Chapter 6
Acold silence settles around us as the accusation hangs in the air.
Gabi thinks Celeste is a murderer.
I’ve suspected the same from my investigation so far but hearing it out loud hits on a new level. Gabi’s pained expression is bad enough, but the real problem is what that reality would mean for my own investigation.
The Shadow, Slate City’s most feared criminal organization, held and tortured my brother for months. They almost took me before I got away, and they’re still imprisoning god knows how many others like me.
I’ve been hunting for those monsters since learning of my brother’s fate, but the closest I could get was the legitimate business that owned the property where they stash their hostages.
My hope was that finding the head of the logistics conglomerate that owns the warehouse would provide a link to The Shadow. So far that search has led me to the Wells family.
If Celeste did kill her husband, then she’s almost certainly one of the criminals I’m hunting. Why and how she did it, I don’t know. Maybe he got too close to the truth. Maybe her ties to The Shadow run deeper than I feared. All of these questions could be life or death, not just for me, but countless others.
What I do know is that Celeste Wells isn’t the shallow socialite she projects. And now I know her daughter doesn’t think so either.
“Aden?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not saying anything.”
Gabi looks nervous. She should be. She took a huge risk telling me this secret. I could run to her mother right now and reveal her suspicions. Then again, this entire conversation could be a setup to expose me.
But as the seconds tick by, something in her demeanor tells me she’s sincere—that she’s scared, not conniving. Trusting her is a risk for me too, but my life will be a lot easier with her as an ally than enemy.
“Do you have any proof?” I ask.
Her surprise and relief at my acceptance confirms my conclusion.
“Not exactly proof, but I know she’s lying to me about what happened. A source told me my father was seen in the Watershed District right before he disappeared. No one goes to the Watershed for a romantic rendezvous.”
She’s right about that. Just hearing the name sends a chill running through me.
I sense Gabi’s attention and find her squinting at me. “Why aren’t you running away screaming? I just told you I think your girlfriend is a murderer.”
Despite everything, a smile threatens my lips. “I can assure you; your mother is not my girlfriend. And if I ‘ran away screaming’ from every person involved in criminal activity in this city, I’d be completely alone. Well, except for you maybe. You seem like a good girl.”
Her smile breaks, and so does mine.
I stop in front of the entrance to our building and push away any lingering questions. Continuing this conversation won’t lead to anything good.
“Look, we got off to a rough start, and this shit about your mom isn’t helping,” I say. “The situation between us is messed up on so many levels, but I’m not leaving. I appreciate the warning, and I’m not trying to minimize your concerns, it’s just nothing surprising. And it doesn’t change how I feel about you. So can we call another verbally explicit truce?”
She huffs a laugh, and my teasing smile draws an adorable blush from her.
“Sure. Just not too explicit. Wouldn’t want Mom getting jealous.”
My own laugh triggers a warm rush inside me. When’s the last time someone made me laugh? Made me feel anything besides anger and fear?
She stops and holds out her hand to shake on the pact. I stare at it, hesitating. The last thing I should do right now is touch her again. When I finally do, the zap of electricity nearly takes my breath away. Her fingers tighten around mine. Her brown eyes scream a silent plea for more as my thumb moves in gentle arcs over hers.
Fuck, why does it feel so good to touch her?
After way too long, she pulls her hand away, looking flushed and nervous.
“Friends?” She clears her throat when it comes out hoarse.
“Of course.”
She nods and we’re careful to keep our distance as I open the lobby door for her.
By the time Gabi and I arrive back at the penthouse, the sun is setting.
It was so easy for us to be together. She didn’t just get my humor, she got me, and it became an addictive game to see how close we could get to each line without crossing it. The temptation was almost unbearable at times. I could tell she felt it too. Desire radiated from her every time our eyes met.
But now that we’re back, it feels like we’re stepping into a different life. What should be a simple goodbye has us stalled in the foyer, paralyzed by two contrary realities: what we want and what we can have.
“Thanks for letting me tag along today,” I say as evenly as possible.
“You’re welcome. I had fun.”
“Me too.”
Wide brown eyes gaze up at me with the unspoken part of this conversation. Words she can’t say. Words I shouldn’t want to hear, and yet they’re all I can think about.
I want more. I want you.
Her teeth sink into her lip as she searches my face. Is she wondering what it would feel like to finish this perfect day with the perfect kiss? I know she is when her attention drops to my mouth.
“You’re not what I thought,” she says, taking a step closer.
I inhale sharply at her approach. We’re not touching, but we’re close enough that it’s just a technicality. Her eyes are touching me. Stripping me, caressing me, shoving me into the wall and demanding things I want to give her right now.
It takes another long pull of air to soothe my burning lungs.
This can’t happen. You can’t have her.
“I’m exactly what you thought,” I lie.
She shakes her head. “You’re not. I understand your role and why you play it, but that’s not who you are.”
Fuck. Why does she have to make this so hard?
I run a hand through my hair, searching for the right words. I have no idea how to explain something she can’t possibly understand. Maybe I can’t. Maybe all I can do is break this before it destroys us.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I am. Hey, I need to get some rest. Have a good night, Gabi.”
I move past her and flinch when she grabs my arm. My pulse pounds as her fingers dig into my bicep. Damn, it feels good to have her hand on me.
“I want you, Aden. Since that night at the club. It’s all I think about.”
I stiffen, my blood running hot.
“Gabi…”
“You’re saying you don’t feel it too?”
“I do, but?—”
She steps into me, backing me against the wall. When her incredible body presses into me, I can’t stop my fingers from threading into her hair. I don’t even know if I’m giving in or trying to keep this from escalating. My body is acting on instinct, my starved sex drive refusing to see reason.
I release a quiet groan as she forces her hips into mine. The angle is brutal against my cock, grinding with increasing force.
“Fuck, Gabi. Don’t do that.”
“Tell me you don’t want it.”
“I…”
I do. I want it so fucking much. She doesn’t understand the jolts she feels when we touch are more than chemistry—they”re transferring her energy to me. She doesn’t know that what I want so badly is to sink into her, to lose myself in her pleasure, that it could send her into ecstasy… then kill her.
After our incredible day together, I should have been prepared for the dangerous temptation of an incredible night. Instead, I find myself fighting every instinct as she grinds against me, needy and demanding. I don’t know how to tell her to stop, especially when it’s the last thing I want to do.
But I also can’t tell her the truth: that the sizzle between us arouses her and makes her uninhibited, allowing me to feed on our intimacy.
It’s not by choice. It’s how I survive and typically the transfer is so minimal, the buzz is nothing but a delicious enhancement for the human—like a supercharged orgasm. But Gabi’s different. From the first time we touched, I knew we were in trouble.
I’ve never experienced this level of intensity with a human before, which means I can’t trust the methods I’ve perfected to keep her safe. The ones that stop me from feasting too long.
My typical controls on my needs aren’t working. I’m a live grenade and she’s already pulled the pin.
“Gabi, please,” I whisper, leaning back to search her pleading gaze.
Her eyes are fierce in the scorching silence, hot and desperate. She looks how I feel, and I have to touch her. I must.
With every voice in my head screaming to stop, I fan my palm over her cheek. She gasps at the bolt of lightning firing between us.
Maybe just a taste.
No! You won’t be able to stop.
What if I could?
I’m practically shaking as she runs her fingers over the fabric of my shirt. So gentle and yet demanding. Her hand lowers to the clasp on my pants. My expression pleads with her, but I don’t know if it’s begging her to stop or go further.
Braced against the wall, I can’t bring myself to pull away. My body screams for what my soul can’t have, and my mind won’t pick a side.
As her palm continues its descent, I study every flash in her eyes, every flicker in her face for a clue how to stop this. But there’s nothing, and when her fingers graze the hardening bulge in my pants, all I can do is take in a controlling breath.
Her hand begins a firm caress, and even though my brain is unsure what it wants, my cock definitely knows. It hardens with each pass.
Gabi molds her palm over the stiff outline, rubbing, kneading, pressing in the heel of her palm until I’m captive to her lust.
Her touch feels incredible, but it’s the desperation on her face that does me in. Hooded eyes expose her hunger, while her slightly parted lips become an impossible temptation. I lick my own, longing for a taste. Her steady massage intensifies to the rhythm of our heavy breaths that echo throughout the foyer. I’m aching for more, almost desperate. The warnings in my head are fading, the reality of our situation drifting further and further away.
All I can think about is reaching beneath her dress. Running my fingers over every inch of hot flesh and enjoying the silky heat of her body. Tasting her…
Fuck, I want to taste her.
Her gaze locks on my lips, and I know this is killing her too. If I were human and she wasn’t Celeste’s daughter, we’d be consuming each other right now.
We can’t be friends. Not now. Not ever with who her mother is and how deep her claws sink into this city. Even more dangerous is who I am.
For several scorching seconds, I wait for the strength to stop this. I feel sick at the love-drunk haze clouding her expression, indicating I’m drawing more of her energy than I should. It’s already gone too far.
I fucked up, and now I have to fix it.
“Eight thousand,” I say, tearing myself away.
“Eight thousand?”
Her confused gaze lifts to me as I retreat a step toward the hall.
You’re doing the right thing. The only thing.
“Eight thousand dollars is the amount your mom spent the first night she took me out.”
She reels back, her eyes wide as her jaw falls open. I force my expression neutral while my heart cracks from the pain on her face. At least the drowsy veil over her body seems to be dissolving.
“That’s a lot for one night,” she says in a cold tone. “You must be a good date.”
“I am. And she got her money’s worth.”
She releases a harsh laugh and puts more space between us. “Wow.”
Her glare is hot and indignant. “Congratulations. You”re really moving up the food chain, huh.”
I wince, but don’t respond as she yanks open the front door and storms out of the penthouse. The slam pounds through my head, but there’s no point following her. Her reaction is exactly what I was going for.
Closing my eyes, I breathe through the sting for several long seconds. Fuck, that hurt.
I make my way to the marbled dry bar, hoping a drink will help numb this ache.
You didn’t have a choice.
No, but I also know it won’t end here. The connection between us is too strong. It’s going to happen again.
Reason isn’t going to break this bond, that much is clear. Resisting is only making the pull to her stronger.
I swallow the amber liquid and slump onto a nearby bench.
The silence in the penthouse feels ominous and oppressive. I remember the hurt look on Gabi’s face and the air grows heavier.
I don’t know how to make this work, but I have to try. Somehow, we’ll have to purge our attraction for each other before it hurts her and destroys my mission.