Page 24

CHAPTER 24

ARIELLA

T he room was a void, darker than pitch. My pulse quickened as my eyes strained, every nerve on high alert. "Zaiden."

The walls seemed to press in, my chest constricting as if trapped in a vise. Each shallow breath felt like a struggle against the weight of anticipation and fear.

I sucked in a sharp breath when his large hands curled around my hips, jerking me into him—my back to his front. For a split second, I was transported back to the first time he kissed me, his soft, full lips, the heat of his body against mine, the gentleness in his touch. Those days were long gone.

Burying his nose in my hair, he inhaled deeply. "You don't want to be alone tonight, Ariella." His hot breath tickled my ear, sending chills rippling over my skin. His hands tightened on my hips as he turned us. My chest tightened, each breath a struggle as panic and desire stirred within me. He brushed his lips over my ear, his teeth grazing my earlobe. "Then get in the bed." He shoved my hips forward, and I stumbled forward into the bed, my body bending over the bed.

"What the—" My words were cut off when his fingers curled into the thin material of my black leggings covering my hips and hoisting the bottom half of me onto the bed. "Zaiden." I pushed to my hands and knees, scrambling to get across the bed. It was my only chance to escape, but he was faster than me.

His hand wrapped around my ankle, jerking hard enough to pull my hands and knees out from under me. My breath came in short, ragged gasps, each inhale a struggle against the tightness in my chest.

The bed sank in as he crawled over me, and I flipped to my back. I couldn't see him, but I could feel him.

Part of me wanted to give in, to let Zaiden take control. It would be easier than fighting. "What do you want, Zaiden?"

The heat of his breath fanned my face, his lips mere inches from mine. "I want you naked and cuffed to my bed."

A lump formed in my throat, choking off my words. My mouth went dry, my tongue sticking to the roof as I struggled to form coherent thoughts, let alone speak to them.

If he cuffed me to this bed, I would lose any chance of control, even though I doubted he was going to give it to me willingly anyway.

"No cuffs," I mumbled. "But I'll take off my clothes." I shifted my hips, trying to push him off me.

He huffed out a menacing laugh as his thighs tightened, holding me in place. "That's not how this works." His lips brushed across mine as they trailed over my jaw and down to my throat. My heart pounded against my ribcage, its frantic rhythm drowning out all other sounds in the room as I lost all rational thinking at the feeling of his mouth on me. His hands raked up my side, brushing his knuckles over my skin as he dragged the hem of my shirt with it, sending goosebumps racing over my skin. I arched my body into him as he tugged my shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor.

"Zaiden, what are we doing?" I whispered, a hint of fear mixed with excitement laced in my tone.

"Don't worry," he breathed against my skin as his large hands wrapped around my wrists, forcing them above my head. "You don't have to worry about my sister finding out anymore." The spell I was under evaporated, and I jerked against his grip. "Because she's dead."

I thrashed against his grip, disoriented in the darkness. "Zaiden. Let me go."

"Where would be the fun in that?" Cool metal slapped around one of my wrists, and panic set in. I thrashed my body around underneath him, bucking my hips and jerking my uncuffed arm, but it was no use. His chest dropped to mine as all of his body weight pressed me hard into the mattress, suffocating me. The metal slapped around my other wrist before the sound of metal hitting metal echoed through the quiet room.

Fuck.

I was cuffed to the bed.

And then his weight was gone. "Zaiden." I sucked in a deep breath holding it as fear and panic wrapped around me, making it hard to breathe. It was dark, and I realized he was the only thing keeping me from losing it, which was completely irrational. I knew he'd protect me from whatever was lurking in the darkness, but the problem was that there was no one to protect me from him.

The soft glow of a nightlight kicked on, and I released my breath in a whoosh. Zaiden stood beside the bed wearing nothing but a pair of low-hanging black joggers. The light was only bright enough to see him. My gaze raked over every curve of his tanned and toned chest down to his perfect abs, and my heart rate spiked. His dark tattoos scrolled across his broad shoulders and down his arms, covering his chest and back. His body was the perfect canvas, and yet I couldn't understand how someone so beautiful could be such a massive dick.

His lips curled into a cocky smirk. "Like what you see, princess?"

Busted—

A flush crept up my neck, flooding my cheeks with warmth. I could feel the heat radiating off my skin, grateful for the dim light that might hide the signs of my body's betrayal.

I shrugged, but there was no point in lying. "Yes, too bad it's all wasted on an asshole like you."

"Asshole?" He raised his brows. "Me?" He touched his fingers to his chest. "You mean the asshole that saved your life today?"

"And yet here I am, handcuffed again." I jerked against the cuffs, making the metal clank against metal just in case he forgot. It looks like you're the one I need saving from." I nodded toward him. "If you could do me a favor and give me a heads-up on what personality I'm going to be dealing with, that would be great."

He huffed out a laugh. "Which personality?"

"Yeah, the psychotic version, which always has a pair of handcuffs, then the I don't give a fuck version that avoids me, or the protective and possessive version that seems like he might still give a fuck."

He cocked his head to the side. "Let's not pretend like this doesn't turn you on." His gaze lifted to the handcuffs. He was talking about before. Before the accident. Back when I trusted him. "If I remember correctly, this shit turns you on, right?"

"If you're referring to the one time we fooled around," I scowled. The one time we made out while he tied me to the bed before using his fingers to give me my first mind-blowing orgasm when I was drunk. An orgasm I hadn't been able to match myself. Well, other than the orgasm he'd given me at the dinner table. It did make me wonder what else he could do. "Then yes, I was into it, but you weren't such a dick then."

"I was the same person then." He shifted his weight and leaned over to the nightstand, and I raised my head, trying to see what he was doing. "And if I remember correctly, all of this makes your panties wet." He stood to his full height, and my eyes widened on the eight-inch pink vibrating dildo.

It was mine.

"You stole my fucking vibrator?"

He held down the button, filling the quiet room with a low buzz. "If you want to get off in this house, you're going to have to beg for it." His gaze dropped. "Why don't we see how wet your panties are?" Lifting his leg, the bed sank in as he pressed his knee into the mattress and hooked his fingers into the waist of my leggings, tugging them down my legs until I was wearing nothing but my black sports bra.

Even though I knew I should tell him to stop, I didn't want to. This wasn't the Zaiden I was scared of. I wasn't afraid of the Zaiden threatening another earth-shattering orgasm; I craved this Zaiden. I shouldn't want this. I shouldn't want him. I was seriously fucked up in the head, but it didn't matter because my body was desperate for his touch.

He brought my panties to his face as his eyes closed, and he inhaled deeply. I squeezed my thighs together to alleviate the pressure building deep in my core. His eyes open, locking with mine. "Fuck, you smell so sweet when your soaking wet for me, baby."

Gripping my ankles, he spread my legs as he climbed on the bed, shoving them wider with his knees as he crawled over me, finally settling between my thighs.

Butterflies erupted in my stomach, a dizzying cocktail of desire and dread. My muscles tensed, caught between the urge to pull him closer and the instinct to push him away. Well, if I wasn't tied to the bed.

His gaze dropped to my lips and slowly moved down my body, stopping on my pussy. My legs clenched against his thick thighs, desperate to close them, to hide myself, but his knees spread, forcing me to open wider for him.

"You're so fucking wet, your pussy is glistening for me." He shifted, grabbing the vibrator off the bed. My eyes followed the pink toy as he brought it down to just above my bra, softly pressing the vibration to my skin. He slid his free hand under the band of my bra, placing it flat against my sternum.

"Your heart is racing," he smirked, his voice a low rumble of seduction. "Are you scared or excited?" I didn't bother answering. He already knew the answer. He shoved my bra up, and my tits bounced free, his breath rasping harshly as his gaze trailed over me. He dragged the vibrator over my bra, bunched over my breast. I arched into him, and the corner of his lip tipped up. "You want more?" I did, but I wasn't going to beg. He circled my right breast with the vibration before moving to my left and circling it.

Fuck, I needed more.

He moved back to the right, dragging the vibrator over my nipple, slowly circling the tight bud. My back arched off the bed, and my eyes closed as my lips parted with a soft moan. "What do you do with this toy?" he breathed. "Do you tease your body, or do you use it to make yourself come?"

"Come," the words came out in a rush as he circled my other nipple.

"What a waste." He dragged the toy down my stomach before sliding it over my pussy.

"Oh, my—" My words cut off when he pressed the head to my clit and slid it down before pressing the tip to my entrance. The vibration made my legs tremble.

"Zaiden," I moaned, bucking my hips forward, desperate for more.

"You want more," he breathed, pushing the tip in, and I nodded.

He stopped and pulled the vibrator away. "You use this plastic toy on this virgin pussy?"

"No," I shook my head. "Stimulation."

"Has anything been inside this pussy?"

My eyes narrowed, my face twisting with confusion and frustration. I didn't want to talk; I wanted to come—just you."

"And you want me to fuck you with this toy right now?"

"Yes," I breathed.

"Beg."

I clenched my jaw, frustration building. "Just make me come, Zaiden. Or let me do it myself."

"Nice try, but I'm sure you can do better." His mouth dropped to my chest, and my head rose off the pillow following his every move. "Beg for me, baby." His hot breath fanned across my nipple before his tongue darted out, striking the taut bud.

I didn't want him to stop, but I wasn't going to beg. He pressed the vibrator to my clit, pinning it there with his hips as he rocked into me. His other hand cupped my other breast, pinching my nipple and rolling it between his finger and thumb.

"Zaiden," I cried out, my body vibrating with pleasure.

"Beg," he hummed against my nipple. "Or it all stops."

I was close, so fucking close. I rocked my hips into him, finding the perfect rhythm with the vibration. I was at the edge. My abs tightened, my head fell back—And he stopped.

"No," I snapped.

"I warned you," he said, tossing the vibrator to the floor. "Sleep tight."

"Zaiden," I hissed as he lifted and shifted until he was lying on his back beside me. "What the fuck?"

He fake-yawned. "Next time, you'll listen like a good girl instead of being a stubborn brat."

"Fuck that." My gaze lifted to the cuffs and back to him. My hands curled around the chain of the cuffs, and I pulled myself up, twisted, lifted my leg, and landed on his chest.

"Either you're going to make me come, or you're going to let me go so I can do it myself." My jaw flexed. "It's okay if you're not up for the challenge."

His lips curved up as his arms wrapped around my thighs. "We both know I'm the only one who's ever made you come. Not much of a challenge."

"Then let me go."

"You really want to come?" He asked like we didn't have a whole conversation about it. I nodded. "Okay. You can ride my face if I can ride yours."

He didn't give me a chance to agree. He grabbed my ass, hiking me up as he slid down until my clit was pressed to his soft, warm lips.

"Come all over my face, princess." His tongue licked across my clit, and I rolled my hips over his face as his hands gripped my ass tighter, slowly guiding me over him back and forth.

My hands tightened around the bars as my muscles clenched and my body shook. I increased my speed, taking control. I was already so worked up that it wouldn't take much. I wanted to dig my hands into his hair and smother him, but instead, I stroked myself harder and faster over his tongue until I found a rhythm that set every nerve ending in my body on fire.

My head fell back, and I cried out as I exploded in an earth-shattering, mind-blowing orgasm.

"Holy fuck," I moaned as he released me, and I fell back to the bed.

He shifted to his side, his face, mouth, and chin covered in the evidence of my orgasm. "You taste a lot fucking sweeter than I remember." His mouth crashed against mine, forcing me to taste myself, my orgasm, the orgasm he'd given me. His tongue tangled with mine, swallowing my mouth, literally sucking the air from my lungs.

Jerking my mouth from his, I sucked in a harsh breath, desperate for air. He reached for the nightstand, grabbing the key before releasing me.

"Get your clothes and go to bed, Ariella."

"But I thought?—"

"I'll let you know when it's time to return the favor." His lips turned up into a sadistic smirk, and I knew I had just really fucked up.