Until Series: Box set (32 page)

“Daddy,” I hear our daughter cry, and I know that she’s giving him the puppy-dog eyes. Each of our five girls perfected the puppy-dog eyes by the time they were old enough to talk.

I shove my face into my pillow so they can’t hear me laughing through the open door. I keep listening, but all I can hear now is mumbling. This lasts awhile. Then Asher walks into our room, closing the door behind him. His face is blank as he sits down on the bed, takes off his shoes, then stands, and takes his shirt off. After seventeen years, his body is still amazing. He looks at me and I see so much love in his eyes that it’s hard for me to breathe. The pillow is still against my face with my eyes peeking out over the top of it.

“So, what did you say?” I ask in a muffled voice.

“She’s going on a date on Friday,” he grumbles and I fall back in bed, laughing so hard that tears are streaming down my face.

Yes, this is bliss,
I think to myself.

First I want to thank God. Next, I need to thank my husband for being my biggest fan and supporter. Your love and encouragement means the world to me and without you this book would not have been done. To my cookie for always keeping my head in place, I love you like a sister and I’m thankful every day that God brought you into my life and I’m able to watch you grow into the beautiful woman you are becoming. A special thanks to Hot Tree editing, for taking on the task of the mess I called Until November. You’re awesome and I appreciate all your hard work. I need to give a special thanks to all my family—adoptive and real—your support means so much. To my mom, you’re the first one who read Until November (even with the sex) and you said I had something, love you. To mommy for telling me that I can do anything that I put my mind to. To every book blog who took a chance on an unknown author you are all amazing. To every reader out there who has been willing to give a new author a chance, thank you so very much from the bottom of my heart. Last but not least, to my Beta Readers Jessica, Carrie, Marta and Laura. Thank you so much for all your involvement in the “Until” Series.

XOXOXOXOXO

Aurora Rose Reynolds

Edited by Hot Tree Edits

Formatted by BB eBooks

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons or living or dead, events or locals are entirely coincidental.

The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/ Use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.

All rights reserved.

Trevor

“Y
ou’re really fucking
tight!” I say, sliding through her wetness, feeling her wrap tight around one finger. “How long has it been?” I ask her, while biting down on her earlobe; damn, I love the sound she makes.

“Never,” she whimpers, raising her hips up to meet my hand.

Jolting awake, I look at the time, seeing that it’s just after two in the morning. “This shit is getting ridiculous,” I say, scrubbing my hands down my face. Ever since the night I had my hand down Liz’s pants, this shit’s been plaguing me. The second the word “never” came out of her gorgeous mouth, everything stopped. I couldn’t fuck a virgin, especially one that’s as sweet as Liz.

“You’re awake?” Anna…or Amber—maybe it’s Angie—says from the other side of the bed.

“Yeah, time for you to go, sugar,” I say, sitting up and wondering why the fuck I keep doing this to myself. Fucking these other women is like walking with a bottle of saltwater through a desert. You know it might look the same, but it still won’t fulfill the need you have.

“Can’t I stay?” She whines, running her fingers down my back.

“Nope,” I say, standing and pulling up a pair of my grey AE sweats.

“So you’re just going to kick me out?”

“Nope, I’m telling you it’s time for you to go. Kicking you out would be bad manners.”

“When can we meet up again?” She asks, putting back on her tight blue dress, wondering how the hell she slipped out of it so damn fast last night.

“I’ll call you; just leave your number,” I say, walking into the bathroom, knowing by the time I get out, she will be nothing but a memory.

*

“Yo, T!” Cash
says, sliding into the booth across from me. I smirk; he uses that word at least a hundred times a day. “What are you doing here?”

I raise an eyebrow, shoving another piece of French toast into my mouth, and answering without speaking.

“You’re going to Mom and Dad’s this weekend? Asher is finally lifting the ban on access to July, so Mom’s having a big party,” he says, looking excited.

“Does he know that Mom’s having a party?” I ask, thinking that if he doesn’t know anything about this, he’s going to flip the fuck out. Yep. I’ve only seen my niece twice, and only held her once, after November forced Asher to give her over.

Cash shrugs, looking over my shoulder. “Yo!” he calls, waving his hand. I look back and see Liz standing near the front door. Her long blonde hair is over one shoulder in some kind of messy braid; her strapless summer dress is fitted around her perfect breasts and reaches the floor. She waves, her cheeks turning a pretty pink; then I see red when some guy pulls her in for a hug.

“And who the fuck is that?” I growl, knowing that my brothers are used to my Liz issues.

Cash shrugs again. “Don’t know,” he mumbles, watching them. “Yo, Liz. Come here for a second,” he calls her over. The guy she’s with walks to a different booth and sits facing us.

“Hi, guys,” she says, her voice as soft as the curves of her body; and with me knowing what she feels like and smells like, it still fucks with my head.

“You’re going to Mom and Dad’s for the party this weekend, right?” Cash asks.

She looks at me, her face closing off before she answers, “I’m, um, not sure.”

“Who’s the guy?” I ask. She looks startled by the question for a second.

“Just a friend,” she says, wringing her hands together.

“What’s his name?” I ask, looking over at the guy, who has his eyes pointed right at her ass. He’s younger than me by a few years. His dark blonde hair is a mess, and he looks like a fucking bank teller in his cheap-ass suit.

“Bill,” she says, looking at Cash. “I’m going to go now; I might see you guys this weekend. I’ll, um, let your Mom know.” She turns, walking back over towards cheap-ass suit Bill, who’s watching each step she takes. I have to hold myself back from going over and smashing his face into the wooden table.

“When are you going to stop fucking around?” Cash asks.

“She’s fucking innocent, man,” I mumble, shoving my plate away.

“So what, T? Because she’s not a fucking slut bag like the bitches you normally fuck, you aren’t interested?” he asks, and deep down I know he’s right. She was mine from the first time I laid eyes on her at my parents’ house. She was sitting outside, laughing with my mom; right then and there, I knew that she was mine. Then we became somewhat friends; one thing led to another the night of my niece’s birth. I finally had her under me, and she rocked my world with the news that she’s a virgin. Ever since that day, I try to avoid her.

“Gotta go,” I say; getting up, I throw some money on the table, and look at Liz one last time. Great! The guy is reaching across the table, putting her hair behind her ear. My blood boils. I know I need to get over it, or step up to the plate; but either way, I need to make a move. The guy looks over in my direction; his chin lifts in warning. “Game on, motherfucker,” I say under my breath, heading out the door.

Liz

I
get to
the front door of the club and shove it open; my stomach is full of butterflies. In all the time I’ve lived here, I have never been inside this club. I never thought I would even visit, let alone come seeking employment here. The inside is dark, with the only light coming from the bar.

“Can I help you?” a very pretty older lady asks. She’s standing behind the bar, wiping out a glass.

“I, um, need to see Mike,” I say, taking another small step inside.

“Sure, honey. Come with me,” she says, walking me down a long hall. She opens the last door.

“Shannon, give me a minute,” Mike says, without looking up from his computer. “November added some new program on this damn thing, and now I can’t find my e-mail,” he grumbles. I smile and walk around the desk, take the mouse from him, and click on the e-mail icon. He chuckles, “Hey, darlin’. How are you?” He asks in the fatherly tone that I’ve come to love. Mike and my dad had been best friends until my dad passed away ten years ago. After his passing, Mike had helped my mom out with my brother and me whenever she needed an extra hand. I used to pray that Mike and my mom would get married, but they were never anything more than friends.

“Could be better,” I say, feeling the tears start to climb up my throat again.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asks, standing from the desk, pulling me over to the couch.

“Well, I need a job.”

“Okay,” he says, and I can tell he doesn’t know what to think. “What’s going on with the store?” he asks, and I can no longer control the tears.

“Tim stole all of our money, and I can’t tell my mom,” I cry, doing a face plant into his chest. I don’t know what happened to the brother that I used to know, the one who would come home at night to check in on me after our father passed away. We used to be close; then he moved away to school and everything changed. When I graduated from high school, I worked at a local factory for eight years, before it closed down due to the economy. Every week, when I got paid, I would put money away for savings. I have always loved to shop, and there were never any stores in town that carried anything that I would buy; so I made a plan, saved my money, and finally, my dreams were realized. “Temptations” was opened.

I sat up, looking over Mike’s shoulder. “Three months ago, when Tim came to visit, he asked if he could help me out in the store. I had been working so many hours and was exhausted, so I agreed. I didn’t know that the real reason he wanted to help me was so that he could rob me blind. Now he’s gone, and so is all of the store’s money…and mine. I can’t tell my mom what happened; she’s getting married in a few weeks and doesn’t need the added stress from this situation. I have a private investigator looking into finding Tim and the twenty-three thousand dollars he stole, but who knows how long that could take. I’ve already lost my apartment, and had to put everything I own in storage while I stay in the back room of the store. I thought that I was doing ok, until I got a notice two days ago saying that I was late paying the rent for the store. I can’t afford to lose my dream,” I whisper, my voice hoarse from crying.

“Shhhhh, darlin’, it’s okay, everything will be alright. November is not using her apartment anymore, so you can stay there; and I can give you the money.”

I shake my head back and forth. “I can’t take the money; it wouldn’t feel right.”

“I can’t have you work for me, Liz,” he says, as he places his right hand on my cheek. I feel bad pulling out the big guns, but I know I need money, and I can’t take it without earning it.

“Can you recommend another club?” I ask pulling out my cell phone, looking like I’m going to take down whatever phone number he gives me.

“You’re not going to work at another club,” he says, running his hands down his face. “Jesus, I don’t know what the fuck I’m thinking about doing this shit.” When his eyes come back to me, I can tell that he’s really torn. “Look, you can serve drinks, but you can’t work on stage.”