Chapter 33 – Aster #2
“Screw Vetrel, honestly. There was a reason we kept him alive and offed the bitch. Now what are we supposed to do?”
Lily rolls her hips, grinding against my hand for more friction, and at this rate, I worry that I’ll come in my damn pants myself. Fuck, concentrate.
“His death is an inconvenience,” Jude replies, garnering my attention while Lily is fully distracted, as she should be, climbing to that beautiful place.
“But we’ll get it sorted. His greed would have resurfaced.
With people like him, it always does. We never could have trusted him again.
It’s better this way. Now she doesn’t have to take him out. ”
She?
“Is she here tonight?” Are they talking about Isla?
“Yes.” There’s a pause. “And you better leave her the hell alone.”
“She’s hot though.” Is it Lily? She’s the only person I know in charge of delivering retribution. My eyes find her hazy ones, and I remember my other task at hand, bringing my thumb to brush over her sensitive nub. Her body trembles as I rub slow circles over it.
“She’ll cut your dick off, mate,” Jude says, the door opening and closing once more.
I keep my ears peeled to gauge if they’re gone. Once I’m pretty confident we’re alone, I drop my lips to the crook of her neck, biting lightly as she rides my hand like a bull.
Moments later, she’s trembling, gasping, panting, coming all over my hand in a beautiful, shuddering mess. Once she’s done, her eyes meet mine, lips falling open, the horny haze clearing and bringing back my level-headed girl. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
After tugging out my fingers, I present them, coated in her cream. “Sweetheart, this was all you.” Then I stick them in my mouth and suck them clean.
Her eyes drop to my hard dick, and she brushes a hand against it. “What about you?”
I groan, rolling my hips into her touch, forcing that teeny tiny rational part of my brain to take over. “I think we’ve put ourselves at risk long enough.” I nudge her, and she slowly slides off me, peering above the desk, then stands. I amble out and do the same. “You can make it up to me later.”
She huffs a laugh, walking towards a door on the far side. “So what, you finger-bang me under a table and now I owe you the night of your life?”
“I would have accepted some road head on our way home, but night of my life? I’ll take it.”
She rolls her eyes, opening a door to a bathroom. After washing off my face and hands from my meal, she takes a quick moment to freshen up.
“Panties please,” she says, holding out a hand.
I shake my head. “Sorry, baby. No can do.”
“And why the hell not?”
“They’re my souvenir.” I pat my pocket, and her jaw drops open.
“Souvenir for what?”
“Our first date.”
“Really?” she scoffs, folding her arms over her chest. “My panties? That’s what you’re taking to remember this evening?”
I grip her chin tugging her to me, and the pupils of her eyes dilate. “Would you rather I take that pretty mouth of yours and put it to better use.”
The corner of her lips quirk. “Actually, yes.”
“Fuck.” Every muscle in my body curses at me, as I use immense will-power to release her, and retreat out the door. “Stop forcing my to be the rational one.”
She giggles, trailing after me until we’re back in the service corridor. “Sometimes it’s fun to role play.”
I halt in place glaring at her. “Karma baby. I’m a strong man.” My eyes trail her beautiful body. “But I’m not that strong.”
She hooks her arm through mine, tugging me forward. “Come on, then. Let’s return to the investigating part of our date.”
“Thank you,” I reply, trying to shake away the very fresh memories of what we just did.
“What the hell was that about with Jude?” she asks.
“Oh, so you were listening? Guess I wasn’t distracting enough.”
“It wasn’t easy.” She glares teasingly. “But yeah, I picked up a few words here and there. Like the fact that they’re mad about Vetrel’s death.”
“That guy also said, ‘We kept him alive and offed the bitch.’ Do you think they were talking about Karolyn?”
“It would make sense,” she says as we near the end of a hallway with a steel door. Lily reaches for the handle, but it doesn’t budge, so I dig in my pocket, retrieving a mini lock-picking kit.
“Well, someone came prepared,” she teases as I pass it her way.
“Baby, I’m always packing.” Lily rolls her eyes with a chortle, returning her attention to the door, and a moment later she’s pulled it open. A dim light illuminates a staircase going down.
“Jackpot,” she mutters.
“Do we shut it?” I ask, pulling the door behind me. She glances at the handle.
“Yeah, it only latches from the inside.”
We descend the stairs, and my chest tightens with every creak under our feet. When our soles hit the bottom, I breathe out a sigh of relief for the sheer hope that we can be quieter now.
Or so I thought.
The basement is dark and dingy and smells like mildew.
Occasionally, puddles splash under our feet when we pass near small windows.
Crates of wine, very expensive wine, line the walls.
It’s vast, seemingly expanding the entirety of the estate.
After walking for what feels like ages, we find another door, light emitting under it.
Lily presses her ear to the metal. “I don’t hear anyone.” She pulls it open, and we walk inside. Lily clutches my arm, and we both freeze in place as the hair on the nape of my neck stands.
“Oh my…” Lily trails off as we take in the sight. Four skeletons lay on separate tables. One complete. Another with the arms missing. We walk closer. The third skeleton has its head missing, and the fourth is also fully intact.
Nope, never mind.
The teeth are missing.
“What the hell…?” I mumble, leaning for a closer look.
“These are either incredible fakes—”
“Or we’ve just stumbled upon a skeletal studio.”
“Aster,” Lily says, the tone of her voice causing me worry. “What did you do with Vetrel’s body?”
“I left him in the alley behind his bar,” I reply, coming closer to where she stands near the skeleton missing the head. “Why?”
“The shoulder is nicked.” She points to it. “And the bone on the left leg here is shattered.”
My eyes flick to the spot above his neck. “I bashed his head in… so the skull would be worthless.”
Lily covers her mouth. “Holy shit.”
“But how did it get here?”
“Liam told me they found out about his wounds in the autopsy. How is he already lying here, nothing but bones? Wouldn’t the morgue be missing a body?”
I press my fingers against my temples. “What would the Westerfords want with Vetrel’s corpse?”
“Did they steal it?” Lily asks, her questions only furthering the headache erupting from this mindfuck. “Do you think they were doing their own autopsy? Do you think—” A loud bang echoes outside the door we came through, and her eyes meet mine.
Shit.