Dark Hearts (The Dark Series Book 1)

by Livvy Aarons

  “So you just stood there and watched?” It bothered me that Aidan would let Tiffany beat the crap out of me. That was a lame excuse if he thought it was pointless to stop us.

  His face turned red as he stared at the floor. “When I got slapped and punched in the face a few times, I hoped that you would pass out again…then I saw Tristan taking pictures with his phone. Tristan is a pervert but I thought that if I asked him for help that he would help me separate you two. Instead, he grabbed two pitchers of water then poured them over you and Tiffany. It did not take long for me to realize what Tristan had done.” He looked up from the floor, with a smirk on his face. “What can I say McKenna, I am a man. Seeing you soaking wet, straddling Tiffany in that itty bitty plaid skirt…well let’s just say you are definitely embedded into my fantasies forever.” The sheer warmth from Aidan’s eyes made me blush. I had to look away. Before I could protest Aidan grabbed my waist, pulling me on top of him. My heart was hammering. He gently traced my lips with his thumb, continuing on to my jaw line, down my collarbone, not stopping until he reached the hollow indention of my belly button. Aidan’s touch put every nerve I had on edge and for a brief moment, I desperately wanted him to take his journey farther. Once his hands stilled, my sanity came back. “Aidan, wh-what happened next?”

  “Am I making you nervous?” He grinned seductively.

  Defensively I folded my arms. “You’re not; I just think you should finish that’s all.”

  “You are a horrible liar McKenna Cole. Now where was I—oh yes, you were wearing those lacy white panties that everyone got a good look at.”

  My eyes got huge, “What!” I was going to KILL Julie.

  “Shhh! Do you want to wake up your brother or worse your father? They would walk in here to see you on top of me while I am half naked.”

  I shook my head no then continued on. “So why did I take off my clothes? Better yet, why did you let me?”

  “It wasn’t like that McKenna. Tiffany tried to distract you by pulling up your skirt, which did not work since you had already lost your entire lady like manners. When the distraction back fired on her, you punched her in the mouth. Tiffany saw she was bleeding and backed away. But before I could scoop you up, Pete came around the corner. He was furious at the mess you two had made. When he asked who started the fight, you of course told him that you finished it. Thankfully, Pete did not call the cops. He did say that you have to pay for the damages. I assumed that you didn’t have that kind of money so I was able to get him to offer you a job on Friday nights.”

  My shoulders slumped, “Is he going to tell my dad?”

  “No. He told me to take you home and hoped that you didn’t make him regret not telling your father. After that I finally got you out to the parking lot with Tristan’s help, which he enjoyed way too much.”

  I grimaced thinking that Tristan touched any part of my body. His demonic mind was a dark, twisted place. God only knows what he thought was so enjoyable. “McKenna are you still with me?”

  I shook my head. “Um, yeah sorry. You and Tristan carried me out to your motorcycle—wait, how did that work out?”

  “It was definitely tricky with that skirt of yours since you had to sit in front of me.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “I was surprised that your dad was not at home. Where was he?”

  “Work, I guess.” He worked himself to death sometimes.

  “It was good thing that he was not here last night. Even as loud as you were, you did not wake up your brother.”

  I arched my eyebrow at him. “I never told you that I had a brother.”

  He chuckled then pointed to my desk. “Pictures.”

  “Yeah, that would give it away. I am sorry that you had to carry me up the stairs by yourself.”

  “I had help; Tristan followed me here before taking Eva home.”

  Immediately I could feel my throat getting thick. “Tristan was in …my house? I-I thought you guys were on the outs because of me.”

  “Yeah, he was in your house.” Aidan paused for a minute, silently searching my eyes. “He did tell me to stay away from you. We have been friends, basically brothers since I was a kid. Even with our differences Tristan is my best friend, we will always have each other’s back.”

  Feeling queasy after hearing the brotherhood speech, I changed directions. “Whoever was calling earlier must have really wanted to talk to you. They were nonstop for a good thirty minutes.”

  Aidan flipped open the tiny phone. “It was Tristan. He probably just wanted to see if I was coming before I went into work.”

  The room was a sweltering furnace and I needed fresh air or I was going to yak in front of bros-before-hos man. Quickly I walked to one of the floor to ceiling windows then pried it open. The cool midmorning air was a lifesaver, at least until I felt Aidan’s arms wrap around my waist and his breath on my neck. “Tristan is not all bad. He is just intimidated that you can ignore his charms. It normally does not happen.”

  I could not believe that any type of female thought that his kind of behavior was okay. Maybe I was immune to Tristan’s “charm” because I knew the truth; a truth that I could not stomach to tell Aidan.

  I sighed heavily, “Is there anything else I need to know about last night before you take me to get my car?”

  He squeezed my waist tighter. “Other than you are a complete nut job when you are drunk. You mumbled some pretty insane stuff about angels and demons.”

  Now I really did want to cry. He thought that I was rambling on in my drunken stupor when I was telling him the truth. I could not hold back any longer; the tears started to form.

  “Are you crying?” Aidan did not wait for a response. He quickly turned me around to face him then started to wipe away my tears. “Shhh—what did I say?”

  After a few seconds, I was able to get a grip on my emotions and stuff them back into their box. “It’s nothing…I just made a fool out of myself. You probably think I am a basket case.” My response was the most logical excuse I could think of, not being too far from the truth.

  “I don’t care what you think you are. I know that you are someone who fights for what they believe in. You are beautiful, smart and a girl with one hell of a right hook.” He brushed his lips over mine then whispered, “Forget the world for a while; it’s just me and you now.”

  For the next forty-seven minutes, that’s exactly what I did.

  * * * * *

  Aidan had left hours ago but the effect he had on my body was still present. I wiped the sweat from my face as it stung my overly kissed swollen lips. I seriously had no clue that a person could kiss a person too much or too hard. I knew now that you most definitely could overdo it. I went back to pushing the mower before my father noticed my break; he would have made fun of me for being such a girl. Whatever.

  I finished up the grass then went inside for a drink. My father and Ben were sitting at the table eating lunch.

  “Hey kiddo. Want me to make you a sandwich?”

  “Nah, just thirsty.” I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator before sitting down at the table. The water felt so good on my parched throat that I did not come up for air until the bottle was empty.

  “So I see. Did you have a nice time last night?”

  I swallowed hard, “Yep, lots of fun.”

  My father eyed me curiously, “Nothing crazy I hope.”

  “Of course not daddy.” I said innocently. My father seemed to buy my lie and began to ask Ben about his night. Normally I would have used this as an exit but if Ben did have any ammo about last night I wanted to hear it firsthand. “McKenna woke me up stomping up and down the stairs. Then she woke me up again this morning talking to her friend.” I nearly choked on my tongue.

  “You had a friend stay over last night?” My father cut his eyes towards me.

  I sincerely hoped that Ben did not recognize the voice as being male. “Um, yeah. It was a last minute thing. I did not have the number to your office to tell you. Julie is a fri
end from school. I did not think that you would mind.” Nervously I watched Ben to see if he would call me out. Nope, he returned to eating his sandwich.

  My father was appeased. “Next time just be more considerate of your brother and keep it down.”

  Flooded with relief, I got back to my chores before my father asked more questions.

  It was nearly four o’clock when Aidan texted me, asking if I wanted to come over for dinner. I naturally said yes but after he gave me all the specifics, I had my doubts. I did not know how involved I needed to get with him. His birthday was barely two months away and somehow Aileen expected results by then. I mean it is one thing to have a guy become your boyfriend in a short time but get him to fall in love; impossible. The probability of my sprouting wings and growing a beak is more likely than having him fall in love with on such a strict timetable.

  What if Aidan was not the “love” type?

  I saw myself how quickly he dumped Tiffany and they had been dating for almost two years. I could not ignore the fact that Aileen had stressed that if I failed that people not even connected to this would get hurt. Innocent people would suffer for my failure or my inability to even try because of fear. I could not live with myself with their blood on my hands. Pain shot through my heart.

  I was going to have to bring out the big guns if I was going snipe hunting.

  “He-Hello?” Julie finally answered her phone sounding out of breath.

  “Hey Julie, it’s me.”

  “Oh hey!” Her voice immediately lifted. “So should I call you Tyson or Holyfield?”

  “Sure, go ahead laugh all you want. Let’s not even ask how I am doing, if I had to get stitches or how I even got home.”

  “Sorry that was a low blow. How can I make it up to you?”

  “Well for starters you could come over to help me get dressed for a dinner date I have with Aidan. He said to dress nice.”

  “Of course! Let me grab some things and I will be right over.”

  “Great. One more thing you were here last night, got it?”

  “Got it. See you in a few.” Knowing Julie she would be here in lighting speed, I had to hurry in the shower.

  * * * * *

  Julie arrived at my house around four forty-five with a bag full of clothes. I tried on all of them most of which were too snug in all the “right places” or that is what Julie had said. She was a good friend and lucky for me she had the patience of Job. The last dress she yanked out of the bag was a hot pink satin dress. The color accentuated the tan I had left over from summer. Breathing was going to impossible, squeezing my ribs painfully. Julie told that the pain was worth it; Aidan would love it. Of course, she had a good laugh at my expense when I repeatedly fell while trying on the pumps she brought with her. The last piece of clothing she forced upon me was a black cashmere sweater. “It’s really so you’re father doesn’t have a heart attack when he sees your cleavage.”

  I snorted, “What cleavage? Mother nature is a cruel traitorous bitch on my account.”

  “Well she definitely compensated for the junk in your trunk.”

  “Sorry but that credit goes to Hershey and Little Debbie.”

  Julie rolled her eyes, “Whatever. Now remember avoid Tristan if you can. It may be impossible not to see him. Just try not to let him get you alone and please be careful with Aidan.” There was a hint of desperation in her voice when she said please.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I know what you are planning to do.” Her face went dark, “I-I am sorry. It just sort of slipped out of your head and I was trying to not listen. You are hard to ignore. All I am going to say is be careful, who knows if everything works right in that department.” She watched for my reaction.

  “Thank you for your concern and the apology for eavesdropping but Tiffany is still alive. Besides I have to do something to up the ante; I cannot fail everyone.”

  She chewed on her lip for a minute. “We should wait for your dad to leave for work then go tell your brother that you are sleeping over at my house. I will drop you off at Aidan’s house; just make sure that he brings you back to my house in the morning.”

  Now I was the giddy one. “THANK YOU!” I jumped up and down then gave her a hug. “You are a fabulous friend—strange but definitely a keeper.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” She shrugged out of our hug. “Now you can’t go all rays and sunshine on me yet. You don’t even know if he will agree to…you know. Especially once he finds out that you are a virgin. Guys are a jittery when it comes to that stuff. I think it has something to do with the girl getting clingy or something.”

  “Well then I guess I am not going to tell him that I am a virgin.”

  “Sure, why not? You are lying to him already; what’s one more lie.” Julie snapped.

  “You have an answer for everything don’t you.”

  A smile tugged on her lips, “Pretty much. I just don’t think you should stud yourself out to see if you can push him into loving you. It’s just not realistic. I am no expert on that subject but I do hear enough of what goes on in a guy’s head to know that a little tail doesn’t make a big difference.”

  “I have to do this Julie.”

  She folded her arms in frustration then let out a heavy sigh. “Fine, hoe bag get your crap together.”

  “Okay mama shrew.”

  Julie threw her duffle bag at me then blew me a kiss. “You know you love me.”

  * * * * *

  It was almost six thirty before my father left for work. He didn’t even say goodbye, that’s how he was with me—distant. Once I knew my father was long gone, I told Ben that I was staying at Julie’s house and gave him her cell phone number just in case I did not answer mine. The ignore button was just too convenient. Julie and I were nearly at Aidan’s house when the thought hit me; I may have all the equipment to get the job done but lacked the knowledge of how to do it. What if Aidan laughs at me? Worse, what if he turns me down? Humiliation and failure.

  Julie broke her silence, “Stop doing that.”

  “Then don’t listen.”

  “McKenna, he is a guy but he is not a jerk. Obviously, he likes you; Tiffany never got an invite to his house.”

  Weird.

  “Yeah, I was walking by Tiffany in the bathroom one time and heard her rambling on about it. Then I found out two weeks ago the reason why. You know how I told you that I could hear Aidan sometimes, well he was thinking about breaking up with her because she was nothing but a good time girl. You know nothing serious.”

  It was great that he considered me better than her yet the fact that Aidan used Tiffany was disturbing.

  Julie started to snicker. “You are a strange bird girlfriend. Just last night you were beating the crap out of her, now you feel sorry for her because you think Aidan used her. Trust me when I say Tiffany has not been able to wear white for a long time; her reputation is well earned. She did all of it to herself.”

  “Okay, I get it no more sympathies for the skank. I do fail to see how this is going to help with Aidan’s expectations. I have barely made it past kissing.”

  “Then maybe this is a sign that you should wait.”

  An awkward silence filled the tiny car. There was something she was not telling me. I went back to staring out the window and saw that we were coming up to a pair of black gates. They were already open but she squealed to a halt before we entered them. Was she so mad that she was going to make me walk?

  “No.” Julie mumbled still clutching the steering wheel. She closed her eyes briefly then relaxed, “I am old fashioned when it comes to sex. People should seriously wait until they can deal with the consequences and wait until they find someone that really loves them. Then throw in the fact that he is not exactly normal so having sex with a virgin could open up some hell portal or something. You don’t know what could happen.”

  “You’re kidding—a hell portal? Julie you have been watching way too many horror movies. As far as I know those things d
on’t exist.”

  “They had to get the idea from somewhere.”

  Please. I know what I am doing and you are not going to change my mind. I pleaded with her silently, batting my eyelashes to emphasize my point.

  Julie rolled her eyes. “Just so you know I don’t have to watch horror movies. I am presently in one.”

  After finally convincing her to continue on to Aidan’s house, the rest of the drive took forever. I should have known from the expensive looking gate that the house would be sickening. The house was a three story Victorian styled manor with a very large four car garage that looked bigger than my whole house. Next to the garage was a small brick cottage that I presumed to be the guesthouse. Unfortunately Aidan’s motorcycle was nowhere in sight. I know he told me seven.

  Julie ignored my silent comment and put the car in park. “Here we are.”

  “What if they don’t like me?” The queasiness returned.

  “McKenna listen to yourself. I am dropping you off at a house that harbors a soon-to-be death angel, a demon and God only knows what the so-called father is. Then you have attentions on having sex with the soon-to-be death angel, yet you are worried about them not liking you? I should be giving you a gun or some holy water; not a confidence booster.” Julie voice was straining. “However, I am your friend so this is where I tell you that you are a great girl. They couldn’t possible not love everything about you.”

  Without a word, I gave her a hug.

  When I pulled away she seemed smug about my appreciation. “What?”

  She grinned from ear to ear, “I forgot to ask if you had condoms or not.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you in the morning if I don’t bring on the apocalypse.” Even after I slammed the car door shut, I could hear her laughing. She was just a barrel of laughs, too bad there was nothing funny about my current situation. I smoothed out my dress then walked to the cottage. I knocked on the door. No answer; maybe he was in the shower. How convenient. My mouth went dry as I thought about seeing Aidan wrapped in a towel with water trickling down his perfectly chiseled abs. All soft and warm from the steam. Please God let this door be unlocked. Nervously, I turned the handle relieved when the door opened. The house was dark and silent, bursting my fantasy bubble. I threw my bag on the floor. Had Aidan forgot that he invited me over? Perhaps he was at the main house. After I shrugged out of the cashmere sweater, I made my way to the main house.