Chapter 6 : Inescapable Kiss

**Aria POV

Arianna Lupa Avaroux. That was the new identity given to me by Henry. I was meant to be the sole heiress to a wealthy mining company whose father had recently died.

Politically and socially, it made perfect sense for the great Henry Bergmann to marry a woman of such wealth and status, and who was due for a large inheritance.

Henry announced the engagement publicly a few days after I arrived at his estate: an entirely different world from the one that I came from. There were no beggars, no hookers, no drug dealers on every corner, no junkies willing to carve out and sell your liver to pay for their next hit.

And yet, here in the lap of luxury I had never felt more in the midst of constant danger. All eyes were on this wedding, the eyes of admirers and the eyes of the Bergmanns' enemies.

I decided the best way for me to remain sane was to focus solely on the reason why I was here. To act as Henry Bergmann's secret personal healer for the next year.

The night before the engagement party, my soon-to-be husband entered the large room that had been made into my medical room for his first treatment.

"I trust my employees were able to get everything you required?" Henry asked as he sat down on the examining table.

"That and more," I said gratefully, gesturing to the state-of-the-art medical equipment that only the top hospitals and clinics in the city could afford.

Despite my apprehension regarding my entirely new living situation, being able to practice my healing like this was like taking a small breath of the future I had always dreamed of.

All I had to do was keep Alpha Bergmann alive for the next year and find a way to cure him.

"You said your illness was hereditary?" I asked, recalling what he had told me that morning in my house. "What is it exactly, and do any of your other family members have it?"

Henry gazed intently at a painting that decorated the wall, as though he would like nothing more than to escape into its illustrated landscape.

"It takes one of my family members every generation or so," Henry said softly. "It's not common, especially amongst the Alphas of the family, but for some reason it plagues me. I am the only one who has it currently.

"As for what it is…it is the remnants of a spell gone wrong, from a time when the full moon held sway over our kind. My ancestor thought he could avoid an involuntary shift by temporarily removing his lycanthropy. It didn't work."

"And instead it resulted in a degenerative disease that appears every few generations," I concluded, scribbling in my notebook.

I had been right. His systems were regressing, reversing the healing that his Alpha body had been doing for him for decades, causing him to basically rot from the inside.

I shuddered. Of all the horrible ways to go, this was definitely one of the worst.

"I can see why you wanted the secrecy. If anyone knew about this, it would discredit your entire family," I said sympathetically.

"We like to think ourselves as more evolved than those who came before us, but in the end it's still survival of the fittest," the old man mused.

I took a few samples of his blood for testing and applied a few stasis-inducing herbs that would prevent his body from giving in. On the downside, it would also prevent him from healing from surface wounds, which was why I needed to be close to him at all times.

"You should get some rest now, Mr. Bergmann," I said to him after labeling the last of the samples and giving him some pills to take before bed.

"As should you, Aria," he said. "And please call me Henry. I'm going to be your husband, after all."

He left the room with a small chuckle.

***

That evening was the engagement party designed to fill the front page of every tabloid. Henry and I arrived at the venue, a hotel he owned, in a limo. Along the red carpet were rows of photographers and screaming fans, all eager to get a glimpse of the celebrities that graced the guest list.

Singers, artists, and movie stars all made their way down the carpet, waving and blowing kisses to their adoring fans.

"This is insane," I whispered in awe.

"I know," Henry grunted grumpily. "I don't even know who most of these so-called 'guests' are, but these days old geezers like me have to get in good with popular celebrities in exchange for favorable public opinion."

That was not what I meant, but I let him complain.

"Just pretend that you're one of those brides that are only getting married for the money, social status or security; that way if anyone questions you it'll sound more believable, " Henry advised, getting out of the car.

Technically two of those things were true.

The blasts of light from the paparazzi cameras almost blinded me as we glided arm in arm along the red carpet, toward the hotel entrance.

A waiter greeted us with a tray filled with glasses of champagne, one of which I took gladly.

I spent the next thirty minutes shaking hands with people I had seen in the news, in movies, and on scandalous tabloids. People I never thought I would ever meet in my life.

I even saw a few famous porn stars grace the arms of a couple of controversial politicians.

"I can't wait for the after-party orgy," I heard one of them say.

It sounded like a joke, but part of me suspected that it was not.

I was getting a bit hot, and decided to retreat to the bathroom to cool off and fix up my make-up.

Relieved to find the bathroom empty, I quickly dabbed the back of my neck with a refreshingly cool towelette. Playing my part was no walk in the park. I leaned forward to examine myself in the mirror and almost had a heart attack when I saw Noah in the reflection.

I had been so preoccupied that I hadn't even sensed him come in.

His pervasive scent tugged on my heart, as though it had strung a lasso around me that was pulling me toward him.

But going on how our last encounter went, I could assume that he was not here as a friend.

"You're moving up the ladder quite fast," Noah said with mock admiration. "Just a few days ago you were a lowly street wh*re, and now you're here at the engagement party of the most powerful man in the city. I wonder just how you managed to pull that off. Did my sex-depraved father love the head you gave him that much?"

His scent and aura incurred my desire, but his words and tone frustrated me to no end. I held myself together and replied as though his words meant nothing to me.

"It seemed as though you're jealous that everyone is getting action except you," I said calmly as I touched up my eyeliner. "Even your sixty-eight-year-old dad."

Noah's bravado faded and was replaced by annoyance. It looked like I was successful.

He stepped up close behind me, his lips nearly brushing my ear.

"I don't know what you did to wrap my dad around your little wh*re finger, but whatever it is that you're after you won't get it," he hissed venomously. "Whether you're a spy for the Hansens or perhaps just here to land a fat, rich husband so you can escape the slums…or maybe it's both."

I turned to face him, our noses barely inches apart as we glared at one another.

"You've threatened me far too much for my liking since I've met you, Noah!" I growled back at him. "So let me set one thing straight: Call me a wh*re or threaten me one more time and we'll see who ends up bleeding on the bathroom floor."

Before Noah could respond, the bathroom door opened. Noah quickly grabbed me by the waist and pulled me into the empty stall behind him, obviously not wanting anyone to see him arguing in the ladies' room at his father's engagement party.

I agreed with his thinking on that account. The problem, however, was that I was now practically perched upon his lap. My arms were around his shoulders and hands around my waist. Once again we found ourselves in a position with our lips dangerously close.

His chest began to heave and mine followed its lead. His scent that so enticed me became stronger than ever, as though it erased that arrogant a*shole that I was arguing with not moments ago.

Before I could react, the anger from Noah's eyes vanished and was replaced with pure lust. He leaned forward and kissed me, and unlike in the car, there was nowhere for me to escape to this time.

Or perhaps I didn't want to.

I could have pulled away or turned my face away, but the yearning that burned deep down in my soul urged me to remain within his reach. My lips hungered for his, and when they finally met, I felt my entire being melt and reform a thousand times over.

It was gentle at first, testing the waters before delving further into the depths of my desire for this soul that held me close.

The urgency to taste more grew and the kiss grew in aggression. A moan escaped my lips, breaking the silence and the spell that held me in his grasp.

Snapping out of my stupor, I placed my hand around his throat and pushed him away from me before slapping him across the face.