Cocky Bastard(76)

“You’re a perv.”

“And you love it.”

I gave her the rest of the tour, regretfully dropping her bag in the guest room. The last room on the tour was my art studio. I hadn’t made anything in a long, long time. There were canvas drop cloths covering most projects I was working on before my life became a clusterfuck. I flicked on the light and meant to pass the room right by, but Aubrey wandered inside.

“Did you make that?” She pointed to a large motorcycle made of recycled parts. It had been in a few art shows, but now there was an inch of dust covering it.

“I did.”

“Wow. It’s…incredible.” She walked around, inspecting it carefully. “Everything on here is junk?”

“I don’t use any purchased materials. Only recycled objects that I find.”

“You’re really good. I’m not sure what I expected. But this seems to tell a story.” I smiled. Of course, she totally got it. I always felt every individual piece that I collected could tell a different tale. The way they all blended together was sort of like reading a book to me. I walked around to the other side of the bike and pointed to a few different things, telling her where each piece had come from.

If it were possible, I fell just a little more for her right then.

That night, we ordered in Chinese food and ate straight from the cartons. Aubrey fell asleep with her head on my lap as we watched a movie. Keeping to my word, I covered her with a blanket and went to my own bed to sleep.

The next morning, she was still sleeping when I slipped out to take Pixy for a walk. But she was awake when I walked in carrying two coffees and an assortment of overpriced crap from Starbucks.

“Morning.”

She sat up on the couch and stretched her arms over her head. Her shirt pulled up, exposing her beautiful soft skin. I wanted to fucking bite it. I had to turn the other way.

“You get some strange ass looks when you walk a goat.”

Aubrey chuckled. “Yeah. I know.” She came into the kitchen and sat on a stool on the other side of the island.

“Let me ask you something. This promise I stupidly made. It only includes touching. I can say whatever I want, right?”

She sipped her coffee. “I’m afraid to say yes. But…yes. I suppose words aren’t off limits.”

“Good. Because I gotta tell you. Your tits saluting me are better than seeing the sunrise in the morning.”

She shook her head. “You have a wicked tongue, Mr. Bateman.”

“Oh, if only I could show you, Mrs. Bloom Bateman.”

“Mrs. Bloom Bateman, huh?”

“Well, you are my wife. I figured you’d want to keep your name, too. Seeing as how you’re a working woman and all.”

“You make me sound like a hooker.”

“Prostitute…lawyer.” I grinned. “Same thing.”

“Very nice. And to think…I was going to give up the Bloom name and take my husband’s. Now I’m not so sure.”

“Oh yeah? I would have taken you for a hyphenator.”

She slid the bag on the counter over to her and dug inside. “Nah. Not me. I’m old school. I plan to give everything to my husband.”

“I’m glad to hear that Mrs. Bateman. Because I plan to take everything. On a daily basis.”



I wanted to show her the area. Now that her firm was closing up, maybe we would live in Hermosa Beach. Being near the water was important to me. Although, I’d live in the desert if it meant getting to be with Aubrey. After lunch, we walked down to the boardwalk. It was a gorgeous day, and she didn’t pull away when I took her hand in mine.

“How about a swim?” I was glad I told her to put on a suit when we left this morning. It was hot as hell.

“Okay.”

We walked down to the water’s edge, and I pulled my shirt off. Following my lead, she slipped out of hers, and my eyes almost bulged from my head. Fuck. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. She had on a little red string bikini top, and her fantastic tits looked like they longed to spill out. When she shimmied out of her shorts, I was blatantly leering at her and didn’t give a damn. If I couldn’t touch, I most certainly was going to get my visual fill. “I almost feel bad for you.”

“Me? Why?”

“Because when you finally let me have you.” I raked my eyes up and down her luscious body. “I’m going to be like a savage making up for lost time.”

I needed to cool off, and Aubrey was coming with me. Surprising her, I bent and lifted, tossing her over my shoulder fireman style before running for the water. She screamed and kicked the entire time, but I could tell from her tone that she was smiling. I smacked her ass hard before launching us both into the water.