Chapter 16
RAIDEN
As we walk back through the estate, Aurora seems more withdrawn. Her hand is on my arm., She doesn’t say anything, but it’s… her energy. Damn. That sounds stupid. But I can feel something is off.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
She stops, looking up at a painting of a Victorian hanging, the crowd gathered around, baying for blood. “That didn’t feel good,” she says. “Lying to her–making her believe there’s a chance, even a small one, that I’m going to give her grandchildren one day.”
“It didn’t,” I agree. “This was her deal though. She didn’t say anything about long-term commitment. Just this weekend. Just the Retreat.”
Aurora grabs my shirt lapels, looks up at me, her eyes confrontational from within the mask. “And you’re fine with this?”
“I didn’t say that,” I tell her. “It’s just the way things have to be.” A pause. “What?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t need to.”
She keeps looking at me, her grip tightening on my lapel.
“You think I should’ve taken the hit and been honest with her. Accepted I’m not going to be in the will if these are her terms.”
“I didn’t say that,” she mutters.
“Again, you didn’t have to.”
She sighs, lets me go, and turns away. “My opinion doesn’t matter, anyway. As long as I say what you need me to say when the time is right, that’s all that matters, correct?”
“That’s a cynical way to view it,” I grunt.
“Isn’t that what we’re doing here?”
“I don’t remember telling you to say I fell to my knees and begged for forgiveness.”
Her smile is magnetic and mischievous. “Can’t I have some fun?”
“Oh, that’s fun to you?” My hand glides to her hip, squeezes, and pulls her closer. “You enjoy humiliating me, don’t you?”
“I think you might enjoy it too, sir.”
“Or maybe you’re forgetting who’s in charge.”
I pull her in for a kiss. When I taste her lips and feel the urgency in the kiss, I can’t fight the feeling that this is real. Which makes me an idiot.
She pushes her tongue into my mouth, grabs my shoulders, and sinks her fingernails in as though she’s desperate for my touch. I pull her closer to me. My instinct is to glide my hand up her thigh, feel her naked thickness, find her wet and needy pussy.
She presses her hand against my chest, leans away slightly. “Maybe not… here.”
“Then we better get back to our room,” I growl.
“We’re not doing anything like that again,” she whispers.
I don’t say anything. She’s right; this wasn’t part of the deal.
How is she going to kiss me like she wants me, needs me, and expects me not to feel the same?
We continue through the mansion. Other guests are waking up now, walking through the gardens, and some have already taken a seat in the vast living room, sipping champagne.
As we walk down the hallway, I hear a raised voice coming from one of the other rooms. It’s Julian, my cousin, the backstabbing prick. He’s yelling at someone. “If there’s something you need to tell me, just fucking tell me. You won’t be happy if you wear my patience out. Bitch!”
Aurora looks at me. Even with her mask on, I can read her concern.
“Wait here,” I tell her, then hammer on the door.
“What?” Julian roars.
“It’s me,” I grunt. “The whole mansion can hear your yapping.”
“It’s none of your business.”
“I’m making it my business, Julian. I’m counting to five and then coming in. Make sure you’re decent.”
I silently count to five and then push the door open. Julian’s date is in bed, the sheets pulled up around her chin. She’s the escort, I remember. The one the oh-so helpful butler, Sebastian, set him up with… and wanted to set me up too.
“What’s all this commotion about?” I growl.
Julian looks tired, his eyes bloodshot, bags under his eyes. He huffs and runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t know why you think you need to get involved.”
“You’re yelling at this poor girl like you’re going to take it a step further.”
“I’m not a woman beater, cousin. And this is none of your business.”
“I just told you, I’m making it my fucking business.” I turn to the woman. “Has he hurt you?”
“Hurt her?” Julian snaps. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“It’s a simple question.”
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “He thinks I tried to steal his watch. But why would I do that? I’ve got nowhere to take it.”
I step right up to Julian, look him in the eye. “If you hurt her or treat her badly, you’ll answer to me. What’s your name?” I turn back to the woman.
“Chastity.”
“We’re in the room right at the end of the hallway. That way.” I point. “If you need me, come and get me. I’m Raiden.”
“I think we’ll be okay.”
I prod Julian in the chest. “Treat your date with some goddamn respect.”
“I did a bad thing, Raiden. Shit. A selfish, ugly thing. But that doesn’t mean I’m a woman beater.”
“I’ve made myself clear.”
I leave his room, walk quickly down the hallway, thinking about going back there and smashing him across the face, sending his mouth full of fake-smiling teeth scattering across the room.
Back in our room, I pace up and down, hands opening and closing into fists.
“Do you know her?” Aurora asks.
Both of us are still in our masks, even privately, as though we need that shield.
“Who?”
“The woman. Chastity.”
“Never met her,” I grunt.
“You seem… angry. This seems… personal.”
I laugh coldly. “Could say that, yeah.”
She approaches me cautiously, as though I’m a wild animal, as though she thinks I’m suddenly going to explode. Perhaps I am.
“That was your cousin, yeah?” She gently touches my arm.
I stop pacing. “Yes. And my friend. At least, I thought he was.”
“What happened? We don’t have to talk about it… but it might help?”
“He stabbed me in the back,” I growl. “He used my trust in him to lead me down a dead-end business deal, stole almost everything I had in liquid cash, left me with a hundred grand, my car, and my apartment.” I grind my teeth.
“I might sound like a spoiled rich man to you, Aurora, but I worked hard for my fortune. I bled for it. I killed for it.”
I sit on the couch, shuddering in anger.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Aurora sits next to me, her hand on my arm.
“We shouldn’t get too close, remember,” I grunt.
She sighs and snatches her hand away. “You’re just saying that because I won’t fuck you, I can’t be nice to you?”
“I don’t want you to make another mistake,” I tell her.
“You can be a real douchebag sometimes.”
“It’s a skill,” I mutter.
“You’ve clearly been practicing for a long time.”
She folds her arms, lips pursed. I almost reach out, wrap my arm around her, and tell her I’m sorry. I know she was just trying to help.
But I’m not the vulnerable type. I don’t talk about my feelings, my time in the Marines, or any of that.
With Aurora, however, keeping my defenses up is far tougher than it usually is. Far tougher than it should be.