She stared at the dark blue car parked in front of her, fighting back sudden nausea. Douglas had been a bastard. There was no denying that or justifying his actions. What he’d done to her was disgusting. What he’d done to Chase’s company even more so. Lord only knew what he’d done to others.
“So why do I feel guilty?” Aria mumbled to herself. She was weak in the face of what she felt for Chase. She’d never wanted a man as much as she wanted him. Her entire psyche was unprepared to deal with that kind of temptation.
And, yet, the idea of giving into that hunger made her hate herself. Douglas might have done her wrong, but she was still married to him.
Her wedding ring caught the sunlight, glinting again, as if reminding her.
No matter how God damned horny Chase made her, she couldn’t explore it. His scary issues aside, just thinking about sleeping with him sent the word “whore” on a gleeful rampage through her conscience.
Her hands shook as she turned the ignition. In her mind one thing was clear: she couldn’t go on that date with Chase. She did feel guilt at the idea of backing out. He’d agreed to leave Douglas’ worthless ass alone even if she didn’t go.
Of course, Chase might change his mind if he got angry enough.
Maybe her transformation—or whatever the fuck it was—would be complete in a few days. Maybe then she’d become the type of woman that wouldn’t care.
The most horrible part was that she wasn’t so sure how adverse she was to the idea anymore. After all, not caring about self-judgment, what the world would think of her, or about the consequences would mean one thing: She would be able to explore Chase.
She’d be able to give in.
And fuck him, her conscience reminded her with a sneer.
She might become that woman and she could go as far with Chase as she wanted. But she wasn’t that woman yet, and there was no way she could pretend to be. So there was no other option. She couldn’t go on that date. There was no telling what she’d let him do to her if she was near him again.
Or what she would do to him.
Alright. It’s official. I’m losing my fucking mind.
She had to get out of there. Away from that building and what it now represented to her.
IT WAS OFFICIAL. Chase was losing his fucking mind.
“He was spotted yesterday in Oak Lawn,” Allen, the head of their security team, said.
“Oak Lawn?” Brent snapped. “That’s half an hour away.”
Chase’s brother could be a real hot head. He was always the one with a temper, whereas Chase was usually the calm, cool, and collected brother.
At the moment, Chase was none of those things. Considering the nature of what they were discussing, how could he be? He also couldn’t blame Brent for being on edge, not now that he understood what his brother was going through.
“The authorities have been informed, of course.” Allen slid a folder across the coffee table toward Brent. “They’ll be expanding their search into that area.”
“They’re fucking useless.” Brent snatched up the file. “They should’ve been searching there already.”
The corner of Allen’s mouth twitched. “Yes, well, that is common knowledge. However, we consider them an accessory.” Brent glared, but kept quiet. “Extra hands. We’re taking over the bulk of the search. We’ll find Ms. Prat’s ex.”
“You know what else is common knowledge? In my book at least.” Matthew’s voice rang out from the kitchen. The sound of the fridge closing came after. “That you two are idiots. Not only did both of you decide to fall for women with exes who are criminals—”
“No one decided anything,” Chase and Brent mumbled at the same time.
Matthew stopped in the entryway to the kitchen and leaned against it, a glass of something amber in his hand.
Had that fuck opened Chase’s Frapin Cuvee?
Matthew took a nice long sip, ignoring the twin glares aimed at him. “As I was saying: you two don’t just have spectacular taste in women, but now you’re using company resources to spy into their lives. Great job. Both of you.” He waved his glass in Chase’s direction. “And you, don’t get me started on what else you’ve been up to lately.”
Of course, he was referring to Chase blackmailing Douglas and Aria.
The urge to strangle Matthew was as sudden as it was aggravating. And it didn’t appear like it was going away anytime soon.
Allen turned to Chase. “I’ve also been looking into Mrs. Colton, as you asked.”
Chase locked his jaw and fought like hell to hide his mounting anger. He hated hearing Aria referred to as that. Which was ridiculous, she’d been married for a good while before he’d met her. And, for all he knew, she had every intention of staying that way.
Motherfucker. She’d still been wearing her ring. Did she plan to stay with Douglas? After everything? After the way she had reacted to Chase?
You have no claim on her, he tried to remind himself. As soon as the thought was formed, it was struck down as the bullshit it was.
She’d trembled so hard in his office. Her heart had pounded for him. She’d been starving.
For. Him.
The way she had stared at him at one point…
She’d been dying for him to kiss her.
If that wasn’t a claim, then somebody had to redefine the meaning of the word. Aria’s body belonged to him. He hadn’t fucked her yet, but her body had already surrendered.
And she was still going to choose to stay with Douglas?
Another downside of feeling again after so long: Chase was out of his depth. Along with all the emotions he was experiencing came a slew of impulses. All just as sudden and new. He was seconds away from getting up and heading straight for Aria.
It took every bit of his will to remain in his seat instead of launching himself at Allen, and shaking more information out of him. “Just tell me if she’s okay. Nothing more,” Chase ground out through clenched his teeth.
He’d promised her privacy. Never out loud, but he’d made it clear in his office what he’d chosen to do. He would give that to her. All he needed to know was that she was alright.
“I’m not judging you,” Brent stated, eyes locked with the contents of the folder he was holding.
“I am,” Matthew quipped from somewhere in Chase’s apartment.
Allen’s eyebrows had risen toward his hairline.
Was Chase’s inner state that obvious?
His cell started vibrating on the coffee table. Lifting it up, Chase saw an unsaved number flashing on the screen. He sent it straight to voicemail, deciding to look into who it was later. If it was important enough, they’d leave a message.
Brent took out his phone, a scowl on his face as he typed something on it.
Allen cleared his throat and thumbed through a few pages inside a second folder.
The file on Aria.
“Mrs. Colton doesn’t seem to be in any danger. Her husband is behaving himself when he’s around her.”
The questions kept ramming into the back of his forehead, one after the other, trying to force their way out. Had she and Douglas found a way to pay off the house? Was he treating Aria okay? Allen’s team seemed to think so.
Douglas better have, or else Chase would forget about his deal with Aria and destroy the bastard. Maybe he should do so anyway.
“You might want to return that call,” Brent advised.
Blinking, Chase turned to his brother. “What did you say?”
“It’s Aria.”
Chase’s lack of control was starting to annoy him even more. Just hearing her name made him weak. “How do you know?”
“Lori asked me for your number earlier. When I convinced her to tell me why, she said Aria’s been asking for—never mind then. You’re welcome!”
Chase ignored his brother and stormed down the hall toward his bedroom. Marcus was in the kitchen as he passed, helping himself to another glass of Chase’s cognac.
“Oh yes. Go call h
er.” Matthew placed the bottle on the kitchen island and sighed. “Am I the only one who cares about the future of this company? What this could do to its reputation?”
Chase slammed the door to his room closed, blocking out Matthew’s whining. He hit the call icon on his phone, hearing his blood roar in his ears. It rang and rang and, damn, it seemed to go on forever.
By the time the voicemail came on, he’d begun pacing from one side of his room to the other. He almost didn’t leave a message.
His impatience was having none of that.
“Aria, it’s me…Chase.” That was as far as he got before he had to hang up the phone. Anger made his heart pound. Need made it ache. And above it all was him, unused to sifting through that kind of shit, growing more furious with himself by the second.
He should’ve answered the damn call.
The sensation of his phone vibrating shot up his arm and straight for his throat. He took one slow inhale before answering, trying to control whatever the hell was beating through him. “Hello?”
There was silence for a few seconds. Didn’t matter. He swore he felt her on the other end. Fuck. He’d just gotten his never-ending erection under control before the meeting.
A soft feminine sigh reached his ears. Pain went blazing through his veins, reminding him of that day in his office and how her lips had tasted.
“Chase?”
How could something as simple as her saying his name drive him to the point of groaning?
“Chase, are you okay?”
“Aria,” he said, stepping into his bathroom. “How are you?”
“I need to speak to you,” she blurted out, ignoring his question.
In a moment of weakness, he leaned against the large, dark counter. He kept his stare locked on the brown stone beneath his hand. Chase couldn’t look at his own reflection, afraid of what would stare back.
He knew why she called. It hit him like a wrecking ball to the mid-section. He’d heard the fear in her voice when she’d said they needed to talk.
“I…I can’t—”
“Go,” he finished for her, shaking his head.
Her silence…man, it was almost enough to send him into a rage. He watched his fingers clench into a fist on top of the counter.
In the grand scheme of things, she didn’t matter. There was no reason for him to feel the way that he did. It shouldn’t matter that she never see him again.
Aria had somehow turned on his ability to perceive emotions. He was starting to believe, that it wasn’t such a great thing. It also didn’t appear like his newfound talent was going to go away anytime soon. She’d turned him on, and whether she discontinued their acquaintance or not, he knew he would stay turned on from then on.
Fuck the double meaning on that one.
Chase was starting to think that Aria had hung up when he heard her sigh again.
“I’m sorry, Chase. Well I am, but I’m not…I just can’t. You have to understand how wrong this all is considering my current situation.”
“I do understand, Aria.” His understanding, however, did nothing to change the fact that the thought of her choosing to stay with Douglas made him angry. The kind of angry that he hadn’t felt in a while and he had no idea how to handle. The kind that made him want to do things that would really scare her.
Feeling that way made no sense to him, but it was the truth. His fucked up truth.
Did he want her to choose Douglas over him? Yes, but he had no idea why. Aside from having Aria, what the hell else could a man like Chase give her?
He had no fucking clue. All Chase wanted was to get to know her. Did he want to fuck her? More than his next breath, but anything beyond that escaped him.
“You’re not saying anything.” Aria hedged. “You’re mad, aren’t you?”
Aria’s question made Chase clench his fist and press it into the counter. The phone in his grip was in danger of being crushed. But that’s what being in that sort of situation did to man, isn’t it? Damn right he was angry. Didn’t matter if he had a right to be or not. He couldn’t control it.
Not that he could tell her that. No point. Nothing would change her mind. “Doesn’t matter,” he said, opting for half the truth. “If you’re wondering about your husband—” Finishing that sentence was impossible for him.
He was about to let her husband get away with stealing from him. All the while, Chase got nothing in return.
What the fuck had she done to him?
Douglas had stolen almost four million dollars from Chase’s company. The bastard would face no consequences.
And he got to keep Aria.
His wife.
The reminder had to stop bothering him as much as it did.
“Chase, that’s not—I…”
He bit down on his questions, wondering what the hell she’d been about to say. Chase waited, quiet, and hoping she would give him that. He deserved that, at least.
There was no doubt about it; he was letting himself be played for a fool.
“I’m sorry.” Aria whispered, low. “If you change your mind about Douglas, all I ask is that you let me know what you decide to do.”
For what? So she could warn her husband?
“Thank you anyway, Chase. Goodbye.”
She hung up the fucking phone on him.
Chase closed his eyes and lowered his phone onto the counter.
He was better off without her in his life. Better off not being able to feel. It was all too much of a headache.
One that was now over. He repeated that to himself as his newest mantra.
She was gone, and no matter what it took, he would also find a way to turn off what she’d awoken in him.
Surely ridding himself of that wouldn’t cost him as much as his acquaintance with her already had. He should’ve just had Douglas arrested immediately, instead of trying to get to know the man’s wife. That’s what Chase got for being an idiot.
He wouldn’t be making the same mistake again. Ever.
Resolved, he picked his phone back up, and exited the bathroom. He had some calls to make.
ARIA STOOD BEFORE HER BED, hands on her hips, teeth being decimated as she clenched her jaw.
Before her lay a display of black fabric and purple lace.
Her friend’s voice still rung in her ears. Aria had called Hilary and bared it all. Everything she’d been keeping a secret. Every last bit of what’d been eating her inside.
But not about Chase. That’s because he no longer mattered. He was out of her life. Gone. For good.
And you’re relieved.
No she wasn’t. At all. Every single emotion she’d been holding in, refusing to acknowledge, had threatened to overwhelm her as soon as she’d ended that call.
And then, in a blind panic, she’d called Hilary. She needed someone. Aria couldn’t continue to hide the truth of her failed marriage from the world.
Especially when she had no plans of remaining in said marriage.
She couldn’t tell Hilary, or any one, about Chase. That part of her, the ashamed one, wouldn’t allow her to speak. She’d developed an attraction for him, while being married to another.
No matter how much of a bastard that husband was.
In a three hour long convo, Aria had confessed to Hilary what she’d found out about Douglas. Not the company theft. That’s another one that she needed more time to come to terms with before letting anyone know about it.
But she’d told her about the endless string of women that Douglas had cheated on her with. Douglas, of course, had tried to deny it ever since the night she’d overheard Chase.
Even Hilary had scoffed at that. A man didn’t go six months without touching his wife, unless he was getting his fill from at least one other woman. Or, unless he was gay. Hilary considered Douglas many things—Aria cringed at the memory of every vile name Hilary had called him—but gay wasn’t one of them.
Most embarrassing part? It hadn’t been admitting to her close friend that her marr
iage was over. It hadn’t even been the fact that Douglas found her so lacking he’d gone off elsewhere to find what he “needed”.
It’d been when Hilary had brought up one pathetic, irrefutable truth: from the age of eighteen, Aria had put her entire life on hold for that man. She had very little of her own, outside a few friends and hobbies. No life. No children. A failed marriage.
Hilary hadn’t pointed out those last three parts, but to Aria, the message had still been clear.
When Hilary suggested that they go out and catch up, Aria had been hesitant. What business did she have going out to have “fun” while her life was imploding?
Hilary, however, was ruthless. Always had been. She’d pointed out that Aria had put her life on hold for long enough and that there was nothing wrong with two friends meeting up for dinner to talk. That’s what friends did when one of them was in a shit situation.
Aria’s situation, as Hilary so kindly pointed out, was the shit situation to outdo most other shit situations.
Oh, her friend.
And what could Aria say to that? Hilary had a point. It was an acid covered, heated-to-two-hundred degrees, very painful point, but true nonetheless. Aria was twenty-six years old. Still young enough to do something with her life.
She owed it to herself.
Aria needed this night out with her friend after everything she’d gone through. It’d be her first tiny step onto the path that led to life without Douglas. Her freedom.
She would have one. She’d given him everything, despite the fact that her feelings for him hadn’t been as passionate as they’d once been. All he’d done was screw her over.
With her chin held high, she laughed and agreed. This was her official Step One. Her eardrum had almost exploded at Hilary’s excited screech. The woman was a dynamo. She’d barely finished speaking with Hilary an hour ago, and yet she’d managed to have an outfit and its accessories delivered to her door in that time.
Did the woman sit around, prepared for these sort of occasions, personal stylist on 24-7 speed dial?
Aria rolled her eyes. Of course she did.
Leaning toward the bed, she reached out a single finger and hooked the tiny scrap of dark purple lace peeking out from under the black fabric.
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