Chapter Eighteen
“I mean, uh—” Dixon floundered. He really was so cute. I couldn’t help but tease him a little.
“I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your notice how attracted to you I am,” I breathed against his ear, enjoying how it made him flinch.
“Yeah, you’re not exactly subtle.”
“I never thought you’d feel the same way, though.”
Aaron was quiet for a moment. Just as I feared I had pushed too far, he turned his head towards me. “Are you already in a relationship? That Relay guy who you speak with—”
I smiled. “It’s complicated, but you’re not the other woman or anything like that.”
Aaron cast me an exasperated expression that made me laugh. “I have no experience with this kind of thing. I’m not against doing… this with you again, Charlotte, but I don’t know about the rest.”
I wasn’t sure when I had become so attached to Aaron.
The turmoil on his face was endearing, and whilst he’d driven me to the brink of insanity this last week being trapped inside this hotel room together, I couldn’t deny I was keen not to allow our relationship to fizzle back to the resistance and denial we had both been fighting since we’d met.
He really was the cutest. There was nothing I liked better than a good boy, and Aaron was shaping up to be the very good-est of them.
“We can take things slow,” I replied, kissing his cheek. “We don’t have to label things.”
“But…” Aaron sighed, rubbing his fingers into his eyes. “I like labels. I’m no good at casual, and I think that’s all you’re in a position to give me, right? There’s another guy—”
“Mm, two actually.”
Aaron gaped at me. “Two?!”
“You’re number three.”
“See, I just… I don’t want to be third in line. I want—”
I gazed at him. “To be number one?”
Aaron’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah.”
What a predicament. Theo was easy enough to label. What he and I had was fun, casual, just a way to pass time and scratch an itch. I was sure he’d understand, but Freddie? I loved Freddie. What we had was real, it was honest. I could be my whole self with him.
In a flash, I was reminded of when Freddie and I had first begun dating.
In a way, Aaron reminded me of how Freddie used to be.
He hadn’t been sold on the idea of sharing me to begin with either, but I had eventually convinced him to trust me, to let me guide our relationship.
After that, things had clicked into place effortlessly.
Freddie had uncovered a submissive side of himself he had never felt brave enough to show anyone, and I got to satisfy my never-ending sexual curiosity.
I couldn’t be tied down. I didn’t want to be.
Freddie had accepted that part of me, but could Aaron?
“I don’t suppose it’s really worth troubling yourself over.” Aaron’s voice snapped me back to the present. Something about his expression was… sad.
“How do you mean?”
“I’ve worked for MI6 long enough to know what’s going to happen after we complete this mission, Charlotte. I may not know the details of who you work for, but I know too much. I won’t be allowed to live, will I?”
My heart shattered and I held him tighter.
It was an eventuality we had both been skirting around all week.
Aaron was right. I knew The Guild would demand I eradicate him.
Like he had said, he knew too much. Aquarius was compromised, and whilst I knew The Guild would overlook me partnering with Dixon for the sake of the mission, once we were successful, I would be required to protect the secrets I had sworn an oath to keep.
Just the thought of it made me feel sick.
“I won’t do it,” I said, my voice quiet. “I should have done it back at Keller’s place, but I couldn’t.”
“What will happen if you don’t?” he asked, shaking his head. “They’ll kill you too, won’t they?”
“Yes. Relay and Hangman, too.”
“Fuck,” Aaron groaned, his head flopping forward. “Charlotte, it’s three lives against one. I wouldn’t want to live knowing I’d caused three unnecessary deaths, only to be assassinated anyway. It makes no sense.”
“But I don’t want—”
“You know as well as I do that doesn’t matter.”
There was a long, tense silence. There was no way out of this one and it enraged me to be backed into making a decision I didn’t feel was the right one. My mind turned over, running a million miles a second. There had to be a solution, there just had to be…
My phone burst to life, vibrating loudly against the tiled floor where it had slipped from the bed during my roll around with Aaron. I untangled myself from him and scooped it up. Relay’s name was emblazoned over the screen.
“You have to take that. I’m going to wash up.” Aaron jerked his head towards the bathroom.
I watched him, eyes roving over his bare back until he disappeared from sight. I slid my thumb across the screen before holding the phone to my ear.
“Hi, Relay.”
“Hello. Sorry, I hope I’m not interrupting anything. You took your earpiece out,” Freddie’s deep voice rumbled in my ear, immediately setting me at ease.
“You’re not the only one getting pounded through the mattress, you know,” I said, keeping my tone casual even as a smirk stretched over my lips.
“Wait, really?”
“Mhmm.”
“How did that come around?”
“What can I say?” I shrugged. “I’m irresistible.”
“No arguments here. Was it worth the wait?”
I chuckled. “Definitely. He’s so fucking adorable – bust in about thirty seconds. Remember when you were like that? You could barely get it out of your jeans before it was going off.”
Freddie laughed. “Please, do not remind me. You’re so intense, it takes a while to acclimatise. He’s still young, he’ll get there with practice.”
“Y’know, I was thinking about that conversation we had, wondering whether Dixon would be a top or a bottom. I think he’d be a bottom,” I mused, tapping my finger against my chin.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, and speaking of bottoms – how are you feeling today? Have you recovered from your run in with Hangman yet? Still feeling him every time you sit down?”
“A chance to recover would be a fine thing. You and him are cut from the same damn insatiable cloth. I might just expire when this is all over and the three of us are back together.”
I cackled, toes curling with delight just thinking about it. “Can you come to death?”
“I don’t know, but I’m feeling dehydrated just thinking about it,” Freddie quipped, making me laugh anew.
“Enough sex talk. Have you seen anything from Keller?”
“Not a peep. That’s actually what I was calling about. I know I said we should wait him out, but I thought he would have broken by now. We can’t sit on this forever. The Guild will be aware that Keller still lives. They’ll be watching you and the clock is ticking.”
My stomach turned over, mouth growing dry. “I know. What do you suggest?”
“I have one idea, but it’s… Well, it’s crazy.”
“I like crazy. Hit me,” I replied.
“Get tooled up and storm the place. If Keller is hiding, we chase him out.”
“Alright, maybe not quite that crazy. Are you insane?” I laughed.
“I told you it’s a real longshot, but… I’m starting to think it’s our only option.”
There was a long moment of thoughtful silence. What choice did we have here? Freddie was right, the longer we waited, the longer this mission drew on and the more attention I would garner from The Guild. I needed to rectify my mistake before I ran out of time, and they decided to rectify me.
“So,” I sighed. “If we wait it out here any longer, I’ll be neutralised by The Guild. If we storm the place and I’m overrun, I’ll be killed by mobsters. Are we really saying those are my only options?”
“I’m afraid so,” Freddie muttered. “But hey, I have faith in you. You’ve faced tougher odds than these and survived.”
“By sheer dumb luck, I fear.” I paused, weighing the pros and cons for a moment longer. “Relay?”
“Yes?”
“Can you get your hands on some more Kevlar?”
“Sure, why? Is yours damaged?” he asked.
“A few holes, but it’s holding up for now. It’s not for me.”
“You mean—”
“Welcome to The Guild, Dixon.”
I had often questioned how Freddie managed to pull off some of the things he did, but this was one for the books.
Three days later, and still with no sign of Keller, a knock came at the door.
By the time Aaron had gotten to the peep hole, the delivery person was long gone, but a large box remained.
After getting clearance from Freddie that it wasn’t some sort of Trojan horse scenario, we dragged it inside.
“What’s this?” Aaron asked, running his fingers beneath the edges of the cardboard as he opened the box.
“A present,” I purred, lying on my stomach and kicking my feet back and forth like a schoolgirl. “I hope I guessed your size correctly.”
As soon as the box was open, Aaron froze. His blue eyes darted up to meet mine, sparkling with a mixture of anxiety and excitement.
“Is this…” He trailed off, reaching inside and lifting out a Kevlar chest piece identical to mine, though much larger.
Just seeing it had a thrill of anticipation dancing down my spine.
“Sure is, hot stuff.” I smiled.
“Why do I need this?”
I’d known that question was coming. I hadn’t yet filled Aaron in on our imminent suicide mission.
“Try it on first, then I’ll explain everything.”
I waited patiently with a dry mouth and pounding heart as Aaron stripped out of his civilian clothes and squeezed himself into his new suit of armour. Fuck, he’d never looked so dangerous, and it was sexy as hell.
“It’s actually quite comfortable,” he muttered, fussing with various straps and clasps as he ensured the kit was fitted correctly.
“Of course, only the best, hm?” I smirked, sitting up and slipping onto my feet and padding closer. I ran my hands all over him, a little breathless.
“So, tell me. What’s this all about?” Aaron asked, pinning me with his intense gaze.
“Relay and I have been talking. We can’t sit on our hands, waiting for Keller to show himself, forever. My employer will undoubtedly know I have failed to take down the target they have assigned to me and they will be watching closely. We’re already on borrowed time.”