shoulder.
I’m so impressed by his strength and the confident ease he carries me with that I spend a few seconds speechless. All I can do is watch the ground moving under our feet.
It’s like I weigh nothing.
My head bumps against his back, pulling me out from my stupefaction. Blood rushes to my face from the upside-down position.
I hit his back with closed fists. “Put me down!”
It doesn’t faze him. Not one bit.
So I do it again.
I hit him with everything I have, screaming profanities at him.
He doesn’t get to act like an actual caveman after everything that’s happened. He doesn’t get to take me to his cave as if I always belonged there.
“Let me go!”
Smack.
I freeze, the sting heating my arse.
Did he just… spank me?
My cheeks heat in humiliation and something else I can’t put my finger on.
I try to squirm free. He smacks me again — harder this time.
I jolt, crying out in something a lot more different than pain.
What the…?
“Stay still or we can do this all day.” His hand caresses the flesh he just smacked, slowly, too slowly.
Tingles erupt on my skin, and an unintelligible sound escapes my lips.
“Hmm. Or would you like that, sweetheart?”
I clamp my lips shut because whatever I’ll say will only make my situation worse.
He doesn’t remove his hand from my arse as if it’s some sort of a threat. I remain still, not ready to experience those strange sensations again.
Once in front of the house, Aiden enters the combination — which means that this place belongs to him or his father.
Automatic light goes on as we walk down the hall.
He puts me to my feet in the middle of a medium-sized lounge area with grey sofas and a kitchen bar in sight.
Designer lamps hang from the ceiling giving the cottage a modern look that I didn’t notice from the outside. There’s a billiard table at the corner and a chessboard with an unfinished game on the coffee table.
It seems so much cosier than the King mansion. Homier, too.
When my gaze strays back to Aiden. He’s watching me watch the space with those drawn brows as if he’s trying to crack a code.
“Is this your place?” I ask in a light tone, trying to dissipate the tension.
“It’s the Meet Up.”
Oh.
So this is the Meet Up I heard so much about.
It’s basically a secret hideout for the four horsemen and Elites’ startup players.
Everyone at RES speaks about it like a secret society or something, but that’s probably because only selective players are allowed access.
“Why did you bring me here?”
“So no one interrupts us.”
I gulp, staring at him to read his mood. However, that damn poker face doesn’t slip.
If only he were a bit more accessible. He’s like a stone. Unchanging and unmovable.
I’m afraid of the answer, but I ask the question anyway. “Interrupt us from what?”
He sits on the sofa, legs wide apart, and props his elbow on the armrest. He leans against his fist and continues watching me.
The way his metal eyes bore into mine promises trouble.
Lots of it.
“Did you figure out what you have to pay for?” he asks in a neutral, low tone.
I instinctively take a step back so I’m not within arm’s reach.
Cole and Ronan were right. Aiden’s calm side is much more terrifying than his enraged one.
His calm side is a facade that he’s perfected so well to make you feel safe before he pounces and devours you alive.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I speak in my most confident tone.
“Here’s what I think, sweetheart. I think you know exactly what I’m talking about, but you’re playing the ignorance card.”
“I really don’t.”
He narrows his eyes before going back to his poker face. “How about a certain new boy that you’ve been shoving in my face?”
Oh. Shit.
He pulls his fingers up and counts, starting with his thumb. “You wore pretty dresses for him. Put on makeup. Perfume. You got into his car.” He pauses with only his pinky up and his eyes darkening to a frightening colour. “Oh, and you let him touch you.”
I take another step back.
It’s true that I want to be strong and stand up for myself, but I’m not an idiot.
This side of Aiden terrifies me. I don’t want to be on the receiving end of whatever his demons are planning right now.
I need to be smart about picking my battles.
And this isn’t one I’d win.
“You let him fucking touch what’s mine.” His voice raises a notch with every word.
His features sharpen. It’s like I