The Walk of Shame

"Earlier at the event," Aurora gulped down some more champagne. "It seemed like you had somewhere else to be."

"I did."

"Was it important?" she inquired.

He nodded.

"Very, very important?"

He chuckled and nodded again.

"Oh," she set the flute aside. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disrupt your schedule...I just...I really appreciate you giving me an audience."

For a moment she could see something flickering in those incredible eyes of his. It seemed to be amusement. But it was also something else. Something that suddenly, belatedly, sent a dart quivering along her nerve fibers.

"It was my pleasure," murmured her host. "And this," he continued, "is an even greater pleasure…"

He got to his feet immediately, trapping her with his every move. Slowly, he discarded his tuxedo jacket, unfastened his dress tie, and undid the top button of his shirt. Mariano was slipping the gold links from his cuffs when her throat suddenly went dry.

Holy cow, he'd gotten the memo.

For one long, endless moment he just stood there, looking at her.

"Take off your clothes, Aurora. I want to see you without them or make-up," he finally said, in a soft, low voice.

Her mouth opened, something incoherent came out of it, and it closed. She took a breath and tried again. "I... I haven't actually..." she began, then stopped. She seemed to be beginning a lot of sentences and then stopping, not knowing how to proceed. But her hesitation did not trouble Mariano Barrera. He had resumed unbuttoning his shirt, and Aurora found her eyes going to the exposed layers of his chest, the lean twist of his wrists.

He smiled now. His mouth curving. "Get up." He commanded and her body moved on its own accord. Like metal to a magnet, she moved till she was before him.

His smooth, long-fingered hand slid around the nape of her neck, the other hand took hers, twining his fingers between hers to draw her to him. His mouth dipped to hers. For a fraction of a second shock, sheer and undiluted, sheeted through her. Then a completely different sensation took over….It was like nothing she had ever experienced! She had been kissed by her fiancé before, of course, she had, but nothing, ever like this…

The lightest, most velvet touch, the merest grazing of his lips on hers, the tiniest pressure of the tip of his finger moving in the delicate fronds of her hair at that most sensitive point on her nape. She felt her body start to weaken, her pulse quicken, and her conscious mind simply dissolve. Slowly, very, very slowly, his kiss deepened. And the last dissolving vestiges of her conscious mind left her.

~°^°^°^°^°^°^°^°~

Aurora stirred. Her body felt heavy, languorous. She didn't want to wake. She wanted to stay within the dream she was having of herself, enfolded within the circle of strong arms, clasped tight against the warm, hard body of a sexy man who cradled her in his sleeping embrace. Only that it wasn't really a dream. It was exactly what had happened before she was about to fall asleep around 5 am that morning.

Her brain had captured that moment, so much so that she was stuck with it. No one had ever touched her the way Mariano had. But now brightness was pressing on her lids, bringing her to reluctant wakefulness. She blinked open her eyes.

He was leaning over her. His eyes were heavy with desire. Deep within, they stirred her, warming the blood in her veins. Slowly he bent down to

softly kiss her, his lips warm and tender.

"Good morning," he said, his voice low, husky. "I should ask you whether you slept well, but I happen to know…" long lashes swept over dark eyes "…that you slept very little last night."

His gaze washed over her as she lay back against the pillows, her hair tumbled, her lips swollen from the night's long, long passion.

"You are even lovelier than you were last night." The husk was thicker, and long lashes swept over his eyes again. "It's a pity I can't stay."

She gazed up at him, breathless, as he got out of bed with a single fluid movement. He looked breathtaking. He was freshly shaved, his hair very slightly damp from showering—and he was fully dressed in a business suit.

She felt a coldness start around her heart, as the sordidness of her situation hit her. She'd spent the night outside Maximo's house. A house she shared with him, his daughter, and her kid sister.

Mariano was looking at his watch, shooting back his cuff. He spoke again, but now his words were clipped, his voice terse.

"Unfortunately I have a business meeting this morning which I cannot avoid. So, much as I regret, I will have to leave you now."

Aurora threw back the bedclothes and stood up, seemingly conscious of her nakedness as she hurried around to see where her clothes might be.

"No, darling, there's no rush for you!" His voice was amused, as well as rueful, as he took in her alarmed state. "You should stay in bed, order breakfast. It is only I who had to make this infernal early departure."

"No, that's quite all right. I need to go too. I overslept." Gathering up her things, she hastily tried to get dressed. It seemed absurd, more than absurd, to be putting on evening clothes again, but there was nothing else to be done.

He gave her a questioning look but kept the question to himself. To be honest, he was surprised she was in such a hurry. He wondered if she had a demanding job that took up most of her time. If that was the case then he'll have to do something about it.

"I shall endeavor to keep you apprised of my movements, but I must ask you to understand that I have commitments that are impossible for me to ignore, however much I may wish to do so. Accordingly, there will inevitably be times when I cannot honor meetings with you. I must therefore request your forbearance." He continued without a beat as he crossed to the bedside to retrieve a slim gold watch which he fastened on his wrist. "Nevertheless, I trust we shall be able to spend sufficient time together, and that your work will permit you the flexibility required to ensure that. All would be arranged. For now, however…"

"Wha..what are you talking about?" she asked, ambling towards him so he could help her with her zipper. "Can you help me with the--"

He did her zipper up and turned her around, dropping the swiftest, most fleeting kiss on her mouth. Then he spoke again, drawing out a mobile phone from his inside jacket pocket.

"It's very simple, sunshine, now we are lovers, no?"

"Uh...?" A great sense of awkwardness shot up her spine as she forced herself to take a step away from him. "I'm afraid I can't be your…" she began, then trailed off, attempting to choose her words well. "I can't be in that type of a. . .err. . .in any relationship with you actually."

Mariano Barrera had gone still.

"Go on." His voice was controlled. Very controlled.

She swallowed. Forcing herself to speak. He'd told her to go on—she had to do so.

"I'm getting married. Next week." Her voice was breathy, her throat tight with nerves, her eyes distended. "I just. . . I'm sorry if I'd given the wrong impression."

"I see." He replied.

Her heart started to thud as she stared up at his expressionless face. Slowly he slid the mobile phone back inside his jacket.

"So, I take it that your husband to be, didn't deserve your virginity?" he asked. And though his voice was soft, it was a softness that was ice cold.

"No, he does. He's the best thing that ever happened to my family so far. He does deserve it, it's just that he's. . .I don't. . . I'm sorry."

His gaze narrowed as a theory came to mind. "He's much older, isn't he? Your fiance?"

She diverted her gaze as her cheeks stained with color. Putting it like that made her appear pretty shallow. She wished she could explain that it wasn't just about his age. That her feelings for Maximo were strictly platonic, no matter how much she tried. She could explain but they'll all sound like excuses. Judging from the way Mariano was currently staring at her, she could tell he thought she was a gold digger, taking advantage of a rich older man for his money.

Was that disgust she saw on his face? Her skin burned. "I have to finish up and leave."

He nodded then turned and walked to the door.

"Happy married life. Hotel security will escort you out."

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