5. Aria
5
ARIA
“ A re you fucking joking?” It wasn’t that I wanted to rip my cousin Colton’s head off. I wouldn’t have minded the opportunity to kick it around a little bit if someone else did, though. He had the nerve to look surprised at my reaction as if there was nothing out of the ordinary about inviting the asshole out with us.
“Honestly, in Colton’s defense, I don’t see what the problem is.” Rose slid an arm around Colton’s waist, touching the side of her head to his arm. No big surprise, the fact that she would take his side after he came in and announced he’d invited Miles to have drinks with us. He could break a beer bottle and slice someone open with the jagged end, and she would probably insist he had a good reason for it. Love did that to people. It made them willing to turn a blind eye to the obvious.
“Aria doesn’t like him, and that’s all we need to know.” At least my sister was willing to speak up for me, leaning over to pat my knee before reaching for the wine glass on the round table in the center of our circle of chairs.
This was one of our usual spots, somewhere low-key enough that we could kick back and have a good time without our chairs vibrating, thanks to the deafening music. No drunk bodies falling against us either.
“What do you think of him?” Evan winked at me, then turned his attention back to my sister. I scowled, and he pretended he couldn’t see me out of the corner of his eye. The way his lips twitched told another story.
Valentina shrugged, sipping her wine. “I don’t know. I guess he’s all right. She’s the one who has to spend time with him at home.”
“It’s not like we’re hanging out,” I made sure to tell everybody in case they figured we were having heart-to-heart conversations over our morning coffee.
“Maybe if you did hang out with him a little bit, you would get to know him, and it wouldn’t seem like such a big deal to have him around.” Sienna shrugged when I shot her a look. “What? He seemed okay when I met him.”
It took everything I had to sound neutral. “We just didn’t get off on the right foot, that’s all.” The longer this conversation dragged on, the more uncomfortable it made me. I needed to end it before Miles showed up at Colton’s invitation.
Valentina must have noticed my discomfort because she jumped in before anybody could answer. “So, let’s talk Vermont. Who’s bringing what? How is everybody getting up there?”
My relief was short-lived. It was my cousin, Lucian, who noticed him first, lifting his head and nudging Colton. “This him?” he asked, jerking his chin toward something over my shoulder. Yes, it was Miles. How did I know without looking?
I felt the prick.
Noah stood, extending a hand. “Noah Goldsmith,” he announced, wearing a warm smile. “So you’re the guy behind Young Industries.”
Miles’s empty laughter made my skin crawl. “That would be me. And you’re the guy behind Goldsmith Real Estate.”
“Don’t hog him.” Sienna nudged her boyfriend aside to offer Miles a brief side hug.
A fucking hug.
I was hallucinating, right? He was still standing close to my chair, meaning I had a front-row seat to what sounded so obviously fake to my ears.
Was I the one with the problem?
Glancing around, I saw nothing but general friendliness from everybody. They introduced themselves, explained who they were, and asked him questions about himself. Was this his first trip to New York? Where was he looking for apartments?
“I can hook you up,” Noah promised. “Just let me know, and we’ll get you set up.”
“I will have to keep that in mind.” To my horror, Miles dropped into the chair next to mine. I looked to Valentina for help since that had been her chair before he showed up, but she didn’t seem to mind. Instead, she sat across from me, smiling almost fondly as everybody satisfied their curiosity about our stepbrother.
I could have told them if only they would listen. This wasn’t the real Miles. Only I had ever met the smirking, foul prick beneath the affable fa?ade.
“We meet again.” Miles settled back in his chair, stretching his long legs out in front of him.
“Where have you been tonight?” I asked, noting how different he looked from the rest of us. I had never seen any of our crew dressed like he was, similar to how I saw him at the penthouse. The curious glances and flat-out lusty gazes of passing girls made me nauseous.
“Around.” Flashing a devilish grin, he added, “If you’re so curious, I could take you along with me next time.”
“You ride a motorcycle?” Lucian asked, leaning forward like his interest had been piqued. “What brand?”
“Harley-Davidson,” Miles replied. “One of their new CVO Road Glide Limited models.” I didn’t know the first thing, but the odd reaction from Lucian and the other guys told me this was impressive for some reason.
“The one with the touchscreen and Bluetooth and everything? Shit, I would love to get a look at that.” Noah almost sighed when he said it. Boys and their toys.
Sienna’s head tipped to the side while her expression turned to one of disbelief. “I’ve never seen you look at me that way,” she told him with a laugh, nudging him. “Little did I know you were cyclesexual.”
“That’s a new one,” Noah said with a laugh, pulling her into his lap. It was good to see them this way. They had gotten close when she worked to revamp his image and saved his real estate empire. Their relationship was pretty young, only a handful of weeks, but they already teased each other like an old married couple. It made sense. We had all known each other all of our lives.
The outsider to the group didn’t seem as though he was having any trouble fitting in. After a few minutes of pointless small talk, which I pointedly avoided getting pulled into, Miles stood. “Let me take the next round. What will everyone have?”
“More of the same,” Valentina announced, holding up her wine glass. “They should have our orders in the system. And thank you,” she called out as he backed away.
She then turned to me, and I really wished she didn’t have to look so superior. The girl was two minutes older, but she had a way of making it seem much longer when she put her mind to it. “See?” she asked. “It’s not that hard to be friendly.”
“He seems cool to me,” Noah declared.
“He could read the back of a shampoo bottle, and I’d be riveted,” Rose admitted, giving Colton a guilty little grin. “I’ve always been a sucker for British guys.”
“Now she tells me,” Colton groaned, also grinning.
Sienna draped an arm around his neck before rolling her eyes at me. “He’s got a man crush, that’s all.”
“I would really love to get a look at that bike. Do you think you would mind if we asked to go out and see it?” Lucian asked.
I was going to bite my off tongue if this went on much longer. “Be right back,” I announced, grabbing my purse and intending to head for the ladies’ room. Anything for a minute to myself. All it took was a stupid motorcycle and a winning smile, and everybody was head over heels for him.
Once again, I asked myself if I was the problem. Why wouldn’t anybody believe me when I told them I didn’t trust him? I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder on my way to the bathroom. There he was with a half-naked girl on either side of him, both of them tossing their hair and laughing. Yes, he was hot. I could admit that to myself, even if I would never dare admit it to my sister. But whatever happened to having a little dignity?
“Hey.” I barely had the chance to recognize a man was speaking to me before he raised his voice. “I said hey! You with the red hair. Nice ass.”
This was not the first time I had been cat-called at a bar. I didn’t know a single woman who hadn’t gone through this experience at least once. The best way to deal with it was always to ignore it, which is what I tried to do as I continued walking toward the back of the room. That was the last thing I needed, considering the mood I was in. The guy was lucky I was patient enough not to curse him out for everybody to hear.
“Why are you so fucking rude?” I felt his presence before his hand landed on my shoulder. Until then, I had not bothered looking his way, determined to pretend he didn’t exist, but I couldn’t exactly avoid him when he took hold of me and turned me around so we were face-to-face. He was tall, soft in an ex- athlete sort of way. Time and probably beer had added a layer of fat to what may have been muscle at one point.
And he was strong. The hand on my shoulder tightened menacingly. “Can’t a guy give you a compliment, you frigid bitch,” he demanded, leaning closer until the stench of beer almost choked me.
“Just leave me alone,” I muttered, and instead of trying to pull away or throw his hand off, I let my knees go loose and ducked a few inches. He lost his grip, so I was free in a heartbeat and ready to shout for help from one of the guys.
“The fuck is your problem?” He reached for me again, this time gripping my wrist, and as much as I didn’t want to give myself away, I yelped more in surprise than in pain.
“Oy!” A flash of black leather came from the corner of my eye before the stranger flew backward against the closest wall. It was almost like magic, the way he was there and then he wasn’t.
There was no time to breathe when Miles pulled back a fist and slammed it against the guy's face. By now, everybody realized what was going on, and Colton quickly took hold of me and pulled me away from the fight. I couldn’t pry my eyes from the sort of violence that would normally make me cringe and shudder. Miles hit the guy again in the face, making blood spurt from his nose before pummeling his ribs with rights and lefts.
That wasn’t enough to end things, though. The stranger took him by his jacket and swung around, slamming Miles into the wall and landing a punch against his right cheek.
Dimly, almost in the back of my mind, I heard somebody shout something about calling the cops. Colton must have heard it, too, and he and Noah closed in on the brawling men. Miles managed to get one final shot that made my would-be attacker drop to the floor like a sack of potatoes. The fight was over. There was no question of who had won.
“We should go,” Evan decided, approaching from behind me and giving my hand a firm tug which almost knocked me off my feet. I was swaying, dazed, as breathless as I would’ve been if I had been the one throwing punches. “Come on before Sienna has to take us all on as clients.”
Evan had a point. This would cause all kinds of problems if it got out. As much as I wanted to go and leave this behind, it wouldn’t have felt right to leave without Miles. He had only gotten into a fight because of me.
Before I knew what I was doing, I ran to where he leaned against the wall with a hand pressed to his wounded cheek. “Let’s go. Now, ” I urged, tugging his jacket. “Before somebody calls the police.”
He spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor before shooting one last dirty look at the man who was still unconscious. But he followed when I practically ran out of the bar behind everybody else. I was too humiliated to look at any of the whispering and pointing people we passed.
It felt like forever until we were outside again with everybody hanging around, wondering what to do.
“Looks like we’ll have to continue this some other time.” Miles looked my way before inclining his head toward a gleaming motorcycle parked half a block down. How he had managed to find parking in the middle of Manhattan was a mystery to me, but then so much about him was. “I'll get you home.”
“Go ahead,” Valentina urged, almost pushing me behind him. “I’ll call you. Hurry.”
What the hell was I doing? I had never been on a motorcycle before, much less with somebody I didn’t trust. But he had fought for me, hadn’t he? Maybe he just wanted to fight somebody, and that happened to be the most convenient option.
“Shouldn’t I be wearing a helmet?” I asked once I was positioned behind him. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, with the smell of leather playing tricks on my senses while I slid my arms around his waist. Looking over his shoulder, I caught sight of his bloody knuckles as he took hold of the handlebars or whatever they were called.
“I’ll be careful,” he called out.
All of a sudden, there was a beast between my legs, and the vibrations were intense enough to make me squeal in surprise. It was a relief that the engine drowned out the sound, and I closed my eyes tight, bracing myself before we took off.
Once the strangeness wore off, it was a rush. Nothing between me and the wind blowing my hair back and making my loose, knee-length skirt flutter a little against my skin. We weren’t going very fast. He kept his promise about being careful. But it was still enough to get my heart pumping.
And the buzzing between my legs didn’t hurt either.
It wasn’t until we reached my building’s attached garage that the reality of what had just happened finally sank in. “We ran from the police,” I announced as Miles rolled into an empty spot. My legs were shaking when I swung one of them over the seat to… dismount? Was that the right word for it?
“I don’t know if I would be quite that dramatic.” He was laughing but not in a cold or nasty way for once. “But we did escape before their arrival. And you had your first ride. What did you think?”
I thought I was insanely turned on. There wasn’t a handheld vibrator in existence that could compete with that kind of power. “I think… you should wash that.” I touched my fingers to my cheekbone before pointing to his. There was a cut there, and a bruise was beginning to take color. “Your knuckles too.”
“Good thing there’s running water upstairs.” He was practically floating on air and in a better mood than I had seen him in yet. Was that all it took? Kicking the crap out of some jerk in a bar?
Once we were upstairs, the penthouse was dark and quiet, which was no surprise considering the late hour. I waved Miles on behind me. “There should be ointment in my medicine cabinet.”
“You don’t have to do this for me.” Yet he followed me to the upper level where I knew there was a tube of Neosporin in my bathroom. I didn’t think about it. I didn’t plan it. Maybe somewhere in my subconscious, it seemed like the only thing to do. I had watched him knock somebody out for my sake. I could at least spare some antibiotic ointment.
“Nice room,” he murmured behind me when we reached my suite, looking around the bedroom as I flipped the light switch.
“They didn’t change much when I left for college.” That was my way of explaining the teenage photos still sitting on my childhood dresser. There was no reason for me to get rid of them now. If anything, they made me smile when I looked at them, even as I tried to remember the version of me who existed ten years ago. Back before I knew I had a stepbrother.
“I imagined you and Valentina sharing a room, but then I suppose there was no need for that.”
“Oh, God.” I flipped on the bathroom light and opened the medicine cabinet over the vanity. “I could never share a room with her. For somebody so organized when it comes to her schedule, she is the most disorganized person in every other way.”
“I thought twins were supposed to be alike.”
“Wash your hands,” I ordered rather than get into personal twin business he didn’t deserve to know about. “And your face.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I forced myself to ignore his sarcasm, remembering how scared I was when that guy had taken me. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that one of my cousins would have jumped in if they realized what was happening. But they hadn’t. Miles had. Miles who was not related to me by blood, had gotten nothing from me but negativity to this point. He had jumped in without waiting to be told, without asking questions.
“Does it hurt?” I asked, squeezing some of the ointment onto my finger and reaching up to dab it on his cut. Why was I doing it? He could’ve done it himself. Was I stupid enough to feel all protective of him now? I couldn’t be. Still, there was nothing wrong with being human toward somebody else. I could put everything else aside for tonight.
“This is nothing compared to some of the scrapes I’ve gotten into,” he assured me, one corner of his mouth pulling up in a smirk. “You should’ve known me in my younger days.”
“You do seem like somebody who could handle himself in just about anything,” I admitted.
“That sounded suspiciously close to a compliment, you realize.” His eyes twinkled when I risked looking into them. “You may want to be careful, or I might suspect you’re becoming fond of me.”
“Don’t ruin it.” But I was grinning when I looked up from his knuckles, now shining with a fresh layer of ointment. He was grinning back when our eyes locked, and someone stole all the air from the room. The gold seemed more prevalent for some reason, standing out against the green. Maybe it was the lighting. Maybe it was the three glasses of wine I drank, not to mention the whole fight thing. Nobody ever told me that could be an aphrodisiac.
“You’re a little windblown.” He reached out, brushing his fingers through my hair like he was trying to tame it after a ride with no helmet. “You’ll have to tie your hair back the next time we take a ride.”
Fighting to ignore the tingling of my skin, I whispered, “Who says there’s going to be a next time?”
Snorting softly, he replied, “You should’ve seen your face when we got here. Wait and see. I’ll have you wrapped around me again.” There was barely a chance for me to process that before he added, “On the bike, of course.” Right. Which meant there was no reason for my insides to go all hot or my heart to take off like a speeding train. No reason for the warmth of his breath fanning across my face to leave me fighting the impulse to lean in and find out what his generous mouth tasted like.
“Or now…”
Before I could pull myself back from the brink of an abyss, he pressed a hand to the small of my back and brought my body against his. I was still reeling from his sudden move when his mouth found mine, and a shock wave rolled through me. Pure heat, sizzling, searing my skin, and setting my mind on fire.
Stop this . I knew I had to. This was bad, and it couldn’t happen. He was my freaking stepbrother and wrong for me in every conceivable way.
My body didn’t think so, especially not when leaning against the vanity. He parted his thick thighs and pulled me closer while his tongue slowly stroked mine. He kissed me deeply and thoroughly like a man with all the time in the world and nothing better to do while the hand against my back slid south until he cupped my ass. Too good. I was powerless, completely under his spell, with no hope of resisting.
I didn’t want to resist.
My pussy was wet and throbbing by the time I broke the kiss to come up for air. His lips moved over my jaw and down my throat while his soft grunts filled my ears. I let myself test the softness of his curls, lust flaring hotter at the sound of his helpless groans. Something big and hard pressed against my lower belly, and I could imagine myself rubbing my body against it to make him groan again. I could imagine a lot of things, starting right here against the vanity before moving to the bed.
Which was a serious problem.
What the hell was I thinking? My eyes flew open, and dread flooded my heart, dousing the flames that had been licking at my self-control only seconds ago. “You should be fine now,” I told him in a breathless whisper, breaking away from his embrace like he was on fire. He may as well have been. I knew I would certainly get burned if I stayed too close for too long.
He didn’t seem surprised. A little regretful, maybe, but that probably had more to do with the erection jutting out from his jeans. “Whatever you say,” he murmured, a little breathless as he ran his hands through his hair to smooth down what I had tangled.
“And thank you,” I added because it seemed like the right thing to say.
“Hey,” he murmured, examining his knuckles, then looking at me with that same funny little smirk. “You’re my stepsister, right?”
I didn’t know what to say about that, so I settled for stepping aside and letting him walk past me through the bedroom. Somehow, I managed to wait until he was out the door before clasping my hands over my head and closing my eyes. I was caught between anger at myself and that weird, warm sense of gratitude that almost made me do something extremely stupid not half a minute ago.
I had come within moments of saying fuck it and giving in to the weakness I had for him. Disgusting. Stupid. Shameful, so long as I was being honest with myself.
A faint buzzing sound caught my attention. My phone was in my purse, tossed on the bed. I assumed it was Valentina checking to make sure I got home all right. If it wasn’t, I resolved to text her to let her know I was safe.
It was Valentina, but she wasn’t speaking only to me. “A group text?” I whispered, scrolling through the dozens of messages that had already been exchanged in the past twenty minutes.
Evan: That was pretty badass back there!
Noah: Aria, what was it like on his bike?
Colton: Yeah, and don’t spare any details. That bike is fucking gorgeous.
Lucian: I’m fucking burning with jealousy. Aria got to ride it? She doesn’t even give a shit!
Valentina: Uh, the point was to see how Aria is doing and whether they got back to the penthouse okay.
Sienna: That accent! Sorry, but I can’t get over it. Add whisking Aria off on his motorcycle, and he’s like James Bond.
Noah: Sienna, do I need to be worried?
Sienna: I was going to ask you the same thing…
Rose: You can’t still hate him, right, Aria?
Son of a bitch. Now he was everybody’s hero. Knowing these guys, they would dine out on that story for ages—how Miles had kicked the crap out of a guy for getting handsy with me.
With a sinking heart, I flopped face-first onto the bed before grabbing a pillow and screaming into it. Somehow, he had found a way to make everybody love him. And I hated him more than ever for it because there was a second where I had sort of felt the same way.