Discovering Pride (Pride Series) (7 page)

He could just imagine the large stone two story manor stood there waiting for him to slay the dragon so he could cart off the fair Lacey from her room in the high tower.

He saw lights coming from the large windows and turning into the circular drive as he saw a shadow cross one of the windows near the front door. Pulling up behind Lacey’s car, he turned off the engine and dashed in the rain towards the house.

Lacey always loved the weeks before Halloween she thought of it as the best season for movies. For weeks before the scary
 night she would hang around the house and watch, what she deemed, some of the best scary movies.

Zombies, vampires, and werewolves were on almost every channel and
 
she tried to watch them all. She’d watch while bathing, dressing, eating, and especially loved watching them while cooking, like she was doing now.

She had the small flat screen on the far kitchen wall playing the
 
old black and
 
white classic Dracula. She loved the music, the lack of color, the overly dramatic actors, and the suspense.

She was alone in the big house
 
tonight making the mood even better.  Iian was working the late shift
 
which left her alone to watch her favorite movies. She’d already watched two other classics when the urge to cook had called her to the kitchen.
 
The cooking urge was something Lacey knew never to ignore.

Feeling totally inspired she cranked up the sound on the TV and went to town putting together spicy turkey meatloaf, baby potatoes with
 
onions, and a side of green peppers. She was just chopping up a tomato and carrots for the salad when she heard
 
a sound which caused her to jump while screaming louder than the
 
heroine in the movie.

Standing on the covered front porch, he was about to knock when Bernard raced up to him and shook off the rain then sat at his
 
feet.  After a few
 
pets
 
and a quick belly rub, the dog walked off towards the side of the house. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at Aaron, then he nodded at Aaron, as if to say “this way.”

Following the dogs’ lead, Aaron took the small stone path around to the side of the house, where he could
 
see the lights on in the kitchen. The windows were
 
large and the curtains were wide opened so he could see the entire kitchen and the
 
TV set.

He was reminded that she enjoyed wearing brighter colors as tonight’s sweater was a bright green and yellow. It hung low over her shoulders and she had a pair of dark gray leggings underneath. Her socks had a glowing green ghost with bright yellow eyes.

He could also see that she was totally immersed in the old, what appeared to be Dracula movie.  She stood leaning on the counter, her eyes glued to the set. So he did the only sensible thing he could
 
think of… he knocked on the door loudly.

It took Lacey several
 
heartbeats to recover from the shock of seeing Aaron through the back glass door. Walking over she yanked it open.

“Good evening.” he said in a voice that mimicked the
 
blood sucker on her television set.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? You scare the hell out of me!” she said smacking him on the shoulder. Bernard sneaked in
 
the open door between the pair.

He reached up rubbed his shoulder pretending to be hurt. “Turnabout is fair game. Is this how you great your visitors?”

She glared back at him.

“
Oh come on Lacey, I’ve missed seeing you around.  You’ve been keeping yourself
 
scarce.” he lifted his
 
eyebrows and smiled.

When she didn’t respond, he piped in.  “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” His Transylvania accent was
 
terrible so she continued to glare.

“You don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve had a good meal and whatever
 
you’re cooking smells so good. Plus,
 
remember, over there in that empty house, I have no furniture, no kitchen, no TV…” he dropped the smile and tried for a pathetic puppy look. Hey, he figured if it worked for Bernard, who was
 
now comfortably curled up on a dog bed in the corner, it might just work for him.

Remembering his empty house, she caved. She may have been avoiding him for the last couple weeks, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t worried over the
 
fact he was still
 
living in an unfinished house. She stepped back so he could walk in
 
and instead it allowed him the opportunity to pull her into his arm for a kiss that was soft and sweet.
 
He could taste her, she smelled like spring.

“If you don’t
 
let go of me, my
 
potatoes are going to burn.”  He released her and she rushed over to the stove.  “You might as well come in and stay, I’ve made enough.”

“Thanks.” he removed his wet jacket. She saw he wore a light gray t-shirt that
 
stretched across his shoulders. He
 
quickly walked over to her and kissed her again. This kiss was fast and potent.

“
That’s what I’ve been missing.” At her frustrated look he walked past her and sat at the table.

As she checked on her potatoes she wondered why he looked so good in an old pair of
 
faded jeans and a t-shirt.

They ate in the living room
 
sitting at the coffee table, so they could watch
 
an old werewolf movie comfortably.

After eating Aaron tried to pay attention to the movie, he really did,
 
but she smelled intoxicating. It was something flowery and soft. She sat next to him on the large sofa with her legs tucked up and her eyes focused on the screen. He would steal looks at her from the corner of his eyes and as far as he could tell, she was engrossed in the black and white movie. He noticed she didn’t
 
even flinch at the scary parts.

How was he supposed to pay
 
attention to an old black and white movie when her profile looked so interesting?

Her hair hung over her forehead, and her small nose had a little upturn at the tip. 
 
Her cheeks, he remembered, were soft. Her lips had the look of a cute pout.  He was thinking of the dip in the middle of her chin when he realized he could look at her all night.

Making it as smooth as he could he swung his arm over the back of the couch and moved closer until he successfully pulled her into the crook of his shoulder. He felt her
 
tense a little,
 
but then she released her breath and settled in. He smiled
 
to himself and pulled her closer.
 Lean
ing his head he started playing his tongue across her earlobe.
 
He heard her breath catch, heard her moan, and then he lost control.

Lacey felt his hot breath on her neck and closed her eyes
 
not realizing she let out a
 
small moan.  The next thing she
 
knew he was kissing her,
 
making her forget the movie.  His hands
 
slowly and lightly roamed over her body, creating little goose bumps
 
wherever they touched. She felt like she was floating
 
then she realized he had repositioned them so his back was now flat on the couch.  He was pulling her on top of him.

Her arms reached around and pulled him closer as he pillaged her mouth. He tasted of dinner and wine, somehow the mixture was intoxicating. Running her hands over his large shoulders she thought she felt him shiver. Was he affected by their kisses as she was? She started to explore his arms and then moved her hands around to his back.

He felt lost.  He was sure
 
his whole
 
body was shaking while her hands roamed over his torso. Holding himself in check he reached behind her and pulled her closer. 
 
He started to run his hands slowly under her sweater then freed her
 
undershirt loose from her jeans.
 
Reaching underneath to her skin he
 
heard her breath catch, but when his fingers explored the soft skin on her lower
 
back, she released another low
 
moan and pushed herself closer. She was so small and soft
;
he realized had to have more.

He felt lost.  He was sure
 
his whole
 
body was shaking while her hands roamed over his torso. Holding himself in check he reached behind her and pulled her closer. 
 
He started to run his hands slowly under her sweater then freed her
 
undershirt loose from her jeans.
 
Reaching underneath to her skin he
 
heard her breath catch, but when his fingers explored the soft skin on her lower
 
back, she released another low
 
moan and pushed herself closer. She was so small and soft
;
he realized had to have more.

Covering her with his
 
mouth, his
 
hands were roaming lower and lower…

Just then the dog let out a quick bark and darted towards the front door.  That’s when they both heard a car drive up.

Lacey quickly
 
sat up and proceeded to fix her sweater.  Aaron sat up just as Iian walked in the front door.

Iian was in a foul mood. Not only had the new chef not worked out tonight, but two of his kitchen staff had the
 
flu which left him three hands short in the kitchen. He hated interviewing for new chefs, not only was the process
 
harder, due to his lack of hearing, but
 
he was sure he had exhausted the local pool for talented chefs as well as with that of the neighboring towns.

When he noticed
 
Aaron’s car in front of house, he smiled for the first time that day.  Giving his sister grief about Aaron was at least something to look forward to. It’s been months since Iian had dated and he only thought it fair that Lacey enjoy some of his frustration when it came to relationships. His sister, who had always seemed in control of every aspect of her life, seemed nothing but frustrated and dazed around the doctor.

Smiling a little he opened the door just as the pair
 
jumped apart on the couch.  This made him smile even more, what a great ending to a terrible day. This was going to be fun.