Aurora's POV
Landon drives us into the centre of the city in the Lexus. It is a beautiful morning. The sun is shining, and there is none of that awful city smog that my mother regularly complains about.
I take the opportunity to take in the view.
Although I've lived in London for most of my life, it is still one of my favourite cities. I love the architecture. I love the culture. I even love the underground, much to my parents' irritation.
Landon parks just outside a small opulent brasserie on the side of the river Thames. I didn't even know that this restaurant existed; it is completely new to me, just like everything else Landon has shown me. That catches me off guard. I think I'm still in shock from all the things I've done with this man. My poor brain is still trying to process everything.
"This is one of my favourite restaurants," he tells me with a smile as he leads me into Thorpe's.
"Landon," a gentleman in a suit, rushes forward and envelopes Landon in a bear hug, "good to see you mate. We weren't expecting you until this evening."
He is an attractive man. He looks as if he is about the same age as Landon, with a friendly, approachable face that makes you want to get to know him. His easy familiarity with Landon makes me think they must be good friends. I can't picture Landon allowing just anyone to hug him.
"Well, we fancied some breakfast," Landon replies, pulling me closer as he does.
His friend's eyes narrow at Landon's gesture. It's unexpected. He's confused.
Has he never seen Landon with a girl before?
"Jarrod, this is Aurora. Aurora, meet Jarrod. Jarrod is an old friend. He owns this restaurant as well as several others."
"Part owns," comes a voice from behind us.
I turn to see another man in a suit. Fricking heck; what is with all the men in suits?
Before last night, I barely ever had the privilege of seeing a good suit, unless I was attending a charity function with my mum or meeting my dad for lunch that is. And now, suddenly they are everywhere.
"Meet my business partner, Jack," Jarrod says as he thumps Jack on the back. "Anyway, let's get you both a table. It's a pleasure to meet you, Aurora."
When we are finally left alone, after our orders have been taken, Landon grins at me across the table before asking, "these rules... how many did we break last night?"
"A few."
I blush again. Seriously! What is with this man that has me blushing all the time? And why is he so focused on the rules?
Now that I've broken a few of them, I just want to pretend they never existed but it doesn't look like Landon is going to let me do that.
"Tell me," he presses. "I want to hear you say it."
"Err..." I really don't know how much I want to tell him. "Well, I went home with you. That in itself was against the rules."
"Going home with a stranger?" he asks, completely focused on me.
"Yeah." I nod shyly.
"What else?"
"The lift... What you did in the lift."
I'm not just blushing now; I am probably the colour of a tomato.
"I wanted to do more in the lift," he tells me candidly.
"I wanted that too," I whisper.
He breathes in heavily; I think I've surprised him again, much to my excitement.
"We had sex."
"We did." He nods, his eyes lidded as if he's reliving it all again inside his mind. "Was that against the rules?"
"Yes."
"Because I'm a stranger?" he asks, his voice is husky, and I think he's turned on as much as I am.
It amazes me that this handsome man is turned on merely by the thought of sex with me.
"No, because we're not married," I tell him in a rush.
This is possibly the most embarrassing part of my parents' rules. Even though I think their reasoning is archaic, I have done everything I can to honour their wishes.
His eyes dart wide in shock. He really wasn't expecting that.
"Do you mean to tell me... you've never..." He can't finish what he is saying.
"Not until last night."
I shake my head, suddenly feeling incredibly anxious. I can't help but fear that he will laugh at me.
I really don't want him to laugh at me.
I straighten my back; preparing to receive a mockingly cruel joke, but it doesn't come.
"Oh." He looks lost. "I didn't realise. I guess we did break a lot of rules last night..." He gives me a cheeky grin. "And this morning."
I laugh gently.
"Yeah we did." I let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding in.
"I broke a few rules of my own too," he says as he leans across the table to take my hand.
The easy admission makes me smile. I appreciate the gesture.
"I never let women stay at my apartment and I certainly never take them out for breakfast or let them sleep in my bed."
As I try to work out what he means our food arrives and he lets go of my hand so that he can pick up his cutlery.
We eat in silence. It isn't unpleasant or awkward, but rather quite comfortable. I've never understood the concept of an easy silence.
Usually, I just feel awkward as if I have to make an effort to entertain the other people, to bridge the silence, but this is different.
I don't feel like I have to try with Landon. I can just be.
Landon looks at me seriously as he finishes off his plate of bacon, sausage and eggs – a good old English breakfast. I get the impression he is making a decision.
"I want to continue helping you with your little rule problem."
I'm surprised by his words. Last night, I had gotten the distinct impression he didn't really date, and his next words confirm it.
"I usually don't see the same woman twice, but I want to see you again. Last night was..."
I'm blushing again as I recall exactly what last night was.
"Okay," I answer him. "I'd like to see you again too."
"Good." His grin is electric. "You said something about a list. Can I see it?"
I nod before reaching into my purse and pulling out the almost illegible list that Cam and Lou helped me to write the night before. He glances down at it, a wicked grin on his face.
"We're going to break every rule on this list and then when we've done that, I'll help you break all the rules your parents were too polite to ever mention to their little girl. We'll break rules you can't even imagine. I'm going to keep this."
It's not a question. He takes what he wants and apparently, he wants my list. He puts it safely into the back pocket of his jeans before glancing at his watch.
"I've got to get to work, but I would like to drive you home if that's okay."
Again, there's no question in his tone; it sounds more like a demand. This is what he wants; he will have it.
I nod my head, too shy to tell him just how alright that is with me. I want to spend more time with him. He asks a waitress for the bill; pays it and then takes my hand once more as he pulls me out of the restaurant, not stopping to say goodbye to his friends.
He opens the passenger door of his car and waits for me to slide in before closing the door for me. He joins me in the car moments later. The tension from last night is back. It's like fire prickling my skin.
I want him to touch me, but his focus is on the road in front of him, where it should be.
My focus is on him. Just on him.
He glances over at me and catches me watching him. His face lights up as he plasters a smirk across his lips. He takes one hand off the wheel and places it on my thigh, drawing circles over the material of my jeans. Even through my clothes, my body reacts to him powerfully. I'm barely able to restrain myself, aware that if I do what I want to do, I'll probably cause a crash.
I don't immediately notice when we pull up in front of my building. When I do, I'm surprised.
"How do you know where I live?"
"Henry," is all he says in response.
I give him a questioning look, waiting for an explanation. I need an explanation. There is a sudden, uneasy feeling in my chest and I really don't like it.
"Henry is not just my driver but the Head of Security at my company. He found out where you lived so that I would be able to bring you home."
"Couldn't have just asked?" My tone is accusatory.
"I could have," he admits.
He has no answer for that. No real substantiated reason other than that he's used to doing what he wants, how he wants, and he didn't think that I might have wanted to be in charge of who has my own personal information.
Forget the fact that he'd broken my fricking human rights.
I nod. I can't decide if I'm surprised or not. Thinking about it, I know that this information is a matter of public record. All you would have to do is check the most recent census, but it still leaves me feeling perturbed. I almost decide not to dwell on it when I realise that I never gave him my last name.
"But... you didn't know anything about me. You only knew my first name."
"Aurora," He looks unsure as if he's trying to decide how to proceed, "it's a small city."
"It's a small city?" I really don't know what he means. It's not that small a city. It's the fricking capital.
That isn't an acceptable answer, so I wait, an eyebrow raised. What the fuck isn't he telling me?
He breathes out in a huff.
"I recognised you last night. I think. I can't explain it."
"Try."
My tone has changed now. It's not timid or shy. Instead, I sound stubborn.
This is not okay.
I'm as far from comfortable right now as it is possible to be. If he turns out to be some sort of stalker or something, I am going to the police. He had been staring at me, watching me, with intense eyes and a brooding expression last night in the bar. What the hell have I gotten myself into? I'm panicking. Literally panicking.
He doesn't respond. I look at him before sighing.
"Fine."
I open the car door and step out, not responding when I hear him call me back. I'm proud of myself, and when I finally get into my building, I let out a haggard breath.
There's a harsh knock at the door that I'm leaning against.
"Aurora?" he asks loudly from the other side of the door.
I don't want him to ring the bell because then my friends will have thousands of questions and Cam will probably go all protective brother on his arse, and someone will end up with a black eye and some bruised ribs.
Breathing deeply, I prepare myself for what is waiting for me outside the safety of my building's hallway.
"My company does business with Stone Publishing." The words are out of his mouth before I even have the door fully open.
"And..." I press.
I'm not sure I like where this is going. This isn't much better than the idea of him being my stalker.
"I've been to your parents' house more times than I can count. I met your father when I was a young boy. My dad helped him finance the publishing house in the beginning. They're good friends."
I really don't know how to respond.
"Our mothers do charity work together. Your parents talk about you often, and their house is covered in photos of you and your sister. I'd recognise you anywhere."
That's why I recognised his name; Peters. Lauren Peters; my mother's friend.
"But last night..." I don't know how to say what I know I need to say.
This is not okay. He lied, and I don't like lies. Not because they are on my parents' list of rules but because I just don't like them.
My family are very good at lies; very good at secrets.
They make out they are all transparent and perfect, but they are not. They are far from it. My mother, the perfect Michelle Stone practically has a drinking problem and my little sister is estranged from our parents. Our family is very good at lying. They are very good at lying to me. I don't want him to lie to me too.
"Last night, I wanted you for myself, so I didn't tell you about the connection. You were trying to break their rules."
I nod. I take a breath and steady myself.
"I need to go inside."
I can't believe I told someone who knows my family all that stuff about the rules. If he tells anyone, I am so dead.
"Can I call you?" He asks, suddenly seeming unsure of himself in a way that seems out of character.
I really don't know what to say, except that I know I want to see him again. Even though he's lied to me, I want him. The air is still crackling with the sexual tension that is between us, and I know that trying to avoid it would be pointless, so without saying anything, I kiss him softly on the lips.
He leans into the kiss, and the anxiety that has his body tense evaporates leaving him free to kiss me back. I pull away before things get out of hand.
"See you," I say gently to him.
"We're okay though?" The uncertainty is still there, but it's less apparent.
"It's not okay that you lied to me, Landon," I tell him severely and I try to pretend not to see when he blanches, "but I still want to see you again. I still want to get to know you."
"That sounds fair." He steps back, running an anxious hand through his hair. "I better get to work."
One nod of my head is all he gets. I don't say anything as I watch him walk away from me.
He glances at me one last time before climbing into the front seat of his car. The windows to his car might be tinted, but I get the feeling he's watching me watch him.
It's as if we are both staring into each other's soul somehow.
The electric current that is between us is still present in the air around me as I feel his eyes on me, so I smile at him before stepping inside in an effort to regain some of the control I've given away.
👔 What would you do if you were Aurora?