Page 26 of Fighting With Light

“Aelia,” I whisper.

She tilts her chin and gazes up into my eyes. “Just kiss me, you idiot.”

I grab the back of her neck hauling her to me. Her body leans into mine and she grabs my shirt, pulling me down as my arms wrap around her lower back. Our kiss goes from slow and gentle to provoking and heated as she thrusts her tongue into my mouth. She groans and I hold her still, savoring the way she feels against me, kissing me. This is a horrible idea because it can only end oneway, but I toss logic out the window and lean into the way Aelia makes me feel. Against all odds, the enemy of my enemy may be more than my friend.

Aelia pulls back on a sharp inhale. I grin down at her, still holding her to me as my heart beats roughly in my chest like I’m underwater. I can hear the way it thuds as blood rushes through my body. She leans into me so my back is against the stone rail and slides her hands over my chest.

“I know this is a means to an end, but…”

“But the means could be a little more meaningful if we let them?” I suggest.

We’re talking in circles. I can’t say it directly and I don’t think she can bring herself to, either. Everyone knows friends, enemies, and coworkers with benefits never work out, someone always ends up getting hurt. But Aelia and I are not normal people. We did not have normal upbringings and this woman uses her teeth to tear apart any man she comes into contact with.

But I am not a typical man. I’ve met her blow for blow. Her teeth might be sharp, but mine are bigger.

“Bad decisions have good outcomes all the time,” she whispers.

I huff a laugh. “Are you saying I’m a bad decision, princess?”

She shrugs. “I’m certainly not saying you’re a good one,” she says, almost like she’s telling herself not to go down this road that we are both already speeding down.

“Well then…think about it because I don’t think I could say no to you again, even if I wanted to.”

She bites her lower lip as the corners of her mouth tip up. “So the great Tarzanisinto me.”

“Never said I wasn’t,” I mutter, pulling her lip from her teeth.

“There’s a reason people call me a man-eater, Liam,” she warns.

“And there’s a reason my brothers call me a dumb playboy. I guess that just means we’ve given each other a reason to be different than how they see us.” Not sure what else to say, I grab her chin and dip my head down to hers, kissing her briefly. She looks me in the eye, and something changed. I can feel it. This can’t ever go anywhere, but we can enjoy the chemistry between us because it’sundeniable, and she knows it too. I kiss her again, and our tongues battle for dominance and I wish we were at my villa right now.

She pulls back and lays her head on my chest. The motion catches me by surprise because it’s so…soft. The exact opposite of everything I’ve seen from her. “I don’t want to go back to Boston,” she says into the wind.

“We have a plan, princess, we need to stick to it. He will get what’s coming to him. They both will.” Her hands tighten on my shirt, fisting the material. What I don’t say is that the law may not be on our side for this. It may not go as planned, but we have no other options. They cannot continue like this, putting lives in danger for money and power. It’s a hollow, addicting pursuit and I’ve lived long enough to see what it does to a person. It takes a father who was supposed to love and care for his children and changes him into a sorry excuse of a human being who beats his wife and kids, and manipulates people to get ahead. I’m sure Aelia’s upbringing wasn’t much better.

It’s time for their reign of terror to end.

12

Aelia

A sigh passes mylips as I finally step back onto a plane to get away from Boston. It took all my energy to keep a smile on my face and make sure my mom was okay during the party. I dropped subtle hints I was seeing someone and I really liked them. I could see the anger on my father’s face, and it was all I could do not to laugh, but he kept his mouth shut. My brothers told me last time I left, Mom didn’t leave her room for three days. My heart broke hearing that. It broke over and over again.

The only good thing about this trip was that she talked to me for the first time in months, even if it was about nothing important. She asked me how Bali was and I let it slip that I met someone. I didn’t tell her it was Liam, but the smile on her face and the way her eyes brightened made all of it worth it.

Unknown: On the plane?

I glance at my phone as the flight attendant puts my carry-on above my head. I stare at the unknown number, it could be one of my brothers messing with me. Or it couldbe…Liam.

Unknown: You can talk to me, no one can trace it back. I made sure of it.

Aelia: How do I know you’re not a stalker?

Unknown: Oh, I absolutely am.

Unknown: You clearly had a great time at your parents wedding anniversary party. I could see it based on the bright, nonexistent smile on your face. You looked a little constipated though, everything okay?

Aelia: Rude