Chapter 22
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
ARI
“Okay, what the hell happened?” Ashton’s words jolt me back to the present, sitting on his lab table as he goes through a DNA kit.
Aiden had tried to push me earlier when we were leaving the arena, but I had clammed up.
Eventually, he just let me be. He even carried me from the locker room to the car and into Ashton’s office without complaining.
Leaning into his hold, I tried to keep calm and tell my mind that we were safe and we weren’t going to be kidnapped by a middle-aged dick with a hood.
Ashton had been ready for us when we came in, though I’m not sure how ready because there was currently a naked man tied up in the corner, blindfolded and wearing a cock cage. Bosco had spotted him when we walked in and immediately climbed on top of the guy to get a better feel.
Aiden sighs, and runs his hands through his hair, clearly frustrated with my lack of response.
“Ari, we need to know what happened so that we can get to the bottom of this.” My stomach recoils just thinking about the man, his hands around my neck, the pungent smoky smell of him, his dire need for a breath mint. I shiver on the table.
“Someone tried to attack me behind the arena. He had a black hood in his hand, at least the hand that wasn’t around my neck, and he was going to blind me.
So, kidnapper, if I am guessing correctly.
I don’t know who did it. I’ve never seen the man before.
He looked like your average grunt man. Dirty brown hair with enough grease in it that I’m surprised when he smokes it doesn’t catch fire.
” Ashton finishes up and takes the samples over to the rapid sequencer.
“Anything else? Scars or marks? Something we could use to identify him with,” Aiden prompts as he starts scrubbing my hands clean.
“Not that I could see. It was kind of dark where we were standing. But he was a bulky man, maybe mid-forties, receding hairline. I’m not sure if the cameras at the school caught anything, but you could check those.”
Ashton walks over to his computer and prompts the screen to show four different camera angles.
Grumbling under his breath, he works for a few minutes before saying, “We have some grainy shots of the guy, but the corner you were in has pretty good coverage. He didn’t attempt to hide his face from you, so I am going to assume he had a general idea where his face could be captured.
I’ll send this over to Shade and see if we can get anything from them.
” A swish sound fills the room as the files are sent.
“We probably won’t have anything concrete until morning, so feel free to rest, but make sure Gage knows to tighten security and stay vigilant. We don’t know how deep this goes yet.”
I turn to Aiden, feeling vulnerable, when he says, “The pocketknife was a good move.”
Leaning my head against his chest, his arms come around me when I reply, “Yeah, had it in my shoe. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get to it, but I used the wall as leverage and snuck my hand down.”
Aiden’s arms rub my back, and I embrace his touch.
Revel in the newfound feeling of safety and comfort after it was stripped away from me earlier.
Ashton continues to work around us but doesn’t intrude.
I let the surrounding world fall away, and it’s just myself and Aiden and his hold on me.
So softly that I barely catch the question, Aiden asks, “What do you want to do now, little venom?”
I’m too worked up to fall asleep still, but I need to be somewhere that I feel safe. And frankly, even though the Araneae mansion is a secure fortress, the last thing I feel there is safety, much less comfort. That place is filled with unmet expectations and too many eyes watching your every move.
Without lifting my head, I ask, “What were you going to do after the game if it ended sans kidnapping attempt?”
Aiden snorts before responding, “You, probably.”
I can’t help the grin that takes over my face.
Egotistical dick.
“But really?”
He hums to himself before answering, “I was serious about that. I would’ve made you come on my face a couple of times because the butt of that stick was too much of a tease. And then I would have fucked you to sleep and probably slipped off to my morgue. I’m a little late getting Ashton some data.”
Damn, that sounds perfect right now. “Okay, let’s do that.”
“You want me to fuck you to sleep and then leave you to go torture some people?” He looks a little shocked but clearly willing if that is what I want.
“Nah, we can skip the sex…for now. But I’ll keep you company in the morgue.”
“I do love an audience,” he says as he looks down at me. “And will there be any audience participation tonight?”
Sliding off the table, I’m pressed up against him.
I can feel the hard bulge in his pants from just thinking about me possibly wielding a weapon.
With a pat to his cock, I tease, “You’ll have to wait and see, psycho.
” Turning to leave, I nod to Bosco, who has planted himself on the man’s groin. “Is he coming with us?”
Aiden looks over. “Nah, let him have his fun.” The guy on the floor whimpers a little at Aiden’s response but doesn’t squirm. Probably smart, wouldn’t want Bosco to slip and end up any lower. “Let us know when the results come in or if you find anything else,” Aiden calls to Ashton on the way out.
Ash grumbles something in response, but we’re already out the door and heading toward the morgue.
“Okay, little venom, time to play a game of Clue.”
Wait. What?
This man, Trevor, was strung up, hands bound in rope hanging from the ceiling.
Arms stretched tight, his toes just barely grazing the tile floor, he was placed strategically above the drain.
Aiden told me about the possible leak within the research department and how he was in charge of figuring out who was responsible.
On the table next to the man were the literal weapons of Clue: rope, dagger, wrench, pistol, lead pipe, and an actual golden candlestick.
Most of the rope had gone to tying the man up, but Aiden said it was fine because if these jackasses really wanted to get away with their crimes, they would have used the rope as a bonus weapon, hence why Colonel Mustard always got fucking caught in the goddamn library with his cock out—his words, not mine.
The torture edition of Clue was a little more explicit and a lot more naked than the real thing.
But I had yet to see a man in this room on the other side of Aiden with clothes on.
Aiden currently had the head of an adjustable wrench around the man’s cock.
Because, of course, he did. His belly almost covers his small dick, which Aiden found incredibly amusing, even going so far as to tell Trevor that he would need to find a smaller wrench to handle him.
The wrench is held in place by a small fork-shaped pole that Aiden placed next to the man.
It was tightened just enough to be uncomfortable but not enough to cause any permanent damage…
yet. Each time Trevor failed to answer a question, Aiden would tighten it a little bit more.
He’s only had to tighten it twice so far. You know how men are with their dicks.
Trevor is sweating and just keeps repeating how sorry he is, blah, blah, blah. Even if the man isn’t the source of the leak, he’s in a shitload of trouble.
“And you’re sure the only person you told about where you work was your cousin?” Aiden presses him, hand on the wrench, waiting to strike.
“I swear, I swear. And he wouldn’t tell no one.
He was just asking because he wants to get a new job and was curious if he could get one here.
I only told him where it is, not anything specific.
” Trevor’s voice whines as Aiden momentarily lets go of the tool.
Sweat pours down his face, and I swear he is moments from crying.
Aiden fixes him with a stern glare. “You know we are going to have to talk to him, right?”
Trevor curses under his breath. “Yeah, yeah, I promise. He didn’t do it. But I can tell you where he is.”
“Good. And you know you’re staying here until I get this sorted, right?” Aiden watches as Trevor’s eyes widen in shock before the protests begin, but all he does is stuff his mouth with the shirt he removed from Trevor earlier to shut him up.
Aiden walks over to where I am sitting. He has me in his office chair, leg propped up on a small step stool as I ice my ankle. Brushing the hair behind my ear, he asks in a gentle tone that I don’t think I’ve ever heard from him before, “And how are you doing, my little venom?”
The softness coming from Aiden after the utter brutality on the other side of the room is kind of a mindfuck, but I decide to go with it.
“Better. But now I’m all hot and bothered from watching you work.
” I never imagined I would get so turned on by a little torture, but the power radiating from Aiden when he has someone by the balls sends a thrill straight through me.
Aiden looks absolutely egotistical at that. “Oh, really? And what should we do about that?”
Tonight has been awful. The attempted kidnapping and sprained ankle killed the celebration that could have been happening after the win.
An adrenaline rush and quick crash have left me shaken.
Right now, I need something to lean on. To feel stable and sturdy again.
And I would be lying to myself if I didn’t admit that I feel that way when I am near Aiden, more specifically when I am in his arms.
I lick my lips, teasing him a little before I reply, “Make me come.”
He doesn’t even hesitate. Aiden scoops me up and lifts me in his arms, kicking over the chair and pressing me up against the wall. With the wall taking some of my weight, he uses one hand to tear my panties off my body and pull his shorts down enough to expose his cock.
As his head teases my entrance, he whispers into my ear, “This is going to be quick, my venom.” Without another warning, he impales me on his cock, forcing me to take him to the hilt in one thrust. I moan so loud, I almost wish Ashton could hear us from down the hallway.
Aiden’s cock fills me completely, and the closeness I feel when he is inside of me makes my eyes roll back into my head. When he places both hands on the wall, I slide even further down as I hang helpless on his cock.
In the midst of utter ecstasy, I hear a grating voice from behind Aiden. Trevor clearly spat out his shirt that was being used as a gag. “Are you for real right now? You’re just going to fuck her right here while I’ve got a wrench around my penis?”
Aiden rolls his eyes, removes one hand from the wall, and takes the gun out of his shorts.
With a simple shift of his hips, he turns and shoots Trevor in the arm.
Trevor lets out a piercing scream as the bullet hits him.
With the gun still in hand, Aiden places it back against the wall and has the audacity to wink at me when he says, “Now, where were we?”
My mouth falls open in shock, and Aiden takes advantage, silencing my protests with a filthy kiss.
Groaning, he starts to move. “That’s it.
Eyes on me, Ari.” His gray eyes look almost feral.
Sweat drips from the ends of his bangs as he bites his lip and increases the tempo to the screams of the man behind him.
I’m so close, and Aiden can sense it. “Come with me, Ari. I want to feel your cunt squeeze around my cock as I come inside of you.” Aiden grunts as he shifts the gun in his hand so that he is holding it by the pistol.
Using the butt of the gun, he digs it into my clit, triggering my release and his.
Panting, we both stare at each other. Something changed tonight; something fundamental.
There was no ghost between us. It was just me and Aiden, and some filthy morgue sex.
Well, Trevor was there too, but I don’t count him.
He clearly wasn’t enjoying himself, given that his screams have now turned to loud whimpers.
Aiden slips out of me, but we don’t dare move, as if we are afraid that we’ll break the connection we have created.
With a soft kiss to his neck, I ask against his skin, “The ring…are you ever going to tell me?” Underneath the white of the morgue lights, it glistens even brighter.
Our breaths have slowed before Aiden grips my chin and presses his forehead against mine as he confesses, “I wanted to hate you so badly.”
I brush my lips against his as I reply, “Don’t worry, my darling reaper, I still hate you.”
He groans at that, “You’ll pay for that, my sweet little liar.”