by Santos, Anna
“Aria, you practically begged me with your moans to have you right here on this floor,” I said, making her even angrier. She looked extremely alluring when she was trying to fight our attraction. I was hypnotized by the drops of water slipping from her hair and sliding down her neck towards her cleavage. I didn’t know if I could wait that long. I would probably have to further humiliate myself by taking my mate in the same bed she shared with my worst enemy. “If you play nice, honey, I will give you a good amount of foreplay when we get home,” I said, moving to hold her and shorten the distance between us.
“I take it back,” she sneered with venom in her voice. “You are worse than a monster. You are a perverted bastard with a god complex. There is no way in hell I will ever want you!”
I lost my smile, and my eyes became dark and dangerous. Of all the words she had to call me, bastard was the wrong one. She used the only one that would make me lose my temper.
My voice sounded dark and evil when I spoke. “Don’t you call me that name, you whore!”
To my surprise, she slapped me hard across the face, sending millions of sharp, tiny daggers along my skin. It didn’t feel like a human slap would typically feel. It was stronger, and it reddened my face. The next thing I knew, I was grabbing her, and she was trying to fight me back. I just had time to cover her mouth before she screamed.
“You are such a bad girl. Now I really have to punish you.”
She opened her eyes, panicked, trying to get me off of her, afraid of what my words meant, and I smirked like the evil demon that I was.
Chapter TWENTY-THREE
PHILIPPE
“Hush, baby, don’t cry. I promise I won’t hurt you,” I cooed, feeling upset about my rude behavior with Aria. “I was just teasing. I wasn’t going to hurt you,” I said, trying to calm her down because she was crying uncontrollably for the last two minutes. Nothing I could say seemed to make her less afraid of me. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for being so mean.”
I was just teasing her, and I was mad because she had slapped me. I had deserved the slap. I had offended her. It was clear in her eyes and even in the strength that she put in that slap. Yet, she melted into tears when I covered her mouth and made that stupid threat that I would never carry out. I would never hurt her again. Besides, I could be arrogant, I could be heartless, but I didn’t sexually abuse women. Nonetheless, she didn’t know that, and she had jumped from the boat because my men had crossed that line.
There I was with Aria sobbing in my arms, helpless. She looked so vulnerable that my heart dropped, and I cursed myself for losing my temper. She was not some random girl who I wanted to use and drink from. She was my mate. And I had let someone else take advantage of her. It was my fault, not hers.
I had to confess, it felt strange to feel guilt and pain for her grief and fear. Her tears touched me, and I wanted them to stop. I was running my fingers through her hair and wiping away her tears with my thumbs, trying to make her understand that I was not there to hurt her, whispering to her to calm down and begging her for forgiveness. I didn’t recognize my actions. I couldn’t remember being this worried about someone else after being turned. Besides, Jo, that is. Aria had a strange power over my emotions, making my humanity lurk out, and concern overtake my heart.
“Go away,” she ordered, pulling me away from her. “You are an idiotic, conceited person or thing. Whatever creepy thing you are,” she snapped at me, apparently getting a hold of her emotions and becoming strong enough to insult me.
“Vampire,” I said, sitting close to her and looking at her sideways. I had sat us on a couch, so I could hug her tightly and calm her down.
She brushed the rest of the tears from her eyes and combed her hair while making sure I wasn’t going to get near her again.
“Do you hate me?” I asked.
She narrowed her eyes. “You rejected me and tried to kill me! What do you think?”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You gave me to them and told them to…”
“I didn’t! What do you remember?” I asked, puzzled by the accusation. “I sent you away and told them to take you home.”
“That was not what happened,” she assured me, becoming visibly tense. “And as far as I know, you could be lying right now. You didn’t care about me before. Why are you here now?”
“When I rejected you, I thought I was doing you a favor.”
She turned to watch me with widened eyes. “A favor?”
It sounded stupid when I said it out loud.
Aria asked, “Were you also doing me a favor when they tried to-to.” Her eyes became empty and still.
Yes, she had all kinds of reasons to hate me.
“I didn’t tell them to do that. And I…killed the one who tried.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” She kept staring at me with cold eyes, making me cringe as if she had just whipped me hard. Her disdain hurt more than anything.
“I regret my decision,” I whispered, hoping it would make her feel better.
“You rejected me!” she reminded me. “You said I was pathetic! And now you come here as nothing happened and expect me to say what?”
“You are right, Aria. I’m a mess and a selfish person.”
“You are not a person. You are a ruthless and heartless vampire,” she corrected me. “And I’m a pathetic little girl. So why are you here, scaring the hell out of me and trying to… kiss me?”
“I clearly didn’t think this through,” I said, troubled by my rushed actions.
She slowly turned her head to stare at me. “Are you joking?”
“No, you have every right to be mad at me.”
“Oh, I’m not just mad at you… I hate you!”
Another whip that made me shudder and feel my hands get cold. Her words were like poison in my mind. Every single glare of her eyes was hurting more than stakes driven into my body.
“I thought you were dead, and I was thrilled before you appeared here…and tried to grab me like a pervert,” she said with distaste.
Arching an eyebrow in confusion, I asked, “Who said that I was dead?”
“The person who saved me,” she replied.
“Cedric?” I was left baffled as I pondered about what was going on.
Cedric saved aria. Cedric was my enemy. Aria told him what happened, and he had kept her with him, so he could use her against me. That was the only logical explanation for Aria living in that bedroom and Cedric being her lover. My fears had come true. She was being used to harm me.
“Yes, do you know him?” she asked as her big brown eyes focused on me.
“Of course, I know him. He is my worst enemy. He’s always trying to ruin my plans and kill me.”
“Hum.” She puckered her lips and stared at the wall without any apparent empathy for me.
“He told you that he killed me... Are you here against your will?”
“Don’t be stupid. Cedric is protecting me. And I assumed that you were dead, since… Well, he said that there was a dead vampire in the boat.”
“Yes, but it was me who killed him for hurting you.”
Narrowing her eyes, she muttered, “So, what? You want a medal for it?”
I frowned at her sarcasm. “No, but it should count for something.”
“You have also hurt me. Are you going to kill yourself?”
“It’s different,” I growled and sulked. “Does Cedric know that I am your mate?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“He never asked me your name.”
“Maybe he knows and lied to you.”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“Why wouldn’t he? He hates me and wants me dead. Why would he tell you anything if he wanted to use you against me?”
“The world doesn’t revolve around you, Philippe,” she said as if I was tiring her with my paranoid thoughts.
Those words wounded and made me stare at her in disbelief. She was actin
g cold to me. Not that I deserved better. I didn’t. Still, I expected that she felt attracted to me. That she had missed me, and my supposed death had, at least, upset her a bit. But, apparently, she had moved on rather quickly and had found someone else.
“So why would you be living with him and being supported by him? He sure gave you a lot of stuff so that you would share his bed!”
“Take your mind out of the gutter,” she muttered.
I noticed the flame of pride flickering in her eyes. At least, she didn’t slap me again, but she felt offended by my accusations. I needed a straight answer.
“Yet, you are living in his house, and he is clearly taking care of your needs. You look different, prouder of yourself and more confident. Your hair is different,” I declared, leaning my face closer to hers. She evaded me. “Did he tell you to color it like that?” I asked, trying to figure out if Cedric was trying to make me regret my choice of getting rid of Aria. Did he know about my fascination for red-haired girls? It was working. She looked gorgeous! She was somehow different and, at the same time, still innocent and shy. She was growing on me rather fast to my dismay.
“No,” she denied fiercely, seemingly finding my words offensive. “It...became like that.” She looked away and bit her lower lip, leaving me intrigued by her attitude.
She was hiding something.
“Are you sleeping with Cedric? Is he your lover?”
“No,” she whispered.
There was something that she was not saying behind that feeble ‘no’. Yet, she wasn’t sleeping with him. I believed her words.
I smiled at that, pleased. “So why are you living in his house? Why did you think it was Cedric in your bedroom when you saw me?”
Crossing her arms, she grumbled, “It’s none of your business. You rejected me and sent me to death. If it were not for Cedric, I would have died in that river.”
“Again, I didn’t tell them to kill you. What happened...it was…”
She got up, fuming as if her eyes could burn holes in mine. “Yes, you did!”
I frowned. “Is that what you believe? That I tried to kill you?”
“You were their boss. They obeyed your orders. I don’t know what you told them to do with me. I didn’t understand French! But it wasn’t something nice because they wanted to drink from me and hurt… I had to…” the words choked in her throat.
I grabbed her hands and led her to sit beside me again. “You are safe now,” I whispered as her shining eyes made my heart flutter.
“No thanks to you! As far as I’m concerned, it’s your fault.”
I clenched my teeth. I would kill the bastard all over again if that made her feel better, less frightened.
“You are a monster. A vampire. You said it yourself. And...you didn’t want me.”
Her voice came out weak at her last words. I had rejected her. I couldn’t deny that.
I brought her hands closer to my chest. “I’m sorry. I really am sorry, Aria,” I whispered with pleading eyes. I detected a tremor in her body when she stared elsewhere.
“Apology not accepted. Now, just go away and leave me alone,” she demanded, in a firm voice as she got up.
I was baffled by her words. Seriously, that was how she was going to treat me? There wasn’t any kind of sympathy for me. She was emotionless and, apparently, not affected at all by our bond. Something was wrong. Maybe my rejection just worked to make her lose her attraction for me. It should have worked the other way around. I was baffled. Still, there was something I knew. I wanted her back. I went there to get her back.
“I’m not leaving here without you,” I stated since begging was not working.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I’ve come here to get you. I want you back.”
Frowning, she asked, “Are you mad?”
I got up and towered over her fragile figure. “No. I thought about it, and I realized I was…too rushed in my judgment about you. I will find a way to make you forgive me and restore our bond.”
“I’m not interested in restoring anything with you,” she declared, folding her arms in front of her chest.
“Why not?”
“Cedric and I are bonded. We are mates now,” she said, raising her chin in defiance.
“What?” I asked, almost laughing at her words. Was she trying to make me jealous?
“Cedric and I are mates. I love him, and he loves me,” she repeated, looking at me sideways.
“That’s impossible. I rejected you just a few days ago. And he is a gargoyle. An ugly beast. What could you possibly see in him? How can you be his mate if you were mine? Is that what he told you?”
Unfolding her arms, she glared at me as she stated, “Cedric is not an ugly beast! He is caring, and I love him. The only beast here is you.”
“Stop talking nonsense. I don’t know what he told you and what lies he made you believe, but you are my mate. I want you back, and you are coming with me,” I said, holding her wrist and bringing her closer.
She stumbled and tried to get free from my grasp. “No,” she refused, pulling my hand from her wrist. “Let me go, you are hurting me.”
I let her go because I didn’t want to hurt her. “Aria, stop being stubborn and come with me.”
“No. You had your chance. Now leave before I call the guards.” She pointed at the balcony with a hard stare.
“Stop being stubborn. I can promise you that I don’t want to harm you and I’m not lying. I don’t want you to die.”
“Lucky me,” she hissed as she balled her hands. “But the thing is that I have no intention to follow you anywhere of my own free will. And I’m not going to let you try your dirty tricks on me,” she said, looking elsewhere, so I couldn’t compel her. “And so that you know, my body can obey, but my mind doesn’t. So, even if you try to make me obey you, I will be mentally hating your guts and wishing you dead.”
I rubbed my forehead as I momentarily closed my eyes. “I’m not going to enthrall you. But I want you to want to come with me.”
“There is nothing you can say that will make me change my mind.”
“We are mates. You can’t possibly be that immune to our bond. I’m not immune to you, and I have more practice on ignoring my heart than you do. If I’m so mesmerized by you, then you are too.”
“That ship has sailed. I’m with Cedric now. And I…want him.”
“Your voice trembled when you said that. You don’t mean it. You are trying to make me jealous. It’s working, now stop acting out and let me take you out of here.”
She exhaled as she stepped back to keep her distance.
“Do I have to take you by force?”
“Do you want me to jump from the next window I’ll find? Because I will. I don’t want to go with you and, if you try to take me by force, I’ll do everything to run away. I will also hate you with all I’ve got.”
The way she firmly said those words made me shiver. Suicide was an extreme way of escaping me, and I didn’t want to carry that weight on my conscience. I didn’t want her to hate me more than she already did. I had to make her change her mind. Cedric had done something to make her feel indebted to him. He did save her, and my men tried to hurt her. I had that against me. But I was sure I could convince her to accept me so that I could repair our bond after my reckless severing.
My voice came out controlled when I said, “I understand. You feel you are indebted to Cedric because he saved you. But we are mates, Aria. You are mine and not Cedric’s.”
Folding her arms, she declared, “No! I’m Cedric’s now. And I couldn’t care less about you.”
“Stubborn little brat,” I growled, losing my patience.
“It’s not my fault if you are bipolar. Now, leave!” She faced me, pointing at the opened doors of the balcony.
I growled at her.
She faced me proudly. “What are you going to do? Showing me how bad and ruthless you are? I’ve been there, done that! And I fucking hate you,” she said, emoti
on making her voice tremble and her eyes water. It made me feel bad for how much I had hurt her. My heart ached as if a slow torturer was enjoying clenching it inside my chest. I breathed deep, swallowing hard to control my urges to touch her face and kiss her.
“You ruined my life,” she sobbed as tears rolled down her cheeks.
I almost kneeled in front of her and held her by the waist and asked her for forgiveness as I had done with Sophie the day she had found out who I really was. Sophie said those exact words, tearing my heart apart. But Sophie hadn’t forgiven me, and I doubted that Aria would. Then, I realized that if I hadn’t rejected her, she would have loved me. That much hate shouldn’t exist if I’ve meant nothing to her. I stared deep into her eyes, hoping she would understand the feelings that were overwhelming my heart. Then I prayed that she could find in her to forgive me.
“I’ll talk to Cedric to clarify this. I’m not proud of what I did to you, but the fact is that you are mine, whether you want it or not,” I explained to her, making it clear that I was not giving up on her. “I’m going to reclaim you, and he better give you back, or the damn peace treaty will end.”
Cleaning her tears, she asked, “What peace treaty?”
“Didn’t Cedric explain to you a damn thing about his race and mine? Don’t you know we are sworn enemies?”
“I know vampires are evil and gargoyles and angels are good. I don’t need to know anything else.”
I sneered. “Things are not that black and white.”
“I know you are evil. You didn’t want me. You rejected me. I also know that Cedric loves me. He wants me, and I want him. So, I don’t care about your threats and your petty reasons to want me back. Just leave me be.”
She stepped back with her hands folded in front of her, apparently uncomfortable by my presence.
“Damn it, Aria,” I said, touching her pretty face so that she could stare at me. She quivered in fear, but she didn’t close her eyes. “I’m not going to give up on you. I’ll win your heart back.”
“It was never yours,” she said, moving my hand away, apparently annoyed by my conceited claiming.
“It was always mine, even before you were born. We were always meant to be.”