by Kent, Rina
In the morning, Dad drives us to school. He has a meeting with RES’s principal about a generous donation.
In this circle, generous donations mean ‘my child is made of gold and shouldn’t be touched’.
Jonathan does that all the time. That’s why both Levi and Aiden are untouchable in the school.
I tried persuading Dad not to do it, but Agnus said I won’t be able to change his mind now that he has put his resources into it.
Dad decided to be a thorn in Jonathan’s side, and he’ll stop at nothing to make it happen.
It’s a fight to the death, whether I like to admit it or not.
Rivalling Jonathan’s donation to the school is Dad’s way to prove his power. One thing’s for certain: the board will be thrilled with all the money transferred into their accounts.
Teal, Knox, and I part ways with Dad at the car park. He heads to the administration building while we walk into the eighth tower.
“This is so stupid,” Teal sighs.
“I agree,” I say.
“It’s fun!” Knox smirks. “Think about it. Don’t you like the clashing of powers? This is like Game of Thrones without the dragons.”
I shake my head. Teal rolls her eyes.
“You two are so boring.” His face lights up when Ronan appears down the hall with Xander.
Death has Conquest in a lock as he says something in rapid fire. They’re probably bickering again.
The girls in the hall flock to them like they’re gods walking the earth.
Both Ronan and Xander have the time to wink at one girl and wave at the other even during their bickering.
They’re approachable — overly so. If it were Aiden and Cole, they’d be erasing everyone from their immediate vicinity — especially Aiden.
Cole might be polite, but he doesn’t go out of his way to make a connection or invite people to parties like the two walking towards us.
“Now, they aren’t boring.” Knox grins, waving at them. “Ro!”
“Oh, please. This isn’t the headache I need on a Monday morning.” Teal retrieves her phone and scrolls through it.
I’m starting to think the device is her weapon of choice when she decides to erase the outside world.
“Van Doren.” Ronan and Xander hug Knox in that awkward bro kind of way.
They have been hanging out since the first practice game. Knox has become a regular at Ronan’s parties — to Dad’s dismay.
Not sure if Aiden likes it, but the two of them don’t seem to care.
“How was my weed?” Ronan points at him with a triumphant expression. “I told you you’d see three girls as six.”
Xander nods in our direction.
“Mesdemoiselles.” Ronan searches around us. “Where’s my Kimmy?”
That earns him a slap upside the head from Xander. Ronan elbows him in the side. “As I was saying, where’s my Kimmy?”
“She had to drive her brother to school,” I tell him.
“I see.” He holds my hand. “I missed you during the weekend, Ellie. Why didn’t you come to my party? You should’ve seen my ace performance at the drinking competition. I won, by the way, not to be boastful or anything.”
“You know I’m not big on parties,” I say.
He waggles his eyebrows. “Unless King is there and you’re making babies with him.”
My cheeks heat. Ronan won’t let me live down that time when he nearly walked in on us.
“Do all your conversations have to revolve around sex and alcohol?” Teal asks with genuine curiosity.
“And weed.” He grins, showing his pearly white teeth. “That’s the most important part, ma belle.”
She rolls her eyes and strolls in the opposite direction.
Teal does that a lot — walking away without so much as an excuse — but she does it more often when Ronan is around.
“That’s a record, Astor.” Xander hits his shoulder, laughing. “Never thought there will be a day where a girl will leave because of you.”
“Right? I think so, too.” Ronan scratches his jaw. “She must be an alien. No offence, Van Doren.”
“Being an alien is cool, mate.” Knox grins, but something sinister lurks underneath. “But go near her and I’ll cut you, human style.”
“Go near her?” Xander laughs. “She’ll hang his balls on a stick before you even interfere.”
“That’s actually true.” Knox appears like he just thought about that. “Even my balls aren’t safe from her.”
“Ellie,” Ronan leans in to whisper. “Are they really aliens? Do they do weird twin alien shit at home? Do I have to save you? I have my white horse waiting just outside.”
I burst out laughing. He’s such a weirdo, but a great one at that.
“Finally.” Ronan flings an arm over my shoulder. “I missed that laugh.”
The four of us walk to class together, jesting and talking about the Premier League. Knox is the only one amongst us who supports Chelsea. Needless to say, Xander and Ronan give him hell for it.
Their verbal bickering extends to class with everyone watching them as if they’re world wonders.
Kim comes in last-minute, grumbling about the traffic and how she barely got Kirian to school on time.
For no reason at all, she glares at Xander before she settles in her seat. He barely glances in her direction, though.
Weird.
Class starts, but neither Aiden nor Cole show up. That’s bizarre. They don’t skip classes. Ever.
Especially Cole.
I retrieve my phone and check the text Aiden sent me first thing in the morning.
Aiden: Morning, sweetheart. Did you dream of me?
Aiden: I did. Now I have to jerk off all alone while picturing you.
Erotic images fill my mind. Aiden fisting his cock in that rough, masculine way, thinking about me, and bringing himself to orgasm. Aiden’s godlike expression when he comes, the tightening of his abs, and the strength of his release.
I squirm in my seat.
Wrong thought in class. Extremely wrong.
I try to focus on Mr Huntington as he reads from the textbook.
“Did you punch the bitch queen again?” Kim whispers from beside me.
“No. Why?”
“She’s absent.”
I search behind me, and sure enough, Silver isn’t here either. Wait. My frantic gaze scans around the classroom.
Someone else is absent.
Adam Herran.
Oh, no.
No, no, no.
I should’ve known better after I noticed the way he watched her and how he cornered her in the car park.
Would he really hurt her?
Shit.
If both Aiden and Cole are absent, does that mean they’re helping her?
My legs bounce during the entire class. I can’t concentrate no matter how much I try as all sorts of theories jump into my head.
None of them are good.
What if Adam hurts Aiden? What if something bad happens?
I mean, Aiden is usually the type who inflicts pain, not the other way around, but what if something goes wrong?
What if he’s taken by surprise?
I’m going crazy with one pessimistic scenario after the other.
Dread tightens my stomach as time slowly ticks by.
Come back.
Come back.
Come fucking back.
I retrieve my phone and type him a text.
Elsa: Where are you?
I delete it before sending it and choose to instead send him a late reply to his morning texts.
Elsa: I don’t dream, remember?
My heart lunges in my chest when my phone vibrates with a reply.
Aiden: I’ll dream for the both of us.
The memory hits me out of nowhere.
* * *
“I don’t remember my dreams,” I tell the boy with grey eyes.
He pinches my cheek. “I’ll dream for the both of us.”
<
br /> “Promise?”
“Promise, Elsa.”
18
Elsa
Aiden shows up at school during lunch.
I visibly move from my seat the moment he walks into the cafeteria.
To do what?
Hug him? Kiss him?
What the hell, Elsa? Just because I was worried about him doesn’t mean I’ll jump in his arms.
I sit back down and move the fork in my lunchbox. Telling myself to focus on my food and ignore him doesn’t work. There’s no getting rid of Aiden. He’ll always be there. A constant. A nuisance. A thrill. He’s under my skin, flowing in my bloodstream.
Xander, Ronan, Knox, and Kim’s conversation fades into the background the closer Aiden comes.
I don’t have to look up to feel him. He’s in my bloodstream, remember? He flows inside of me. I’m conscious of him whether I like it or not. My senses are tuned to his confident strides, his all-powerful presence, and even his scent. I can smell it, clean and male and all him.
There’s no ounce of hesitation about where he’s heading. All the people in the cafeteria cease to exist in his eyes. It’s cruel, but it’s true.
Aiden doesn’t and won’t ever care about them.
However, he cares about me.
It’s in the way his features lighten upon seeing me even though his expression is still vastly unreadable. The way his entire body language points in my direction.
How could I have been so blind not to see it before?
Since we were children and even now, Aiden’s features only light up when I’m around.
You’re the only thing who breaks the endless vicious cycle.
He told me that once, but I was at a point where I doubted everything about him.
Did I ever believe a word he said? How did that make him feel?
True, he doesn’t act like a trustworthy person, and he pisses me off with his manipulations, but it’s also true that he never looks at anyone else the way he looks at me.
I was always trapped in my head and never thought of the situation from his perspective. Even when I did, I used it to outsmart him, not to actually understand him.
He stops in front of us. All tall and broad and... sexy.
Yes. He’s sexy and I can finally admit it to myself without him having to touch me.
Aiden is the sexiest person I know. Doesn’t matter if he’s the only sexual partner I had. No one in the world can emulate his intensity and dominance with my body.
The way I react to him has to do with his person as much as his touch.
“King!” Ronan taps the seat beside him. “Viens par ici.”
He doesn’t even acknowledge him, his entire attention settles firmly on my face. “Come with me.”
I stop pretending that I care about the food and glance at him. At how his uniform moulds to his muscular arms and thighs. At how the first button is open, revealing a hint of his tanned skin.
Shaking my head, I ask, “Come with you?”
“You’ll understand on the way.”
“Hello?” Ronan jumps to his feet and waves in Aiden’s direction. “I’m over here.”
“Move that pretty arse, sweetheart.”
I grab my bag and stand up.
Could be because of hearing him calling me sweetheart again.
Could be because of his damn authoritative tone that has my core all slippery.
Could be both.
Aiden remains motionless for a beat. He probably didn’t expect me to agree this willingly. I surprised myself, too, but I can’t fight it anymore.
At least not now.
Aiden’s pause lasts for a mere second before he wraps his hand around mine and leads me out of the cafeteria.
“Nice talk!” Ronan shouts after us.
I stare at Aiden’s hand surrounding mine. It brings back memories of the time when we were children.
Back then, I was always the one who held his hand and clung to him. I also shamelessly snuggled to his side and laid my head on his shoulder.
Who knew there would be a day when our roles would be reversed?
We slide into Aiden’s Ferrari and fly out of the school’s car park.
“Where are we going?” I finally ask, holding the backpack close to my chest.
Aiden concentrates on the road. “The Meet Up.”
“Why?”
“Nash asked to meet us there.”
Oh.
I try to fight the wave of disappointment but lose. We’re only going to the Meet Up because of Cole. Not that I should be disappointed.
I shouldn’t.
“Why did you come with me willingly?” he asks out of the blue.
“I… don’t know.” And I really don’t. I wasn’t in the right state of mind.
Maybe it’s because I was worried about him and was remembering the past.
Or maybe it’s because I miss him. I’m like a beggar, pleading for crumbs and glimpses of him to satiate the thirst and craving inside of me.
I hate myself for missing him. Why is it impossible to not miss him?
Tilting sideways, I watch him closely, his black hair and irresistible eyes that could tell a thousand stories. His built and his easy confidence.
He must have something alien in his blood. No. I’m sure he does. Otherwise, how come he draws me in so effortlessly?
“Do you remember the time we spent together ten years ago?” I ask before I can stop myself.
He nods, eyes darkening. “And you don’t.”
My heart skips a beat. He hates it. Oh, my God. He hates that I don’t remember him from back then. It must be why he’s been such a dick all this time, calling me Frozen and heartless.
Can I blame him, though? I would’ve been so heartbroken if he forgot about me.
“It’s not by choice.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Besides, I remember a few things.”
“Hmm. Like what?”
“Like spending a lot of time with you and talking. I don’t think you ever gave me your name because I kept thinking about you as the boy with grey eyes.”
“You spent the entire night with me.” He smiles a little. “You wouldn’t leave even when I told you to.”
“I did not!” My cheeks flame with embarrassment.
“I’m the one with the memories, remember?” His lips tilt with a smirk. “You wiped my face with a wet cloth then covered me with a blanket just so you could slip underneath it with me. Oh, you also held my hand and kissed my cheek. Child Elsa was a stage five clinger.”
Is there a hole I can bury myself in it?
Still, I jut my chin. “You’re only saying that because I don’t remember.”
He takes my hand and lifts it to his face. He flattens my palm over his mouth and kisses it so tenderly, a shock ripples through my entire body.
Heat flashes over my skin like rapid fire and shoots straight to my bones.
Oh, God.
I can handle the intense, dirty side of Aiden — sometimes — but I’m completely helpless in front of his soft side.
“You look fucking adorable when you’re shy.”
He lowers my hand and keeps it on his thigh, tucked in his like it’s his most prized possession.
Our fingers interlace. My smaller hand in his bigger one. My feminine fingers against his long, masculine ones.
I’m tempted to remove it, but I love the warmth too much. Besides, I’m still in shock from the way he kissed my palm.
I’m contemplating poking him to stir his ugly side just so I can prove his harsh part always wins. That his soft side is an illusion and a mindfuck.
“You weren’t shy before.” He tilts his head to the side. “You took and took without second thoughts.”
“I did not.”
“You did, too. I’m telling you, Child Elsa was hardcore.”
“God. I can’t believe you have dirty thoughts about a little girl.”
“You’re not a little girl anymore.”
&nbs
p; “And you’re not a little boy.”
“No, I’m not. That’s why I get to fuck you.”
“Do you ever stop talking dirty?”
“Only when I fuck you dirty.”
The rumble of his voice sends sparks all over my skin and down to my core.
There’s something utterly masculine about his voice, all rough and deep and… dirty.
Yes, dirty. So fucking dirty.
I’m burning up, nearly boiling over at the image of that voice rumbling near my sensitive parts as he whispers crude things to me.
Wrong image for your resolve, Elsa.
“Can’t you stop?” I whisper.
“Not when it comes to you.”
“Yeah. Blame it on me.”
“I blame it on Child Elsa. She made me think of things I never thought about before.”
“Like what?”
“Like adult stuff. Told you, she was hardcore.”
“You’re putting words in my mouth just because I don’t remember.”
“Oh, you will remember. I can’t wait to see your expression when you do.”
“Dream on, dickhead.”
He chuckles, and the sound echoes around us like a melody. I want to reach for that sound, box it somewhere, and keep it for safekeeping.
For a moment, I just sit there, trapped, mesmerised as his features ease and his shoulders relax.
Now that I think about it, Aiden often relaxed around me. Whether it’s his sexual intensity, his maddening possessiveness, or his rare smiles and laughter.
He’s at ease with me.
And if I’m honest with myself, I’m at ease with him, too.
Before I can take my fill of his laugh, we arrive at the Meet Up.
Why couldn’t the distance be farther?
Cole’s Jeep is already parked in the driveaway. I leave my backpack in the car and follow Aiden up the steps.
“Why did Cole ask to meet us here?”
“Don’t know.”
I narrow my eyes. “You mean to tell me that you came without a plan?”
“I did have a plan.” He tilts his head in my direction. “Anything that involves having you by my side is the perfect plan.”
My temperature gets ten degrees hotter, but I clear my throat. “Did you spend the morning with Cole? Is that why you didn’t come to school?”
“I had a meeting with my consultant about Oxford.”