Page 18

Chapter Eighteen

Elena

A iden doesn’t hesitate to pick me up and carry me into the bedroom. Unlike the air mattresses we had to sleep on when we were on the run, this apartment has a big, beautiful bed. It feels like lying on a cloud.

The way he looks down at me makes me shiver. This is it. I’m finally going to have sex. All the rules my mom and dad instilled in me are gone. This moment isn’t about doing what’s ‘right.’ It’s about doing what will make me happy and Aiden makes me happy.

“There’s no going back from this,” he says, giving me one more out.

“I know. I don’t care. Let’s just have this moment together.”

With a low sound in the back of his throat, he grabs my hips and drags them to the edge of the bed, making me gasp. “Then I’m going to take you and make you mine. I’m going to ruin any other man for you.”

In one motion, he reaches under my dress and rips my panties right off. Before I can even process what’s happening, he places his hand between my legs and begins to rub me. The pleasure that spikes through me is more intense that anything I’ve ever felt with him. This is the moment that changes everything.

I let myself relax into the bed as he pleasures me. His fingers find my nub and he rolls it around, sending waves of pleasure over my body. My hips respond by rising up to meet his movements.

“Aiden,” I whimper.

“I need to get you warmed up, baby. You need to be ready for my cock. If we only have tonight, I want this to be the most pleasurable experience for you.”

He continues to rub me until I’m a panting mess. My hips are going wild with abandon as they arch and buck into his hand. I need more. I need him.

And just as I think that, my orgasm hits me. I tremble and shake. Aiden removes his hand and places his fingers to his lips.

“Fuck, you taste amazing.”

I can’t help but blush despite everything we’ve already done.

“I’m ready,” I whisper. “I want this.”

With gentle hands, he lifts my dress over my head, then takes my bra off. Lying naked before him doesn’t scare me anymore. Now, I want him to see all of me.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he murmurs, tracing his hand between my breasts and down to my stomach. Goosebumps rise up on my skin.

“I want to see you.” I’ve never seen Aiden naked before and I want to rectify that before I leave tonight.

Aiden steps back and raises his shirt over his head, giving me a good look at his muscular chest. It’s a thing of beauty. With his eyes locked on mine, he slips his pants and underwear down. His erection springs to attention.

It’s large and masculine and I can feel my inner walls clench down at the idea of him being inside of me. I was taught to be a good girl all my life but I’m done with that. Done playing by the rules my mom set for me. I’m going to live tonight for myself.

Aiden leans over me. “It can help when the woman is on top. You can be in more control.”

I grab the back of his neck. “I don’t want that. I trust you, Aiden.”

He kisses me with so much tenderness and passion, I could cry, but I hold back the tears as I don’t want this moment to be ruined. I want a happy memory; not a bittersweet one.

Aiden lines his length up to my entrance. My arousal is dripping out of me. Never have I felt this much heat inside of me before.

Our chests press together, skin to skin. I feel protected with him. Warm. Safe.

He thrusts his hips forward and enters me. Since he starts off slow, it doesn’t hurt like I thought it would. There’s a little discomfort as my body adjusts but soon pleasure takes over. I let my body relax into his touch and Aiden is able to sink deeper into me.

Then he stops. “Fuck, you feel amazing.” He kisses my forehead. I’ve never felt more loved than I have in this moment.

He wraps his arms around my back, bringing us flush together.

Then he begins to move.

It starts off with slow, gentle thrusts. I follow his movement and arch my hips in the same way. Aiden makes it easy to do this with. There’s no fear or shame or embarrassment. It’s just us.

He makes me feel sexy and beautiful and desired. No man has ever done that for me before.

Suddenly, his hands slam into the bed, curling into fists around the bedsheets, as his expression becomes more serious.

“God, Elena,” he groans.

I grip his back, pulling him closer to me. Aiden grabs my thighs and hoists them around his hips.

He rolls onto his back, bringing me with him so I’m seated on top. I gasp. In this position, he’s even deeper than before.

“If we only have one night,” he says, “then I want to take you in as many ways as I can.”

Feeling brave under his gaze, I begin to rock my hips back and forth. In this position, my sensitive nub brushes against his body with every thrust. A moan escapes me as I drop my head back.

With Aiden, I don’t have to feel shy. I can be brave and bold and the woman I’ve always wanted to be.

He grabs my hips and helps me move at a steady pace. Pleasure continues to spike through me. My body trembles even though I haven’t come yet.

Aiden lets out a low growl and rolls me onto my back again, this time bringing my ankles around his shoulders. In this position, he can thrust even deeper into me. It makes me gasp.

He starts to become wild with passion. “You’re mine.”

I let myself get claimed by him. This will be the memory that will last me a lifetime when I’m married to another man.

We both moan together. We’re forever linked. Bonded. No matter what happens, Aiden and I will always have this moment together.

As soon as I think it, my orgasm washes over me.

“Aiden,” I moan.

He increases his pace and really takes me before he comes next, shuddering and groaning. He lets out a sigh and leans over me, kissing me with so much passion and love.

I kiss him back just as eagerly.

Slowly, he removes himself from me and slumps onto the bed, drawing me into his arms.

“How was that for you?” he asks, sounding breathless.

“It was amazing. No pain. It felt great.”

“I’m glad.” He kisses my forehead. “I never want to let you go. I’m not sure how I’m going to be able to.”

“Let’s not think about that. We have all night together. If we could be together, what would our life look like?”

“Elena, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“I want to talk about it. I want to know.”

His eyes soften. “Ok. If we could be together, our life would look a lot like this. Having great sex. Being happy together. Not on the run, looking over our shoulder.”

“Were would we live?”

“Is there somewhere you’ve always wanted to go?”

“Maybe somewhere in Europe. Just to get away from all of this. Maybe Greece or France.”

“I’ve never been to either.”

I smile up at him, resting my head on his chest. “Then we need to go.”

“We’ll do that.” Even though we both know that will never happen. Not when I have to marry Viktor tomorrow.

“You could open your store,” I tell him. “The one where you sell everything.”

“I could. And you could paint and make a fortune off them.”

“I’m not that good.”

He lifts my chin up. “You are, Elena. I might not have seen any of your paintings, but I know you’re talented.”

“You can just tell?”

“I just know.”

“I can show you my paintings,” I say. “One day. When we’re living in France together.”

His eyes grow sad but he keeps his smile plastered to his face. “You do that.”

The front door opens and we scramble to sit up but it’s too late.

Dante storms into the room and stops when he sees us. Behind him is Erik. Fortunately, Viktor isn’t here.

“What the fuck is going on?” Erik demands. I’ve never really seen him in all of his Bratva boss glory but in this moment, I can understand why so many people fear him.

“What are you doing here?” Aiden demands.

Erik looks right at me. “Your mother reported you missing. Apparently, you ran away from one of your guards. I asked Dante if he had any idea of where you’d be and he brought me right here.”

“I had a feeling you went to him,” Dante says. “How did you find out where Aiden was?”

“Nadia,” I admit.

Dante doesn’t look surprised. “Damn her. I love her but she’s a real pain in my ass sometimes.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Erik says. “I want to know what’s going on. Why are you in bed with your kidnapper?”

“Because he’s not my kidnapper. Aiden saved my life. I love him.”

Erik looks like he could fall over at any moment from sheer shock. “You love him? This can’t be happening again,” he mutters. “Why would you do this, Elena? You knew you were marrying Viktor tomorrow. He’ll be pissed when he finds this out.”

“He doesn’t need to know,” Dante says.

Erik shoots a glare in his direction. “It’s not going to be hard for Viktor to find out Elena isn’t a virgin. Besides, he has a right to know. He’s marrying her.”

“He doesn’t have to marry me,” I say, clutching the blanket to my chest. Aiden covers my body from the other men’s views.

Erik scoffs. “He’s going to marry you. He was promised to Nadia and we fucked him over when I said she could be with Dante. I’m not making the same mistake twice. Viktor has a lot of power. He could create a war from this. You are going to marry him.”

“That’s not fair,” I practically cry. “Nadia got to marry the man she loves and Dante did a lot worse. He actually kidnapped her. Aiden was only trying to save my life. He’s been nothing but good to me. And yet, we don’t get to be together? How is that fair?”

“Because life isn’t fair. You should know that better than anyone.”

My father’s dead face flashes behind my eyes. I quickly push it away. “Exactly. So let me have some happiness. Let me be with Aiden.”

“Just get dressed. We’ll talk more.” He storms out of the bedroom.

Dante remains for a moment.

“Why did you bring him here?” Aiden asks.

“Because I have to do what’s right with my alliance.”

“The old Dante I knew would say ‘fuck it’ and destroy everything just for fun.”

Dante shrugs. “Well, I’m a changed man. I have my own wife to think about.”

“And I’m thinking about Elena.”

“No. Because if you were, you wouldn’t have slept with her on the eve of her wedding.” Dante throws us a pitying look before following Erik into the other room.

“What do we do now?” I whisper.

Aiden sighs. “Now, we get dressed and figure out what to do. We both knew we didn’t have a future together.”

“But I had hoped.”

He cups my face and kisses me gently. “I had hoped too. But it was a foolish dream.” He pulls away from me and gets dressed. With every piece of clothing he puts on, I feel my heart breaking even more.

Slowly, I pull my clothes on and follow Aiden into the living room. Erik is pacing around the room, his brow furrowed and his face red, whereas Dante just seems resigned, like he knew this was coming.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Erik says. “You” – he points at me – “are going to show up for your wedding tomorrow. I’ve changed my mind. Viktor doesn’t need to know. If he did find out, he would kill Aiden. That’s the one small mercy I’m giving you, Elena. Aiden’s life.”

I clutch Aiden close to me. “None of this is fair and you know it. I love him. Why can’t we be together? Find someone else for Viktor to marry.”

“There is no one else!” Erik shouts.

“Careful,” Aiden warns.

Erik glares at him. “You don’t get a say in this. You and your brother have caused too many problems.”

“Aiden didn’t kill my father. It was Finn. Aiden shouldn’t be punished for his brother’s actions.”

“Which is why Finn still needs to die.” Erik looks at Dante pointedly.

Dante sighs. “He’s right, Aiden. Finn needs to die. He’s going to keep causing problems and you know it. But we can spare your life. You don’t have to die for this.”

“For loving me?” I ask. “Aiden shouldn’t die for sleeping with me. I asked him to. I came over here. He didn’t come to me.”

“Elena, enough,” Erik says.

A flash of anger hits me like a lightning bolt. “You’re not my father! You don’t get to tell me what to do. None of you. I never wanted to marry Viktor. I was forced into it because Nadia didn’t marry him. I was the next best choice because of my father’s connections. Well, my father is dead now. I don’t need to marry Viktor. I’m sure there are tons of other Bratva woman who would make him a good wife and would make him a lot more happy than I could.”

“It’s not about that.” Erik sighs, running his hand along the back of his neck. “It’s about the fact that we promised you to Viktor and if we go back on our word, he’ll be pissed. He’s still upset over what happened between Nadia and Dante. He’s not going to take this” – he waves a hand between me and Aiden – “lightly. He will start a war over it.”

“He doesn’t love me. He doesn’t even know me.”

“It’s not about love. It’s about power and pride. Viktor’s pride will be hurt and he’ll use his power to hurt all of us.”

“I don’t understand.” My body is shaking and my heart is pounding. “You and Dante have a combined force of the Bratva and the Mafia. You can take him down if he tries anything.”

Erik’s eyes narrow. Clearly what I said was the wrong thing. “I cannot be seen taking the side of the Mafia again and again. Dante was an exception. Aiden is not.”

“But he’s not even the Mafia. He used to work for the Irish mob.”

“That’s not any better. Elena, I understand that you’re upset. You’ve lost your father and been kidnapped multiple times within the span of a couple of weeks. But you have to grow up and do your duty. I cannot risk Viktor as an enemy and he will become one if you don’t marry him.”

“But I don’t want to,” I whisper.

This entire time, Aiden has been silent. Why is he not defending himself? Unless he thinks we’ve already lost.

He turns to me, taking my chin in his hand. “You have to do this, Elena.”

“No,” I sob. “I love you. I want to be with you.”

“I know. But I can’t see you get hurt because of this. Viktor will still try to kill me if we run away together. Finn will still try to hurt you. There’s no good way out of this where you stay alive. At least this way it ensures you have someone protecting you.”

“But what if Viktor punishes me for loving you?”

“That’s why he doesn’t need to know.” Aiden looks at Erik. “Right?”

Erik nods once.

“See?” Aiden says to me. “You have to do this, Elena. We were always playing at pretend.”

“So I have to sacrifice my happiness for everyone else’s? How is that fair?”

“It’s not,” Erik agrees. “But it’s what needs to be done. Now come along. I’m taking you back home.”

“Not so fast,” a voice says from the doorway. Finn. He steps into the apartment with a savage grin on his face and a gun in his hand.

Aiden pushes me behind him. “Brother. What are you doing here? How did you find me?”

“I just followed the panic that’s reeking off Dante. You left me for dead.”

“No. I didn’t. I knocked you unconscious so I didn’t have to kill you.”

“Well too fucking late. You chose that bitch over me. I can’t stand for that.”

Both Erik and Dante raise their own guns. “Don’t be stupid about this, Finn,” Dante says. “You’re outnumbered. I can shoot you in the head right now and be done with it.”

“You could and it would save me from the pain of my brother’s betrayal.”

“Stop,” Aiden says. “Finn, let’s talk this out. Everyone, just lower your guns.”

“I want her dead,” Finn growls.

“That’s not going to happen. You’ll have to go through me if you want Elena.”

Finn tilts his head to the side. “Fine. Then let’s fight. Hand to hand like the old days.”

“Fine. Drop your gun.”

“Those bastards will just shoot me the second I do,” Finn says, nodding at Dante and Erik.

“Don’t shoot him,” Aiden tells them. “Let me and my brother fight.”

“And if he wins?” Erik asks.

Aiden hesitates before saying, “Then you can kill him.”

Finn’s grin deepens into something monstrous. “Then I guess I have to win.” He tosses his gun to the side and barrels right into Aiden, knocking him into me. Erik grabs my arm and pulls me out of the way as the two brothers begin to fight.

They land punches and kicks and hits to each other’s faces and stomachs and legs. Each of them grunt and groan but they don’t stop. Finn is intent on getting to me and Aiden is intent on keeping me safe.

It only makes me love him more.

Erik shields me with his body. I know he’s just trying to do the right thing with me and Viktor but it’s not fair what he’s doing to me. He’s breaking my heart and he doesn’t even care. I get why he used to be known as The Boogeyman. He doesn’t have a heart.

Aiden lands a solid punch to Finn’s face, knocking him straight to the ground. Finn laughs as Aiden rains punches down onto Finn’s face and stomach.

“That’s it, brother,” Finn grits out. “Show me who you really love. It was never me.”

“Shut up. You know I love you. If you weren’t so fucking insistent on killing Elena, we would never be in this position in the first place.” Punch. “I love you.” Punch. “But you’re leaving me with no choice.” Punch.

Finn’s neck snaps to the side and he finally stops laughing. The look in his eyes surprises me. It’s one of pure pain. This is breaking his own heart that his brother isn’t choosing him. If he hadn’t murdered my father, I might actually feel a little bad for him.

Aiden stops hitting his brother. “Just stop, Finn.”

“Why? I’m dead anyway.”

Aiden looks up at Erik. “I’ll let Elena go. I won’t be a problem if you let Finn live. Let us leave. We’ll never come back to New York.”

“No,” I whisper. “Aiden don’t.”

“I’m sorry, baby. But we never had a future. If this is my chance to save my brother, I have to take it. And I know you’ll be safe and alive.”

“But I’ll married to a man I don’t love.”

Aiden’s face twists in pain. “I know. But I would rather lose you to that then lose you to death.” He looks to Erik. “So, do we have a deal?”

“You can’t guarantee your brother won’t be a problem,” Erik says, “and I don’t exactly trust you.”

Dante steps forward. “He means what he says. I can tell Aiden cares for Elena. He’ll do everything in his power to keep her safe. Come on, Erik. You’re already forcing Aiden and Elena apart. Don’t make him lose his brother too.”

“But his brother killed Ivan. That can’t go unpunished.”

“It doesn’t have to. If you can’t find Finn, then what does it matter?” Dante looks between Erik and the brothers. “Have a heart.”

Erik scoffs. “That’s rich. Coming from you.”

“I know I fucked up your plans when I kidnapped Nadia and when I fell for her and when I married her. And I’m… sorry for that.”

“You’re sorry?” Erik huffs. “I never thought I would hear Dante Moretti say those words.”

“I am sorry, Erik. If we’re ever to work together, we have to put aside our hate for each other. But if you make me kill both of my friends, then I’ll never be able to forgive you.”

“Those friends killed Ivan.”

Dante scoffs. “Ivan wasn’t a friend. He was a business partner and you know it. We both know you don’t have any actual friends.”

“Your friend Matteo still hasn’t paid the price for Sergei Belov’s death.”

“And you hated Sergei, so what does it matter? The reason we were at war was because of all the shit we caused to each other. But I put that aside so we could become allies. You need to do the same.”

“My men will want justice.”

“And my men will want justice if you kill Aiden and Finn. But we’re in charge. Not our men. They listen to us. Follow us. If we tell them to back down, they’ll do it. We let Finn and Aiden go. Elena marries Viktor. Problem solved. We avoid a war with Viktor and you and me can finally start to trust each other. How does that sound?”

It sounds horrible to me since I’m the one who has to suffer for everyone else to live. But if it means this is the only way to spare Aiden’s life, then I will marry Viktor with my head held high.

Erik contemplates on it for a long moment. Aiden stands over his brother, breathing heavy, while Finn lies on the floor, blood dripping from his wounds. He catches me looking at him and winks. I shudder and look away.

Finally, Erik speaks. “You make a good point, Dante. I’ve forced you to give up a lot to work with me and I haven’t done the same.”

“Yeah, because you’re a stubborn bastard,” Dante mutters.

“Fine. If Aiden can keep Finn in line, then I’ll allow them both to live, only if they leave New York. If they’re spotted in the city after a couple of days, I’ll give my men leave to kill them. And if either of them ever try anything again, then I’ll kill them.”

Dante nods. “That’s fair.”

Erik turns to me. “Come along, Elena. You have a wedding to get to tomorrow. You need to be ready for it.”

“Can I say goodbye to Aiden?”

“Fine.”

I hurry over to Aiden’s side and he catches me in a deep hug. “I will always love you.”

He squeezes me tighter but doesn’t say anything back. It hurts me to my core that he doesn’t tell me he loves me.

Maybe it’s because he doesn’t and that hurts most of all.

Erik clears his throat and I finally pull away from Aiden and leave the apartment without looking back.