle will start planning our hypothetical wedding cake before I even hang up.
“I have to go. I’m heading into the auditorium.”
“Keep me posted, okay? Everything’s going to be fine. Love you.”
“I will. Thank you for calming me down. I love you.”
I hang up and find my seat in the auditorium, peering down at my perfect view of the stage. The seats fill up, and the butterflies swirl around my stomach. Until the lights dim and the speakers are introduced, and I finally get my first in-person look at Henry in half a year.
He looks better than ever, and I ache with the need to reach for him, to jump down from the balcony and run into his arms.
Soon. I can hold him soon.
The butterflies disappear, and my heart races with excitement. What the hell was I so worried about?
If someone had told me last year if I’d be walking into a Climatology Conference After Party buzzing with excitement, I would’ve questioned their sanity. I weave through the groups of scientists, researchers, and students, searching for Henry. He’s so tall that it shouldn’t be this hard, but there must be something in the water in the climatology world because everyone here towers over me.
I finally spot him and have to resist the urge to break into a run. He’s clearly looking for me, standing with two colleagues I recognize from pictures he showed me from the research station in Greenland.
“Do you want to get dinner after this, Henry?” one of them asks.
I’m close enough to hear them … and close enough to see her touching his arm.
Heat prickles in my chest. I’m too old and too confident in myself to be jealous over a hand on an arm, but I haven’t seen him in six months. I can’t really be held accountable for my feelings right now.
It takes Henry a second to process what she’s said; he’s so busy looking around for me. “I can’t. My girlfriend is around here somewhere, and we…” he trails off, and his other colleague laughs.
“You’re not planning on seeing anything except each other and your hotel room for the next ten days, right?”
“Exactly.”
The colleague who asked him to dinner rolls her eyes, but Henry doesn’t notice because his eyes land on me. He goes perfectly still for a second before practically sprinting across the room and gathering me into his arms, professionalism be damned.
It feels like I’ve been holding my breath for six months, and every bit of it comes rushing out now that I’m touching him again.
Henry cups my face, staring down at me like he can’t quite process that this is happening. “You’re actually here,” he murmurs, and his voice washes over me like a warm shower.
“I’m actually here.” I don’t realize how choked up I am until I hear myself speak. I blink, trying to stop myself from crying happy tears in front of Henry’s colleagues.
Ten days is not going to be enough. The words blare through my brain like a siren, and I push them away. I don’t want to spend a single second of my time with Henry worrying about goodbye.
I melt into him, the hollow feeling I’ve been carrying around for months finally gone.
Henry brushes his thumb across my cheekbone, down my cheek, and over my lips. “Hi, sugar.”
24
HENRY
JUNE 9
Rora’s sitting in my lap, where she belongs, and everything is right in the world. I tighten my arms around her, just breathing her in.
When we were looking for somewhere to stay, we had two criteria: it had to be within an hour of the airport so we didn’t have to waste our time together traveling, and it had to have room service because we have no plans to leave this room for the next ten days. Rora found a hotel with lodges that ticked all the boxes, and the view over Loch Lomond is a beautiful bonus.
The second we got to the lodge, I dropped our bags on the floor and pulled Rora to the armchair in front of the window. We’ve talked every day for six months, but I’ve been dreaming of holding her since the second I walked away at the airport.
She leans her head back against my chest, and I notice the name tag clipped to her shirt for the first time. Aurora Whitten. When the conference organizers asked me if they could just put her under my name, I didn’t really think twice about it. Until I did. And then I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I don’t know if Rora would want to change her name if we ever got married, and I’m definitely getting ahead of myself for thinking about it, but I’m thinking about it. We could always combine names. Dr. Henry Stanley-Whitten has a nice ring to it.
I kiss the top of her head. “I missed you, sugar.”
Rora lifts my palm to her mouth and kisses it. “I missed you too,” she says with a happy sigh. “Henry?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
It takes a second for the words to sink in, her soft voice wrapping me up like a blanket. But when my brain processes the words, I think it might shut down from the sheer serotonin boost.
“You … you…” I stumble through what might go down as the worst reply in history, and Rora sits up, turning so she’s straddling my lap, facing me.
“I love you,” she repeats, her emerald eyes blazing. “And I know I should probably wait until we have things figured out long distance wise to say it, but I don’t want to wait however long that takes.”
“Rora. Baby.” I hold her face, my voice thick. “I love you so much. So fucking much. I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with you since the first time I watched you behind your camera.”
Not saying it for the past few months has been torture. It almost slipped out more times than I can count. But I can also see that Rora was right; we needed space and time to get to know each other, and I didn’t want to come on too strong, too soon. As shitty as the time apart has been, we’ve spent hours just talking, learning all we can about each other. And every new facet of her I learn just makes me love her more.
She presses our foreheads together, the tip of her nose grazing mine. “What are we going to do? I love you. I want to actually be with you.”
“We both have a month off for Christmas in Wintermore, and we can use that time to figure it out. I already talked to Charlie, and we’re going to split Santa duties, and their old photographer should be back so we can have more time together.”
Rora laughs, pressing a quick kiss to my lips before sitting back. “Of course you’re already talking about Christmas. But that’s a good plan. We’ll figure things out.” Her face falls, and I know she’s thinking the same as me: Christmas is months away, which means several more months of long distance.
“We won’t go so long without seeing each other next time,” I promise.
“I’m sorry,” she says, biting her lip. “We said eight weeks, and I completely fucked it up.”
“You didn’t fuck it up, and you have nothing to be sorry for. Have I missed you like crazy? Of course, but I’m so proud of you for how hard you’ve been working. And it’s paying off.”
“But if it means we won’t see each other—”
I take her hand, running my thumb over the back of it. Her skin pebbles beneath my touch. “I talked to my boss, and she’s going to make sure I have at least a week off between assignments for the rest of the year. No matter where you are, I’ll be there. Even if it’s only for a day or two.” The perks of working for a European company: when they say they value work-life balance, they mean it.
Rora’s eyes light up. “Are you serious?” When I nod, it’s like months of tension fall from her shoulders. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s something, for now.
“Enough talk about what happens after this trip,” she says, looping her arms around my neck. “We’re here now, and I want to enjoy every second with you.”
“Did you have anything in mind, sugar?” I ask, but I’m already standing, lifting her.
She wraps her legs around me as I walk her to the plush king-size bed I barely even looked at when we walked in. And I don’t look at it now; how could I possibly look at anything but this incredible woman in my arms? I lay her down, her hair fanning over the covers.
“I have a lot in mind.” Rora’s back arches as I run a finger down the center of her torso. “But right now, I don’t want to take it slow. We’ve been taking it slow for months. I just need you inside me.”
I pause my finger’s descent right below her belly button. Fuck.
Who am I to say no to that?
I pull Rora to her feet and spin her so I can unzip her dress. It pools on the floor in a ripple of silky blue fabric, and I almost fall to my knees at the sight of her in nothing but light beige lingerie. It matches her skin tone so perfectly she’s practically naked. We’ve seen each other naked plenty since going long distance, but there’s no webcam in the world that could do her justice.
Any patience she had left disappears as I unclasp her bra. Rora tears it from her body and throws it away before pushing her underwear down and stepping out of it. She’s just as hurried as she rips my clothes off, and I don’t have time to blink before I’m standing there in nothing.
A desperate whimper falls from Rora’s lips as she sits on the bed, roving her eyes over my body. She scoots back toward the headboard and beckons me. I don’t hesitate before kneeling on the bed, the mattress dipping below my weight. Rora watches as I crawl up to meet her, her lips parted, her eyes dark.
She spreads her legs, and she’s so fucking wet for me, so ready for me. And I’m so ready to sink into her, to lose myself in her. I fist my cock, running the tip over her until it’s glistening with the proof of how badly she wants this.
“Henry, please,” she begs, squeezing the covers until her knuckles are white.
I press the head of my cock inside her, fighting my body as it demands to fuck her hard, fast, and desperate. Rora might not want to take it slow, but it’s been six months and I don’t want to hurt her. Nor do I want to come in five seconds flat.
I lean over her, covering her body with mine, and untangle her fingers from the covers. I bring them to my lips, pressing soft kisses to her knuckles, then her nose and her jaw. Finally, her mouth. I slip my tongue between her lips as I push inside her, drinking down her moan.
Rora wraps her legs around me, rocking her hips against me as I bottom out inside her. I inhale a fractured breath.
One, two, three, four… I count in my head, trying not to fall to pieces as she clenches around me. Somehow, I forgot how fucking incredible she feels.
I move slowly, Rora’s thighs trembling around me as I pull out and press back inside her.
“Harder,” she cries, her cheeks blazing red. “I can handle it.”
I’m not sure I can, but I’d find a way to give her the goddamn stars if that’s what she wanted. “I know you can, sugar,” I say, bracing a hand on the headboard and fucking her harder.
Rora’s back arches, incoherent sounds spilling from her.
“That’s my girl.”
She half-opens her eyes, the green bright and glittering against the depth of her dilated pupils. “Say that again.”
“You like hearing that you’re mine, sugar?” I ask.
She nods, and it’s almost enough to tip me over the edge. Deep, measured breaths.
I lean in and press a kiss on her forehead. “This beautiful brain is all mine.” I kiss her lips. “This perfect mouth is mine.” I thrust hard into her. “This beautiful, torturous cunt is mine.”
She squeezes me, and I groan her name, my hand slipping from the headboard.
I place it on her chest, her heart beating so hard I’m surprised it isn’t audible. “This kind, patient, loving heart… All mine.”
“Yours,” she gasps, placing her hand over mine.
“And every inch of me, inside and out, is all yours. You own me, heart and soul, baby.”
She grips my hand, and I watch her orgasm crash over her for all of a second before I’m right there with her, her pussy gripping me into oblivion. I come with a guttural groan, my body shaking as I try to hold myself up so I don’t crush her.
Rora twists in the covers, sobbing my name. She clings to me, her grip slowly loosening as she comes down from the high. I roll us to the side so I can hold her tight, and she continues to tremble in my arms.
“That… Fuck.” Her voice is barely more than a croak.
“Fuck,” I agree, jumping when she grazes my cheek with her fingers. My nerves are lit up, every touch like a beautiful electric shock. I shift so I can pull out of her and still as I do. Shit. “Rora?”
“Hmm?”
“I know this is a really bad time to be asking this, but are you on birth control?”
Her eyes snap open. “Shit. We forgot… It’s fine. I have an implant. But I’ve never forgotten before.”
“I haven’t either.” I blow out a relieved breath.
Thank god. The last thing either of us wants to be doing right now is getting dressed and heading out to track down Plan B.
But now that I know we don’t have to worry about it… Why is the thought of her dripping with my cum so hot?
I push it down, lying on my back and stretching my arm so she can snuggle into me. “Do you want kids?” It’s not the first time I’ve wondered—she was so good with all the kids she took pictures of at Christmas. But some people just like kids; it doesn’t mean they want to raise them.
Rora traces a finger over the ridge of my iceberg tattoo before answering. “I’ve always wanted to be a mom. I don’t know if it’s possible to make it work around my job, but I love kids. I just… I love my parents, and I don’t resent one second of my upbringing, but I don’t think I could do what they did and travel all the time.” She peers up at me. “Do you want kids?”
I kiss the tip of her nose before replying. “Yeah. But same as you, I’ve never known how to make it work around my job. I kind of gave up on the idea a few years ago; I’m not exactly young.”
Her eyes twinkle. “That’s true. You’re pretty old.”
I bring my hand down lightly on her ass. “You chose me.”
The mischief on her face softens. “Happy I did. Is that an idea you might consider un-giving up on? Once we figure things out job wise, I mean. It’s not a deal-breaker for me. I want you, whatever that looks like, and I understand if you’re past the idea. But you would be such a good dad.”
My heart swells. Whatever that looks like. Even long distance, things look pretty good from where I’m sitting. But starting a family with Rora? That looks like something I couldn’t even dream up. I’ve seen hundreds of shooting stars over the years, and I wouldn’t even dare wishing for something so out of reach. But she wants that. She wants us.
