Chapter 8
Goldie
“Wait. You live here?”
“Ah… yeah.” Pausing in front of the door to her building, Goldie shrugged as she punched in the code. “I know it’s kind of expensive but I love how close it is to everything.”
“No, no, that’s not what I mean. I live here. Or I did before I, ah, moved in with Killian.”
“Seriously? What a small world. Wait.” Yanking the door open, Goldie narrowed her eyes as Aria moved inside and made her way to the bank of elevators. “Did you give Brody the code?”
“Probably,” Aria said with a shrug as they stepped into the empty elevator. “I can’t believe we lived so close and didn’t know it. I knew I shouldn’t have let Killian talk me into subletting my apartment.”
Well, that was one mystery solved, though she couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit let down that Brody hadn’t pulled some shady criminal business to figure out a way into her apartment.
Setting aside the annoying disappointment, Goldie glanced over at her new friend. “They let you sublet? I thought that was against the rules.”
Color bloomed on Aria’s cheeks, piquing Goldie’s interest even further. Aria O’Rourke didn’t strike her as the type of woman who blushed easily. “It is, technically. My husband is a very… skilled negotiator.”
Translation, he either bribed or intimidated someone into doing his bidding.
It should be infuriating, but it was almost romantic.
In a very fucked-up, dark romance kind of way, which she was well aware should not be her yardstick for romantic gestures, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. “I imagine he is.”
“He’s not a bad guy, though.” Aria’s nose wrinkled. “And trust me, I know exactly how that sounds because it pissed me off to no end when my dad and Lottie kept insisting he was a ‘good guy’ when I first met him.”
The elevator dinged to let them out, and Aria scowled up at the number on the display. “Seriously? Not only did we live in the same building, we lived two floors apart? How the hell did we never run into each other?”
“I’m a fairly solitary creature,” Goldie said with a shrug as she pushed her door open. “So, um, this is my place. Make yourself at home.”
“It’s very… pink. Oh, god.” When Aria turned back, her cheeks were roughly the same shade as Goldie’s throw pillows. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I have a habit of putting my foot in my mouth. A lot.”
“It’s okay. You’re right, it is very pink.
Which is the way I like it.” Shrugging, Goldie placed their boxes on the counter and opened a cabinet to reveal her equally pink plates and matching cups.
“I figured I don’t have to share my space with a boy so why shouldn’t it look exactly the way I want it to? ”
“I actually love that. I never really did much with my apartment. Or my dorm. And I’m pretty sure my parents bought ninety percent of the decorations for my bedroom growing up.”
Dishing up a cupcake and slice of strawberry roll for each of them, Goldie carried their treats over to the coffee table in the living area. “I’ve got water, milk, coffee, and soda if you want something to drink.”
“Milk would be great, thanks.” Cupping her stomach, which had popped significantly since the first time they’d met, Aria lowered herself down onto the couch.
“I’ll have to text Killian if I have anything with caffeine in it, and he’s already going to be growly enough about me sneaking out of the house without a guard. No reason to give him any more ammo.”
Heart lodged firmly in her throat, Goldie poured her guest a glass of milk and herself another coffee. “So Killian is your…?”
“My husband, and the bane of my existence more often than not.” Accepting the glass of milk, Aria grinned up at Goldie over the rim. “And he’s my Daddy, yes.”
It was all Goldie could do to keep her grip on her coffee mug. “So I guess it’s true that kink is genetic.”
Aria shook her head, her dark ponytail flying wildly with the movement. “Considering my dad runs the most exclusive kink club in the city, I try very hard not to think about that, thank you very much.”
“Really?” Excitement bubbled in Goldie’s chest. “Do you think he’d let me interview him? Maybe come by for a tour? I’ve always wanted to write a series centered around a club like that but I don’t know the first thing about them.”
“I’ll ask. But first, you owe me details about last night.”
Heat threatened to engulf Goldie’s face as she cleared her throat.
“Well, you know about the main event.” Holy crap, this was harder than she’d expected it to be.
She was a kink author, for fuck’s sake. It shouldn’t feel like she was going to explode in a cloud of humiliation just talking about getting her butt spanked.
“I know Brody spanked you. Not that he actually told Killian as much, but he assured him that he’d…
how did he put it?” Leaning back against the couch, Aria frowned slightly as her free hand rubbed over her bump.
“He said he’d taken care of the menace and that you wouldn’t be causing us any more trouble. ”
Pain stabbed at Goldie’s chest. “He said that?”
“Yeah. It doesn’t sound very romantic, I know, but the fact that he’s filling Killian in at all means you’re important to him.”
She didn’t want the burst of hope in her chest, but there it was. “You think so?”
A smug smile tugged at the corner of Aria’s mouth. “Trust me. Brody O’Rourke doesn’t waste his cousin’s time on things that don’t matter.”
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about that.”
Aria shrugged and leaned forward to pick up her plate. “You feel however you feel. Even if it’s a hatred that burns with the passion of a thousand fiery suns.”
“That sounds like the voice of experience.”
“Mmm.” Eyes fluttering closed as she took a bite of her pastry, Aria let out a low moan.
“Oh my god, this strawberry roll is amazing. Sorry, just needed to get that out of the way. Yes, that is the voice of experience talking. I had some… very strong opinions about Killian’s business practices when we first met.
And finding out I was pregnant with his child did not exactly endear him to me. ”
Goldie couldn’t help but grin. “I feel like I’m watching one of my books play out right in front of me.”
“Why do you think I got so obsessed with your writing?” The smirk from earlier returned. “That and the really hot sex scenes. Speaking of being the voice of experience.”
“Would you believe me if I told you Brody was the first man to ever spank me?”
“Shut up.” Mouth open, Aria stared in stunned disbelief. “But you write it so well!”
“I do a lot of research. And, I mean, other guys have spanked me like, during sex and stuff. But last night was my first real, ‘Daddy’s going to spank you for being naughty’ kind of spanking.”
“And? How was it?”
“Fucking incredible.” Groaning at the memory, Goldie flopped back against the couch. “It hurt, way more than I thought it would, but when it was over and he… How much do you actually want to know?”
“Everything. He’s not my cousin.”
A laugh bubbled up in Goldie’s chest. “Fair enough. Okay, after he spanked me, he asked if I’d learned my lesson and then he, um, used his fingers to make me… you know. While I was still over his lap.”
“God.” Waving a hand in front of her face, Aria blew out a breath. “Killian is getting so laid tonight. Well, unless he figures out I lied about Brody being my escort for the day. Oh, who am I kidding, he’s getting laid either way.”
“Would he still—Jesus why is this so hard to say out loud—you know? Spank you, while you're pregnant?”
“He would, and has. He’s a bit more hesitant now, which works in my favor, though he has implied he’s keeping track of things for after the baby is born which just seems rude.”
“The rudest.”
Humming softly, Aria ran a hand over her stomach, a dreamy smile stretching across her face.
“If he doesn’t spank me, he’ll spend the whole day playing with me, edging me, until I feel like I’m going to die and I promise to never ever lie to him again.
Which sucks while it’s happening, but when he finally lets me come… ”
“Oh my god. I think I would die.”
“Yeah, it sorta feels that way when it’s happening. Which is why it’s one of his favorite methods of punishment, the big jerk. Hopefully for your sake he hasn’t shared that information with Brody.”
The thought of being touched and tormented all day by a man who seemingly knew her own body better than she did…
Jesus.
“Yeah. Hopefully.”
Aria’s snort of laughter said she clearly knew exactly where Goldie’s mind was. “Okay, so, real talk. How are you feeling? And I’m not just asking about your butt.”
“My butt is fine, actually. As for the rest of me… I guess raw would be the best way to describe it? He hasn’t even texted me today.”
“That bastard.” Head tilting to the side, Aria studied her with eyes that seemed far too sharp, too knowing for Goldie’s comfort. “Do you want him to text you?”
“I think so. Which is probably stupid. I mean, who wants to actually get involved with a mob boss?” Goldie winced. “Shit, no offense.”
“None taken. And technically Brody is Killian’s number two which would make him something like a consigliere if they were Italian, but I don’t know if they actually have a term for it. But I do understand having those conflicting feelings. Do you want my advice?”
“Why do you think I invited you to my inner sanctum?”