Page 36 of Dirty Money
“Would a real marriage ever be a thing that could be considered, in the future? You know, is it against your family’s customs to marry someone of my poor financial stature?”
“Real marriage?” he asked her with a frown. “What’s in a piece of paper, peach?”
Her heart sank as she recalled her father saying something much along those same lines to her mother. She nearly got up and ran right then. But something made her sit tight. She had to know more.
He could read her better, now that he’d known her longer and seen how quick to run she was. His hand moved over hers as she looked a bit like a rabbit who was about to bolt.
Weston knew she had no way to get anywhere. She was his for the night, whether she liked it or not. The marriage thing seemed to have set her off and he quickly moved that topic off to one side. Marriage was huge to a person of great wealth.
There were prenuptial agreements to be made and lawyers to be met with. A real nightmare. No romance to it at all. No. Marriage was a thing he wasn’t the least bit interested in. But a relationship was. A committed relationship was what he wanted with Aulora. And he would do what he had to, in order to get her to make a commitment to him.
His hands moved over her shoulders and he drew her in close.
“How about I show you a bit of what a relationship would be like with me?”
She nodded and asked, “First, is marriage really a thing you’re against?”
“Against, no. Just not keen on. Paperwork isn’t sexy or romantic. It’s cumbersome and boring. I want you and I to have a romance, peach. A real romance.”
“Most romances either end in tragedy or marriage, eventually,” she said as she watched his reaction.
“Some marriages can be considered tragic, don’t you agree?” He stood and took her hand, pulling her up too.
She had no idea what to say to him. He was showing her the typical rich guy signs. Let’s mess around and play at the commitment game but not really invest entirely in it. But her curiosity had been piqued.
Romance, even a failed one, could be fulfilling and help her art career. Great love and even great heartache could lead to great paintings that might help her further a career that was just beginning to bud.
She let him lead her to the bed. A dark blue comforter that looked as if it was filled with goose down feathers, covered the king-sized bed. Not two but six fluffy pillows were covered in a pale blue silk material. It told her the sheets under the blanket would be the same.
She’d slept on silk sheets before. She’d had the finest of everything, once upon a time. And those memories were flooding back to her as he pulled the blanket back, revealing the same pale blue sheets she knew would be there.
“Care to lie down, Aulora?” he asked her as he pulled his shirt off, revealing the ladder of abs she knew he’d been hiding.
She could merely nod as she couldn’t take her eyes off his tanned and toned skin. It flowed over his stomach and chest like a satin. Before she took her place on the bed, she let her hand drift over his midsection. “Tight.”
“Yes, they are,” he agreed. “Now, perhaps you’d allow me to see what’s tight on you.”
Her breath hitched as she looked at him with wild eyes. “Weston, if I let you do this, does it mean…”
His fingers touched her lips, stopping her. “No. It doesn’t. I won’t hold you to a thing until I take you. Once I take you, Aulora, I will consider you to be mine. In all ways. I want you to understand that, completely.”
She shuddered at how that sounded.His, completely.So, she asked, “And you will be mine, completely?”
He nodded and her heart dropped a beat. He’d become hers. The wealthy, gorgeous man who stood before her would belong to her.Yeah, she could see that rocking her world!
The way his chest and abs felt under her palms gave her so many inspirations about paintings and even sculptures that she knew there would be some good to come out of this thing he wanted. And she had to admit that she wanted it too.
“Yes,” came out of her mouth without her knowing it was on its way out.
A gleam in his eyes made her smile. “Yes?” he asked her. “You mean yes, you want to commit to me?”
She nodded. “I do.” She moved her arms up to wrap around his neck. “I’ve never felt this way before, Weston. I love you. I know I do. I don’t want to wait. I want this just as much as you do. Maybe even more. I want to commit to you, Weston Calloway.”
“Wait,” he said as he pulled her arms off his neck and held her hands. “Say it again, Aulora.”
“What?” she asked with a tantalizing smile. “I want to commit to you?”
He pulled her in tight and pressed his forehead to hers. “No. The other thing.”
