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Chapter Thirty

A urora

“Your family is loud ,” I say, laughing as Tate and I enter his house.

The air is perfumed with the scent of vanilla as if he’s been burning the candles that suddenly filled a closet the other day. It was the same day as the fuzzy blankets appeared. A little suspicious but oh-so sweet.

Being back in his space fills me with a calmness that I now realize I’ll never find anywhere else. I didn’t have it in my own home. The Luxe, one of my favorite places, didn’t deliver this sense of peace.

Or maybe it’s a sense of home …

“They were extra loud because Renn brought rum,” Tate says. “Did you see Bianca’s husband’s face?” He bursts out laughing. “I couldn’t tell if he was disgusted by our behavior or amused by it.”

“I think Foxx pretends to be a lot meaner than he is.”

“You think?” Tate winces. “I don’t know. You might be wrong about this one. He used to be on my security detail, and he’s one badass motherfucker.”

“I didn’t say he wasn’t a badass motherfucker. I just said he scowls a lot, but I think it’s a cover. Bet he’s a softy.”

Tate snorts. “I’d love for you to say that to his face.”

“I’m not scared.”

He takes my hands and leads me to the right, which is the opposite way from his bedroom.

“But I …” I stop walking and point over my shoulder. “We’re not going that way?”

“We have to talk first.”

I groan, letting him pull me into the living room. “You talk too much.”

He bursts out laughing.

“Tell me you have talking points so we can check them off as we go,” I say, waiting for him to sit. As soon as his ass is on the cushion, I climb on top of him and straddle his lap. “Start talking.”

His head leans back, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “Aurora …”

I place my hands on his shoulders.

“We have serious things to discuss,” he says.

“You’re the one who has the list, and you’re not leading the conversation.”

I start to wiggle against his erection, but his hands cinch my waist and keep me from moving.

“I was going to start with the potential of us having a baby, but now that you’re sitting on my cock, we’ll make that last,” he says.

“Are you afraid you’ll come in your pants again?”

He laughs. It’s a warning. It’s also so fucking hot.

“First, let’s clarify this,” he says. “We are in a monogamous, committed relationship. Right?”

I extend my arms and give him a look. “If you fuck anyone else, I swear to God, I’ll go to prison.”

He smirks, nodding his head. “Okay, but I do have a black lace bra upstairs. You can’t get pissed if you find it.”

Oh, I’m pissed.

“From who?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

“This hottie I banged at a hotel the other night.”

I start to climb off him, but he holds me down.

“She was so fucking sexy. I’m still obsessed with her tits.”

“I fucking hate you.”

He kisses me despite me trying to pull away. “Her name was Kelly.”

I pull back and smack his chest. He finds this way too entertaining for how close he just came to death.

“What are our living arrangements going to be?” he asks.

“Pull that stunt again, and yours will be in a casket.”

“Are we living apart? Together? Here? At your place? In a new place?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” I bite my lip. “My lease isn’t up. So let’s stay separate until then, and we can reassess.”

“I’m adding this point in?—”

“No!You can’t lengthen the list of talking points,” I say. “The only thing that is allowed to lengthen is right here.”

Before he can react, I grind against him. I only get one whole movement in before he halts me.

“You are my girl,” he says, peering into my eyes. “We’re in a relationship. We might be having a baby. There’s another thing we need to talk about in a second.”

I lift a brow.

“But the point is, money is not an issue for you anymore,” he says.

“No.” I shake my head. “We can’t talk money like this.”

“Why?”

“It’s weird. I’m not here for your money.”

“I didn’t say you were.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “But having money is a part of my life. I can’t ignore it. I must take precautions because of it. I don’t walk around most places with a security detail, but I do have to be smart. You’re going to have to be smart, too.”

I shrug. “Fuck it. I’ll just stay here as your sex slave. No security needed.”

He laughs. “Well, that makes my next point obsolete.”

“Good.”

“I’m kidding.” He reaches behind me onto the coffee table and pulls out a manila envelope. “This is for you.”

My brows crinkle.

“Take it. Open it.”

“Love mail day,” I say, sarcasm thick in my voice. “Stop bouncing your legs. I’m going to slice my finger and get a paper cut.”

“Just open the fucking thing.”

My heartbeat quickens from his reaction. I’m not sure what’s in this envelope, but it makes him nervous.

The possibilities are endless and terrifying, so I don’t speculate.

“I started this a couple of weeks ago,” he says. “This came through last night.”

I pull out a packet of papers.

“Read the top one.”

My chest heaves as I read the first few lines.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE TENNESSEE RAPTORS Announces Sale of Franchise

Nashville, Tennessee - The Tennessee Raptors announced today that the franchise will be sold to a new ownership group led by Tate Brewer and Aurora Johnson, pending final approval by the League’s Board of Governors.

Chills cover my skin as my gaze flips to Tate’s. He’s watching me warily.

“What ….What’s this?” I ask with a half laugh. “I … Is this a joke?”

I sit back and reread the papers. My mind is racing so fast that I can’t compute anything it says.

“Gannon wanted out of Brewer Group, and none of us wants to take it over,” he says softly. “We all had the option to buy out anything we wanted. And I thought buying the Raptors would be a great investment.”

My jaw is sitting on my chest. “You realize I know nothing about managing a hockey team, right?”

“Me either.” He laughs. “But we’ll figure it out. This will also allow you to start from scratch. Put that plan you were telling me about together. See what you can do with it.”

I grab his arm because I’m afraid I might fall over.

“You bought a franchise so I could see what I can do with it?” I ask, slowly blinking. “Tate, this is … you might need to be committed.”

“I needed the investment,” he says easily. “This will allow you to control your space, your work, your life. You’ll make a good salary, too. And this could be a good foundation for us to build on. We can’t miss.”

I throw myself against him, nestling my face in the crook of his neck. Tears pour down my cheeks as I’m overcome with emotion.

He pulls me tightly against him, rocking me back and forth. I can feel his love for me in his touch more than I can his actions. This man is the meaning of the word.

And he’s also mine.

“I don’t know what to say,” I say, hiccuping a laugh. I pull back and wipe my eyes with my hands. “Does your family know you did this?”

“Yeah. We were going to announce it at the party. But we’d had an emotional twenty-four hours, and I didn’t want to put you on the spot.”

I cup his face in my hands. “Promise me something.”

“Anything.”

“What happened last night won’t happen again. If we disagree, we’ll figure it out before bed. No sleeping in this house unless we’ve worked through our shit.”

He smirks. “Does this mean you’re moving in?”

“Nope. I didn’t say I was sleeping at my apartment. I just said I had a lease.”

He laughs, his palms finding my ass.

“Thank you, Tate,” I say, staring into his oceanic eyes. “Thank you for caring for me, believing in me, protecting me— loving me .” I grin. “And thank you for the Raptors. Can we change the name now?”

“It’s yours.” He shrugs. “Do whatever you want.”

“Oh my God! That’s why everything was halted lately!”

He nods as if I’m catching up. “There was no sense in wasting your time on something that wasn’t going to see the light of day.”

“What about Tally?”

“What about her?”

“Can we offer her my job? I mean, as the owner of the franchise , I assume I won’t be answering vendor calls. Right?”

He shakes his head, amused. “You can literally do whatever you want. Hire. Fire.Move. Adjust. Change. Edit. Say no. Say yes. It’s yours, gorgeous .”

“But what about you? It’s yours, too.”

“I’ll be there to help if you need it. I’m hoping you’ll give me a corner office across from yours.”

“Done.” I giggle. “This day has been mind-blowingly good. I owe you.”

“On to point … whatever number we’re on,” he says. “About this having a baby thing …”

This time, he lets me move against him. “What about it?”

“Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack. I don’t just want to be the hot stepmommy. I want to be the hot mommy, too.”

He growls, gripping my hips and, this time, helps them move.

“I’m not getting any younger,” I say, swiveling my hips. “And I want to be a mother while I still can. And I want to carry your baby .”

“When?”

“I mean, we should start practicing now.”

Tate leaps to his feet with me in his arms. My Raptors paperwork flutters to the floor.

“Hey!” I say, laughing. “Where are we going?”

“I can’t have you sitting on my lap, grinding that little pussy all over me while talking about having my baby.”

He captures my mouth with his, swallowing my moans.

Tate Brewer was only supposed to be a one-night stand. But being tossed on the bed while his lips travel south makes me realize that sometimes situations are meant to be.

And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

The End

If you’ve read the rest of the Brewer Family Series, make sure you don’t miss Bianca’s book, FLAME . It’s available here .

Chapter One is next for your convenience.

Flame Ebook Cover