Chapter 23
Mia
Seeing the first crack in Aiden’s armor as he kissed that sweet woman on the head and patted Merve on the shoulder isn’t helping me stay focused on the idea that he’s a monster with the capacity to hurt my sister.
As we ride even farther from town, I realize I shouldn’t be surprised a man like Aiden lives so far from where he does business.
It’s no different from my father choosing to live in Lakeside, in my mother’s family home, while working with the club and at his job in Harmony.
But I am surprised when we turn off onto a dirt road heading into the woods along Wilmington River.
The long driveway, sheltered by trees on either side acting as a canopy, leads to a ranch-style home.
A mid-century modern that’s all angles and peaks and tinted glass.
It has deep-brown brick and black siding and is shaded fully by trees and shrubs surrounding the front porch.
It’s not overly large, but it’s pretty, and the property is wide and expansive, making me wonder just how much land he has here.
Beside the rather beautiful house sits a barn-style garage that has seen better days. It has raw, untreated board and batten siding from top to bottom, and the brown-shingled roof is peeling in spots. It’s the kind of place where you just know a full colony of bats has taken up residence.
I pull my phone out and realize just how remote we are. “No cell service?” I ask, caution creeping up my spine.
“My Wi-Fi works better in some places than others.” He takes my helmet.
“Is this the speech you give all your victims before you haul them into that barn?” I huff out, masking my tension.
“If they’re my victims, they aren’t saying anything, darlin’.” He walks ahead of me a step.
“That’s comforting.”
The odd thing is that as I look around, I almost feel comfortable. I need to focus on working myself into his good graces if I want to learn as much about him as possible while I’m here.
The sounds of night birds and tree frogs are magical as we climb the concrete front steps to Aiden’s home.
From inside the front door, there’s a clear view out to Wilmington River.
The smoky leather and spice scent of Aiden hits me as I follow him into a wide, sparsely decorated hallway.
This isn’t what I expected at all. There’s no hint of smoke in here, no hint of habitation.
It’s minimal, beautiful, and full of windows that let nature in everywhere I look.
The foyer opens to a living room with floor-to-ceiling windows.
Two black leather sofas sit in the center with live-edge wood tables flanking them and another table in the middle.
There’s not a single blanket, not even one throw pillow, nothing to make the space homey or cozy.
It’s just sterile and clean. A natural stone fireplace with a heavy wood mantel sits completely barren, and there’s no TV.
Everything is masculine and rustic. The living room opens to the kitchen, which has walnut cabinets and a large black granite island with four round leather stools, although I get the feeling he doesn’t entertain.
There are no blinds on the wall of windows overlooking the deck that spans the entire length of the back of the house.
There’s hardly any yard behind the main part of the house, and the river comes almost up to the deck.
There’s a dock that stretches into the water, with a large gazebo at the end for sun shelter.
I gravitate toward the deck, and as I open the back door, lightning bugs and beautiful sparkling water fill my sight.
Aiden moves to stand beside me.
“An outdoor shower?” I ask, nodding toward the right side of his deck. Sitting atop it is a large wooden base, teak maybe, and all four sides from the waist up are glass.
“Yes.”
“Is it off your bedroom?”
“Yes,” he answers again.
“How do you ever leave here?” I forget who he is for just a moment.
“This is my reward. I don’t take it for granted if I make it back here at the end of the day. And it’s a place people from my club life don’t visit.”
I look up at him. “None?”
“A select few. Roz, Archer, and Stone,” he answers, dropping his icy eyes to mine. “And now you.”
I let my eyes move over him slowly as he looks out to his beautiful yard.
His black T-shirt is haphazardly tucked into his jeans, and I can just see the outline beneath of what I already know are rock-hard abs.
His dark-blond hair is tucked behind his ears, as always, and the scruff of his beard across his wide jaw sends tingles up my spine when I imagine how it would feel against my skin.
At this moment, he doesn’t look like a cold-blooded killer, the ruthless leader of my family’s rival club.
At this moment, he just looks like a beautiful man who craves a simple life.
“Let’s go.” He nods toward the house, interrupting my thoughts.
“Where?”
He just starts walking, leaving me no choice but to follow.
We pass back through the kitchen, then go down a dark corridor, and I glance back, noting the house forks in the middle to two separate wings. “What’s down the other hall?”
“That’s my space, and this is your space.” He pushes open a door to a bedroom. I look up at him, and he nods. “Well, go on, I have a full night still.” Doing what?
I roll my eyes, pushing past him. Everything is the same minimal decor as the rest of the house.
A king bed with a wooden headboard, flanked by two nightstands with white lamps, centers the room.
A dresser with a mirror above it sits on the opposite wall.
There isn’t a single picture on the walls, not one decorative item, and the floors are the same warm wood as the rest of the house.
The comforter and bedding are dark gray, and the room feels masculine, just like every other space so far.
“This is where you sleep.”
He makes his way through the room and slides open a heavy, wood barn door, flicking on a light to show me the bathroom. “This is yours too.”
I set my purse down on the bed and follow him in.
The floor is a pretty black and white penny tile, and the walls are white. There isn’t so much as a towel. A large glass shower takes up part of the far wall, and in the center is a claw-foot tub that is instantly calling my name.
“Homey,” I comment. “Don’t suppose you have any bubble bath?”
His eyes trail down my body before he answers, “Everything you’ll want is in this closet.” He opens a small cabinet in the bathroom, and I peek inside. Towels, soap, razors, a pack of toothbrushes.
“Take whatever you need.” Aiden watches as I look through the items.
“The alarm is set from the inside,” he adds, and the way he looks at me tells me what he really means.
“So, you’re holding me captive. I feel so special.” I sigh, taking a step back, creating space between us.
“It’s my job to protect anyone in my club. You just happen to be the one Dagger has his sights set on.”
“So, he’s done this before?”
“No,” he answers honestly. “He usually goes to the whore house on Borland Street. He’s never tried to claim any women from my club. He knows better.”
“Why me?” I ask, sitting on the bed to untie my shoes and pull them off my aching feet. Hours in heels makes me desperate to climb into that tub, and then into bed.
“I don’t know, but the reason you’re here is so you don’t have to find out.”
Aiden looks down at me. My shirt slid off my shoulder when I bent down.
His eyes start at my feet and drift upward as I uncross my legs and lean back on the bed just to fuck with him.
Every time Aiden looks at me like that, it tells me he wants me just as much as I want him.
But I’m very aware of who he is, and no matter how good he looks standing over me, I need to figure out what secrets this house is hiding.
His heated gaze fuels me to torment him even more, and I lift my chin as I slowly widen my legs.
“You’ve got shit to do, right? Feel free to leave then, boss.” I gesture to the door. “I’ll be just fine here in my ivory tower, unless you’re planning to watch your help get ready for bed?”
Aiden walks toward me, stopping between my spread knees.
He reaches down and trails the back of his knuckle softly over my cheek, before sliding both his hands down my arms to grip me so tight that my breath hitches.
He pulls me up and into his chest. It’s like hitting a wall, and it takes my breath away.
“I’m not a gentle man, Mia, and every time you try to fuck with me, you’re testing me. Meaning I won’t be responsible for what happens when that levee breaks…” His words trail off in warning.
I reach up between us and hit his forearm with my own, hard enough to break his hold, then grip his arm tight.
“Who said I wanted gentle?” I counter, leaning into him farther, still holding his arm.
I’m someone else entirely right now. Someone whose plan to hurt him doesn’t exist. The moment Aiden touches me, I no longer think about ways to bring him down, only how to make him break with pleasure.
A deviant smirk plays across his plush lips.
“Just like my bike, you have to earn my cock, pretty girl.” His eyes move over me, and he slides his hand up to palm my breast through my shirt, making my core instantly come to life. “And if I wanted you, I’d take you…and I’d fucking tear you apart.”
I reach up and smack him hard across the face, letting out a desperate huff as I do.
He doesn’t even hesitate. He turns me around and pushes my upper half down onto the bed, then smacks my ass so hard I wouldn’t be surprised if his handprint was embedded in my skin for weeks.
But more than it stings, it bruises my pride, because it sends heat pulsing to my core.
When I stand to face him, fueled with an unwillingness to back down, he’s gritting his jaw, chest heaving with what I’m certain is the same want I feel.
“You wanna keep fucking hitting me?” He leans in closer. “I’m gonna start smacking back,” Aiden growls.
This is nothing like some tussle with Briggs. Aiden is bigger, stronger, and more unpredictable. Not to mention, fighting has never turned me on before.
I’m just fast enough, and he’s just unsuspecting enough, for me to be able to lunge at him and knock him off balance.
His back hits the wood floor and I climb on top of him, wrapping both hands around his thick throat.
Somewhere in my subconscious, I know this is the worst way to try and choke him out, but I do it anyway, my anger getting the best of me as I use all of my strength.
He grins up at me, his face barely reddening, and I get the sinking feeling that he’s letting me choke him, because…he’s fucking smiling at me?
I’m so fucking annoyed that I squeeze harder, pressing in the places Briggs taught me. I swear to Christ he rolls his eyes before he makes a grunting sound and then his hands come down on my ass as I straddle him. He squeezes so fucking tight that I cry out.
“Are you done fucking playing now, Rhiannon?” It takes little effort on his part to flip me off him. My back hits the wood floor, and so does my head, hard enough that a dull buzzing begins as he leans down.
“Behave. This is the last time I’ll warn you, brat.”
Aiden pushes off me and stands, looking down, his chest heaving, and I grin at the beautiful, angry red imprint of my fingers around his throat.
At least I accomplished something, and I can tell by the way he’s looking at me that he’s full of shit.
I could feel how hard he was growing as I choked him, but he fights it just like I do, and it does nothing but spur the growing ache between my own thighs.
Regardless of who this man is, this is what I’ve always fantasized about.
Someone to challenge me. Someone to fight with.
Something raw and passionate. Something real. A desperate need that can’t be stopped.
He would tear me apart. I know he’s right, but God help me do I ever fucking want it.
“Now, go to sleep,” he growls, reaching down to adjust his hardened dick through his jeans, and my slutty body tingles at the sight. “And lock your fucking door.” He slams it hard on the way out.
I fall back onto the floor and look up at the ceiling, understanding exactly what he means.
He wants me to lock the door to stop him from coming in. But I have other ideas, and I’ll stay awake as late as I have to, because tonight my search begins. Every nook and fucking cranny.