Chapter 29
Elliot
As I did through most of dinner, my eyes dance around the room until they find her.
Like earlier, her eyes move away as soon as they meet mine, her head bowing as if she’s embarrassed I caught her staring at me.
I’ve been staring at her since I found her, so if anyone should be embarrassed, it would be me.
I’m seconds away from pushing myself out of my seat, but Grayson is currently up on stage giving a speech to his team. I’m honestly not listening to a single word; it’s a bunch of jumbled up nothing to me. The only thing on my mind is Aria.
The second he finishes and the speeches are done for the night, I push my chair back.
She’s at a table on the other side of the room, nearly hidden behind five hockey players.
My sister looks up at me as I stand, but I ignore her and make my way over to Aria.
As I dodge people to get to her, I see her get up from her seat with Ethan Bettencourt and Logan Volkov, heading to the bar. I snort; out of all the people Aria could have made friends with tonight, she had to go for my ex-friend and someone with secret Bratva ties.
Closing the distance, I watch as Ethan and Logan approach the bar and Aria hangs back. Since her back is to me, I move to her from behind, wrapping an arm around her waist and brining her close to my body to whisper in her ear.
She gasps, digging her nails into the back of the hand holding her to me. I thought she was going to push me away, but she doesn’t.
“We need to talk,” I whisper into her ear, my lips brushing against her ear.
“I don’t think we need to do that,” she says, her words coming out quickly.
“Oh, but my beautiful Aria, I think we do.” I press my lips against the skin just under her ear. Unknowingly to her, she presses her body just a smidge closer to mine.
My cock is getting hard just feeling her against me. I have to start thinking about something that isn’t Aria related so I don’t get a boner in the middle of this gala.
“Sorry, I can’t,” she says, her nails still very much digging into my skin. It’s painful, but it feels good. So good, in fact, that I want her nails digging into my back or my ass as I fuck her. “I’m about to take a shot with my new friends.”
It’s the mention of the shot that has all thoughts of her nails and my ass evaporating.
Shots.
She wants to take shots with her new friends.
“So we can’t talk until said shot is taken?” I ask, placing another kiss on her neck, my hand tightening around her.
Her eyes don’t move from the space in front of her. “Mhmm.”
“Alright then,” I say, finally pulling away from her. “Bettencourt.”
Ethan turns to look at me, his eyes a bit wide in surprise. Before he says anything, he looks over at Aria, then back at me.
“Lane?”
“Add another shot to your order,” I tell him.
Again, his eyes go from me to Aria, as if he is asking her for permission.
My beautiful woman lets out a sigh and nods, probably realizing I’m not going anywhere or dropping this. He accepts her nod and turns back to the bar to add another shot to his tab.
“Having a shot with a Lane wasn’t something I had on my bingo card for the night,” Logan grunts, narrowing his eyes on me.
“Yeah,” my former friend voices. “Neither did I.”
Shots of a clear liquid get passed around.
“Some bingo card, since both of you play on a team that is owned by a Lane. I figured something like this was bound to happen,” I say.
Logan rolls his eyes as Ethan shakes his head before giving Aria a smirk.
I could fucking punch him. I don’t give a shit if this asshole was my childhood best friend; I will end him if he gives Aria a smile like that again.
“Aria, we appreciate you designating us your besties for tonight. It’s been an honor.”
“The pleasure was all mine, boys. I hope you have an awesome season.”
“You should come to a few games. We can get you tickets,” Ethan offers.
I know he is trying to be friendly and all, but this fucker needs to cut it out.
“I’m not much of a hockey person, but I think a few games will be fun.”
“Look over the schedule and let one of us know what works for you.” Ethan waves between him and Logan. “We’ll get you tickets.”
She doesn’t need to go through them. I will get her any tickets she wants. My brother owns the fucking team. “Are we going to take these shots or what?” I say, jealousy and rage filtering through me.
My former best friend gives me a smirk, like he knows exactly what I’m feeling right now. The bastard.
“You’re free to take the shot whenever you want,” the fucker answers, holding out his shot glass as if to say cheers. He brings it to his mouth and downs it in one go.
The rest of us quickly follow suit. Vodka burns my damn throat, but I don’t spend too much time thinking about it. I have other, more pressing things to take care of.
“Well, gentlemen, that was refreshing.” I grab the shot glass from Aria and place it on the nearest table before I grab her hand. “Thank you for keeping Aria company. Now, if you’d excuse us…”
I pull her away, making our way out of the ballroom. She doesn’t object. She doesn’t pull her hand away. She lets me pull her through the crowd without a single word. Something tells me I should be worried.
The second we’re alone, I find a door on the other side of the hallway, one somewhat hidden, maybe a room that isn’t in use. I open the door and find the lights off; I quickly pull Aria in and close the door behind us. It takes me a second, but I’m able to find the light switch.
The only things in the room are a few tables and chairs and us.
Aria stands in the middle of the room, her arms folded as she bites her lower lip with worry.
“What did you want to talk about?” Her voice is low and soft, and I hate it.
I close the distance between us and free her bottom lip, caressing the spot she was biting.
I give her a soft smile before saying anything. “Do you want to tell me why I got credit card notifications for Chanel and Tiffany’s?”
Her eyes fall bit. “You told me I could buy whatever I wanted.”
“I did, but I wanted to see if anything brought those purchases on.”
Her eyes fall again, but this time, she takes a step back and covers her face with her hands.
“I’m sorry, okay? I canceled the orders, so you should be getting your money back. I was just pissed, and that was the only way I could think of to get back at you.”
I walk over to her again, and bring her arms down. “You didn’t have to cancel the orders. I don’t care that you spent money. I just want to know why. Why were you pissed?”
“Because,” she says, and from the looks of it, tears start forming in her eyes.
“Baby, just tell me.”
“It was stupid, okay? It got pissed over a stupid reason. It doesn’t even matter anymore.”
The distance between us disappears, and I place my hands on her face.
“It mattered to you in that moment, so it matters to me. Please tell me.”
She steps out of my hold, her voice loud and full of emotion. “I was mad at you, okay? I saw you walk in with a beautiful woman, and I got mad.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t know the beautiful woman was your sister.
The second I saw you together, I saw you as a cheater, and you were rubbing it in my face.
I was pissed because, in that moment, I felt stupid for falling for another two-timing bastard.
I thought I was the other woman again. I was pissed at you, and I was pissed at myself.
” A tear runs down her face, and she quickly moves to wipe it away.
She pauses for as a bit, collecting herself.
Eventually, she sighs before speaking again.
“So I thought I would hit you where it would hurt. Then, I asked Ethan who the woman was, and the second he told me, I knew I fucked up. I felt horrible. I canceled the orders right then. Please don’t be mad at me for placing them in the first place.
I had a justifiable reason for doing so. At least, I thought I did.”
I can see the self-loathing floating through her eyes. If I had seen her with another man, I would have reacted the same way. My mind would have gone in the same direction. There is nothing to be angry about, not a single thing.
I walk over to her, closing the distance between us. She’s back to chewing on her bottom lip, but this time, I don’t free it, not yet. I place a finger under her chin and tilt her head up until her eyes meet mine.
“I’m not mad at you. I can never be mad at you.
You had a normal reaction, and if we are being honest, I would have done the same if the roles were reversed.
” I step even closer to her, leaving no space whatsoever.
“Know one thing, though,” I start, making sure her eyes are right where I want them.
“It doesn’t matter if we’re in a no label situation, if we are dating or married—I will never cheat on you.
I will never deceive you or give you any reason to think I want to be with anyone who isn’t you.
I told you I wanted to give you everything, and I fucking meant it.
I’m not anything like the fucker that came before me.
My promises, you can actually believe, every single one of them. ”
The next few seconds is a blur. I don’t know who kisses who first, but one second, I’m looking into Aria’s eyes, and the next, my lips are slamming against hers. My hands are clawing at her dress while she slides hers along my chest, pushing my suit jacket off me.
Our mouths fight as if we are both starving for the same thing.
As my tongue slides along her bottom lip, seeking the warmness of her mouth, I feel her hands in my hair, pulling, bringing us closer.
We are pressed together tightly, the only thing between us the material of our clothing. Desperation is flowing, and the only way to contain it is to give both of us what we want.
I separate my mouth from Aria’s just enough to survey the room, but even looking around becomes difficult, because her lips move along my jaw and down my neck.