Guarded (Calavera Hotels #3)

34. Ariella

Chapter 34

Ariella

T he drive home is quiet.

No, it’s deathly still.

A part of me feels like I should explain why I lied about the purse, but Nero wouldn’t give a shit. Not when he’s been glaring at me like a predator about to attack its prey. The permanent scowl on his face has deepened since he saw me walking down the steps with Preston.

When we get to the hotel, he trails behind me silently. Tension only grows thicker when I open the penthouse door.

It’s impossible for me to continue with the silent treatment. Lucky for me, I don’t have to stay quiet for long when I hear his husky voice from behind me.

“Are you done with the games, Ariella?”

I close my eyes and let out a hard sigh.

“Nero-” the words die in my throat when he grabs my face and pushes his lips into mine.

My body reacts the only way it knows how. Melting into him the very way he’s trained it to do.

I open my mouth, and our tongues clash with each other. Kissing Nero is always an experience, to say the least, but this was something more.

It was deep and dominant. The mere way he pulls my bottom lip in, sucking and biting it. A metallic taste explodes in our mouths, but it doesn’t stop us. We’re consumed with one another. Blinded to the toxicity that exists between us.

My hands fly to the back of his head. I push him deeper into me like a mad woman. He releases me and removes his suit jacket. His fingers work deliberately to unbutton his shirt until his broad and naked chest is bare.

The ink swirling all over his body was a map of images I love to trace with my eyes. I’ve memorized every image and every word. My lips part at the thought. I pull the straps of the pink silk dress down, letting it fall to my feet. I bend to undo the straps of my heels, but Nero stops me.

“Heels stay on Maniká.” He commands.

There’s no way in hell I can resist him when his voice shifts to the authoritative one. When he becomes Sir, and I become his good girl. I want so badly to be his good girl right now.

My whole body ignites, and like magnets, we find each other again. My mouth crashes back into his. Rough calloused hands slip beneath my thighs as he lifts me.

I wrap my legs around his sculpted waist and moan into his mouth. The feel of hot skin on mine makes me want to crawl inside him. Will this ever be enough? No. Never.

He slams me into the wall and grinds his erection into me. Growling into my mouth before he walks toward us to his bedroom. We move wildly, banging into furniture and walls. My mouth refuses to cut off our animalistic kiss. In this very moment, nothing matters.

Not my engagement.

The emotions suffocating me.

Or the chaos that surrounds us.

None of it matters. Only him.

He kicks the door open and drops me to the bed. He wrenches his lips from mine. Our foreheads press together as we catch our breath.

Lifting off me, he makes his way to the center of the room. The light bounces off the hard planes of his abs and stomach. His body was sculpted for my destruction.

“Arrodíllate.” He commands . Kneel.

I slide back into the mattress before working up the courage to stand. My eyes stay on him as I walk to met him in the center of the room.

One foot in front of the other my matching bra and panties on full display for him. I want to please him. Submit it to him. Reap the benefits of my obedience.

I lower myself to my knees and sit back on my heels at his feet. Resting my head on his thigh.

“This is how I want to see you—sitting pretty for me.” He caresses my cheek, causing a hurricane of emotions to spiral through me.

“Touch yourself, “ he commands, and my hand promptly precedes the task. He then moves to face me so he can see the intimate show I plan to give him.

Seductively, I keep my eyes on him as my hand trails to the lace material of my thong.

“Good Girl.” He purrs—my favorite words.

“Stick your fingers in,” he growls, and again, I obey.

I’ll do anything to be his good girl. To soak in the power of his praise. A power beyond any I could explain.

I thrust my ring and middle finger inside my pussy. Moans escape me, and his eyes devour the view. He looks at me the way a lion looks at a lamb.

Famished. Powerful. Merciless.

“What are you thinking about Maniká? Are you thinking about me tying you to the bed and fucking you?” he asks his voice low igniting a fire to erupt in my core.

My thighs tremble at the thought, and I thrust my fingers in deeper.

“It’s a yes or no answer.” He growls.

“Yes. Sir.” I moan, letting my head fall back.

He grabs my wrist before I can make myself orgasm. I whine in protest, and his grip tightens as he pushes the two fingers I used into my mouth. “Suck on them.”

I suck on the taste of my juices, taking my time to watch his expression darken. Pulling them out with a satisfying pop as I lick them clean.

Nero moves to one of his drawers and retrieves some type of belt. It’s hot pink with a matching rubber ball in the middle.

“Do you know what this is, Ari?”

“No, Sir.”

“This is a ball gag. It’s going into your mouth. You won’t be able to talk. And you won’t be able to use our safe word.” He lowers himself to his haunches. Cupping my face in his palm. “Do you trust me?” he asks. I nod.

He places the ball to my lips and pushes it into my mouth, stretching it open. My jaw locks around it as he buckles the gag in place behind my head.

There’s a temporary discomfort as I try to breathe through my nose. Nero walks back to face me, offering a hand and pulling me onto my heels. He leads me to a floor-length mirror in the corner of his room.

“Pink really is your color.” he says pleased at my reflection.

My eyes look over my stretched mouth. Something about seeing myself like this-gagged. It arouses me. I’ve never felt sexier or more eager to please the man standing beside me.

Nero beams down at me like I’m the most beautiful girl in the world. He pulls my hair off my shoulder and kisses my collar bone. My nipples harden in response as he continues to kiss up my neck.

“What was it Preston said to you? Calladita te vez más bonita ?” his knuckles trail down my arm.

Had heard the insult?

My legs clench together, the effort intensifying the throbbing pressure between them.

Nero unhooks my bra and slides it off me onto the floor. In the mirror, I watch as he reaches from behind me to massage my breast in his large hand.

“He has no idea how beautiful you are when you scream my name,” he whispers.

The movement is quick when he lifts and moves me to the bed. My nostrils flare as I try to breathe through my nose. He releases his grip on me and steps in front of the bed. The absence of his touch generates a feeling of emptiness.

I need him.

All of him.

Inside me.

He removes his pants meticulously. Staring up from the bed, I watch as he frees his cock from his boxer briefs. Wetness pools between my thighs. He stokes his cock in his hand making the veins pop out.

“Tap me three times if it’s too much.” He reassures me.

Lowering himself to the bed, in one swift motion, he lifts my leg and aligns me with his waist. Dark eyes burn into mine. He guides his crown to my entrance and pushes in.

My cries are muffled as he stretches me with his thickness. Nero is fucking huge. I have nothing to compare him to, but the tinge of pain I feel every time he enters me was enough to know he was abnormally large.

Drool falls from my mouth. My breathing constricts as he pulls out to the tip before slamming forward again.

“Whenever he tells you to be quiet, I want you to remember this, Ari.”

And again.

“The way I shut you up and fucked you like a slut.”

And again.

I roll my hips, meeting his thrusts, wanting to feel him deeper inside me. The feeling of helplessness that mixes with power is there every time we fuck. I loosen my mouth around the restraints and stop fighting it. Letting the drool and tears run down my face.

“You look so beautiful, Ariella.”

My mouth is sore, and my eyes feel heavy as he thrusts inside me. I push down my emotions. The ones that can’t help emerge as he bites down on his lower lip, slamming his body to mine.

No emotions.

No emotions.

No emotions.

I chant the mantra in my head. Convincing myself that this could only be sex. There could be no emotions.

He wasn’t doing this because he really cared about how shitty Preston made me feel. This was just us satisfying each other’s physical needs. I threaten my heart to get out of this equation.

Nero lifts my other leg and pushes both of them over my head. My hamstrings stretch painfully as he slams into me. His cock barried deep inside me.

My body becomes pliant with every dominating thrust. The gag silences my screams and whimpers. I come with a violent shake as he growls out in satisfaction.

Holding me there, he grinds into me one last time. Filling me up before he drops my legs and releases me.

Unbuckling the ball gag, he kisses my cheeks where the restraints dug into me. The pleasure haze clears, and my body molds to his as he lifts me to him. My head falls to his chest, and the beating of his heart calls me into a deep sleep. Into the confines of my subconscious, a place where he belongs to me.

Nero

Falling in love with Ariella was the last thing I expected to happen. Naturally, I was headed there.

Childhood trauma plus a savior complex only equated to falling in love with the only woman I couldn’t have. A woman sleeping peacefully with her body sprawled over mine. Her head lays perfectly on my chest, her legs intertwined in mine. How was I going to give this all up?

All these pressing thoughts kept me up most of the night. Nightmares I once had about Evangeline have morphed into nightmares about Ariella standing up at an altar with Preston.

In the dream, I am running up the cathedral stairs that have no end. I keep running as a new row of stairs emerge the moment, I reach the top. Finally, when I reach the top, it’s too late. Her lips press into his, and the Priest announces them husband and wife. I wake in a panic. The dream restarts every time I close my eyes. Always the same tormented ending.

Fuck sleep .

And Fuck Preston Cuevas .

After I overheard the councilman chastising her about keeping her mouth shut, I decided on two possible outcomes.

One, I could kill him. It’d be bloody. I’m not too fond of blood, but I’d do it anyway if it meant never seeing that sullen expression on her face.

Option two was to kidnap her. I found no realistic argument against that. The downside was only her resenting me, but I could live with that.

There was a third option. It would require me to confront my feelings and be vulnerable, to tell her how I felt.

My fingers graze down her spine, drinking in the softness of her flesh. Blonde strains fan out over me. The rise and fall of her chest a gentle rhythm above me.

In the quietude, I could hear the soft rustle of trees outside our window and the distant hum of the city awakening. Yet here, it felt as though the world had paused, allowing me to have her all to myself for a brief moment. She shifts slowly, her eyes fluttering open.

“Why are you staring at me, creep?” She grumbles, keeping her eyes shut.

"Good morning, Princess.” I kiss the top of her head.

She stirs some more before fully waking up. Her body’s digital clock was wired for six o’clock, and it was already well past eight. She releases her grip on me lazily, arms reaching above her head, a content sigh escaping her lips. Untangling herself from my embrace, she rolls over to check the alarm clock.

“I missed my workout because of you.” She complains.

“I have some plans for cardio if you want.” I offer.

“Of course you do.”

She nestles her face back into the crook of my neck. I wrap my arm tight around her. The warmth of her body still carried the heat from the night before.

“I need to get up.” She groans before kissing the scars on my chest.

Emotions flood me as I think of another day where we have to pretend our forbidden touches don’t exist.

That she doesn’t want me, and I can’t love her. Lies we told the world and ourselves.

Ariella pulls the sheets with her and lifts herself from the bed. She offers me a sympathetic smile that breaks down the barriers guarding my heart.

“Ari. Wait.” She turns from the bedroom door to face me.

It kills me when I see her guilt-ridden expression staring back at me. Her eyes look at me regretfully.

“I can’t keep doing this, Nero. It’s not good for my heart.”

She rolls her lips in, but her eyes stay locked on mine. I move to sit on the edge of the bed. Just to be closer to her.

“Ari, you deserve the world. You deserve more than the broken remnants of my heart. It’s not that I don’t want to love you. I can’t. I’m still stuck in that fucking bathtub.”My voice breaks at the confession. “Pain is the only thing I know. And I never want to cause you pain.”

Emotions I haven’t felt in years threaten to emerge as my eyes plead with hers. She moves between my legs, cradling my head into her soft abdomen. I wrap my arms around her waist, and I let go.

I fucking let go.

Freeing myself from the torment. The anger. Freeing the unshed tears stored up inside me. I cling to her, desperate to let her body heal the deep and ugly wounds inside me. To free the little boy trapped in the memories that broke me.

Her fingers run through my hair as she shushes me to a calm state.

“Ari, I can’t let you go.”

It was a mindfuck the way I needed her even if I wasn’t sure about my capabilities to love her. What was love anyway? If it was protecting her and praising her, then I could do that. I couldn’t let her be reduced to nothing, and last night, I saw how he did that to her. He doesn’t deserve her.

“Then don’t let me.” She whispers.

“Will you give me time? Please?” I ask. Her body stiffens in my embrace. She pulls away from me and stares at me for a second.

“What do you mean?” She asks.

“Give me some time. After the patch ceremony, I’ll take over as President, and we can figure out what to do from there. We’ll run away if we have to. Don’t marry him.” I plead.

She nods, processing my proposed plan. It was impulsive but I don’t give two fucks anymore. I’m tired of losing things. There was no way in hell I could lose her.

When a sure “Okay.” falls from her mouth. I stand and kiss her.

Mine.