see the front properly since his back faces me.
My gaze strays to the hard contours of his naked shoulders as he fetches his T-shirt. His tattoos ripple with the veins as if taunting me to watch them up close and personal.
My lusty mode comes to a screeching halt at the full view of his naked back.
It disappears all too soon when the T-shirt covers him, but the view is engraved deep in my memories.
The slash marks on his skin.
The faded scars.
I swallow the sensation gripping me by the gut. Aiden doesn’t parade his scar around.
He called it a weakness.
I never asked him again about that, but I will. Just not now.
Maybe, just maybe, I’m starting to figure out Aiden. It’s not that he’s closed off, it’s that he dislikes being pushed. If I take my time with him and make sure he’s well satiated, he’ll be on my side.
He’ll tell me everything I need to know.
All I have to do is be patient and stop antagonising him when he’s volatile.
It’ll take work, but I’ll get there.
Eventually.
I also need to teach him not to antagonise me either.
“Like what you see, sweetheart?” he asks while turning around.
The playful gleam in his dark eyes hits my heart in all the right places.
“Maybe.” I smile. “Where are you going?”
The spark leaves his features just as fast to be replaced by his poker face.
“What is it?” Alarm grips me by the throat.
“I have to meet Jonathan.”
I straighten. “Don’t go.”
“Worried about me, sweetheart?” He grins.
Yes, and I don’t want Jonathan between us.
“Just don’t go.”
“I have to or he’ll come here.”
“Oh.”
The resemblance of happiness from earlier withers away.
Obviously, Jonathan King holds a grudge against me — or my father. Aiden is his son. When it comes to choosing, he’ll be on his father’s side and I’ll only get hurt.
Aiden strides to my side with purposeful, confident steps.
He places two fingers under my jaw and forces me to face him.
“I told you I’ll protect you from everyone.” He leans over and drops a peck on my cheek. “That includes Jonathan.”
My breath hitches as he pulls away.
Did he just say what I think he said?
I think Aiden said he’ll go against Jonathan for me. But that can’t be true, right? Something must be wrong with my ears.
“Repeat that,” I breathe.
“I’m not your enemy, sweetheart.” He glides his thumb on my lower lip. “Don’t make me into one.”
“Don’t make you into one?”
“As long as you don’t put anyone before me, I won’t put anyone before you.”
Chaos invades my mind as I reel from the weight of his words.
He retrieves his phone. “Your uncle and aunt called me several times. I didn’t pick up.”
I wince, thinking about how I left the house. According to the clock, it’s close to the afternoon.
They must be running a search party now.
“Can I use your —” I cut off when he hands me his phone without second thoughts.
I smile. He can be so attuned to my needs that it becomes scary sometimes.
He even has it on the chat tab with Uncle. I type.
Aiden: This is Elsa, Uncle. I’m fine. Please stop looking for me. I’ll come back tomorrow.
With one last breath, I hit send.
Uncle and Aunt might have hidden the truth from me, but that doesn’t erase how they raised me for the past ten years. They’ve been my anchors and my rocks.
I might not be ready to forgive Aunt just yet, but I won’t completely cut them off from my life.
Uncle sends a text almost immediately.
Jaxon Quinn: We understand, pumpkin. Stay safe, okay?
My eyes fill with tears, but I exit the text, hitting the home screen. The wallpaper makes my mouth hang open.
Our first kiss in Ronan’s party.
I stare at Aiden with bafflement. “Why do you have this as the wallpaper?”
“Because.”
“I’ll change it for you.”
He snatches the phone from between my fingers and tucks it in his pocket with a scowl. It’s as if I just offended him. “Absolutely not.”
“Is it that important to you?”
“It was the day I decided you’ll be mine till the day I die.”
For a moment, just a second, I wonder what it would feel like to be with Aiden forever.
Forever.
That’s a scary thought.
“When was the moment you decided I’m yours?” His question pulls me out of my stupor.
“There was no such moment.”
“Hmm. I think you’re lying, sweetheart. I think your moment was when you attacked Silver in front of the doctor’s office.”
My face heats. “No, it wasn’t.”
“Your exact words were: stay away from Aiden. You were ready to murder