Hers to Take

by Talia Ellison

  “We can stay here until morning,” Aaron mumbled as he sat next to me. I let myself drop onto the bed, pulling him with me. One of the bottles fell to the floor with a loud crash.

  “What ‘bout Marco? He... gonna... stand... outside... all night?” I shifted and leaned my head on Aaron’s chest. His body was so warm and comforting, and I closed my eyes as I toyed with a button on his shirt.

  “Shit!” Aaron tapped the bed for his phone. If I wasn’t wrong, the room was spinning around us a bit. He fiddled with the phone, pressing something, and then it slipped through his fingers and hit him in the face.

  “Fuck!” He tossed the phone, and I burst into hysterical laugher and couldn’t stop until the door opened. I lifted my head a little, only to see Marco’s narrowed eyes.

  “Aaron, what the fuck did you do?” Marco shook his head at us. I tried to grab his hand and pull him onto the bed with us, but somehow I missed.

  “You a ghost?” I waved my hand through the air where Marco’s arm was supposed to be and hiccupped. He caught my arm then, and gently pushed me back down on the bed. I curled up next to Aaron, who had the most beautiful smile on his face.

  “If... my father calls...” Aaron said. “Tell him to go fuck himself.”

  “Yeah, because that went over so well last time.” Marco had a pained expression on his face. “Just go to sleep. Both of you. We’ll talk in the morning, like adults, you know.”

  “Adults.” I snorted. That word was so strange and so funny at the same time. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed that before... The world went darker around me and I let sleep devour me.

  ***

  It had taken Roberto a week to summon Aaron to his office, probably to talk about his failed plan. This time, Aaron had decided it was better for me not to come with him since he didn’t want me anywhere near his enraged father, which was totally fine with me because I had no desire to listen to him whining about how he couldn’t kill my brother. I just hoped he hadn’t found an alternative.

  When Aaron came back, he was barely containing his laughter.

  “What did he say?” I sat up on the bed and arched my eyebrows.

  “He’s outraged.” Aaron settled next to me and sighed in contentment. “You don’t know how happy it makes me to see him like that.”

  “I can imagine.” I intertwined my fingers in frustration. “Now tell me what he said!” I raised my voice because my brother’s life was at stake.

  “He gave up on the idea to go after your family. He thinks it’s too much of a risk right now,” Aaron said, and my shoulders slumped in relief.

  “Are you sure? If he found out somehow you had something to...” This time I kept my voice as low as possible.

  He nodded. “He was a little suspicious about the whole thing, but the man he hired was the only one insane enough to be willing to go after one of the Ferraras, so it isn’t that strange he lost his life in a fight with some drunk. There are no witnesses, and apparently War liked to argue with people and piss them off because he thought he was invincible.”

  “Okay, so your father suspects nothing, and if he begins to, he’ll think one of War’s numerous enemies was responsible.” I realized my hand was awfully close to Aaron’s, and for some weird reason, I wanted to close that small distance and touch him. “Are you sure he isn’t going to find another crazy person to hire? I mean, there are plenty of crazy people who need money.”

  “He can’t just hire any crazy. Crazies talk too much. This one didn’t. He was good at keeping secrets. It’s a good thing he didn’t live up to his reputation.” There was probably something Aaron wasn’t telling me. He wouldn’t have gone after War himself if he’d thought the guy was really that good, but he’d made sure that I believed he was.

  “Good. So what’s our plan?” My finger twitched and brushed against his. He quickly glanced down at our hands. His eyes met mine, and they were warm, without a hint of that coldness that he usually wore around himself like a coat.

  “Our plan...” He cleared his throat. “Our plan hasn’t changed. Some things will be put in motion and we’ll get into my father’s office, and you’ll copy his hard drive.”

  “How soon will that be? I really want to be out of here,” I said half-jokingly, but the whole thing was making me nervous. There weren’t many opportunities for escape, and, despite what Aaron had done for my cousin and the others, I doubted he wouldn’t kill me for knowing way too much. Sure, he could claim I was lying, but if his father figured out my real identity, he wouldn’t trust Aaron’s word or anything he said. But what bugged me even more was that I was barely containing myself from burying my hands into his hair and pulling those kissable lips to mine. And if I was going to die anyway, maybe I could at least do something to make sure my image would haunt him forever. That thought made me smile a little. Maybe I was starting to lose my mind in here.

  “I don’t know yet. In a week or two.” His finger touched mine, his warmth sending a spark of electricity through my hand, but then he pulled away. “I have to go.” He got to his feet and bolted to the door. When he was gone, my hand was still tingling from his touch.

  Chapter 16

  “How could this have happened?” Aaron grabbed Marco by the lapels of his black leather jacket and slammed him against the wall so hard that I could’ve sworn the painting hanging on it moved. The vein in Aaron’s neck was pulsing with rage as Marco swallowed hard. If I didn’t know this whole little show had been prearranged, I would’ve believed it all. Roberto watched their altercation with interest, his eyebrows shooting upward, his hands clasped in front of him.

  “I don’t know, sir,” Marco stammered. “That’s what Lloyd told me. I wasn’t in charge of the shipment, so I don’t know anything else. I can bring him here if you wish.”

  “No,” Aaron said coldly, and let go of Marco.

  “What’s going on?” Roberto asked.

  “One of my shipments was lost,” Aaron said.

  “You lost one of your shipments?” Roberto’s tone was mocking. “How?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to find out!” Aaron gritted his teeth. “Someone tipped off the cops! I thought we had this under...”

  Roberto lifted his finger to shush him. “Come with me.” He rose to his feet from the sofa he’d been sitting on. “We can’t discuss this here.”

  Aaron nodded, and his lips twitched lightly as if he wanted to smile because he’d gotten what he wanted.

  “Walk,” Aaron said to me as he roughly grabbed me by the arm. I moved forward, keeping my eyes expressionless and staring in front of me. Roberto’s gaze flew over me, but he didn’t pay me any attention since he probably assumed I was again drugged out of my mind. Even if I didn’t seem catatonic, I was sure Roberto would never see me as a threat. After all, in his eyes I was just a slave to be used.

  After we entered the office, Aaron pulled out a flash drive from the pocket of his suit jacket and slipped it into my hand. The drive was supposed to be undetectable, and once I connected it to Roberto’s computer, it would copy everything without leaving any trace of its activity. It was something similar to what my brother had made for me when I’d intended to steal Aaron’s files. Aaron had assured me the plan would work. As Roberto and Aaron took their seats, I sat down on the floor and leaned against the desk so Roberto couldn’t see me. I glanced around the room for cameras, but the buttons on the desk told me they were off.

  “I’m going to find them and kill them all,” Aaron said, and goose bumps erupted all over my skin because of the sheer coldness and determination in his voice.

  “Now, now,” Roberto said. “We can get your shipment back. I’m going to contact my men. You have nothing to worry about.”

  “But this shouldn’t have happened, Father,” Aaron snapped. “There’s no way the cops would’ve detained that truck if they hadn’t been tipped off. And not many people knew about the shipment.”

  “What are you saying?” Roberto’s voice was guarded. Ca
reful not to disturb anything, I squeezed next to Aaron’s legs and slid under the sturdy desk. The drive dug into the skin of my palm as I pressed it against the soft carpet.

  “When you finally allowed me to have my own business, you didn’t let me hire any of my own men. You said I could trust them,” Aaron said accusingly. This so wasn’t going to go over well with his father, but it would give me an opportunity to slide the drive into the slot. I settled right in front of the computer tower, waiting for the right moment and barely breathing.

  Roberto suddenly kicked out his leg under the desk, nearly striking me, and the tip of his shoe pressed down on my index finger. Shit. There were a few wires down there too, so hopefully he’d think it was one of those, but if he looked down to check... I swallowed hard, too scared to move.

  “How dare you?” Roberto’s voice boomed, and the pressure on my finger increased. Fucking hell. I carefully extended my other hand and tried to insert the drive into the slot. “I gave you everything, even before you were ready, and you still managed to fuck that up! I gave you my men because I knew you were incapable of finding your own! And now you accuse me of... what exactly? That my men are no longer loyal? They would’ve died for me and they would’ve done the same for you.”

  I pushed the drive into the slot and the small light on it came on. After the files were copied, the light would turn off. I clenched my jaw as Roberto wiggled his foot.

  “I don’t know what to think,” Aaron said.

  “I told you, I’m going to get in touch with my contacts and see if there was a tip off or just bad luck. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Ferraras are trying to destabilize us with this. You should check your system for any hacks. Rumor has it Tony Ferrara is good at that. They want to stop the inevitable, but they won’t succeed.” Roberto sounded much calmer. “Don’t be so stupid as to fall for their tricks without knowing all the facts.”

  “I’m sorry,” Aaron said, tapping his foot, which meant he was wondering what the hell was taking me so long, but the damn drive was still on. Just how many files did Roberto have? Probably a few GBs worth of torture porn or something equally disgusting, and I really hoped that at least something useful would be there. I had no idea what that meant for my future, though. Would Aaron really let me go? I had no idea, but first I had to get out of here without getting caught. My finger was growing numb already.

  “You still have a lot to learn, but luckily for you, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon,” Roberto said happily.

  “So what are we going to do? If anyone working for me is responsible, they’re going to pay for it. We can’t afford to have moles in our midst, especially not now.”

  “You’ll deal with them if that’s the case,” Roberto said, but he didn’t sound convinced that his men could’ve done anything wrong. He preferred to blame my family for everything. The light on the drive finally turned off, and I carefully grasped it. Roberto removed his foot off my finger and I had to stifle a small cry. “What is that...?” I heard the scraping of a chair, snatched the drive, and crawled away from there as quickly as possible, but I knew it would be too late. He’d see me. If he looked under the desk, he’d fucking see me.

  “What is what?” Aaron’s voice wavered for a fraction of a second, but I hoped his father wouldn’t notice.

  “Something under the...”

  Aaron quickly pushed his chair back and I scrambled out from under there, hiding behind the thick leg of the desk and leaning my back against it. The drive was tightly clutched in my hand. Aaron bent down to peek under the desk and I imagined his father was doing the same. What if he had some hidden camera under it? What if the damn drive wasn’t undetectable? I had no idea how Aaron had obtained it, but what if the person who had sold it to him had set him up? I forced my body to go still and closed my eyes, releasing slow and careful breaths.

  “I can’t see anything,” Aaron said.

  “Ah, it’s nothing,” Roberto finally said. “I must have stepped on one of the wires.”

  “What did you think it was? A rat?” Aaron chuckled.

  “This isn’t funny, Aaron. We’re preparing for war, and I don’t want any complications or mistakes.”

  “Of course.” Aaron’s face went blank again.

  “The good thing is that this is the safest place in the world. At least I don’t have to worry about anything since my information is perfectly safe.”

  “Don’t get too confident, Father. The people you work with on the new drug still know everything, and if they get a better offer...”

  “They won’t,” Roberto snapped. “You should worry about your business, not mine. It’s yours that always runs into problems. Now go. I have work to do.”

  Aaron’s lips twisted upward into an unpleasant smile. “As you wish.” He got to his feet, reaching out to me. I pressed my hand to my chest as Aaron grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet. We strode toward the door, Aaron dragging me with him. His father didn’t say anything as the door opened for us.

  Once we were in the hallway, I realized I couldn’t just keep the drive in my hand, especially not in front of all the guards, who’d definitely notice I was clutching something in my hand. Well, they probably wouldn’t figure it out immediately, but if Roberto ever asked, they’d surely remember. I didn’t know why I cared, but if Aaron actually kept his word, then I’d rather not have Roberto targeting me specifically. I purposely tripped over my feet and plummeted to the floor. A small cry escaped my throat, but I managed to slip the drive into my bra as I was getting up. My hair provided enough protection, so the guards couldn’t have seen what I’d done.

  “Get up,” Aaron yelled and pulled me to my feet. We didn’t look back as we made our way toward his room. Once we were safely inside, I leaned against the wall next to the door, sighing in relief.

  “Are you okay?” Aaron’s eyes were filled with worry as he placed his hand on my cheek, and I opened my mouth, unsure of what I was about to say. I’d expected him to just ask for the drive, so it took me a moment to understand what he wanted to know.

  I nodded, then reached into my bra and pulled out the drive. A smile broke out on my face, and my body was still full of adrenaline. That must have been the most exciting thing I’d ever done. Aaron grinned at me, but instead of taking the drive, he bent his head and pressed his lips against mine. His fingers trailed up my arm as he kissed me hard and deep, leaving me gasping for breath.

  He easily took the drive from me, his mouth crashing against mine again, and slipped it into his pocket. I broke away from the kiss, wondering just what the hell we were doing and what this meant, but as I looked into Aaron’s deep blue eyes that were swirling with an emotion I couldn’t identify, I decided that I just didn’t care. I let my fingers slide into his hair and pulled him toward me, parting his lips with my tongue and intertwining it with his. He didn’t resist as I shoved him back, toward the bed. His hands roamed up and down my back as our lips collided once again, and all I knew and wanted was to remove those pesky clothes that were separating our feverish skin.

  He shrugged out of his jacket as I unbuttoned the first two buttons of his white shirt, but then just realized I wasn’t patient enough and simply tugged hard, the buttons popping out. The strong muscles of his arms flexed as he slipped out of it. A smile spread across his lips as I grabbed at my dress, which had a few buttons at the back instead of a zipper. I yanked at those too and let my dress fall to the floor.

  As I stepped out of it, Aaron’s hungry eyes traveled my body, and I placed my hand against his chest, pushing him back. His cock was straining against his pants as I slid my hand down his stomach and got a hold of his belt buckle. His chest was rapidly rising and falling as I pulled out the belt, caressing the soft leather as a wicked smile stretched my lips.

  “Turn around,” I said, and a frown line creased his brow.

  “Why?” His mouth twitched.

  “Just do it.”

  He eyed me for a moment and bit down on his lip, th
en obeyed. I snatched his wrists and wound the belt around them, trapping his hands behind his back.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice husky. I pressed myself against his back and cupped his cock through his pants, making him hiss.

  Letting go of him, I unhooked my bra and dropped it to the floor. “Help me get out of these.” I hooked a finger into the waistband of my panties and let it snap back into place. “No hands.” The shocked expression on his face caused a little tingle between my legs. I lay down on the bed, waving at him to come to me. As I spread my legs and lifted my hips, he climbed onto the bed.

  He rubbed his nose against my wet panties and looked up at me. After he planted the softest of kisses just under my belly button, he trailed his tongue up my stomach. I placed my hand at the back of his head, guiding him toward my breast. His mouth closed over my hard nipple, pinching and sucking, and a jolt of pleasure found its way through my body. I closed my eyes as he focused his attention on my other breast and twirled his tongue around the top. A soft moan escaped me as his teeth grazed my tender skin, and I gently pushed at his head to show him where I wanted him now more than ever. My whole body was throbbing with desire and I couldn’t take it any longer.

  “Get them off,” I whispered. “Now!” My voice was harsher than I’d intended, but Aaron lowered himself down my body and nuzzled my thigh, making my body quiver, then he caught the waistband of my panties with his teeth. I lifted my hips up, closing my legs a little, but not enough to make this easy for him. The fabric bit into my skin, only increasing my need. With a few frustrated groans, Aaron pulled my panties down my legs and finally flashed me a winning grin, my panties still hanging from his mouth. He carefully dropped them on the bed.

  “Aaron,” I called, opening my legs wide, and the eyes that met mine were so warm and so blue, like the sky on the brightest sunny day. He bent his head and blew a hot breath against my pussy, and I shivered, my fingers grasping his hair and twisting the soft strands. God, I loved his hair. I could run my fingers through it forever.