2. Aria
2
ARIA
Y ou can call me Dion , astéri mou ,” the stranger says with a huge grin. My heart leaps into my throat. I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. What the hell, Aria ? Say something.
But the words seem to have been snatched from my lips as I stare at this man. This really, really handsome man. I hadn’t noticed how gorgeous he was until our gazes locked, and I got lost in his green eyes, like stepping into a pair of emerald pools.
Somehow , it’s as if I can feel the intensity they hold, secrets waiting to be discovered by those brave enough to venture closer.
His muscular frame fills out his dark suit perfectly. The jacket, tailored to perfection, hangs open, revealing an unbuttoned shirt underneath. I catch glimpses of tattoos peeking out from beneath the fabric.
His short, brown hair is neatly styled, and the light stubble on his jaw looks irresistibly rough. I can’t help but imagine how it would feel against my skin.
I blink rapidly, breaking free from my trance. Woah .
All I wanted was to have some fun tonight and get Angelica out of her self-induced rut.
She has been struggling to readjust after being kidnapped by one of her father’s rivals in Antium City . Yes , kidnapped .
She had moved there four years ago, running away from home to escape her life. But ever since coming back to the Metropolis of Cebrene , she often looks distant, her laughter seems forced, and there’s a sadness in her eyes that wasn’t there before. It’s like she’s physically back, but mentally is still trapped in that terrifying ordeal.
I wanted to take her out and show her a good time. I wanted my best friend back.
Instead , we keep getting interrupted by sleazy men who just want to grind their dicks on our asses. Exhibit A : mister tall, tanned, and stupidly handsome that just waltzed up to us thinking he deserves even a second of our time and is now smirking at me. He’s hot, but I could do without the entitlement.
I watch him with a frown as he turns to Angelica to whisper say in her ear over the music, then gives me one last, lingering glance before leaving us.
My breath hitches, and I bring my hand to my mouth.
Aria , come to your senses, damnit. I must be drunk to be this affected by a look .
I face Angelica , who has gone pale. “ What’s wrong, Ang ?” I ask, concerned, forgetting all about the suited man. Dion .
“ It’s him. It’s Evan . He’s sitting right there, staring at me, and he wants us to join him.”
I follow her gaze to a group of men in a VIP booth. Evan is the man she met at the shooting range. Based on what Ang told me, I think she should fist more than just his gun— if you know what I mean .
Unable to contain my excitement, I squeal. “ Oh . My . God ! What are we waiting for?”
I grab her arm and drag her to the table at the back of the crowded club where Evan , Dion , and another man are sitting. Given their appearance and air of importance, I’m safe to assume they’re in the mob—like mine and Ang’s families. Maybe I should be a bit cautious, but if these men want to show us a good time and give us free drinks, why the hell not?
Dion has his fingers wrapped around a tumbler of amber liquid that looks like whiskey or bourbon. As I approach, he looks up, his eyes locking onto mine.
“ Hey , fellas. You called?” I purr as I hold his gaze, a silent challenge in the air, like we’re playing a staring contest. His lips curl into a smirk and, just as he raises his glass to take a sip, I make my move.
I snatch the drink from his hand before it touches his lips.
Without breaking eye contact, I gulp down the entire contents, the burn of the alcohol hitting the back of my throat and making me grimace. I set the empty glass back on the table with a soft clink, winking at Dion .
Dion’s expression shifts from surprise to something like intrigue—something hot —his eyebrows lifting slightly before he leans back on the couch. “ Well , that was unexpected,” he says, with a hint of amusement in his voice.
I glance at the empty seat next to him, then slide into the booth, the smooth fabric cool against my legs. “ Thought you could use some company.” I tilt my head slightly, a playful grin on my lips.
Dion chuckles, shaking his head. “ Bold move, Aria . I didn’t take you for the type.”
I ignore the annoying flip in my chest at hearing him say my name.
“ There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”. I lean in closer, resting my arm on the back of the couch.
Dion’s smirk widens as he signals the waitress for another drink, his eyes barely leaving mine. “ So , what made you come to my table?”
I shrug. “ Maybe I was bored. Maybe I wanted to see if you’re as interesting as you look.”
He laughs softly, the sound rich and warm. “ And what’s the verdict so far?”
I pretend to ponder, tapping my chin with a finger. “ The night’s still young. We’ll see.”
Dion’s gaze lingers on me. “ Fair enough. Here’s to a night of surprises, then.”
The tension between us crackles, and I can feel the warmth of his body next to mine, a subtle reminder of the boldness of my move.
Suddenly , I’m hit with nerves like a ton of bricks. I’m not usually the shy type, but being this close to him—this stranger —is doing unexplainable things to me. My body is overheating.
I shift on the plush seat, heart hammering against my rib cage like a frantic bird desperate for escape. Beside me, Dion is a presence so powerful it sends shivers down my spine.
Every movement he makes seems calculated, deliberate, as though he knows exactly the effect he has on me. It’s dizzying.
My fingers find solace in the delicate fabric of my skirt, tracing the familiar path along the hem. I tug at it, looking down, a weak attempt to ground myself.
Dion places his palm on top of my hand, and the current of energy that courses through my veins almost suffocates me.
“ What’s the matter, Aria ? Nerves getting the best of you?” he remarks, his hand still touching mine. There’s a mischievous expression in his eyes.
I inhale a sharp breath. “ No ,” I utter indignantly, like a kid who just got caught doing something sneaky.
“ Are you sure? You stormed over here, grabbed my drink like you owned the place, and now it seems you’re getting cold feet. For a second there, I thought you had guts.”
I struggle to keep my composure, still fiddling with my skirt.
“ You’ll end up unthreading it if you keep twisting the fabric like that,” Dion says, looking down at my legs. I notice his gaze lingering a second too long. No matter how hard I try to stifle the heat that’s rising to my cheeks, I fail.
I quickly force myself to snap out of it— he’s just a smug asshole who doesn’t deserve my attention . His condescension fuels a spark of defiance in me. I jerk my hand away. “ You’ve got jokes,” I deadpan. “ Maybe I don’t need to prove anything to you. Maybe you don’t deserve a lick of my time.”
“ There she is.” Something glints in his eyes, and I roll mine. He’s clearly enjoying this.
“ There she is? You don’t even know me,” I retort. This man thinks he has me all figured out.
“ Let’s change that.”
“ How ? You want to talk about our dreams and aspirations in the middle of a loud club?”
The pulsating lights cast shadows across Dion’s face, but I don’t miss how his lips curl into a smile. “ I know somewhere quiet.”
I scoff. Of course. Men like him always want one thing. “ No , thank you.” I knew he was too good to be true.
“ We can talk, that’s all,” he says, feigning innocence, and it’s almost convincing.
“ I’m not sleeping with you.”
“ That’s not my intention.”
My eyes narrow into slits. “ You expect me to believe that you’re not trying to take me somewhere quiet to get in my pants. Not credible for a second.”
“ Let me prove you wrong, then.” Dion’s lips part into a wide grin, and I’m again enveloped by his beauty. Fuck me . I can barely contain my smile. But I stand firm.
“ I said no. I’m perfectly fine here.”
I turn to check on Angelica —but she’s no longer in the booth. My eyes search for her in the crowd, telling myself not to be worried, when I spot her on the dance floor alone. Correction : not alone. She’s glued to a man who is now grabbing onto her hips, palms flat on her waist. She hooks her arm around his neck and grinds onto him, looking toward us with mischief in her eyes. I follow her gaze and find a very angry Evan clutching onto his glass.
Oh my God . Angelica is putting on a show for him . What the fuck did I miss? How long have Dion and I been talking?
I have a feeling this will not end well.
Evan gets off his seat in one swift movement and mutters something to the two men standing behind him, who appear to be his guards, and heads toward the dancing crowd.
“ What’s happening? What is he doing?” I look at Dion for help, but he simply shrugs.
“ Trust me, he’s far past convincing now. Don’t worry, he won’t hurt her.” He sounds so confident, and I want to believe him, but I still want to go talk to Angelica .
I wiggle my way off the couch, but Dion grabs onto my arm. “ Stay here.”
“ Don’t tell me what to do,” I spit, jerking away from him.
Evan is now on the dance floor in a heated discussion with the guy. Then , the music abruptly stops. “ Everybody . Out . Now ,” I hear him seethe.
I jump up. Just as I’m about to run to Angie , Dion wraps his arm around my waist, lifts me in the air like a sack of potatoes, and throws me over his shoulders.
“ What the fuck, Dion ? Put me down, now!”
I try to fight him, but he’s too big and overpowering. My protests fall on deaf ears, drowned out by his chuckle and the amused glances from his friend. Dion doesn’t even flinch as I thrash against his back.
All I feel are the hard muscles flexing under my palms. His strength radiates through my fingertips, and, for a moment, I just want to run my hands all over him. The temptation is almost overwhelming and— no , I need to focus.
“ Where are you taking me?” I shout, my irritation growing by the second. The sooner I’m back on solid ground, the better. Then , I will berate him properly.
“ Somewhere fucking quiet, you psycho,” he laughs. What an asshole.
We head upstairs, Dion somehow managing to carry me up a few flights as if I were a feather. He opens a door before gently putting me down.
Disgruntled , I straighten my clothes, trying to regain some composure while shooting daggers at him. My cheeks are flushed with embarrassment and lingering annoyance. I could kill him.
I prepare to give him a piece of my mind, but the words get stuck in my throat as he locks the door and leans against it, crossing his arms at his chest with a self-satisfied smile on his face.
“ Why did you lock us in?” I ask, now a little concerned about my well-being. Actually , I didn’t think about my safety at all . I was too distracted by the chaos and his beautiful, green eyes. He could be a bad man and hurt me.
My heart pounds, beating furiously against my chest. He doesn’t answer.
“ If I don’t get home tonight, my fiancé will be worried,” I blurt out, hoping it’ll put him off. I’m not technically engaged yet, but it’s in the works. My father announced a few weeks ago that he’d be arranging a union with one of his counterparts. I’m still trying to convince him it’s a bad idea.
At twenty-three years old, I never thought I’d be forced into a marriage against my will. My father always implied that such an option would never be on the table. The news came out of the blue and shocked our entire family. But what Baba says, goes, and now I’m just hoping it was a rash decision he made in the heat of the moment. I refuse to believe he would allow his little girl to marry a complete stranger . It feels like my world has been turned upside down, and all I can do is cling to the hope that my father will come to his senses and put an end to it.
Right now, though, I’ll use it to my advantage.
“ Your fiancé , huh? And where is he now?” Dion taunts, raising a brow.
I take a quick glance around the space. We seem to be in an office. Behind me, there’s a desk and a chair. I slowly back away to reach the solid surface as though it’ll make me feel more protected.
Every nerve in my body is on high alert. “ Uh , home. Waiting for me,” I finally reply.
“ Is that so? Your fiancé let you go out without him?”
“ My fiancé doesn’t let me do anything,” I snap, suddenly angry again. Great . Another man with archaic morals and values.
“ That’s not what I meant,” he says, approaching me, his intense gaze never leaving mine. “ If you were mine, I would never let you out of my sight, astéri mou .”
This time, the nickname catches me off guard, and warmth builds in the pit of my stomach. My little star . When he’d said it earlier on the dance floor, I was so disoriented by his arrival that it never sank in. I shake my head to dispel the thoughts.
“ Well , thankfully, I’m not yours.”
Dion chuckles.
My butt reaches the desk, and I can no longer back away from him. He moves closer, forcing me to sit at the top to keep one last fraction of space between us. Bracing his hands on the table at each side of my body, he brings his nose to my ear. My muscles tense involuntarily, my breath coming in shallow gasps, as if my lungs refuse to fully inflate, fearing what might come next.
“ I don’t see a ring, Aria .” My name rolls off his tongue like melted butter. Goosebumps erupt all over my body.
Mind racing, I try to find an excuse as to why I , in fact, do not have a ring on, but I can’t function with him this close to me.
“ Hmmm , I think you’re a little liar,” he adds in a low murmur. “ I’m not even sure this fiancé exists.”
A flicker of determination ignites within me. I refuse to succumb to his games. I steel myself, drawing upon every ounce of courage I possess. “ Get away from me, Dion . I told you I won’t sleep with you.”
He lets out a mocking laugh and backs up. “ That’s not why we’re here,” he says, as if the idea is ridiculous.
I give him a disdainful glance. “ Sure . And snow falls in summer.”
Dion’s face contorts into a confused frown. “ What ?”
I cross my arms at my chest. “ You’ve never heard of that expression?” He shakes his head.
I scoff. “ When pigs fly. When fish climb trees. When chickens have teeth. Nothing ?”
That annoying eyebrow lifts again. “ Definitely not. I’m not weird.”
“ Fuck off. You just live under a rock.”
“ I’d rather live under a rock than be weird.”
I let out a snarl. “ You’re infuriating!”
“ So I’ve heard.” He shrugs.
He walks around me and sits on the chair; I swivel to not have my back to him. You can never be too safe. I don’t have a weapon on me, given they search your bags at the door, so I have nothing to defend myself with. This reminds me, I should learn self-defense.
Dion lifts his feet onto the desk and leans back, arms above his head. I roll my eyes. At this moment, he looks like a rich douche bag on his throne.
“ If you don’t stop rolling your eyes at me, I’ll give you a reason to do so, little liar,” he threatens with a cheeky grin. I just want to slap it off.
“ You’re honestly so annoying. I don’t know if I can handle being in here with you for another second without throwing something at you,” I say, looking around the room as I genuinely consider it.
Dion laughs. All he’s done since we met—not even an hour ago—has been smiling and laughing. I want to convince myself that it isn’t affecting me. But then, I’d actually be a little liar.
“ When can I go home?” I ask, exasperated. “ I need to check on Angelica .” And I need to put some space between us because you’re making me feel like a slut puppy . I don’t say that, obviously.
He waves me off. “ She’s fine. Evan sent me a text to confirm. You can come see if you’d like,” he taunts, waving his phone in the air.
I narrow my gaze. “ Right . And I’m supposed to trust you.”
“ What other choice do you have?”
“ Mafia men are all the same,” I mumble, more and more frustrated. “ Always with the higher-than-thou attitude and power play.”
Dion crosses his arms. “ Is that so? What else do you know about mafia men?”
I sigh. “ Only that I don’t want to be around them.”
My mind drifts to my father and his plan for my marriage, and I curse the heavens for allowing me to be born into the mob. I’m beginning to understand Angelica’s need to escape.
“ You know nothing about me either, astéri mou . I can almost guarantee I’m not like the others.”
I blow out a puff of air. “ Isn’t that what they all say, Dion ?”
With a shit-eating grin, he says, “ Innocent until proven guilty.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes at him once more, shutting my lids instead to take a deep breath. I imagine running up to him, strangling him by the throat, his eyes bulging out of his head like a cartoon. The thought is quite amusing.
“ Do you want to see, or what?” Dion asks, interrupting my fantasy.
I want to check his phone, but that means I’d have to get close to him again. Although I’d love nothing more than to punch him in the throat, his proximity makes me feel— weird .
Good weird. I hate it.
But I decide that Angelica’s well-being is more important. “ Fine .”
I walk around the desk and lean forward to check the text, my hair falling over Dion’s face. He stills, as if I’ve just done something wrong. Then , I hear him inhale. He fucking inhales.
“ Are you fucking sniffing me?”
“ Yes . And ?” he replies, no ounce of regret in his tone.
Not realizing how close we are, our noses almost touch when I turn my face to him. I slightly startle, but don’t back away. He can’t know how much he’s affecting me. I don’t want to admit that to myself. I don’t know him. He’s a jackass, and I’m getting engaged. Even though the thought of marrying a stranger makes me sick .
“ So , you really are a dog,” I retort.
Dion laughs. That fucking sound.
In a matter of seconds, he slides his palm up and around my nape and grabs onto my hair. My breath catches in my throat at the hint of pain. The pull grounds me in a way that feels foreign, yet undeniably comforting.
It’s strangely anchoring. Dion’s touch is both possessive and reassuring. And I need to get him off me before I do something stupid.
But he brings my face even closer, pulling my head backward enough to stunt my breathing. I hiss, the sting going straight to my eyes, tears pooling. A whimper slips out of my mouth.
A tingling sensation shoots straight down my core. My center is suddenly pulsating with need. I’ve never been manhandled like this before.
“ You fucking like this,” Dion grunts, tugging harder, and I moan. “ Look at you, Aria . You’re fucking weak, wilting like a leaf for me.”
I shake my head. “ No ,” I wheeze.
“ You’re dying for me to water you, baby,” he says, nipping my earlobe with his teeth. Oh , God . I have a feeling I won’t come out of this unscathed.
“ Let me go.” I struggle to breathe.
“ Not until you stop playing games, little liar. Tell me you feel this. Whatever this is between us. Admit it, and I’ll let you go.” The heat of his breath in my ear causes my skin to erupt in goosebumps.
I gulp. “ I don’t feel it.” I’m lying .
He pulls my hair harder. “ Liar .”
“ I’m not a liar.” I seethe between my teeth. Okay , maybe just a little bit, but he’s still an asshole. “ Let . Me . Go .”
The sound that comes out of Dion’s mouth is guttural. Like a beast finally ready to attack his prey. One second, I’m standing next to him, bending down, his fist in my hair. The next, I’m seated on his lap, his erection prodding my backside.
He crashes his lips on mine and my entire world turns on its axis, reality fading into oblivion as I’m consumed by the sensation of his kiss. Firecrackers explode in my chest, every nerve ending tingling. I think I might be dying.
Dion weaves his fingers into my hair, grasping onto it desperately as if to moor himself to me.
I am lost in him. My senses heightened; every touch amplified.
My fingers instinctively reach for his chest, and I clutch onto the lapels of his suit, pulling him closer.
With each heartbeat, the intensity grows, our tongues battling for control, igniting a fire within me I never knew existed. It’s exhilarating, intoxicating, and utterly breathtaking.
When we finally pull away, breathless and dizzy with desire, I realize that this electrifying feeling might just be the beginning of something heartbreaking.