“He won’t attack me.” I liked the idea of nobody being able to hear what Aaron and I talked about. I was sure my brother would have his ear pressed to the door if we talked in the room where Aaron usually was.
“Octavia... You might think he’s still weak, but he’s recovering just fine, and if he plans to get out of here, taking you hostage would be a great idea.” Dylan scratched his head. “At least that’s what Jason said.”
I waved my hand in dismissal. “And how would Aaron get out of here alive if he threatened me? What would he do? Wrap a towel around my neck? Stop being ridiculous and let me pass.”
Dylan met my gaze, his jaw set, but I only arched an eyebrow at him, and he sighed, getting out of my way.
“Don’t interrupt us,” I said, then knocked on the door. It was unlocked, because my family would never let Aaron lock himself in somewhere on his own, and they had switched the knob with one that needed a key and couldn’t just simply be locked from the inside with one turn. I cracked the door open just a little so I could hear if it was okay for me to come inside.
“Come in,” Aaron said.
I quickly pushed the door open and slipped inside, closing the door firmly behind me. All the other bathrooms in the house were big, but this one was truly huge. Aaron turned to look at me as he lowered his toothbrush onto the sink.
“Hey,” he said, a smile stretching across his lips. I supposed my brothers didn’t trust him with a razor, but I actually liked his stubble. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Why not? You could use some help.” I made my way to him and buried my fingers into his white t-shirt, pulling him to me as gently as I could. My lips found his and I gave him a slow, long kiss that left us both gasping for breath.
“Admit it. You came here just because you wanted to see me naked.” He flashed me a devilish grin.
“Oh, come on!” I faked indignation. “You almost died for me. The least I can do is help you undress.” I bit down on my finger, giving him a look through my eyelashes.
“Fair enough.” Amusement flickered in his eyes.
“Sit down.” I nodded toward the edge of a Jacuzzi bathtub that was thick enough to sit on. There was also a big shower at the other end of the bathroom. Aaron slowly settled where I’d told him to and I caught the hem of his shirt, tugging it up as he gingerly lifted his arms. His toned chest was as flawless as ever, but as he turned his back to me to fold the shirt he’d taken from me, I stared at his back, unable to move. There were three white bandage patches, probably waterproof, that covered his wounds. I reached out and traced my finger gently around the patch closest to his spine. Shit. He’d been lucky the bullets hadn’t hit anything vital.
Those bullets had been intended for me. I closed my eyes for a moment as a shudder shook my body. No one would ever hurt Aaron again because of me. Not if I could help it.
“Does it hurt a lot?” I asked softly.
“What?” Aaron craned his neck to look at me. “Um, no. It’s better now. Don’t worry about it.”
He got to his feet and faced me, lifting his hand. He caressed my cheek and I took his hand and placed the softest of kisses on his knuckles. “Is there anything you didn’t want to tell my family that would help us find your father?” I searched his eyes, but he pulled away from me, averting his gaze. “Do you know where he is?” I insisted.
“Maybe.” He lifted his eyes to mine. “But your family would never risk going there, so it doesn’t matter. My father won’t stay there for long anyway if the deal with your family is completed.”
“You can tell me. Tony’s working his ass off trying to figure this out, so just because you don’t see a possible way to take down Roberto doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Hell, maybe I can figure it out.”
“No, I won’t tell you.” His eyes turned hard, and I furrowed my brow.
“Why not? You can’t possibly be protecting that...” I gritted my teeth.
“It’s not that.” He sighed. “I know you’d do anything to stop me from going back to my father, but if I tell you anything... you’ll just go find him yourself, and I can’t let you risk your life like that.”
“But, I wouldn’t...”
Aaron arched an eyebrow at me. “If you knew where to find Roberto, and the only way to get to him was you going in alone... you’re telling me you wouldn’t try to do it?”
I bit down on my lip. “Maybe. I don’t know. Depends on the risks,” I admitted, because yeah, if I thought I had an opportunity to take out Roberto, I’d do it. Aaron had saved my life, and I’d do anything to save his. “You don’t know how your father will react or if he knows the truth, and...”
“No.” Aaron stepped forward and placed his finger over my lips. “No more talk about that. I’m not even sure my father’s there anyway. It could be a trap if he thinks I’ll talk.”
I turned away from him, rubbing my arms. “I just hate feeling so helpless. I don’t want to hand you over to that monster.” If Roberto was aware of what Aaron had done, I was sure he’d do anything in his power to get Aaron back just so he could be the one to put a bullet in his head. That seemed like a natural thing for Roberto to do. “His willingness to negotiate for you doesn’t mean he won’t...”
Aaron wrapped his arms around me, resting his head on my shoulder. “I’ll handle my father. You have to trust me that I can do this. And if he knows the truth... doesn’t matter. I had it coming anyway.”
I twisted in his embrace and looked deep into his eyes. “I believe in you, but I just... The thought of losing you terrifies me.”
“You won’t lose me.” He gave me a small smile. “Am I ever going to take that shower, or is your family going to barge in here thinking I drowned you in the tub?”
I snorted, barely containing laughter. “And here I thought there wasn’t a way for you to kill in here. Silly me.”
I placed my hand on the back of his neck and rubbed my cheek against his. The prickling of his stubble was kind of hot.
“I’d never hurt you,” he said and lowered his lips to mine for a kiss.
“Let’s get you in that shower before my family loses their minds because we’re taking so long.” My fingers found the waistband of his dark blue pants and I tugged them down along with his boxers. A little gasp escaped Aaron’s lips, and he stepped out of them. I made a mental note to yell at my brothers and the guards for letting Aaron walk around the house without any shoes or socks. The floor in the hallway was terribly cold, and the only reason I knew that was because I’d run barefooted out of my room to find the maid and ask her to bring me some coffee.
As fast as it was possible, I got out of my jeans, shirt, and underwear, tossing it all to the floor. Aaron stared at me, his lips slightly parted.
“What?” I raised an eyebrow at him, then my gaze fell on his swollen cock and a slow smile spread across my lips. “Enjoying the view, eh?”
He nodded.
I extended my hand to him. “Come on.”
He took my hand and I led him to the shower, which wasn’t as big as Aaron’s at Roberto’s house, but there was still plenty of room. Letting go of Aaron, I turned on the water, testing it until I got the right temperature. I grabbed one of the shower gels that were in the niche and squeezed some on my hand, then set the bottle down.
Rubbing my hands together, I spread the gel all over my fingers until it got warm enough. When I was satisfied, I motioned for Aaron to step in front of me and applied the gel to his chest, shoulders, and stomach. I lathered his back next, careful of the bandages, and as my hands lowered to his ass, his breathing quickened.
“Octavia...” A gasp escaped his throat as I slid my hand between his legs. I reached around him with my free hand and closed my fingers around his cock. My slippery fingers slowly moved up and down his thick shaft while I massaged his balls.
“O...” Aaron choked out, his body tensing as I sped up my movements a little.
“Am I hurting you?” I asked, watching his chest r
ise and fall with every stroke of my hand. Heat pooled between my legs as his cock pulsated in my firm but gentle grasp. I didn’t know if tensing and flexing his muscles was causing him too much pain.
“No.” His voice was so low I barely heard him. “Just... don’t... stop.”
A small smile popped up on my lips and I curled my fingers around the tip, circling the sensitive flesh. Aaron let out a soft moan, and I leaned closer to him, my lips brushing his shoulder in a place that wasn’t covered with the shower gel. A few more tugs on his hard length and his release started throbbing in my hand. He cried out, barely staying on his feet, and closed his eyes for a moment as he threw his head back. When he was spent, I let go of him and stepped back, leaning my back against the cold tiles, which did nothing to dissipate the heat.
My whole body tingled with desire as those warm blue eyes focused on me. He reached out for me, placing his hand low on my hip and just watched me, biting down on his lower lip. Oh, God. My hand closed over his and I guided it to my pussy. He rubbed his palm against my slit, up and down, slow and gentle, making me groan in frustration.
Tightly gripping his hand, I pushed two of his fingers inside me. His thumb brushed against my clit, and then he plunged his fingers inside me again. My knees almost gave out and I grabbed for the wall as he fucked me with his fingers, hitting all the right spots. The pressure building inside me burst, a loud moan ripping itself out of my throat. I tightened around his fingers, my whole body pulsating, but Aaron didn’t stop until I cried out his name.
“Oh, God.” I leaned my head against the tiles, trying to catch my breath as he finally let go of me. When I could think straight again and was sure I wouldn’t fall over, I looked at him. “You okay?”
A smile played on his lips. “Are you sure you should be asking me that?”
I laughed. “We need to clean you up. Now.” I didn’t want anyone to start wondering what the hell was taking us so long. He stepped under the showerhead, the water trickling down his strong body. I pushed myself off the wall and started helping him rinse every inch of his body. As I looked up into his eyes, I knew it would be even harder to let him go.
Chapter 5
“We should try to find another option.” I paced up and down my father’s office.
“Believe me, Princess, we’ve considered everything.” My father sighed, the lines around his eyes more visible. “I’m going to send a message to Roberto telling him I accept his offer.”
“No! You can’t do that!” I stopped and gripped the back of a chair. “Unless you have a plan to track the messenger and get to Roberto.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. He’ll be very careful about how he deals with this and where we meet.”
A knock sounded at the door, and Jason came in before my father could say anything.
“He didn’t talk,” Jason said, rubbing his bruised and bloody knuckles. My heart skipped a beat.
“What did you do?” I stared into Jason’s eyes.
“Interrogated that friend of yours... Marco.” A ghost of a smile quirked his lips.
“How could you...?” I ground my teeth together as I glared at him.
“Father asked me to,” Jason simply said, and my head snapped toward my father, who ran a hand through his short grayish hair.
“What is he talking about, Dad?” I couldn’t believe my father would ask Jason to torture Marco to get information out of him.
“Roberto had a few conditions attached to the deal. He insisted Aaron was unharmed, aside from his existing injuries. But all he said about Marco was that he wanted him alive. You have to realize it was necessary to do this. Marco could’ve revealed some important information we might have been able to use. You said yourself that we had to try all the options. This was one of them, since all of your nice ways failed,” he said calmly.
“You shouldn’t have done that! Why didn’t you just ask me before you made such a decision?” I clenched my jaw and took a deep breath. Of course they wouldn’t have asked me, because they thought I was being too nice to our enemy, and my father was the one who ultimately made all decisions. If someone had told me, I would’ve convinced him not to let Jason do it, which was exactly why they’d hidden their idea from me. “Is he okay?” I turned to Jason. “I swear, if you...”
“He’s fine.” Jason gave me an annoyed look. “What does it matter if he has a few bruises? Nothing’s broken. I could’ve done it, but Dad said no.”
At least something. I faced my father again. “So you’re just going to hand Aaron over to Roberto? That’s your final decision?”
“Yes,” my father said. “It’s the best option, and even Aaron seems to be in agreement.”
“Well, we could always put a bullet in Aaron, prepare for an attack, and wait for Roberto to come to us,” Jason said, meeting our father’s gaze. “But since you seem to have a soft spot for the guy...”
My father clasped his hands on the desk in front of him, his shoulders drooping. “Neither of you is looking at the bigger picture, but my decision has been made and nothing can change my mind on this. Not even you, Princess. In fact, I’m doing this for your safety. If that boy truly loves you, he’ll fight for you and come back to you once he deals with his father.”
“Whoa, wait.” Jason spread his arms, his mouth hanging open. “You don’t really plan to let that piece of shit come anywhere near your daughter again.” A frown creased his brow, and then his lips spread into a wide smile as if he’d come to a realization. “Dad, you’re a genius! You’re sending Aaron back so he’ll take care of Roberto for us, and once Roberto’s gone... we can take down Aaron easily. He won’t have the support his father has, and he doesn’t have that much experience. And if things get too hard, we can use Octavia as bait if he still wants her. That’s absolutely brilliant! Why didn’t you just say so...” His gaze traveled to me. “Ah, yeah, because of her. Sorry. I didn’t mean to reveal your plan. I was just... I wish you’d told me.”
“Son, that’s not what I had in mind,” my father said, his face serious. “And Roberto and Aaron aren’t the only Viteris out there.”
“Of course. Whatever you say.” Jason nodded, but he was still grinning. My idiot brother was sure my father was playing me. I eyed my father, who only gave me a barely perceptible shake of his head.
“You’re still so hopelessly in love with that guy, like some stupid teenage girl,” Jason said. “You can’t just forget what the Viteris have done to us!” His gaze raked over me. “Wait, we never really told you the whole story, did we?” He glanced at our father.
“Jason...”
“No, Dad. She knows we lost our friends during our conflicts with the Viteris, but that’s clearly not enough for her.” Jason fixed his brown eyes on me. “Do you remember Raina?”
“Raina?” I folded my arms in front of me. “Your crush from school?”
“My first love,” Jason said through his teeth. “What did we tell you about what happened to her?”
The only reason I remembered Raina’s name was because Jason had been talking about her non-stop and kept showing me photos of her. I was young then, but I remembered being mad at Jason because he was staring at Raina’s curly black hair instead of playing with me. I’d never seen Jason show affection like that to anyone again, but I’d assumed he was just being careful and didn’t want to risk introducing anyone to the family or risk mentioning anything about that person.
I shrugged. “Nothing, I guess. Something happened and I hadn’t seen you for a few weeks. I don’t think you ever mentioned her again after that.”
“We’ve been protecting you too much,” Jason said. “The reason you couldn’t see me for a while was because I was mourning Raina’s death.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. What happened to her?” I asked softly.
“The Viteris happened! One of their spies saw me at school and decided to kidnap sweet little Raina to get to me! They sent me a message, told me to meet them, and forbade me to tell
anyone. They would’ve killed Raina anyway, but they tried to trick me so they could use me against our father. I was young and naive enough to believe I could save her, so I intended to meet them. Luckily, Dad sent a guard after me that I didn’t know about, and he stopped me from going to them. I was so desperate, and Dad did everything he could to get Raina back, but once he raided the place where she was kept... she was already dead, her throat cut. She’d been dead even before they sent me that message.” Jason’s voice quivered a little. I took a step forward and placed my hand on his arm, squeezing gently.
“That’s horrible. I’m sorry you had to go through that.” I couldn’t imagine how he must have felt.
“She was an innocent and sweet girl and they killed her without remorse!” Jason pulled away from me. “And my friends... The Viteris have taken the lives of six of my close friends over the years! There has never been a Viteri who didn’t harm us, and you let one...” He curled his lip.
“Jason,” my father said in a warning tone, but it didn’t look like Jason was going to stop.
“You know, your precious Aaron was around when we engaged the Viteris two years ago. Who says he wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger that killed my friend Jasper? You remember Jasper, don’t you? He was a funny, nice guy, loyal to the bone, who only got into this whole thing because it was the only way he could provide for his family.”
“I’m not defending the Viteris here,” I said. “But did you forget everything I told you about Aaron? I wasn’t making that up. He’s not like his father.”
“Then maybe he’s like his grandfather.” Jason smirked. I knew nothing about Aaron’s grandfather, so I arched my eyebrows at my brother. “Do you know how the Viteris became one of the most powerful families in the city?”
“Umm, they took over someone’s business.” I didn’t see what any of that had to do with Aaron and me.
“Well, I guess you could say that.” Jason twisted his lips into an unpleasant smile.
“What’s your point?” I placed my hand on my hip, giving him an expectant look.
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