by Riley Storm
“Then go.”
She got up to leave but a thick arm blocked her way.
“What?” she snapped.
“Your cellphone. It stays here. You will not contact the police. Is that understood? That would be a very bad idea.”
One of the thugs entered the office and went to stand behind Angela. The unspoken threat was, once again, clear.
“I won’t,” she said.
But I’ll tell Aaric everything, and he can go to the police.
She handed over her cellphone and left the office. Twenty-four hours to find Aaric, tell him what was going on, see if he would just sell her the property to help her out, and if not, notify the police so they could solve the issue.
I can do this.
She would. Because Angela’s life was on the line if she didn’t.
16
The headlights appeared again over a hill in the distance.
Aaric frowned to himself as he contemplated his options. Whoever it was behind him had been on his tail since sometime shortly after he’d departed Charles’ office. He’d received a call from him, asking to come by just as a thank you for his generous offer on the property.
Having no reason to say no, Aaric had gone. They’d enjoyed a fine meal, had some laughs, and then he’d gone on his way. Nothing had seemed amiss about the meal at all. But now he wondered if someone was watching either him or Charles.
The tail had been unnoticed at first, staying far enough back and changing lanes enough he hadn’t noticed it. But as the traffic quickly thinned as they drove through town, it became more apparent that whoever was driving was going the same way as he.
Now, this far out into the country, it was clear they were after him. There was one last farm on his left, and after that, there was nothing else on the road. It connected with a county highway farther on, but that road could be accessed from much closer to Plymouth Falls. Driving out this way would add an extra hour of drive time or more.
No, he was being tailed. The few glimpses he’d gotten of the car revealed it to be a newer model four-door sedan, but other than that, he couldn’t make out anything about it. The headlights made it tough for him to see detail, even with his vision. The glare at night was annoying like that.
It was unlikely whoever was piloting it was aware of what he really was, and so the danger to him was likely minimal. However, the fact that anyone was tailing him at all meant that the danger was greater.
Whoever it was knew who he was and wanted to find out more about him. It could just be some innocent history buff desperate to know more about the three founding families of Plymouth Falls, but he doubted it. Only two people knew his last name. Charles, and the fire chief. He couldn’t see either of them spilling the beans. That wasn’t their style.
“Who are you,” he muttered, pushing the pedal down.
His car leapt ahead at the sudden injection of fuel, the engine rumbling louder as his speed increased. Advanced vision and reflexes let him take the corners with a speed and skill his tail couldn’t hope to match. He quickly left his tail far behind.
He went along, eventually pulling into the driveway of Drakon Keep. He punched a button on his mirror and a signal went out to the gate, which started it retracting. He twiddled his fingers as it opened, and then began to drive through.
The honk of a horn stopped him.
“You have got to be kidding me,” he said, somewhat irritated as his tail, whoever it was, whipped around the turn off the road and came to a stop behind him, flashing the car’s high-beams at him.
Angry at being followed, but also somewhat impressed at the person’s determination to find him, Aaric got out of his vehicle. They were already this far. Now he was at the seat of his power. It was time to find out who wanted to find him so badly.
He extended a finger at the tail and crooked a finger at them.
“Get out of the car,” he called, his deep voice booming out through the dark. It was close to midnight now. This wasn’t random.
The other car kept running, the brightness of the headlights obscuring his view of the occupant. Whoever it was, they needed to get out now, before things got worse.
“Now!” he roared, taking a step toward the idling vehicle.
The engine shut off. The door opened, and the occupant stepped out.
“Olivia?” he questioned, jaw opening in astonishment as the straw-blonde real-estate agent exited the vehicle.
Right away, he could see she was trembling.
“What do you want?” he called. “Come to finally admit that I was right? That you did have something to do with the fire at my property? I know you weren’t telling me everything.”
The trembling stopped abruptly, and Olivia slammed her car door shut, stalking across the distance between them.
“You need to get it out of that big oafish head of yours, mister. I had nothing do to with that. Nothing. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Crap all. Nein. Am I making it clear yet?”
She stopped abruptly with about two feet separating them, her normally soft-blue eyes hardened into fierce sapphire as she glared up at him, waiting for an answer.
“Whether you set it or not, you’re hiding something from me,” he growled. “We both know it.”
Olivia looked away. “Listen, can we talk?”
“I thought that was what we were doing.”
Her glare intensified so quickly Aaric almost took a step back involuntarily. Catching himself, he returned the hard look, both firing lasers from their eyes like some sort of mutant, waiting to see who would break first.
“I meant, inside,” she bit off, her vision not wavering.
“Why would I want to bring you into my House?” he asked. “There’s a lot of flammable stuff in there.”
Olivia’s nostrils flared, and she took a half-step closer. “I. Didn’t. Do. It.”
“Then what is it you aren’t telling me?” he grilled, letting himself sway closer to her, using his height to try and intimidate her.
“Shockingly, you have no right to my personal life. Or any part of my life, really,” she said adamantly, her eyes never once wavering.
There was something going on here. Something he was missing. Olivia was usually hard-headed and stubborn, but she wasn’t usually so…feisty? So challenging. At least, not in his previous encounters with her. Before, he’d gotten more of an impression of a well-polished politician, just as able to use words as she was able in her actions.
This Olivia though, this Olivia looked hard.
That was it, he realized abruptly. She looked hard, but it was a brittle exterior. If he pushed much harder, it would shatter. She was hiding something, and whatever it was, it was forcing her to act this way.
“Why are you here?” he asked suddenly, changing the topic. “Why did you come to see me? We have nothing to discuss.”
“I’m not going to stand out here in the dark and talk,” she fired back. “Are you going to be a gentleman and invite me in? Or should I turn around and go back to Plymouth Falls?”
She came a half-step closer as she spoke. Aaric’s nose picked up her scent now, even with the wind at his back. It was…
Fearful?
What the hell was going on here? Why would she be scared to talk to him? He wasn’t going to hurt her. Not unless she attacked him.
Coming to full alert, he quested out with his senses, scanning the area around them, listening for even the slightest sound. A boot on gravel or creaking of a branch. The rustle of leaves as someone dragged a heel through them. A heartbeat hidden in the car.
But he couldn’t hear anything.
“Why are you scared of me right now?” he asked, stepping forward inside her circle of space, his hands sliding up into her armpits. “Are you going to attack me?”
He patted her down without waiting for approval, checking for weapons, all the while ready to use his strength to put her down if need be.
“Attack you? What are you talking about?” Olivia yelped, pushing h
is hands away. “Get your hands off me. I didn’t say you could touch me.”
“I’m searching you for weapons. Calm down.”
“Weapons? Why the hell do you think I’m here?”
Aaric stepped back. “Why are you here?”
Olivia closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath and then exhaling it slowly. “I need to talk to you. Can we please go inside?”
“Fine. Your car stays here. You ride with me.”
“Whatever,” she muttered, moving past him to the passenger side of his car and opening the door. Without waiting for him, she got in.
A second later, the horn beeped. “Let’s go!” she called from the interior.
Thoroughly confused and more than a little intrigued, he walked back over, surveying the exterior one last time for any sort of trap.
“You sure are paranoid,” she muttered as he got in.
“I have my reasons,” he informed her.
“Are you going to tell me?”
“Probably not,” he said, then fell silent, guiding the car along the driveway up to the house.
“Oh my,” Olivia gasped as they exited the trees.
“Welcome to my home,” he said gently, as the grandeur of Drakon Keep spread out before them.
17
“This is your house?” she gasped. “It’s a castle.”
Olivia didn’t feel it was an exaggeration. The stone edifice rising up out of the ground would have given most medieval-era castles a run for their money. It was massive. She counted at least six stories, and half a dozen minaret’s as well, not including the giant tower that thrust up from the center, with the others spread out in a six-sided star around it.
“Welcome to Drakon Keep,” Aaric said.
“Drakon Keep. Yeah, accurate name,” she mumbled. “Where’s the moat?”
“Oh, we got rid of it a few centuries back,” he explained. “It was impractical, and ultimately, because it froze in the winter, unnecessary. So, we just filled it in.”
“Very funny,” she said with a laugh. “This place is massive.”
“It can feel like that sometimes,” he agreed. “But other times, it feels just cozy.”
She looked at him sideways, wondering how something so big could feel cozy, but he didn’t seem to be pulling her strings.
The car took a turn off the main driveway, following a smaller roadway around the back of the Keep where it dove down underground. Something she could only describe as a true castle-like portcullis rose up as they approached, all steel and grated, but rising with modern fluidity.
Then they were among the underground garage. The lights must have been sensor-driven, because sections lit up as they approached them.
“Holy shit.” Olivia just stared. The space seemed to go on forever. Most of it was empty, but as they slowed down, she saw they were approaching a space with a number of exotic and luxury vehicles occupying it. “Are these all yours?”
“Yes,” he answered, without going into detail.
“I have no idea you were so, um, rich,” she finished lamely as he parked the car and they got out.
Aaric looked around uncomfortably. “I try not to advertise it much.”
“Right,” she said, stretching the word out while running her eyes over the fleet of hyper-cars and extreme luxury vehicles. “Very low-key.”
“So, I like cars,” he muttered. “I’m allowed to have a passion.”
“Nobody said you weren’t passionate,” she muttered without thinking, her brain remembering their kiss, in a parking lot filled with much more mundane cars.
Abruptly realizing what she’d said, Olivia bit her lip and looked down at her watch, checking the time. There was no rush. She’d gotten lucky, locating Aaric that very night. They could still do this. All she had to do was not alarm him and ask for his help.
So why haven’t you already blurted out why you’re here? What are you doing, girl? You could have told him at the gate. Just told the truth.
“Got anything to drink?” she said abruptly, trying to cut the tension between them.
It didn’t help that Aaric was still staring at her, looking superb in his three-piece suit. God, why was it that when men decided to add a vest to a suit, that they just took everything to another level? It wasn’t fair.
“Yes. This way,” Aaric said, and she followed after him.
A very old-looking door creaked open, the gate retracting into the wall, revealing a rather small box.
“Elevator,” he informed her politely, stepping in, then gesturing for her to follow.
Olivia entered, the two of them crowding the space. She was abruptly aware of his presence. His smell invaded her nose and she drank deep, enjoying the rich masculinity of it. It was the aroma of the outdoors, mixed with just the faintest bit of sweat that somehow made it all the richer. Not rank sweat, but…
Stop it. Stop it right now. If you’re finding the smell of his sweat attractive, you’ve got a problem. Focus. Remember why you’re here.
The elevator jolted into motion without warning and she stumbled off-balance. Thick arms reached out and wrapped her up in their muscles, preventing Olivia from falling or slamming into the door.
“Sorry,” Aaric said, his voice rumbling through her shoulder where it rested against his chest.
“No, it’s fine,” she mumbled, extricating herself from his arms, throat drier than the Sahara all of a sudden. “Thank you.”
“I need to get it replaced with something more modern, but I…I like its charm.”
“Very charming,” she said, the words rushing out of her.
Remember. Use whatever method it takes. Every means at your disposal, to get that property.
The words of Martinez’ thug echoed in her head.
No. She wouldn’t do that. Couldn’t do that.
Aaric’s hand landed on her shoulder, holding her tight as the elevator shuddered to a stop. Without thinking, she reached up and placed her hand on top of his.
Don’t do it. Don’t…
Turning around, Olivia placed her other hand on his chest and shoved him backward, advancing on him.
She wasn’t thinking straight. Couldn’t figure out what she was doing. Yet she kept going, kept pushing until Aaric was pressed against the elevator wall.
Powerful fingers gripped her jaw, tilting her head upward. “Olivia,” he said.
The way her name rolled off his lips was heavenly. The thick timbre, the movement of his lips, those lips she knew tasted so good, and that had kissed her so hard.
“Again,” she whispered.
Aaric frowned.
“My name. Say it.”
“Olivia.”
Her spine trembled at the sound.
“I thought you wanted to talk,” he added as one arm slid around her waist.
“I did,” she mumbled between lips that seemed to refuse to obey her commands. “I do.”
“What do you want to talk about?” Aaric asked, leaning down toward her.
Her reply was lost in his lips as they grazed hers at first, then smashed hard against her as the final string holding them back broke.
Olivia gasped as Aaric flexed his strength, scooping her up from the ground and pinning her to the wall of the elevator, the tiny cage shaking from the impact.
“Aaric,” she moaned, his heated breath splashing across her neck, igniting the skin there moments before he buried his teeth in it, sending jolts of electricity racing down her spine and between her legs.
“Olivia.”
She couldn’t help herself, she moaned wordlessly at the way he growled her name. Just hearing him say it turned her on.
Fumbling fingers got the buttons to his suit jacket undone, and then a moment later his vest, but she lost track of what she was doing when his mouth returned to hers. Her lips parted, and their tongues danced across their counterpart, soft, warm and promising of other things to come.
“Where—” Aaric started to say, but she stopped him with a finger t
o his mouth.
“Here,” she said, fingers fumbling with the much smaller buttons of his shirt. “Right here.”
Aaric set her down carefully. For a moment, Olivia was dismayed, but then his hands went to her clothes. Together they undressed the other, eyes locked. Her fingers could find the buttons and undo them just fine, though she trembled as more and more of her shirt parted, revealing the boring black bra underneath.
Then she watched the way Aaric’s face lit up, his strange golden eyes seeming to come alive a bit more with every inch of her skin that he could see.
“So sexy,” he growled, pulling her shirt down from her shoulders as the last button slipped free.
Olivia bit her lip as fingers traced their way up her spine, and a moment later her bra unclipped and fell forward. Slowly, tenderly, Aaric stripped her to the waist. He paused for just a moment, just long enough for self-doubt to start to fill her.
“Unbelievable,” he groaned, his hands finding her waist before sliding up, while his mouth closed around one of her hard nipples, alternating between sucking it and running circles around it with his tongue.
Leaning her head back against the tiny elevator’s walls, she basked in the attention for just a moment. That was all the time she had before Aaric dropped a hand between her legs, running his fingers up the inside of her thigh all the way to the peak.
She was on fire by this point, and the slightest hint of a touch was enough to cause her to jerk unsteadily. So, when two of his fingers traced their way up across her clit, exerting a solid pressure, she gasped and spasmed.
Fabric tore, and she realized abruptly that her hands had been clenching onto his mostly undone dress-shirt, the last few buttons still done up. When he’d touched her, however, she’d ripped them free.
“Oh shit, I’m sorry I—”
Aaric just laughed, and smothered her apologies in more kisses, silencing her for the moment. His fingers returned to between her legs, and in seconds Olivia had completely forgotten the damage to his shirt.
She wanted him. Had wanted him, she realized, since the day they’d met, though only now was she finally admitting it. Her body ached for him, for Aaric.