Chapter Twenty-Four
I sat on the edge of the piano bench and allowed my fingers to dance across the keys while music flowed around me. At that moment in time, music was the only thing that made sense to me.
I closed my eyes and allowed my soul to shape the sounds, creating a haunting melody that melted away all the stress that had consumed me over the past few days. While I played I thought of Shadow—the sad and tortured man that he was—and crafted a song that was the epitome of him.
When I was finished and opened my eyes again, I saw Shadow standing at the foot of the piano, looking at me with affection.
“That was beautiful,” he said. “Is that one of your own compositions?”
I nodded.
“What’s it called?” he asked.
“Shadow’s out of his fucking mind,” I replied.
“Love the song, but the name can use some work.”
I stood up from the piano be nch and wrapped my arms around his chiseled body.
“What the hell were you thinking putting me on the Midnight Society’s council seat? I thought you wanted to escape away from the entire thing, taking me with you.”
“I do,” Shadow said.
“Pulling me closer to the action isn’t really distancing us from the Midnight Society.”
“Do you trust me?” Shadow asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You should,” Shadow said. “You let me go down on you after all.”
“Hey, let’s not mix business with pleasure here,” I said. “Just because your mouth knows how to get a rise out of me doesn’t mean I have to agree to everything coming out of it.”
“I need you at the seat for two reasons,” Shadow said. “The first is having you closer to me means I can protect you from another assassination attempt. Second, I’m not entirely convinced that Lucien was the only member that betrayed us.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Despite Lucien hating my guts, he’s never had the balls to organize a direct physical attack on me—or those I care about,” Shadow said. “I’ve always thought of him as nothing more than a whiny bitch.”
“Well it looks like he’s becoming a dangerous bitch.”
“Maybe,” Shadow said. “But I also don’t think he has the cunning to orchestrate such an attack. I’ve known him all my life. He’s always been a spineless whelp. The only reason he’s even on our council was because of his father’s influence.”
“So you think there’s a second traitor?”
Shadow nodded. “With Abraham gone, I needed to fill his seat with someone I can trust.”
“So you’re using me once again,” I sighed. “First you were using me as a trophy girlfriend, now you’re using me as a trophy council member.”
“I’m falling in love with you,” he said.
I was taken aback by his words. Was he saying this just to shut me up so I didn’t protest anymore?
“Say it again,” I said, skeptical about the truth behind his words.
“I’m falling in love with you.”
Damn it. If he was lying to my face, I couldn’t tell.
He had me good.
“I’m falling in love with you too,” I replied.
“Aside from you, Calisto, and Lincoln, there’s no one else on the council I can trust.”
“Well that’s not bad, right?” I asked. “You have fifty percent of the council right there, not including Lucien who I’m assuming you’ve already kicked out of your little social club.”
“Can you pass your university courses on a fifty percent average?” Shadow asked.
“Well…no.”
“I can’t run an organization on that either. Failure for me means death.”
“I get your point,” I said. “So what do I have to do as a member of the Scooby Gang? Investigate crazy killers and assassination plots?”
“You don’t have to do anything,” Shadow said. “Between Lincoln, my sister, and I, we can uncover the entire truth behind this ordeal. In the meantime, just stay safe.”
“I want to help,” I stated.
“Are you sure you want to get involved?”
“Hell yes,” I replied. “You don’t need to put kid gloves on me. After all, I am the Crow killer, aren’t I?”
Shadow couldn’t help but smile. “That you are Aria; that you are.”
“First thing after classes tomorrow, I’ll do whatever you need me to do,” I said.
“You still plan on going to classes?”
“Damn straight.”
I could see the look of concern on his face. “It might be dangerous.”
“I still have my own dreams to fulfill Shadow, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let one assassination attempt stop me from graduating this semester. I refuse to be a coward.”
Shadow looked at me and sighed. “I’m not going to stop you,” he said. “But can I at least send someone to protect you?”
“If I say no, you’ll still probably have someone follow me anyways, right?”
“Yes,” Shadow said, just before adding, “Have fun at school tomorrow.”
“Can you at least keep the guy following me out of sight?”
Shadow nodded. “You won’t even know he’s there.”
“Good. Then I’ll allow it,” I replied. “I won’t lie, I’m a bit nervous.”
“I promise you, I’ll do everything in my power to protect you,” Shadow said. “It comes with the territory of being with me.”
He pulled me into his arms and held me while our lips converged. Our kiss was filled with an insatiable urge to satisfy one another. However this time it was my turn to please him.
“In that case, I’ll do everything I can to satisfy you. It’s one of the benefits of being my man.” I whispered seductively. I licked my lips as I slowly undid the buckle of his belt.
If sexual gratification could ease Shadow’s stress and take his mind away from his troubles for even just a little while, then I’d do whatever it took to please him.
“I’m going to suck you dry,” I whispered.
He closed his eyes as I dropped to my knees and ran my hands over his incredibly hard chest and abs, his muscles tightening and flexing under my touch and I felt powerful yet completely vulnerable to him at the same time.
Shadow pulle d his shirt over his head while I undid his belt and tore off his pants and boxers. I caught my breath as he took a step towards me.
“Aria, I need you. I need you now.”
The conviction behind his words weakened me.
God, I will never get enough of this man.
I held his gaze as I took him in my hands. His full lips parted as I heard his breath hiss through his teeth.
The sound nearly undid me.
I ran my tongue along his hard length from the base to tip, swirling around the engorged head before I took him in my mouth. He let out a soft moan as his hands found the back of my head.
“Fuck, Aria,” he growled. His hips jerked forward as I fucked him with my mouth and his movements became more uncontrolled with every stroke, his hands fisted in my hair. And then suddenly I was lifted off my knees as he carried me effortlessly to the couch, throwing me down. There was no time to adjust myself and before I knew it , he tore my clothes off and was on me, in me, filling me. My knees hit his shoulders as he slammed into me.
I came instantly, the sounds of our union drowned in a sea of our pleasured moans.
Eventually we laid on his couch, my head resting on his shoulder, our hands intertwined.
The warmth of his touch made me happy, but also scared me. This secret society he belonged to, the world he lived in, there was danger waiting around every corner—assassins, serial killers, kidnapping, and torture. On the peripherals of this blossoming love was the hand of Death, who was biding his time before snatching us into his cold embrace.
“Hey Shadow,” I began. “Now that I’m a member of the council, can you finally tell me what the Midnight Society is really about?”
Shadow seemed to be drifting in between a state of awake and sleep. However, he still managed to reply to me.
“Not yet,” he whispered. “Not yet.”
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