Every Other Weekend {3}
Summary: Rowan was just looking for a night of fun after his divorce. Aelin was looking for one last reckless moment before selling her soul to her everyday grind of 9-5. Neither had any idea of just how much one night could change somebody’s life.
Warnings: Mature content throughout. Language, sex, drinking, etc. Explicitly NSFW will be labelled at the beginning of chapters containing NSFW content.
A collab with @theladyofdeath
It was three o’clock and Aelin and Lysandra were flipping through the racks at Aelin’s favorite boutique. She had four hours until Rowan would be picking her up and still had to get ready.
And, according to Lysandra, she needed a new dress.
“I really don’t understand why I can’t wear something I already own,” Aelin protested as Lysandra pulled out a red polka dotted skater dress. “I have so many cute dresses that would be great for tonight.”
“Because, in my family, it’s tradition. If you go on a first date, you have to wear something to new to signify the beginning of a new chapter in your life,” she explained, putting the dress back and moving on. “And, because I’ll be marrying your cousin one day, that makes you family. So you’re following the tradition.”
Aelin rolled her eyes but continued looking through the racks.
“What kind of look should I go for?” She mused, inspecting a short, white, gauzy number.
“Something sexy,” Lysandra said, simply. “You already captured his heart, now it’s time to make his mind not function.”
Aelin rolled her eyes but kept sifting through the racks. “You don’t think this is a mistake?”
It was a question that Aelin had asked herself a hundred times over the last week, but she kept having different reactions. Was she prepared for Rowan Whitethorn? For his life as a single dad? As an ex-husband? It was a lot to handle.
Yet, Aelin couldn’t deny that she was captivated by the man.
“No,” Lysandra said, and it wasn’t the first time. “It’s good for you. You’ll never know unless you try, Ace. And this guy…you’re smitten by him, I can tell.”
Aelin nodded, knowing she was right. It was then that she pulled out a black, tight-fitted dress, with lace framing the neckline and hem of the skirt, and held it up. “What about this?”
Lysandra eyed it before saying, “Try it on.” She also pulled a series of other dresses and Aelin eventually settled on a hunter green, sparkly long-sleeved dress that reached her mid-thigh.
It was form-fitting enough that the long sleeves didn’t seem prudish.
Lysandra found a set of heels that completed the outfit and they were off, heading to Aelin’s house to get her ready.
The perks of having a best friend who was hair stylist? Aelin’s hair looked great for every important event of her life.
Including a second date with her drunken hookup.
Aelin could handle her own makeup and with fifteen minutes to spare, she was standing in front of the mirror, appreciating her reflection.
She looked pretty damn good.
A little slutty, if she was being honest, but in a fun, teasing way. A way she hadn’t dressed since college.
Lysandra whistled. “If you don’t get laid tonight, I want a refund.”
Rolling her eyes, Aelin asked, “You don’t think it’s…too much?”
Without missing a beat, Lysandra replied, “Ace, he’s literally already seen you naked.”
Aelin laughed, shaking her head as her cheeks turned pink. She wasn’t known for blushing. Rowan Whitethorn already had her in the palm of his hand, it seemed.
“Maybe so, but I prefer that he likes what he sees when my clothes are on, too.”
Lysandra grinned and her head fell to the side as she watched Aelin. “You seem happy. Excited.”
Aelin’s smile faltered. “I am. Nervous, though, which is weird. I’ve never been nervous to go on a date, not since high school.”
“You’re smitten,” Lysandra crooned. “Well, I hope you have fun, and if he’s being a dick for some reason, you call me right away. Me and Aedion will come down and you both can watch while I kick his ass.”
“You act like I’m not capable of kicking ass myself,” Aelin said, turning to meet her friend’s amused expression.
“Oh, I know you can,” Lysandra said, with no hesitation. “But I like to get in on the action sometimes, too, and Aedion doesn’t give me reason to kick his ass much anymore.”
“He’d better not,” Aelin said, knowing full well that her cousin treated her best friend like the queen she was.
Lysandra handed Aelin a matching clutch and then they were waiting. They didn’t have to wait long, though, because a knock came to her door soon enough. For a moment, Aelin didn’t move, but then Lysandra raised a brow. “Aren’t you going to answer it? I wanna see this guy.”
“I don’t want to seem too eager,” Aelin said, and when Lysandra chuckled she made her way to the door and threw it open.
The bouquet of pale pink and white flowers in Rowan’s hand dropped as suddenly as his smile did. Aelin was about to ask what was wrong when he breathed, “Holy hell.”
And she was blushing again. Brilliant.
“You look…” His eyes began to dip down below the hem of her dress, but he stopped himself and reconnected with her own. “Gorgeous.”
“Thanks.” Her voice was high, breathy, flirty.
What the hell was wrong with her? She was acting like a teenage girl who’s crush had just asked her to prom.
He cleared his throat and said, “These are for you. Wanted to make up for…last time.” Aelin took them, but he must have read the confused look on her face. “Because it wasn’t technically a date. Didn’t start as one, but ended like one.”
“How you’d like this one to end?” Aelin asked, letting him come inside as she carried the bouquet into the kitchen.
“No, I mean- Yes, that would be nice, but it’s not expected.” He was flustered. Aelin thought it was cute. “What I meant was-.”
He froze in the doorway to her kitchen. Lysandra sat at her kitchen table and waved. “Hi, Rowan.”
“Hi… I’m afraid I don’t know your name,” he said, looking between the two of them.
“Lysandra,” she said, eyeing him. “The best friend.”
“Ah,” Rowan said, rocking on his heels. “Nice to meet you.”
Lysandra swept up from the table and took the vase Aelin had just gotten out of the counter. “I’ve got this under control. You two go have fun.”
Aelin looked at Lysandra suspiciously. “I can-.”
Lysandra had already taken control of the flower situation and Rowan, amused, held out his hand. “Well? Ready?”
Aelin nodded and took his hand, warm in hers. “Let’s go.”
“You two have fun now,” Lysandra called, her voice taking on a suspicious southern accent it hadn’t had a moment before. “Be safe, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“That isn’t saying much,” Aelin called back, rolling her eyes. She grabbed her clutch off the side table. “Lock up when you leave, please.”
“Love you, bitch.” Rowan could hear the laughter in Lysandra’s voice as he closed the door behind them.
Aelin was shaking her head as they walked down the pathway towards his car. “Sorry about her,” Aelin sighed, looking up at him. “She can be a bit…overprotective.”
Rowan chuckled. “That’s a good thing. It means you’re well taken care of.” He opened the car door for her.
Aelin thanked him and slipped in, buckling her seatbelt. Rowan was getting in the car and a moment later, they were on their way.
“If you could do anything, what would be your perfect date?” He asked, breaking the comfortable silence between them.
Glancing over at him, she laughed softly. “I hope you at least planned something and aren’t basing tonight off my answer.”
“Oh, absolutely, we have reservations at Emrys’ in…” she watched as his eyes darted down to the clock, “thirty-one minutes.”
Aelin choked. “Emrys’?”
One of the oldest and nicest restaurants in Orynth, Aelin had only been to Emrys a handful of times when she was younger, always accompanied by either her parents or uncle.
Rowan hesitated. “Is that okay? We can go somewhere-.”
“No,” Aelin interrupted. “I mean, yes, that sounds amazing. I haven’t been there in a long time.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “As for my perfect date, it doesn’t really matter where I am, as long as I’m with someone I can be myself around.”
Wow, what a cheesy answer, Aelin, she thought. Idiot.
But Rowan said, “I like that.” As Aelin smiled, he followed his comment with, “Am I someone you think you can be yourself around?”
“I sure hope so,” she answered. “I was myself perfectly fine last time.” Rowan’s half-grin made her stomach fill with butterflies. “What about you? What’s your perfect date?”
After taking a moment to think about it, he said, “Honestly? Not to make myself sound like a total catch, but I haven’t been on a date since college. I’m just happy to be going out on a date with a beautiful woman. One that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about all week.”
“You’ve been on my mind, too,” Aelin admitted and added, “Granted, I’m looking at a tiny version of you for most of the day.”
Rowan chuckled. “True. I hear about Miss Aelin all night after I get home from work though. He was a particular fan of the All About Me board he got to make.”
“Somehow I knew your kid would’ve been a video game kid,” she said, shaking her head.
“Nothing wrong with video games,” he defended.
“The picture of the two of you on the board was pretty damn cute,” Aelin noted, after a moment. Rowan smiled. Oliver’s mom hadn’t been a fan, considering she wasn’t in the picture, but Aelin didn’t bother mentioning that part. “Where is he tonight? With his mom?”
“No,” Rowan said, simply. “He, uh, only goes there every other weekend and once during the week. Tonight he’s with my friend, Lorcan, and his fiancée. He’s an uncle of sorts. I was an only child, so he’s the closest thing Ollie will ever have to an uncle, anyway. They have a good bond, though. He was excited to go there and have a sleepover tonight. And get sugared up, no doubt.”
Aelin chuckled. “Every five year old’s dream.”
“True,” Rowan agreed.
A few minutes later, they were pulling up to the valet stand at the front of the restaurant. An employee opened Aelin’s door and she got out, meeting Rowan on the sidewalk and looping her arm through his. They walked into the restaurant and Rowan told his name to the hostess. They were instantly seated.
The building was beautiful with its original brick walls and high ceilings. There were massive windows looking out over the city skyline and a full bar that ran along the far wall. Rowan and Aelin sat beneath the biggest crystal chandelier she had ever seen.
“Your waiter will be with you shortly,” the hostess said and dismissed herself as they sat on opposite sides of a white table-clothed, candlelit table.
Aelin opened the menu, but continued to stare out at the city skyline, all the way to the Staghorn Mountains beyond.
“You really do look beautiful tonight.”
She looked back over at him. He was already watching her. She could feel her cheeks heating, but she said, “Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.”
“This old thing?” Rowan asked, gesturing to his navy suit, which was very clearly not old at all, and cut perfectly to his toned body. “Pulled it out of the back of the closet.”
Truth be told, the man looked like sex on legs and she had wanted to tell Lysandra to get the hell out of her kitchen so he could fuck her on the counter.
But going on an actual date seemed like a good idea, one that Aelin was actually looking forward to.
Aelin cleared her throat, thankful that he was unable to read her mind. “So what’s good here?” She asked, flipping through the menu.
He leaned back in his seat, opening his own menu and hummed. Aelin felt his foot brush against hers. There was a wicked gleam in his eye as glanced up at her and back down at the menu. “The glazed chicken is good. As is the seared salmon and the ribeye. Depending on what you like.”
“Sounds like you come here a lot,” Aelin noted.
“Every now and then,” Rowan said. “Important clients that pay a lot. That’s in the afternoon, though. The ambiance is a lot better at night.”
“How so?” Aelin asked, curiously.
“Far more romantic,” Rowan said.
Aelin chuckled and nodded.
“Care for wine?” he asked. “Or another drink?”
“Wine is perfect,” Aelin said.
“White or red?” he asked.
Aelin thought for a moment. “White.”
He nodded, and when the waiter returned a moment later, he ordered a bottle. After ordering their salads and main courses, it was only each other that they had to keep themselves occupied.
“So, tell me something about yourself,” Rowan began. “I know you’re a teacher, and you have a crazy best friend that spends too much time at your house.” Aelin laughed and he went on, “What else?”
Aelin let out a breath. “I like music. I love to play the piano. I was trained in classical piano growing up, but now I just play for fun. It’s an outlet, for sure.”
Rowan had arched a brow. “Really? I’d love to hear you play.”
Aelin grinned. “I don’t play for many people, not anymore. You’ll have to prove yourself worthy first.”
“Prove myself worthy?” he repeated, and Aelin couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, fair enough. I’ll be sure to work on that.”
“Good,” Aelin said, unable to break her eyes away from his. “What about you? What do you like to do in your free time?”
He released a breath that was close to a laugh. “I’m a single dad with a five-year-old. I don’t have a lot in the way of free time. But I like to read. And I like music, too, but I don’t play any instruments. Lorcan and I used to go to little local shows by the river during the summer. I like to hike and camp, though I don’t remember the last time I did either.”
“Sounds like we have a todo list then,” she said, smiling as the server brought their wine. Waiting until their wine was poured and they were alone again, Aelin took a drink and asked, “How did you end up with someone like Ollie’s mom?”
Rowan cringed slightly. “You don’t dance around the conversation, do you?”
She smiled and he was glad to see it was still genuine. “I find it easier to get right to the point.”
“Right,” he agreed and sighed. “The short and sweet story is she was a college hook up that resulted in the best thing that ever happened to me. But it also resulted in a loveless marriage that wasted three years of my life that I’ll never get back.”
Aelin nodded and waited for him to go on, but when he didn’t she said, “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “It’s alright. What happened has happened and I’ve learned to deal with what’s come after it.”
“You two don’t get along?” she asked.
Rowan didn’t need to ask who she was talking about. “No, not so much. She’s kind of a hot mess, if I’m being honest. It’s why I have custody and she only sees him a handful of days a month.”
“Well, after getting to know Ollie this week, I can tell that he’s very well taken care of,” Aelin said, and watched as Rowan’s eyes lit up. “You’re a good dad, it seems.”
“Thanks,” he said, smiling softly. “I try.”
Their salads came and soon after that, and their main courses weren’t far behind.
The conversation flowed as easily as the wine did and Aelin found herself wanting to learn as much about Rowan as she could. She offered up just as much of herself, and before they knew it, the server was back with the bill and Rowan was taking Aelin’s hand and leading her through the restaurant.
Aelin was looking out at the Orynth skyline while they were waiting for the valet to return with Rowan’s car, when she felt his gaze on her. She turned towards him, but hardly had the chance to ask, “What are you—?” before his lips were on hers.
His thumb brushed over her cheek as he deepened the kiss and then he pulled away just as quickly as it had begun. “Sorry,” he whispered, breathing heavily. “I’ve been thinking about doing that all night.”
He left Aelin feeling breathless. She wanted to grab him by his collar and bring his mouth right back to hers, but she didn’t. His car was pulled up to the curb and, once again, he held open her door for him and she slid inside.
Once he was behind the wheel, they were off. He reached across the middle console and took her hand, their fingers fitting perfectly together.
“I’ve had a good time tonight,” he said, the radio playing quietly in the background.
“Me too,” Aelin agreed. “I’m not ready for it to end quite yet.”
Rowan raised a brow. “What is it you had in mind?”
“We can go back to my place, have a drink,” she suggested, quietly, her voice low. “Or yours.”
“Mine is…” he hesitated and laughed, but went on, “a bit of a mess. Ollie had to pack his favorites to take with him tonight and tore the entire house apart looking for his Yoshi stuffed animal.”
“Oh no,” she laughed, covering her mouth.
“Don’t worry, he was found in the backseat,” Rowan sighed, rolling his eyes. “Right where he left him when he left for school today.”
Aelin chuckled quietly. “Well, we can always go to my place again. You know it’s private.”
“You sure?” He asked, smirking over at her. “Lysandra won’t be around?”
“She went home, though I’m sure she’ll be texting to ask how my night went first thing in the morning,” Aelin replied, Rowan’s finger tightening in hers.
“And what are you going to say?” He asked, brushing their joined fingers along her bare thigh.
“I guess it depends,” she cooed.
He dared a glance over at her again. “On what?”
“Whether or not you stay the night.”
Rowan shifted in the driver’s seat as the corners of his lips twisted. “Well, I guess it depends,” he said, repeating her previous statement.
Aelin glanced sideways at him. “On what?”
“Whether or not you ask me to,” he said, and pulled into her driveway.
As he put his car in the park, they looked at one another. Aelin’s head fell to the side. “Are you always such a gentleman?”
Rowan’s jaw twitched and he said, in a low voice, “If you’ll remember our time together last week, you’d know that I’m not always a gentleman.”
Aelin’s cheeks heated as she sucked in her bottom lip.
Rowan opened the door for her and locked his car behind him as they made their way up the front porch steps.
Their mouths were on each other’s before they crossed the threshold.
There no illusions about their night would be ending. It had been clear from the beginning, and throughout the night, Aelin’s need for Rowan only built. She was near frantic as she worked on the buttons of his jacket, then his white dress shirt. He’d foregone the tie tonight, and Aelin was absolutely fine with it as she pushed the fabric over his shoulders and backed him into her living room. His legs hit the arm of the couch and he pulled back to ask if they should go to her room, but Aelin’s lips found his jaw, then his neck and chest, and then she was on her knees in front of him and every thought in his head disappeared.
“Hmm?” She kissed his stomach and then his hips. “Were you going to say something?”
As her fingers curled around the waistband of his slacks and her lips pressed against the spot above the button holding them together, Rowan blinked down at her, trying to remember how to speak. “Bedroom,” he managed to get out. Why did it sound like he’d been gargling with gravel? “Shouldn’t we go to your bedroom?”
“I think right here is just fine, don’t you?” She asked, popping open the button and sliding down the zipper.
Rowan held his breath.
The last time he and Aelin had fucked, it had been quick, wild, like animals charging at one another for a quick release.
They’d gone three rounds, and they all happened in a whiskey-hazed blur.
This time, though, Aelin would take her time with him. She had a feeling that he wouldn’t mind.
With a tug on his boxer briefs, she was seeing every glorious inch of him, already hard for her.
She glanced up at his face once more, wetting her lips as she wrapped a hand around his cock. She squeezed him gently and he hissed, shifting his hip forward.
“So impatient,” she cooed, bringing her lips to the tip and pressing a kiss there.
Rowan had to suppress a groan as her tongue began to swirl around the swollen head. She had no idea just how patient he was being. After two years with no sex, the week before had been amazing, but now he was like a drug addict who had freshly relapsed. He would do anything for that next hit and having Aelin on her knees before him was a special kind of pleasurable torture. Sure, he wanted her mouth on him, wanted to watch as her lips wrapped around his cock, but that was just a tease for what he really wanted.
And that was to be buried as deep inside of her as he could be while she came on his cock, screaming his name.
He knew that was likely in his future though, so he’d enjoy every torturously amazing moment of having Aelin’s warm, wet mouth wrapped around him. He tightened his fingers in Aelin’s hair as she started to bob her head, not even sure how his hand had ended up on the back of her head.
She moaned, the sound vibrating against his sensitive skin. He breathed her name and it only made her head bob faster.
“Let me see you,” he begged, quietly, and Aelin didn’t hesitate. She slid the sleeves of her dress down, the low back making it easy to do so. When the green, sparkly fabric laid around her waist, she looked up to see his reaction through her long, dark lashes. His eyes were dark as they swept across her breasts. Aelin had never thought she was so gifted in that area, thought her tits were decent at best, but the way Rowan was looking at them made her think otherwise.
With her spare hand, she reached up, giving one a squeeze and she could have sworn she heard Rowan growl.
It filled her with more satisfaction than it should have.
She quickened her pace, closing her eyes and enjoying the sound of him groaning, falling to pieces in her hands.
She relished in the sound of her name falling from his lips.
“I’m close,” he grunted, and Aelin knew it was his way of warning her. But she wouldn’t stop, not like he was asking her to. She wanted him to lose control, wanted his release, wanted to feel him cum into the back of her throat.
She felt the most beautiful then, knowing there was nothing he could’ve done to stop the pleasure coursing through his body.
Aelin sucked harder, moved faster, squeezed tighter, and at the first gentle skim of her teeth against his shaft, he was groaning, unable to stop the orgasm from slamming into him.
Aelin took him all in, all of his release, didn’t stop until his moaning had stopped and the hand tightened in her hair loosened.
She swallowed and looked up at him.
His tattooed chest still heaved, and his eyes, full of lust, watched her. As she slowly stood, her hands grazed up his abdomen.
“How was that?” she asked, quietly.
His response was a curse, nearly inaudible but filthy.
“I didn’t realize you were so…”
His words trailed off but Aelin supplied, “Naughty?”
Rowan laughed quietly as she reached full height. He took her dress, still draped around her waist, and pushed it down until it was on the floor. His arms snaked around her. “Naughty.”
“That sounds like a compliment,” Aelin crooned, arms going around his neck.
His forehead laid against hers as he said, “Oh, it is. It most definitely is.”
She was almost surprised when he caught her mouth with his, his kiss devouring her again. Suddenly, she found herself falling and her back was pressed against the couch cushions and his fingers were hooking into the waistband of her thong. Looking down at him, she found his eyes on her, dark and full of sensual lust.
“May I reciprocate?” He asked, kissing the inside of her thigh.
She nodded. “I was hoping you’d ask.”
Rowan slipped her thong down her legs and tossed it aside. As he spread her legs wide and settled between them, he studied her sex intensely before even making a move toward it. Aelin was about to ask him what was so interesting, but then he ran his finger between her folds. Aelin settled back onto the couch cushions and her eyes fluttered shut as his tongue followed the same path. At the taste of her, Rowan groaned. Grabbing her ass, he pulled her closer into him, her ass perched on the edge of the couch, and took her clit between his lips, circling it with his tongue.
“Ro,” she breathed, and he liked the nickname.
He feasted on her, slowly, tauntingly, until her hips began to shift and her body began to writhe beneath him.
He held her hips down to keep her in place and she moaned so loudly that Rowan felt his cock twitch. It only made him hungrier.
Those sweet, little sounds coming out of Aelin’s mouth grew louder and her nails dug into his shoulders. She would surely be leaving marks that he would wear with honor.
As she fell over the edge, her legs wrapped around his head and she groaned, drawing his name out low and slow. She gasped as her back arched and Rowan’s broad hand laid over her abdomen, drawing her orgasm out as long as he could.
When she came back down from her high, she was breathing heavily and riding on ecstasy. Rowan sat up to lay atop her, but she caught his shoulders and flipped them, her lips crashing into his. His back hit the cushions and he was seated on the couch, Aelin straddling him.
She reached between them, positioning him at her entrance and began to sink down.
They both moaned together.
A moment of clarity hit Rowan through his lust. “Condom?” He asked. He hoped he’d asked last time. He could remember pretty much everything about that night, except whether he’d worn a condom.
Way to go, dumbass, he told himself.
“I’m on the pill,” she breathed.
They only looked at each other for a moment before Rowan cursed and said, “Good.”
Aelin continued her way down his cock, only stopping when she was seated to the hilt. Rowan’s hands found her hips, and her body fit perfectly into his hands.
Her hips rocked back and forth and all that could be heard in the silence of Aelin’s living room were their heavy breaths and their quiet curses, the sound of skin on skin.
Rowan’s eyes nearly shut but he forced them to stay open, forced himself to keep watching the goddess riding him. His jaw clenched as he took in her beauty. Her palms were placed flat against his chest. Her head was tilted back, her long, golden hair hanging loosely down her back.
Her lips were parted. At the start of the night, they had been painted pink, but they had been wiped clean. Now, they were swollen, which Rowan found a hell of a lot more attractive.
Rowan’s fingers tightened around her hips and he thrust himself up into her.
Aelin gasped, and her eyes snapped to Rowan’s. He pulled her face down to meet his and he kissed her, meeting each roll of her hips with a thrust. She cried out and he swallowed each moan and groan until he could feel her quivering around him.
He squeezed her ass once before standing, lifting her and flipping her over until she was pinned beneath him on the couch.
The new angle has his cock reaching a new angle and Aelin was seeing stars.
Their lips parted and she buried her face in the crook of his neck. Rowan was gripping the cushions on both sides of her head, having a hard time keeping himself up off of her as his movements grew jagged.
“Fuck,” he breathed before he groaned, unable to hold himself back much longer.
Aelin’s legs were shaking around his hips. She grabbed onto his wrists and squeezed as she came around him.
A feeling that had Rowan ready to combust.
For the second time that night, Rowan fell over the edge. His thrusts became slower and slower as he rode out his orgasm, and by the time he was done his body was covered, damp with sweat.
Aelin wrapped her arms around him as he fell down onto her.
They were silent until their breathing evened out, and even then, neither of them moved for a moment.
Aelin lifted her head to look at Rowan, who looked like a man who had been destroyed and rebuilt, a man who could take on the world.
He captured her lips in his and made love to her long into the night.