Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
JOANNA
Ifollow Aidan out to a small porch and up a narrow set of stairs. I don’t know where he’s taking me, but I trust him, keeping a tight hold of his hand. One that’s clinging to mine. His touch is cold, but it grounds me. When we reach a metal door, I realize where we are.
“Are you sneaking us into the movie theater?” I ask, dumbfounded. This feels less like a hookup and more like a date.
Aidan grins as he slips a key from his pocket and dangles it in front of my face.
“Umm, how do you have those?”
The corner of his mouth lifts knowingly. “They’re mine.”
What the fuck?
“Since when?” I demand.
“Since I bought the apartment.”
“You bought an apartment, and it just came with a movie theater?” I jab my thumb toward the door he’s now unlocking.
“No.” He laughs jovially, shaking his head at how astonished I am. “There was a petition in the nineties to reopen it after a fire,” he explains, “but the town couldn’t fund it. I pitched in and was given the apartment as a thank you.”
As we step inside the darkened space, I scoff.
“I heard that,” Aidan teases.
I mumble. “I wasn’t exactly hiding it.”
I can’t make out where Aidan is in the darkness, so I stay put. I’ve never thought about whether he had a job, or where his money came from in the first place. I remember reading about his donation to the park, but that sounded like a one-time thing. This, however…
“How are you able to do this?” I ask, directing my irritation out into the void. “You must have a shit ton of money if you’re able to throw money at movie theaters and parks like it’s an extra tip at a restaurant.”
I don’t mean for it to come out so accusatory, but somehow the sarcasm lost its spark once the words were out of my mouth.
“Does it matter?” he asks, his voice now coming from behind me.
Suddenly the lights turn on, and I’m momentarily blinded.
He’s standing a few feet away and closing a black box.
We are directly in front of the first row of seating.
The theater always appeared bigger when I sat toward the back, but from here it looks small.
The screen is massive though. Standing next to it makes me feel like I’ve regained the perspective of a child.
“I do it to help people,” he says.
I want to believe him, but I’ve never met a rich person that is selfless. I’ve always lived paycheck to paycheck. The only reason my mom and I were able to purchase the farmland was because we went in on a loan together, and we’re still paying it off almost ten years later.
I’m not sure why I’m so upset at this revelation of Aidan owning the movie theater, but something is rubbing me the wrong way.
I fold down the seat closest to me and sit. “What do you get out of it though? Are you trying to soothe a guilty conscience?”
Aidan’s face falls. He doesn’t meet my eyes, only stares down at his own shoes. I’m in just my socks. A little embarrassed, I tuck them under me in the seat.
He sits a few seats away from me, down the same row. “It makes me feel good when I help others. What’s so wrong with that?” I don’t say anything, so he keeps going. “If you must know, it gives me a sense of purpose.”
I turn in my seat to face him fully, hugging one knee to my chest. “So you do it for yourself. What is it you’re trying to make up for? Did you kill someone or something?”
I might have said it flippantly, not truly believing it could be true, but Aidan’s skin turns ashen in the dim light. His fingers flex and grip the armrest, knuckles protruding. He’s angry, but not at me.
I don’t know why I’m pushing him so hard on this, but I like seeing something else behind those gray eyes besides lust. It sobers me from the daydream we’ve been living in.
There’s so much more to Aidan than I could ever attempt to understand.
He’s a vampire for fuck sake; how did it never occur to me that he might have killed people?
I’m disappointed and a little confused when I see the anger dissipate from him. I wanted him to yell at me, to show me his true nature. Maybe then, I’d start thinking clearly. But his muscles relax, and his eyes find mine again. They are not full of rage. They’re sad.
“I did,” he confirms, acknowledging my baseless accusation.
I prodded him, but I don’t think I actually wanted to know the truth. I feel sick.
“The first decade of my vampire life—the dark times I mentioned—I killed frivolously. And I did it willingly.” He swallows hard.
“I have no mentor to blame. No one taught me, but it wasn’t all I knew—I was keenly aware of what I was doing, but my blood lust was much stronger than whatever willpower I had at that time.
I killed innocent people. So yes—I try to make up for it in whatever way I can, but I know it’s not enough.
It will never be enough. Donating money, buying out failing businesses, it just makes it easier to live with myself.
” He pauses, holding my gaze. “Is that so terrible?”
I hear what he’s saying—he’s clearly telling me what the devil on my shoulder wanted to hear.
I have every excuse to run away now. I should be afraid.
But I’m not. My heart swells and breaks for him.
I will never know what it’s like to live the life he has, but I can see the truth of the pain he speaks of in his eyes.
They are very tired, very humble eyes that wish to see a better future for himself.
And right now, I desperately want to be the one to give it to him.
I reach across the seats separating us and take his hand, squeezing his fingers lightly as they lace through mine.
“I’m sorry for making you tell me that,” I apologize in a small voice. “You don’t have to talk about it any more.”
He leans forward and presses a kiss to the back of my hand. “It’s not so bad when I’m talking to you.”
My heartbeat quickens as I get to my feet and stand in front of him.
I don’t think as I straddle his thighs and sit in his lap.
I don’t want to think about anything else—the world outside these four walls can wait.
Right now, it’s just the two of us in our little bubble again, and I will protect it for as long as I can.
I kiss him, slowly, making sure to savor the taste of him. His hand moves to the front of my throat and rests comfortably there. It’s a familiar position, his thumb pressing lightly against my pulse point, rubbing small circles. I can feel my own blood thrumming, building pressure.
Moving my hips against his, I cling to his shoulders and ride the friction until it’s too much.
Not enough. I stand back up and remove all my clothing.
He does the same from his seat, lifting his hips just enough to slide his pants down.
I return to my previous position, only this time I feel his hard length settle between my thighs.
We kiss again, and as we do, Aidan presses his thumb against my clit.
He moves in small, agonizing circles, just as he did against the vein in my neck, and I feel a different pressure building.
I breathe heavily against him, our mouths open, cheeks pressed together.
His lips move to my neck and suck lightly.
His tongue sweeps across my skin, and I try to imagine what his teeth might feel like piercing my flesh.
Would it hurt? Or would it be more like a pleasure that balances along the line of pain?
He slides two fingers inside me, and I gasp from the beautiful sensation. He strokes between my thighs, sliding in and out of my pussy with concentration, making sure to curl his knuckles and hit the right spot inside me.
I lift my hips and take hold of his cock, too impatient to wait any longer.
He lets me guide him in slowly, and every inch is worth the delirious torture.
Feeling full and connected to him in this way only makes my need for him stronger.
I want him to crawl inside me and consume me from the inside out.
I start to move, clenching my thighs to shift steadily up and down. Aidan guides me by my hips, each hand claiming me, his touch so cold it’s scalding.
He leans back in the seat so there’s more room for me to move. It’s a tight space with armrests on either side, but the confinement works in our favor. I don’t need to move freely; I just need to move with him.
I keep up my momentum, riding and lifting my hips, then pressing closer and closer to Aidan’s hips every time I drop back down. I’m climbing a roller coaster I’ve ridden before, but instinctively I know there are newer, higher levels to explore. There’s something more I want—need—from him.
I lean forward and capture his mouth with mine, frantically kissing and exploring his mouth as if there’s a countdown and I’m about to run out of time. His tongue sweeps across mine and I let out a desperate moan. Aidan’s hands roam my waist and grip my ass.
I’m panting as I gaze down at him. His back nearly flat against the seat, his arms fully extended as he holds tight, nails digging into my skin. He’s watching himself as he disappears into me, over and over, gray eyes now molten silver.
As his chin lifts, his mouth parts, and I catch the smallest glint of a sharp canine.
The hairs on my arms raise to attention, and I feel a brisk chill in the air pebbling my skin.
It’s a sense as real as the touch of Aidan’s hands, and the smell of his sweet citrus scent.
I have a sudden, desperate need to be possessed, to be coveted.
I should be terrified. He could snap at any moment and devour me whole. But that’s precisely what I want him to do.
I suck in a sharp breath. “Bite me.”
His steel-colored eyes snap up to mine, and his movements jerk to a stop. He snarls menacingly. “No.”
I’ve never seen him like this, and for a fleeting moment, I feel actual fear, but it’s gone before I have a chance to process it.
I want to ask why, but Aidan is already taking control, forcing his hips upward.
I latch onto him as he plows into me from below, spreading me as wide as I’ll go so he can watch himself stretching me.
All I can think about is pleasure. All I can see are stars.
He grunts and hums deeply while holding our hips together. He teases my clit as he comes, and I’m sent right along with him. I collapse against his chest, gasping for breath. Neither of us move for several minutes, cheeks pressed together again. And for the first time he feels…warm.
I pull back to look at him. This close, I can see the minor blemishes on his face, and the varying shades of blond in his hair. It’s mostly a pale white, but I find a few stark gray strands.
“Sucks you were turned with gray hair,” I say, combing my fingers through it. “Now you’re stuck with them.”
He stiffens beneath me. “What do you mean?”
“Your hair,” I clarify. “I see a couple gray hairs.”
Aidan moves to sit up and I’m forced to get off him. He grabs a handful of hair from the top of his head and tries to pull it down in front of his eyes.
“It’s not that many,” I say, stifling a laugh. “Nothing to panic about. I thought you knew.”
Aidan looks at me seriously. “I’ve never had gray in my hair. Not when I was human, and not when I turned.” He falters, breath hitching, and I see a slight tremor in his fingers. “This is new.”