Aiden’s POV
Her body was one with the pool, melding as if they were one entity. She pushed through the water, lithe body cutting through and slashing the waves to ribbons.Then she came up for air at the other end of the pool, popping the bottle of wine. I watched her drift across, fiery red hair sticking out from under her swim cap and gluing to the back of her neck.She was goddamn beautiful.“Where did you learn to swim like that?” I asked, staring at her.I could tell she was surprised from the redness flowing into her cheeks and her slight stutter when she replied. ““Wh- What are you doing here? I didn’t think -“You didn’t think I’d be back home till evening? I didn’t think you’d go skinny dipping either. But here you are.” I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The swimsuit clung to her body, and I could see her nipples through the almost sheer fabric. God, I wanted to have them in my mouth, roll my tongue over thScarlett’s POV“Don’t tell me what to do, Scarlett,” Aiden said, his voice cold and authoritative. For some reason, I liked the way he called my name; the creamy roll of the r, the soft enunciation at the end as if I was the only one who could ever possess that name. We were so close that I could feel the heat of his body, the musky sense of him invading my senses. He leaned in close, and his hand gripped mine. Lust took over my mind with a force I’d never known before, and I moved a little closer to him. “Since I’ve shown you how brave I am, will you teach me? Or will you hold this over my head like a sword and torment me with this all my life?” His mouth was dangerously close to my skin, and his slow exhale fanned over my neck. Heat rocked my pelvis, and I couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. I was transfixed at the sight of him: the dipping of his chest, the corded bronze muscles rippling beneath perfect skin, abs like a beating heart.
Scarlett’s POVA whimper escaped my lips as he kissed my collarbone. I pulled him close, felt him push against my legs. His hands pried my legs apart, his hands seeking flesh. I stopped caring about holding back, because more than anything, I couldn’t hold back for Aiden Vilarez. He was the one temptation I couldn’t suppress, and alarm bells rang in my head. And then he kissed me. I felt like I was on fire, and the air turned to molten glass. He tasted like coffee and sugar, and himself, tongue slipping into my mouth. I kissed him with hunger, a desire I’d been thinking of these days when I worked on sales pitches or traveled to Sweden. I could feel how hard he was against my thigh, and he kissed me until the world went out of focus. He cradled me against his chest, and I felt like a person would in front of a fire after spending days in the snow. I melted, inhibitions going out the window. The water lapped around my skin, churning as
Aiden’s POV “Fuck!” I yelled, my erection going soft in the water. I waded through the water, trying to catch my briefs floating around. I turned to see Scarlett fiddling with her swimsuit as she tried to hide her flesh - the very folds of skin I just had my mouth on. Mortification turning her cheeks red - the shade of a tomato. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked, growling. My head was in a complete twist, the desire and lust evaporating as if it were rubbing alcohol being exposed to the air. But I could still taste her skin in my mouth, the heat of her body on my skin. Fuck, I hated being interrupted. “Is that any way to greet a friend? Besides, why are you covering up? It’s not like I’ve not seen it before,” Odessa asked, rolling her eyes. My cheeks flamed, but I managed to keep my face very neutral, no shred of emotion seeping through the cracks. I’d gone on the defensive, just like my grandfather taught me, tightening the cracks, becoming rigid, eyes blazing.
Aiden’s POV Odessa was a master of emotion, knowing how to frame her words and enunciate it at the very right points, to spin them into knives that could poke through whatever exterior you had - hard, soft, mushy, she knew it all. Odessa had a knack of people, and boy, was she manipulative. “Don’t call me that again, Odessa. Or you’ll lose your tongue before you leave.” “Do you have to always be so melodramatic, Auggie?” she laughed, a shrill sound cutting through the crisp morning. “Some things just never change, do they?” She bent to retrieve a champagne flute from the side of the pool and poured herself some of white wine Scarlett brought outside. “If you won’t entertain me, maybe I will,” she said airily, dropping her Yves Saint Laurent clutch purse beside the wine bottle. Odessa was like an idol waiting to be broken. I wanted to break her into a billion pieces, grind those pieces to fine powder and scatter them across the Atlantic. She always came into my life when sh
Scarlett’s POV Shit. That was the only word that came to my head as I stood there, like a deer caught in front of some really powerful headlights. My head spun, embarrassment and shame billowing through me. The air suddenly turned heavy, syrupy, my fingers unable to move. Aiden was right beside me, his naked form shimmering in the light. He looked rather exquisite, naked or clothed, but this was by far better than being clad in expensive suits. I wanted to keep staring at him, long for his heat, his muscular body wrapped around me. I felt the crisp air on my open skin, nudging gently at my exposed boob. My senses clicked back into place as I was yanked into my body. My boob was fucking out of the swimsuit. I mentally facepalmed, my hands shaking as I packed myself back into the swimsuit. The woman still stood there, her figure statuesque. I guessed that she had probably seen him like this before, because her face was still like marble. No emotion, nothing. A feeling of envy
Scarlett’s POV I touched Aiden’s back, and his muscles tensed under my fingers, just as they did minutes ago. I pushed down the new memory of him ravishing me with kisses, running his fingers all over my body. It was useless to think that now. It would never happen again. “Hey, go to her. I’ll be fine.” I said, so quietly that I wasn’t sure he heard it. The tension in the air was writhing, a living thing swirling between them. I could tell they had history and I wanted to know what history was. But Aiden wouldn’t tell me. It only made me more curious about the relationship between them. He turned around to face me, blue eyes large with concern. We were so close that I could see the flecks of white and silver in his eyes, the different layers of the blues, the inky darkness pulsing inside the different hues. It was like a sinkhole, an abyss threatening to pull me in. I wished to let it as I once did, to pull him back into the pull and continue what we started. “I can send her
Aiden’s POV “What the fuck do you want, Odessa?” I said once we got to the study. I was still wrapped in a towel, but she’d stopped looking at me like I was a chocolate bar she wanted to stuff in her mouth. Not that it mattered anyway. I’d choose Scarlett over her anyway. “That’s no way to speak to someone who wants to help you,” she said, slipping into that childish drawl. “I mean, everything you’ve worked for might come crashing down if you don’t hear what I have to say.” A sigh escaped me. With Odessa, she always brought bad news. My personal harbinger of doom. I knew from when I saw her by the side of the pool that something bad was going to happen. And she said it concerned my gallery opening which was sometime around next week. Still, I decided to humor her, play along with whatever she was doing. “Nothing’s crashing down, Dessy. At least, not that I know of. Besides, aren’t you supposed to be in Munich?” “Ugh,” she groaned, sinking into the swivel chair. “Munich is so
Aiden’s POV I sauntered towards the door, and looked back at her one last time. Surprise bloomed across her features, and I looked to the couch. My towel was lying there in a crumpled heap, but my briefs were no longer clinging to my skin like before. Maria would come soon, and the towels would be replaced. Good riddance. “You know the way out,” I said, my hand on the door knob. “Show yourself out, Dessy. And don’t you ever come to my house without a call first. Take care.” “The investors are not going to buy the art,” she said, her voice frantic and filled with fear. That was enough to draw my attention from where I stood in the doorway. I turned around to face her, and knew right away that I’d been caught in her web. She gave me a small smile and sat on the couch after tossing my towel aside. I should have stepped away regardless, but this seemed like important news. I took a few steps back into the study. “Why?” I asked, the word dropping simply. “Because, you lied to t
SCARLETT’S POVI had come to accept that my thoughts were haunted. Else, how else could I explain that one individual is the one that consumes all of my thoughts and has suddenly become the essence of my being? He consumed my thoughts, he consumed my essence, and as much as I wanted to convince myself that I hated it, I knew that deep down, I LOVED it! And I hated myself even more for loving it, everything was an endless myriad of emotions that I didn’t even know I was capable of feeling.I had not seen Aiden since last night and I was hoping I wouldn’t bump into him as I wrapped my robe around my body and headed downstairs to grab a coffee. One could think I was some sort of burglar as I tiptoed my way down and looked over my shoulders to make sure I did not run into Aiden. Everywhere was silent and I assumed that he probably had to drop by at work pretty early or he was busy in the gym, whichever it was, I was just glad tha
Scarlett's POVAiden approached with the hot coffee in his hand and I wondered if he wasn't going to drop it before finally getting to me.“Well, I'd say I'm interested in both but it depends on you.” He placed the coffee on the slap and pulled me closer to himself. He pulled off my shirt and put his head between my breasts.He had not placed his lips on them but I gasped. My body was ready for his touch and I craved it like an addiction.He raised me and placed me on the kitchen slab and pushed the cup of coffee off. The cup fell and the coffee spilled all over the floor. I just sat down waiting anxiously for him to suck on my boobs.He stood in front of me and pushed his hands through my thigh before pulling me forward to himself. I could feel my body hair standing. His process was slow and it made me anticipate what he was going to do.Aiden licked all around my boobs, I gasped for air and put my hands on his shoulde
Aiden’s POVI did not know what to do to make Scarlett feel better. I was exhausted by the attitude she was putting up. I stretched my hands over to her face and removed her earphones from her ear.She grumbled and frowned at me before she yelled, “What?” She looked so paranoid and I couldn’t understand what all the attitude she was giving me was all about.“What is it again? You’ve been so quiet and I don’t like how you are blocking your ears. I don’t feel like you are here with me and I’m not pleased.” I said to her sternly.“I do not want to talk to you and I don’t have anything to say to you. I just want to go home.” Scarlett did not care to look at me. She just spoke and kept her gaze out the window.“Anyway, I want us to eat out tonight. I know a very nice restaurant that we can go to.” I felt that could make Scar feel better or cheer her up. I mean, who wouldn’t like to eat something nice? “I want to go home. I’m not
Scarlett's Pov I looked at Aiden as he gazed back at me. I could not understand why he would think I would decide to have sex with him. I wondered why he would even choose that. I mean, it's not like I meant anything to him.I began to reminisce on the sex we had in the pool. I snapped out of it and reminded myself of how trashy he treated me. “You mean nothing to him. This is just a contract so get it together,” I said to myself. “I would rather have an implantation. I have no reason to experience sexual excitement. It's just a contract and it should be handled as such.” I said aloud without looking at Aiden.“I can not have my sperm removed from me. I do not want to have to masturbate.” Aiden interrupted me. I looked at him and asked, “So what's that supposed to mean?” “You will just have to have sex with me because I can not masturbate. I won't.” He said firmly and I knew there was nothing I could say to make him change hi
Scarlett's PovI followed quietly behind Aiden and several thoughts ran through my mind as I began to doubt if I wanted to proceed. “I do not have a choice anyway. I’m sure he doesn’t care about me. This is what's best for me at the moment.” I said inwardly.We entered the hospital and Aiden approached a nurse. He was farther from me so I couldn’t hear what he said to her. She looked through his shoulders at me and smiled. I approached them with an uncertain look on my face.“You’re welcome. You can come with me to the waiting room while I get the doctor for you.” She said with a warm smile and a great gesture. I wondered why she seemed so happy.Aiden and I followed her into a room that had a nice ambiance. I was not interested in whatever was around. I just wanted to see the doctor and get down to business. “You should take off your earphones.” Aiden tapped my thigh and said to me. I shrugged and arched my brow at him. I
I looked at myself in the mirror one last time to make sure that I at least looked presentable. The makeup was subtle, thank God, I didn’t want to look like some tramp. Sultry, and soft was exactly what I was going for. The dress was a deep burgundy, cinching at the waist and flaring out from there. He knocked again, and I knew I had to hurry up. Aiden didn’t like being kept waiting. I doubted he’d hate it if it were Odessa. I banished the thought from my mind and focused on the task at hand. We were going to the hospital to get this whole thing started. All I had to do was get pregnant.I packed my small purse containing a pad of sticky notes so that if there was anything I needed to put down when speaking to the doctor, I could do it. I also put in a pen, my earphones to listen to music on the way so that I didn’t have to hear him speak and get into my head, a pair of photochromic glasses and my lip gloss. He must have been about to knock, because his
Scarlett’s POVI was unable to sleep last night. Not because I was still livid at what happened in the study, but because of the hurt flashing in Aiden’s eyes when I talked about how I was just a spare. It seemed genuine in the moment, and when I shut the door in his face, I slid down the door and cried. I didn’t know why I was truly crying, but the tears kept coming. It felt like someone stabbed me in the gut repeatedly, then wrung me out and left me to dry. I felt raw, lost, exposed. His frame cast a shadow in front of my door for almost an hour, as if he was still trying to come to terms with what I said to him. I knew that the words were a slap on his face, but I wanted him to feel the anger raging for space in my heart. He deserved it. At least that was what I tried to tell myself. It was what I had been trying to tell myself all day. I knew it was selfish to have ever uttered those words, but I wished for him to feel how it felt to have y
Aiden’s POVI sighed, running fingers through my hair to relieve me of the stress. “Is she in?” Maria nodded. “Yes sir, she’s in her bedroom. I just finished changing the sheets and making sure the room was cleaned.” “Did you notice anything unfamiliar? Or familiar? I don’t even know what I’m saying at the moment.” She shook her head, her eyes going to the bunch of flowers in my hand. “No, no. Miss seemed like her normal self. Is something the matter, sir? Anything you need me to help you with?” “No, no. I just wanted to be sure if this was a good time. Dinner is set, right?” “Yes sir. I made sure the chef kept the covered food in the refrigerator, so it’s easy to heat up. Should I help you with that before I leave for the night?” I shook my head. “I can handle a microwave at least. Thank you very much.” “No problem, sir. I’m just doing my job.” She ambled away quickly, leaving me in the gloom of the living room. Rolling the bouquet in my hands, I went to the kitchen first to
Aiden’s POVDusk settled in the skies like a lover’s kiss, sending golden and purple streaks through a formerly blue sky. I watched the skies change color, the purple deepening like a bruise until it began to turn dark. This was one of my daily rituals - watch the skies, and think of my place in the universe. But only this time, I didn’t think of myself. I thought of a familiar flame-haired woman and her luscious pink lips, peridot eyes and skin like milk. I thought of her long fingers searching for pleasure in my hair, the breath from her mouth hot against my cheek. I’d been thinking of her a lot lately, so much that it threatened to take away my sanity. It was strange how she barreled into my life like a whirlwind, taking control of almost every part of me. It seemed rather beautiful, tempting even. She was a force to be reckoned with, a person with so much control of herself that she started breaking down at my heart, chipping away pieces little by little. I cleared my mind and