The Billionaire's Seed_A Secret Baby Romance
Page 58
I just don’t want to live on what’s borrowed, Tyler’s voice echoed in his head. He understood it all too well but never chose to confront it. The very notion of it was ridiculous to him. Why would Tyler ever think that way? He always got it all. The girls, the sex, the drinks, the drugs, the popularity, the friends, and the approval. Tyler always had it all.
Because you rejected it, something whispered nastily, so they passed it onto him. Because who doesn’t want Aaron McCarthy’s approval? And who was better approved than Tyler himself?
Aaron understood that a lot that went to Tyler were with the intentions that it would make its way to him and that he would accept it. Tyler was the rejection pile. He was the brunette at bars used to get to the blondes. And it wasn’t just didn’t happen regarding Tyler. It was the same when it came to Tyler’s older brother. What he didn’t like, Tyler would be given. What Tyler didn’t like would still have to be kept with him. Not even passed down to Greta.
Aaron understood after quite a long time how it made Tyler feel second. And he didn’t deserve that. Because Tyler was truly a smart man before those feelings overwhelmed and consumed him. He was a gentleman, he was an achiever, he was handsome. Better than his older brother, really. But favoritism left him feeling excluded and isolated. The second in everything.
It hurt him. And hurt turned him ugly in every way.
Aaron wished he’d realized sooner and maybe helped him out, but he understood nothing could have pulled him out of it with the way the world played itself around him. There was no changing the world, and with the stubborn way of thinking he had, there was no changing him either.
Sighing, his hand reached for his phone absently, finger scrolling through his contacts and coming to stop over Mina’s name. He almost dialed her until his senses acted up from the sleepy daze he was in. It was four in the morning. She’d be sleeping. And he needed sleep, too, since he had a meeting to attend tomorrow. Discussing the progress of the new resort in Dubai alongside his sister wouldn’t take too long unless they had someone willing to work alongside them for a spot in it. And business deals were his forte.
He plopped back into his pillows, grabbing one and cuddling it. He wished desperately that it was Mina. She was so soft and warm against him. And small. And cute. So innocent and inexperienced. It sparked a kind of mischief into him that was willing to take her way beyond her comfort zone and show her what pleasure was like.
He did not deny admitting that he and Greta had gone lengths in their relationship sexually, but never breaching onto sex even then. At least, not with his genitals directly. His hands had explored quite a few places, and maybe hers on the rare occasions he felt like letting her. But the things he was thinking of wanting to do with Mina were way beyond that. And it wasn’t scaring him at all.
He groaned and tucked the pillow harder against him, his hard-on starting to rage.
Well, fuck, he grumbled mentally, should I masturbate?
Porn did not work the way it used to. He did not feel satisfied with his session. It wasn’t what he wanted to see. It was something he wanted to do with Mina. He wanted her hands, her voice, her body, on himself.
God, why is this happening?, he demanded. He’d never felt like this for Greta. He never felt this desperate like he did for Mina. He never felt so unsatisfied.
This was the worst.
Chapter Seven
Mina was embarrassed. Beyond embarrassed with herself. She couldn’t believe she had a wet dream. And such an intense one at that.
She was scared of sex. And that’s why it surprised her to have come so close to having one with Aaron in her dream.
All he did was kiss you, you wanton, she scolded herself, but she felt no shame. And why should she? She was a grown woman, and human with sexual needs and desires. Every person is born with it to some degree, and so was she. And she had the right to enjoy it, didn’t she?
I don’t even know how to masturbate, she thought in despair. It’s not to say she had never tried before. She had. Countless times. With all she could get her hands on. But it wasn’t of any use. She’d never orgasmed in her life.
Not once.
Maybe Aaron could – oh her, God! No!
She was a mess inside in every way. She was horny, shy, and inexperienced. If she had to subject herself to such torture then she should’ve been a nun instead.
She looked at the time. She’d gotten up way too early according to her schedule. She had an hour to catch some more sleep, but she knew it would be impossible with the dream she had. Also…
She needed to change the sheets. So she heaved a sigh and pushed herself out of bed, ridding herself off of her clothes to take a shower first. There was no way she could let the housekeeper, Tyra, see this when she came in two hours to help around.
The shower was no help apparently because her thoughts ran amok there, too. She felt like smashing her head against the tiled walls repeatedly. She couldn’t get the image out of her head. She didn’t think she could imagine something so hot in the first place. She’d watched porn, but she could never get herself to watch the penetration. Her fear was absolutely irrational…
Well, maybe not. Her past experiences with numerous sexual assaults left her wary and battered to the thought of achieving such comfort and intimacy with anybody at all. But it was weird how willing she was to let Aaron in the way she wanted him to.
She had no problem imagining it, definitely not. But it just seemed impossible for it all to come true with someone, anyone at all. It was all better off in her head.
A few distractions needed to be in order if she was going to make it through the day productively at all. The thoughts lingered deliciously in the crevices of her mind, reaching out to her seductively. But this new design her client needed was due in a month and would need absolute concentration. A one floored villa with traditional Italian accents and modern interior, an indoor pool and waterfall. She liked working on those. Along with the architecture, she also took responsibility for the interior design.
The concept drafts took up space on the bulletin board before her drawing table, coming together in themes that complimented each other. And it wasn’t too long before she was absolutely engrossed in her work. So engrossed that she didn’t notice the time passing by, her housekeeper leaving after finishing her duties, and the familiar breath of someone down her neck.
Aaron watched her work. Her hand was quick and lithe over the papers as they sketched out various designs. And with each unhappy scribble, she’d crumple and throw it away. There was one particularly good one of a staircase he liked. Even Mina paused to study it, hands on the either side of it as she bent over it like a prey. Aaron almost chuckled, but held his breath and watched her carefully. She sighed, shook her head and moved to crumple it. But his hand shot out from behind her and slammed itself onto the drawing.
“This one is good!”
“HOLY SHIT!” Mina screamed, and Aaron swore his eardrums popped. She turned around and her knee came right into his groin. He squeaked in pain, eyes crossing over as his hands held his privates, falling to his knees.
“Oh her… OH HER, GOD!” she screamed even more, “AARON, I AM SO FUCKING SORRY!”
“It’s fine,” he forced through his constricted throat, but, hell, it hurt.
“I mean, if you’d only told me you were-” she stopped short as something dawned onto her, “You broke into her house!”
“Tyra,” Aaron wheezed, and Mina sighed. Tyra must’ve met him at the door as she was leaving and let him.
Mina dropped to her knees beside him and gave a childish ‘hmph’ and started to scold him, “What was wrong with letting me know you were here in a normal way?”
“Are we ever normal?”
“Not really no.”
“I’ll be fine,” he patted her arm with a hand, “give me a minute, okay?”
“Take all the time you need,” she said with a roll of her eyes, “But honestly, why the fuck would you even pull
something like that on me? You know I have reflexes.”
“Very impressive ones at that,” he nodded his head appreciatively and Mina battled to contain her smile. Shaking her head, she pinched his nose.
“Ow ow ow!” he cried, “Mina! You’ve probably incapacitated me from having children! Spare her sense of smell, okay?”
“I’m pretty sure you’ve been kicked in the nuts before, too.”
“They’re as bad as period pains.”
“Except that you probably asked for it,” she countered with a raise of her brow.
“Touché.”
Mina only shook her head and lifted herself off from beside him, “Look, I have a quota to fulfill today, so make yourself comfortable. This should take me around an hour until I get her break time.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he sighed and finally rolled onto his knees carefully, “That’s the bathroom, right?”
“Yes, Aaron,” she chuckled, “Please leave the seat down before you leave. And wash your hands.”
“All right, geez, mom,” he rushed into the bathroom, locking it.
Aaron was lounging in the living room scrolling through Mina’s movie list. She had a knack for animated, sci-fi, and horror. And anime.
…and Kpop, too. He leaned forward looking at thumbnails of Korean girls in tiny shorts and skirts, and boys with colorful hair and gentle features. He noticed that they all had a theme to go with each album, and that some bands had similar themes in different ones.
He recalled Paige having a phase. Well, not really a phase, it had become more of her personality and she still liked it. She’d been nuts for them ever since she was sixteen, her room splattered with posters of people very familiar to the ones he was seeing right now. She travelled to Seoul, South Korea whenever she got the chance for a break, and occasionally to Tokyo, Japan. Like Mina, Paige was obsessed with Korean and Japanese media, technology, language, and art. If he recalled correctly, Mina and Paige were exchanging words of secrecy in either language. Sometimes he wished he knew as many languages but as much as he appreciated them, he didn’t hold the interest and stamina to study them.
Mina, on the other hand was staring at her window, trying to decide her next move. There was a man in all black suspended before her window, a gun behind it poised to aim right at her head.
She knew she was fast, but she did not want to risk creating a commotion and inviting Aaron to the scene. He wouldn’t be able to engage in combat.
She didn’t think she had much time on her hands, but she recognized the fact that he really wasn’t going to shoot her. He would’ve done so already if it was his intent. She knew this was just a threat for now. So she moved, flipping her table over and ducking. The bullet pierced through the glass and against the table, the bullet bouncing against it. Now she knew the gun wasn’t as dangerous as she would’ve expected it to be.
She rolled under the window and prayed Aaron heard nothing. But she knew it would be impossible, with the way the man kicked away the glass to unlock the window and slide the frame away to the side.
He jumped inside and Mina jumped straight for his feet, tackling him and managing her way onto his stomach, punching him out cold.
Meanwhile, Aaron had her Beats over his ears as he tested out Mina’s Kpop collection, dancing a little. He seemed to like it a lot. His phone, though, buzzed away on the couch. And he was completely unaware.
Mina got hold of his gun and checked the bullets. It was full, save for an empty slot. She had to make sure whoever this man was there weren’t more of him breaking in from elsewhere. She had to make sure nothing happened to Aaron. Running out of her room and jamming the lock, she rushed to the living room where she saw Aaron indulged in her music, deaf, dumb, and blind to all that was happening this whole time. She almost shot herself out of frustration, but she was glad because it kept him from coming into her room.
She went over to him and dragged the headphones from over his ears.
“Hey! Why’d you do that?” he demanded.
“There’s a break in!”
“What?” he blinked at her dumbly, but her eyes widened at the scene behind him.
“Get down!” she cried pushing him to duck and aiming her gun at the intruder coming in through the balcony, shooting him in the leg and shoulder. He fell with a painful groan and Mina wasted no time in dragging Aaron to the guest bathroom. She pushed him and followed, locking it behind them, not daring to turn the lights on. Her phone buzzed, silent from her work timings. She declined the incoming call from Aaron’s secretary and texted him instead.
Break in
Hiding in bathroom
Her phone buzzed back in no time, Help is 10 seconds away.
“Praise the lord,” she whispered. She felt Aaron’s breath and knew he was about to speak. Her hand flew to cover his lips, the other hand placing a finer over her own, signaling him to stay quiet. Aaron nodded.
5, she thought, 4, 3, 2, 1.
There was a loud crash and a person yelling orders. A few gunshots and screams.
“NOBODY MOVE!” A voice of authority roared through the apartment. Sounded female.
“ALL WEAPONS ON THE GROUND, NOW!”
“HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD!”
Mina wondered how anyone could have so much power in their voice. Her thoughts were cut through with a gentle knock on the door.
“Mister McCarthy?” his secretary’s familiar voice came through. Mina released a breath of relief and unlocked the door, opening it to reveal Gale standing in his usual office attire. His face was neutral but they could tell he had been extremely worried. His eyes grew light at the sight of them unharmed, and he escorted them to the security force.
“They’re all right,” he announced.
Mina had expected the place to have become an absolute mess, but it wasn’t really. It was a clean and smooth job, with only bloodstains and broken glass on the carpet to worry about.
“Could any of you explain what happened?” a black woman approached them and Mina recognized the voice that was yelling relating to her. No wonder it was powerful.
“I can,” Mina stated and the woman, Rhonda, suggested they take the conversation elsewhere in a safer area.
Gale picked up Aaron’s phone and dusted it off, coming forward to hand it to him and following him down the hallway alongside.
“Why didn’t you pick up your phone, Sir?”
“Don’t ask,” Aaron grumbled, absolutely embarrassed by the helpless role he played in the whole incident. He had no clue whether to walk faster and catch up to Mina, or slower and fall behind with the armed security he had prepared for such incidents. He couldn’t bring himself to face either of them. He hadn’t felt so humiliated in his life.
They stepped out of the building and into a familiar black truck where the guards usually come in to the scene. The lights turned on and guard took positions outside and closed the doors.
“Tell me all that you can remember, okay?” Rhonda said almost gently. Mina nodded and went on to explain what had happened. She’d put up a visibly strong front, but in seclusion she was very nervous, and quite shaken from the ordeal. Rhonda eyed Aaron as the pieces fell together in both of their heads. This was Tyler’s doing. And he’d definitely managed to get a little more help this time.
Chapter Eight
The security team had done an incredible work of immediately inspecting the place and covering up any evidence of break in or damage done to Mina’s apartment. It looked good as new under an hour or so, and Rhonda reassurance was through making sure her number was on speed dial in Mina’s phone should she ever be in need of any assistance. Rhonda was very impressed with Mina’s analysis and the way she had handled the whole situation. Meanwhile, she couldn’t decide whether to be angry or laugh at Aaron.
“I was listening to Kpop,” he admitted with shame.
“You were…listening to Kpop?”
“Yes, I was listening to Kpop.”
“Okay, all right.”
>
“Yes.”
“Uh-huh, nothing that makes a witness report look ridiculous, but okay.”
“Rhonda, please.”
“Aaron, we don’t blame you for anything. You couldn’t have done anything either way and that is nothing to be ashamed of. Just makes way for a job for her team,” Rhonda finished and winked at Mina, who chuckled, although still a little nervous. Aaron only grumbled at himself, drowning in shame for his lack of masculinity.
“There’s nothing wrong in not saving a damsel in distress,” Mina nudged him in the ribs playfully, “At least now you won’t have to worry about her security knowing I can handle herself. I’m a strong cookie.”
There was no way Aaron would never not worry about Mina’s safety. Not with this little slip up that allowed for an attack for the first time since he implemented it. Not now. Not anymore.
“We’d already sent guards with Dave and Heidi,” Rhonda continued, “but we’ll alert them to keep an eye out for danger.”
After all the reports were wrapped up, Rhonda gathered her team to leave. She gave Aaron a knowing look and he knew he had so much explaining to do.
The door creaked shut and Mina winced at how loud it was. Aaron sighed.
“Mina,” he started gently, “I don’t even know where to begin…”
“Just tell me who those men belonged to,” she said softly, not meeting his eye. It was clear she was shaken.
“A man called Tyler Morgan,” he answered carefully, “He’s Greta’s older brother who’d been cast out from his family.”
Mina rubbed her hand nervously and he scooted closer and covered them in his, “Hey, Mina, what’s wrong?”
“I-I just don’t feel safe here anymore,” she whispered, “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep at night. They know where I live.”
“Let’s move into her place.”
“But-”
“Shh, no buts,” Aaron said firmly as he let go of her hand called out to his secretary in the kitchen who was fetching himself a glass of water, “Gale? Could you arrange for Mina to move in with me?”