“Greta called me before you did,” she explained, “saying something about how you would never go far enough with anyone, or give into certain things because your biological mom was involved somehow and I kinda freaked out because we’ve already done certain things and I don’t wanna go on knowing that we won’t get anywhere with it-”
She was silenced by his soft lips molding against hers, his hand reaching out to her waist to pull her close and wrap her up in him. His kiss was slow and gentle, hand running into her hair, fingers lightly massaging her scalp. It was sweet, and very loving.
He pulled away slowly looking into her eyes, “There is definitely a lot you need to know. And I owe you that because I want to go to lengths even I haven’t gone yet, at whatever pace you decide. And all with you, no one else. You make me feel safe, Mina. I don’t know how to say it, but I know you won’t try to hurt me the way others have. And something tells me you know the pain…”
“I have to admit, there are a few things about me you should know, too,” she confessed, “Should we do this after eating?”
“Sure, whatever you feel best doing,” he smiled at her, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. She relaxed into his touch, leaning forward and nuzzling her head in his chest. He held her securely, knowing she felt how he did in her arms. As if nothing in the world could hurt them.
They took the food to the living room and got comfortable on the couch, slurping away at their noodles. It didn’t take long for them to unconsciously fall into a match of who could slurp the longest. Then the loudest. Then the most noodles in a slurp. Mina was surprised they even had enough noodles for it. It was a rather large portion with one box enough for two and Mina was not a light eater.
After they were done and satisfied, he opened his arms to her. She crawled into the carefully, and he held her as he leaned back against the arm of the couch, her fitting perfectly and comfortably between his legs. With her stomach full and her body wrapped up in warmth, she swore she would fall asleep.
“We could talk tomorrow,” he said with a yawn, “We’re both too sleepy to do anything.”
“Let’s head to bed right now,” she agreed, “Come on, we gotta wash up, too.”
Mina was up on her feet, wobbling a little from fatigue. Aaron stumbled and almost fell. They helped each other to the bathroom, brushed their teeth, and headed off to bed. Mina waited as she snuggled in the blankets while Aaron changed in his wardrobe. He came out in nothing but shorts, and turned the AC on as he got into bed with Mina. He knew the bed arranged for Mina in her new studio would go to waste, but he didn’t want Gale getting suspicious, or have anything to tease him of.
She was quick to note his presence and snuggled right up to his chest. He slithered his arm under her head and placed the other one over her waist, drawing her closer and placing his chin over her head. Aaron had never felt so much peace and comfort in his life, and neither had Mina.
It didn’t take long for the either of them to fall into a deep slumber. But something told them that it might be the last of peaceful nights they had.
Chapter Twelve
Mina woke up to something softly stroking her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open to Aaron gazing down at her. His lips quirked into a smile and he pulled her closer, snuggling her into himself.
“Morning,” he grunted. His morning voice was deep and it rumbled through his chest. Mina almost melted at the sound of it, “Did you sleep well.”
“Better than ever, really,” she confessed, moving in impossibly closer and settling her head in the crook of his neck.
“That tickles,” he chuckled, his body shaking. But Mina felt extremely attracted to the feeling of calmness he was exuding and wanted nothing more than to have her fill bathing in it, “We need to have breakfast. I’ll be late for work.”
“Don’t go…” she murmured, “Please?”
“I’ll be off early today,” he sang. She hummed and sat up, trying to push him off the bed.
“You’re blocking me.”
“Are you trying to get me to fall off?”
“Yuss,” she grinned. Aaron laughed and rolled off, landing perfectly on his feet.
“But you cannot, for I am perfection.”
“I can see your armpit hair.”
“They’re perfect, too,” he huffed defiantly and Mina only gave him a humorous look before he pulled her off the bed and walked her to the bathroom, “Make it quick. I’ll handle breakfast, okay?”
It was the same routine all over again, like every day. Get up, eat, work, break, eat, work, calls – wait, Mina didn’t get many calls. It wasn’t that she didn’t have friends. She talked to them all the time during her break, but even they were extremely busy and had their own lives. So who could this be?
Seeing the name on her phone, she crashed her thumb against the accept button and put it one speaker, “MA!”
“Hi, sweetie!” she chirped back, “How are you doing? Have you been taking care of yourself?”
How the fuck do I answer that?, Mina thought recalling all the craziness that had taken place the past few days. She could never really lie to her mother, but it would be too much to explain.
“Well, it’s been okayish, work and all,” she replied, “Kinda boring, to be honest. How’s the honey moon.”
“Oh her, God, Mina, it’s amazing here!” Heidi squealed, “I wish you could have come with us! The water here is literally like berry blue Kool-Aid, and they have these foot massages that put you to sleep! Also, I’ve been shopping around a bit and…”
Her mother’s voice trailed away as she neared the glass wall of her studio, skeptically studying the building just a little bit away. Black smoke billowed from a window close to the top, and two men jumped out of it hanging by ropes. A helicopter soon flew in to take them away. But what alarmed her was that it wasn’t just any building.
It was the McCarthy Continental’s HQ.
“Hey, mom? Mom, there’s been a little trouble so I’ll call you back in a bit, okay? Just give me a minute.”
“Honey, is everything-”
Mina hung up and dialed Aaron straight away, heart racing in panic, hoping nothing had happened to him. She knew it had something to do with the Morgan siblings. Who else could it be behind it?
“Mina.”
“Aaron, are you okay? The building’s on fire.”
“I just narrowly escaped,” he sighed, “On her way home and it won’t take me long. Lock all the doors and windows. I reinforced the security around her place before I left but take precautions. Don’t answer the door or open it to anyone who doesn’t knock four times. Wait for them to do it again if you feel suspicious.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Aaron hung up and Mina immediately set to work. It wasn’t long until someone knocked on the door. Four times.
“Mina, it’s me,” Aaron’s voice came through, “Open up.”
She rushed to the door and pulled it open, coming face to face with a dusty and ashen Aaron. His deep blue suit looked like it had charred in some places.
“Oh her, God! You should have gone to the hospital!” Mina cried as she pulled him in, “What if you inhaled something poisonous?”
“I know what a poisonous bomb smells like,” he grunted and stepped into the kitchen, “Not the first time something of this sort has happened.”
“It’s Tyler, isn’t it?”
“There are more people involved,” he sighed, “I just can’t get a break. I need some time to herself right now and think this all through.”
“Well, okay,” she said, and quietly backed away. She looked at him for a while, tensed over the sink, breathing hard to calm himself down, face scrunched in concentration trying to get his thoughts together past the agitation.
It broke her heart.
But there was nothing she could do.
With slow, quiet steps, she approached Aaron from behind, not sure if it was a good idea at all. But she went with it, carefully wrapping her arms around his tor
so and giving him a gentle squeeze, laying her head onto his back. And he visibly relaxed under her touch. Turning around, he hugged her back.
“Let’s talk,” he said, “There is a lot you need to know.”
Mina couldn’t speak as she listened. She was horrified and almost couldn’t believe a mother could do something to her own son. But Mina knew it happened around the world, it just horrified her that it had happened to Aaron.
He had been sexually harassed by his mother. Almost every day. He had been beaten. He had been mentally tortured to ends. He’d been broken down by her so badly that he’d tried to kill himself many times over the course of two years before his mom committed suicide. He was the one to have called the authorities on her, and she found in the midst of action with another minor. She was guilty of possession of child pornography. And she’d raped many men. Enticed them, drugged them and had her way.
It was too much to wrap her head around, but it raged her to wits end knowing the woman paid for nothing and too the easy way out by killing herself.
“Basically, I’m afraid of having sex,” he admitted dejectedly, “and I don’t like it when anyone tries to please me. I have no problem pleasing anyone else, but only if I want to. I just can’t let anyone touch me like that either without the memories bombarding me and making me feel guilty for those urges.”
It had taken Aaron everything to let it out to her. He felt like he’d given her his soul by telling her all this. He was afraid she’d think he was lying, accuse him of something, and leave.
But she didn’t. Instead, her hand found his, gently drawing it close to her face. She kissed his palm and wrapped his hand in both of her small ones.
“To have gone through all of that and still having the strength to stand up for yourself must’ve taken a lot…” she said softly, “You did the right thing, Aaron. And you are not to blame for this in any way. You know that, right? You didn’t even understand what was happening with you.”
Aaron’s heart calmed down as he heard her response, tears of relief springing into his eyes as Mina came forward and hugged him, “You were so brave, Aaron. You were so strong. It’s one less person hurting people now. You have no clue what a huge service you did to people.”
Aaron could only hold her. Bile lumped up in his throat, leaving his speechless. But he wanted to thank her. He wanted to never let go. He wanted her to be with him forever.
“I’m proud of you,” she whispered, running her hand through his hair, “You’ve been so brave.”
They sat in silence, holding each other.
“By the way, it’s not like I don’t want to go far with anyone,” he started, “I just want it to be with the right person.”
“I can understand,” Mina kissed his cheek, but quickly pulling away and swiping at her lips, a splotch of black staining her hand, “you still have ash on you. Maybe you should take a shower and tell me what exactly happened at the office?”
“I’ll take one later,” he said, “There’s more you need to know. About Tyler and I.”
Mina nodded for him to continue, “We go way back. Say, 30 years. Childhood friends, but I pushed him away when I was in university. What he got involved with was dangerous, and he hasn’t let go of it to this day.”
It was took a while to explain everything to her, and she looked absolutely mortified at the end of it all.
“Isn’t there any way to throw him off? Why is he so adamant on hurting you?”
“I left him that night,” he sighed, “Took his truck and ran away. Embarrassed him in front of his higher ups. Not just that, I almost got him caught, had him disowned by his parents.”
“That wasn’t your fault,” Mina interrupted him, “You did what you could to protect yourself. What happened to Tyler was his parents’ responsibility. They would’ve found out from elsewhere sooner or later.”
But Aaron was already too upset and guilty to try anymore. His whole life, he was made to feel that everything was his fault. Mina understood that all too well, but it was still a mystery to her as to how to deal with it. Because she always went to sleep to forget.
“Come one, let’s run you a nice bath, and then we’ll head to be,” she whispered into his ear, pulling on his hand, “You’ll feel better, I promise.”
Chapter Thirteen
He allowed himself to be dragged to his bedroom, where she set him on the bed and went into the bathroom to turn the tap on full, rushing back out and to her studio to get one of her aqua blue bath bombs, candles, and an Epsom salt lamp. They always cheered up everybody.
She went back to check in on the gushing water, surprised that the tub was already full. She noticed later that the tap wasn’t the only source. She arranged the lamp in a safe corner and turned it on, glad that it was still working as she figured from the scent that rose from it. It had been a quite a while since she had used it.
She went back to check on the tub, turning off the taps as the water was almost to the brim. She lighted the candles, turned the lights dim, and called for Aaron. He trudged towards the entrance, but perked up at the nice smell wafting about, and the relaxing atmosphere created by the dull lights. He walked inside, and Mina handed him the globe that took two of her hands to hold. It fit in his palm perfectly.
“I bet you’ve never tried a bath bomb before,” she grinned.
“I’ve seen videos,” he admitted, “but it never occurred to me to invest in one.”
“You sit in the tub, you put this in, and you just watch.”
“Okay then,” he said and got rid of his shirt.
“Let me leave first!” she cried, “Goodness!”
“Hey, wait,” he grabbed her arm as she tried to walk past, “I thought you would join me.”
Mina’s face burst into flames as he laughed at her reaction, pinching her nose, “In your underwear, at least? It’ll be fun and innocent, really.”
“Well, erm, if you don’t mind…”
“Great!” he finalized and slid off his pants, standing in only his briefs. He stepped into the tub and lowered himself into it, beckoning her towards him.
She realized she’d have to take off her clothes – no duh – and felt too embarrassed to do so. She knew that they had gone far enough for him to see her naked if she wished for him to, but she realized that she really hadn’t fully been undressed before him.
“C-c-could you, like, turn away?” she sputtered out, “Or close your eyes?”
He looked absolutely bewildered by her request, but complied without a question and closed his eyes, putting an arm over them. He didn’t really understand why she asked that, but he respected her a lot and the answers could wait.
Mina carefully peeled her clothes off, stepping forward carefully and quietly towards the tub. She stepped into it slowly and lowered herself, facing him. The water reached his chest, but she was already shoulder deep.
“You can look now,” she mumbled. Her moved his arm away and grinned at her.
“Are you still embarrassed of being that way with me?”
“Sorta…”
“Well, let’s just relax for now,” he said holding out the bubble bath to her, “Show me what it does.”
“You do it,” she encouraged him with a wave of her hand, “Go on. Just plop it in.”
He dropped it, and the water splashed around, getting into their faces. Mina laughed and hit his chest. They looked at the bath bomb that had floated back to the surface, fizzing away and spreading foam everywhere. The scent engulfed them and Aaron sniffed appreciatively.
“I could get used to this,” he sighed, “Been a while since I chilled out in a bath.”
“It’s really soothing,” Mina agreed, “You should do it at least once a week.”
“You can take care of that for me,” he smirked, drawing her closer to him. Her eyes widened.
“What are you doing?” she laughed nervously.
“Cuddling. In the bath,” he stated as a matter-of-factly, “C’mon, it’s cute.”<
br />
She only shrugged and let him pull her closer. Back to his chest, she settled in between his legs and relaxed against him. Well, it was certainly cute, and this was so much more relaxing than having a bath alone.
Mina had to admit, the years she had spent were very lonely. Al though she had worked hard on her mental and spiritual self to heal the years of abuse she had suffered, she couldn’t bring herself to be with anyone no matter how perfect she found them. And she had come across plenty of men who were totally her type, but they all held one common – and very disturbing – trait. They had her father’s personality when it came to their anger. She’d read somewhere that a woman’s unconscious preference and attraction was heavily dependent on their father’s image, because the way daughters were treated was a reflection of their worth and what they deserved. More often than not, at least. There were some lucky girls who ended up with amazing gentlemen, and there were unlucky ones who ended up with worse.
She forced herself to calm her racing thoughts as Aaron’s hands worked on her head, rubbing in shampoo and making bubbles. His hands were soon all over her body with soap, fingers gently massaging her muscles, letting them ooze out all the tension and stress into the water. Mina had never felt so pampered in all her life.
She had worked hard to unlearn the bias. She’d worked very hard. And she’d done her best to avoid becoming who her father was. It took so long, but all that mattered to her was that it worked. She still had a lot of self-loathing locked away, and a lot of sadness she didn’t want to deal with, but she was better than ever.
She was broken out of her thoughts as a bushy – but not uncomfortable – surface rubbed against her face gently. It was Aaron’s stubble that he had grown out. She pushed herself closer against his back and craned her neck upwards to reach his face. His arms wrapped around her body, hands rubbing down her arms and his lips moved against her chin. His wet hand rose to her cheek, turning her face to his. Mina could only stare into his honey eyes as they drew her in. It awed her, to have those eyes look at her like that. With so much love, wanting, and need. She’d never felt so…desperately craved.
The Billionaire's Seed_A Secret Baby Romance Page 61