Chapter 31: In Which He Wished It Wasn't a Sex Video

“So you don’t know who it is?”

Aurora stared at the fridge and shook her head.

They had gone to Trish’s apartment, where Aurora picked up some clothes and updated her best friend about her relationship status, and then headed back to Theo’s apartment.

Theo exhaled heavily. Aurora was finally talking, so he should be glad and not ask too many questions. It would push her over the edge, he reminded himself. “I’ll get a PI,” he suggested.

“No!” Aurora grabbed his hands.

Theo noted the fear in her eyes and took the hands that grabbed him. “Aurora,” he coaxed. “The sooner we know this person--.”

“I don’t want to know,” Aurora cut him off.

Theo sighed. Frustration was stirring inside him. He took two deep breaths to settle it and continued in a gentler manner. “What's the blackmail about?”

And the hesitation was firmly back in her face. What the hell is that secret, he was dying to know. He didn't like that she was fiercely protecting something unrelated to him.

It better not be about some man she had previously dated, Theo grumbled silently and swore to find that son of a b*tch and beat the sh*t out of him.

His silence filled Aurora with more guilt. She could hear Trish's voice in her mind, telling her just say it, be honest with your man. I wanted to, she thought. But she was still nervous about it.

“Let’s trade again,”

Aurora groaned.

Theo stroked her cheek lovingly and smiled, “I promised, this time I won’t get mad.”

Aurora was not convinced. “What if you do?”

“Then I’ll carry you to bed.”

Her gaze widened instantly. “That doesn’t benefit me at all!”

“Really?” His eyes twinkled as he leaned forward with an impish grin and whispered in his rough, seductive tone, “You enjoyed it as much as I did last night.”

The feel of his strong arms tingled her skin. She could almost taste his mouth again. A swarm of heat rushed up to her neck and she dropped her gaze to the floor. Hastily, she said, “Stop making me embarrassed. It’s not working.”

Theo chuckled at her bright, pink cheeks and replied, “Sure.”

D*mn those blushes, he thought. They give her pale skin a mystical glow that he couldn’t take his eyes off her. He wanted to touch those soft cheeks and feel her silky skin.

Stay focused, Theo.

Theo cleared his throat. “Let’s start, shall we? Ladies first.”

Aurora lifted her gaze and studied his face with a narrow stare. She was thinking of what to ask when the question sprung up in her mind.

“How far did you go with Audrey?”

"Ah hell..." All the signs of high spirits vanished from his face.

Aurora straightened in her seat with surprise. She knew it! There was more than what meets the eye between those two. That b*tch wasn't just an ex-girlfriend who wouldn't move on. Didn't Theo's mother say that the three of them often have meals together?

The thought of Theo chatting and laughing with that marshmallow candy made her blood boil.

Observing Theo, it looked like a sensitive subject for him. But Aurora doesn't give a d*mn - she wants to know.

Theo raked his hair backwards and closed his eyes at the ceiling. If he wanted his fiery temptress to tell him her story, then he must share his. Come on, Theo. Just say it fast and get the embarrassment over with.

He dropped his head and muttered, “She’s my childhood friend.”

Aurora lifted a corner of her lip. “And... ?”

“We’ve only kissed.” His face shot up with a somber gaze as he clarified, “But only on the cheek.”

Aurora crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not falling for that, Theo. You said to tell the truth. Did you sleep with her?”

Theo rubbed his face wearily then held his forehead. “God, that sounds like incest. I’m not a monster, Aurora.”

“But isn’t she just a childhood friend?” Aurora was puzzled. She had met people who married their childhood friends - sometimes the right one could just be your best friend, right?

“Our families were close back then, when we were kids. We used to be neighbors.” He paused briefly and then continued, “Her mother passed away when she was two, so she would come over and live with us whenever her father traveled.”

“So, you’re saying that she’s like a sister to you,” Aurora concluded.

Theo nodded, “Now you know why I cannot marry her. It’ll be a loveless marriage, not to mention a cruel one, and I don’t want that for either of us.”

“Then, tell her.”

“It’s not that simple.”

Noting the awkward smile on his face, Aurora went wide-eyed again. “Did you give her the idea that you’ll marry her at some point?" She jabbed a finger at his hard biceps. "You did, didn't you?”

“I might have.” He was staring at the wall next to the fridge.

“Theo!”

His eyes were right back on her as he defended with his impish grin, “Come on, I was only four! She wouldn’t stop crying, so I told her that I would take care of her forever.”

Aurora frowned and said in a flat tone, “It sounds like a proposal to me.”

“What about the blackmail?” He suddenly asked.

It was Aurora’s turn to avoid his gaze until she felt his hands on her shoulders. Taking a deep breath, she looked into his eyes and said, “Promise that you won’t judge me after you hear it.”

Ah hell, Theo thought with a dense feeling in his gut, please don’t let it be a sex video. He had heard stories of how women were cheated out of millions of dollars and had their lives ruined because of it.

“I won’t,” he promised and secretly wished that her blackmail had nothing to do with nudity.

Aurora inhaled again and then breathed, “It’s something to do with my family.”

A huge sense of relief washed over him. Theo blinked to regain control of his expression and asked, “Is it related to the debts you were repaying?”

Aurora nodded, “We borrowed money from the loan sharks to save the family business.” Then, she lowered her voice, “It’s the lowest point in our lives and I want my family to move on from it, so I…”

Again, she only told him part of the truth.

Aurora swallowed the huge lump in her throat, but it didn’t make her feel better.

Theo grew silent. Millions of thoughts ran through his mind at once. If that person knew the reason behind Aurora’s family debts, then he/she would know that Aurora is the last person on Earth with the money to pay them for their f*cking silence. Unless…

They know about Theo and their relationship.

Are these people after Aurora? Or him?

“Theo?”

Theo snapped out of his thoughts and stared at the beautiful creature, eyeing at him with an anxious look. Slowly, he reached out to pull her towards him and hugged her tightly.

“You’re right. You and your family should move on from the nightmare. It was nothing but a nightmare, babe.”

She liked it when he spoke with a soothing voice. It calms her nerves and makes her feel safe and protected.

After a brief silence, Theo muttered over her head, “We need to report this.”

She pushed away from him and stared at him with a firm gaze, “No, we can’t!”

“How long are you going to keep paying this person?”

Aurora grew still. She knew he was right. Why did she think that it would be over with one pay-up? That sicko has already returned to ask for more.

Theo sighed. “Either we do our own investigation, or we go to the police--.”

“We’ll investigate,” Aurora finally relented.

“Good!” Theo whipped out his phone and started tapping on his screen as he added, “I’ll call the PI--.”

But Aurora snatched his phone. “I’ll do the investigation.”

“Give me my phone, babe,” Theo sighed.

Aurora shook her head and hid the phone behind her back. “If you want to help me, Theo, you have to do it my way.”

Theo got off the stool and stood in front of her. “You leave me no choice, Aurora.” And then he took one step forward.

Aurora took one step backwards and bumped into the counter. She looked up at him and noticed his darkened gaze.

“W- wait, Theo,” she whispered, finally realizing what he meant.

He placed his hands on the counter, each side of her body, and trapped her with his body. Leveling his face with hers, his eyes drilling into hers and his warm breath kissing her nose, he whispered in a gruff voice.

“Let’s see how many times you can come with my tongue.”

She couldn't speak. She could only breathe as his mouth covered hers in a long, sensual kiss.