“You okay there?” she asked, eyeing me quizzically.
“Yeah.” I smiled, trying hard to ignore the discomfort. “I’m great. I’m with you.”
That had the desired effect of making her blush, to my relief, and she didn’t ask me any more questions regarding my comfort for the rest of the ride.
We pulled into her mom’s driveway and I was met once more with the foreclosure notice.
“How long does your mom have the house?” I asked Aria as we walked in.
She shrugged nervously. “I am not sure. She’s had the notice for a while, but my mom doesn’t like to discuss it with me very much. She feels guilty, so I don’t ask her questions.”
“Hmm,” I said, thinking I would figure out how to help them out of this situation soon.
Molly received us with a huge smile despite the way I had walked out of here the last time.
“Thank you so much for coming over again,” she said joyfully.
“Of course! I am sorry I had to run out the other night. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. It was just…” I looked at the floor, afraid to accidentally catch Aria’s eyes. “Stuff came up at work, you know how it goes.”
“Absolutely!” Molly exclaimed. “Don’t worry about it. You must be busy running the bank. I am grateful that you could make some time to come over again. Aria, why don’t you take Zayden into the living room and you guys hang out while I prepare dinner?”
“I…let me help,” I said uncertainly. “I am not too bad of a chef myself.”
“Oh he’s brilliant,” Aria chimed in.
Molly looked uncomfortably from me to Aria and back. “That’s quite wonderful of you to offer but I can’t possibly…you’re a guest here.”
I waved my hand nonchalantly. “Please. I insist.”
“If you want.” She shrugged.
“I’ll set up the table and the living room and you can help him mom,” Aria said brightly and walked away, leaving me to join her mother in the kitchen.
“So what are we in the mood for?” I asked, surveying the kitchen. It was small, but very well structured. I quite admired the simplicity.
“I was going to make some steaks.” Molly still looked nervous.
“That happens to be my specialty! I can throw in some sautéed vegetables as well. You can chop them off for me if you feel like it. But really, feel free to just go hang out with Aria in the living room. You made us a delightful dinner the other night as it is.”
“Don’t be silly, I want to help,” she said, pulling out the chopping board and some mushrooms and zucchini.
As we worked on the dinner, Molly began opening up somewhat. To an uncomfortable degree almost. Her questions were getting a little intense.
“So Aria was telling me you have been married before. Your ex-wife, where is she now?” she asked casually while chopping onions, like she might as well have been asking about the weather.
“Uh.” I was completely stumped, unsure how to take that question or answer it. “She’s around. I’m not sure where, we don’t exactly keep in touch.”
“That’s not what I heard,” she said, looking up at me for a brief moment and then changed the topic like that hadn’t just happened. “So how long have you been seeing Aria?”
“I’m sure she has told you, Molly.” I was trying hard not to be frustrated but I knew where she was going with this and didn’t feel like I deserved an interrogation after all that I had been doing for her family.
“Yes, but I was hoping to hear your side of the story. It’s quite alright if you’re not up to telling me much.”
“Fine,” I snapped in spite of myself. “I have known her for a few months now and have been fond of her since the very first time I laid my eyes on her.”
“That’s a rather odd way to put it, don’t you think?” she asked, giggling as though ensuring that the tone of the conversation remained outwardly light. “You couldn’t very well be fond of somebody just by looking at them. If you hadn’t spoken to her yet then surely you mean you just thought she was attractive?”
I tried hard not to grunt. I cared about Aria a lot and I was here in her mother’s house for the second time in the past week because she was important to Aria. Therefore, the fact that she approved of me for Aria had become very important to me. I didn’t want to ruin that just because Molly was asking too many questions I didn’t feel like answering.
Deciding to do my best to keep my cool and humor her, I said, “Sure, I pursued her at first because I thought she was attractive. Let’s be honest, isn’t that why anyone pursues anyone? All these talks people have about superficiality is such complete bull, because physical appearance is the first thing anyone can see and that’s always what draws people in. But that said, after the initial attraction passed, it became so much more. Every time I spoke with her she sounded brighter and more intelligent than half the staff in my bank put together. Her wits, her charms, her sheer confidence, all those things blew me away. I wasn’t exactly expecting or preparing to fall for your daughter, Molly. We have quite a large age gap and I assure you, I am aware of it. I’m not simply exploiting a young woman. She is so mature for her age! I am sure you know! You raised her to be this way. Most women my age wouldn’t be able to live up to half of what Aria has in terms of personality and brilliance. You should be proud of your daughter. You have created quite an extraordinarily exquisite human being.”
“Wow,” she said, stopping her chopping and looking like she had just escaped from underneath a train track. “I don’t know what to say…You’re right, she is quite extraordinary and obviously, I am proud of her. I just wasn’t sure what you were…I mean, someone of your stature and prominence, I just wondered how someone like you would take interest in my little Aria…And then you have been paying all this money for my hospital bills…don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it. But as a mother, you can’t exactly blame me for thinking it all seems a little too good to be true?”
“I love your daughter, Molly,” I heard myself say, startling the both of us. I had yet to say it to Aria herself or even admit it to myself, but it had just come out of my mouth in front of her mom, defiantly, as though daring her to question me any further.
“You do?” Her eyes were wide open. She was certainly taken aback and the effect was satisfying. Within a few seconds, Molly reverted back to her jovial self. “Of course you do! Well, I am glad to hear it. Aria deserves the best, Zayden. She has been through a lot and lives an extremely tough life for a twenty year old. She deserves more happiness than the world can even offer.”
“I plan to make her happier than in your wildest imaginations. I agree with you that she deserves it. So there is not much point having this discussion, really. Should we carry on with preparing the dinner then?”
She said cheerfully, “Of course! You seem to be doing a marvelous job with that steak. I can’t wait to try it.”
Glad that she was finally done quizzing me, I put all my efforts into dinner, making sure to perfect it to really impress her. My words were all well and good but I suddenly felt this burning need to outdo her somehow; to show her that I could make Aria as happy as she does, if not more. While I appreciated her mother’s concern – in some ways it only showed how much Aria was cared for – I also felt that I had already proven my dedication by meeting with her the second time. Not to mention all the money I had invested into their family.
Trying not to dwell on that aspect very much, I began to set up the table where Aria was waiting for us.
“How did the dinner preparations go? Did mom drive you too crazy?” she asked, looking genuinely concerned.
“Not at all. We had a good time considering we have a whole lot in common.”
“Do you?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Well, for one, we both care a lot about you.” I grinned, making her blush once more.
Chapter 10
Aria
So far the evening hadn’t gone completely awry and I was grateful f
or that. Zayden and my mom seemed to have had a pretty good time making dinner together and I was glad to see the potential for them to get along.
He had made a truly delicious dinner, which sure as hell helped my mom decide in his favor. Once or twice I had caught his eyes during dinner and he seemed somewhat amused by the whole ordeal. I wondered what he had talked with my mom about and debated asking him later, but decided that it was best that I left it alone. For some reason, I suspected it was best to just accept that they were getting along – for whatever reason – and not push it very much further.
I turned on the tap in the bathroom to wash my hands, thinking about how Zayden had been looking at me endearingly as my mom narrated stories of when I was a kid. I hadn’t thought he would find any of the tales of me eating pudding with my hands as a three year old interesting, but he had looked delighted and kept asking mom for more. It was a side of him I had never seen before and I wondered if he would be reacting the same way, with as much enthusiasm if it was his mother we were having dinner with and she was telling me his childhood stories.
That made me realize, with a sinking feeling, I didn’t know very much about his childhood or his family. I knew his mother was a little difficult and pushy from everything he had told me about her, especially in her trying to get him back with his ex-wife. But had she always been this way? What had his dad been like? I knew he had passed away six years ago, leaving Zayden in charge of everything. From the way he mentioned him on the odd occasion, it seemed that Zayden had been rather fond of him. Somehow I had never thought to ask more. I resolved to ask him about his childhood and his dad the next time we were alone together – maybe the car ride back – and maybe even suggest meeting his mom, if he didn’t completely hate the idea.
As I started wiping my hands off, I heard the door behind me and jumped.
“Holy shit!” I exclaimed rather loudly. “What are you doing here?”
The look in his eyes said everything. They were raw with desire and his topmost shirt button was undone. I gasped.
“My mom! Where is my mom?”
“She went to give your neighbors the leftovers. She looked rather happy about it. I am assuming there is some kind of a romance going on there,” he said, taking another step toward me. “Which is good for us.” He leaned down and planted a kiss on my neck while his bulging shaft rubbed against me, making my arm hairs stand. “Cause we can have some romance of our own. There is nothing as good as spontaneously fucking.”
Trying to ignore the fire igniting throughout my whole body as he nibbled on my neck, I said, “She won’t be very long and I told her I was just in here to wash my hands. Zayden, we can’t.”
“Oh,” he said, breaking off the skin contact and for a second I really thought he was going to back off. I couldn’t help but feel disappointment. But then he shoved me against the bathroom wall and pulled down my panties so fast, my heart started thudding rapidly. He leaned back down on to my neck and removed my hair to the other side of my shoulders. He ran his tongue over my neck as his hands crawled across my back and up the hem of my skirt. By the time he cupped my throbbing center with his palm, I would have let him do just about anything he wanted to me whenever he pleased, wherever he pleased.
I moaned, “Zayden.”
He broke off abruptly, leaving me burning and folded his arms. “I thought we couldn’t do this right now.”
“Oh just fuck me and do it fast before she gets back,” I said impatiently, throwing my skirt over my head to reveal my naked body.
“Oh Aria,” he moaned and without another word pulled his pants down, revealing himself, hard as a rock. For a moment I was tempted to kneel down and take him down my throat, but time was ticking so I had to let him take charge.
“Fuck me,” I repeated in a coarse whisper and he needed no further begging. Grabbing me by my ass, he pulled me towards him, and to my utter confusion and delight lifted me off the floor.
“What are you doing?” I whispered between heavy breathing. To answer my question, he wrapped my legs around him and pushed me further into the wall before shoving himself deep inside. I grabbed his hair hard, biting the side of his shoulders so I couldn’t make any kind of a sound. That got increasingly difficult, however, when his thrusts got harder and more intense. I found myself moving with him, towards him, matching every push with an equally harder push, as my orgasm began to build up deep within me.
“Oh, Zayden,” I moaned, as his mouth somehow found my nipples in the midst of us being wrapped around each other. “Fuck me faster, I want more,” I said with whatever wisps of breath I could manage.
He complied, going deeper than he ever had before and then it was like an earthquake hit every inch of my body and it started shaking uncontrollably, pleasure rushing through my veins. I was ready to collapse as he erupted himself .
To my complete horror, there was a knock on the door.
My boyfriend was still inside me, his orgasmic groan still midway, as he wasn’t able to stop himself.
“Umm…I’m sorry. I heard you screaming and just wanted to check if you were okay. Oh God. I’ll see you …outside…later. Dessert is ready!” And then she walked away from the closed door, making me gasp in a completely different manner this time.
We both stood there breathing heavily for a while, ignoring the horrifying awkwardness that was now echoing from every corner of the bathroom. Neither of us spoke for a very long time. I wasn’t quite sure what the right thing to say was or how we were ever going to get out of the bathroom and face my mother again. Pulling myself out of Zayden’s clench, I sat down on the bathroom floor and covered my face with both my hands, sighing deeply.
By the time Zayden finally spoke, my wish that this whole thing be a bizarre dream felt to be coming true because he said, “Aria, please marry me.”
Surely, that couldn’t actually be happening, so this whole thing must have been a dream. Removing my hands from my face, I almost expected to be in my bedroom waking up amongst my pillows and laughing.
Nope, I was still in my mom’s bathroom. Zayden was still partially naked and he was looking at me with a gaze that I had never quite seen on his face before.
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, almost on the verge of nervous laughter.
“I said.” He walked further towards me and kneeled across from me so we were almost eye-to-eye. He took my hands in his, looked me straight in the eye and said once more, “Aria, please marry me. I love you.”
THE BOSS #5
Chapter 1
Aria
I stared at Zayden, comically kneeling in front of me half naked while I sat on a toilet seat, asking me to marry him, and burst out laughing. There was no way he was being serious. For one, he had yet to tell me he loved me. And we hadn’t even been dating that long – granted that the few months we had shared each other’s company was rather eventful – and he had already been married once, so I kind of assumed he wouldn’t be interested in going down that road again. No, the only logical explanation was that he had been joking and I would make a complete fool of myself if I were to take him remotely seriously.
“Sure,” I said, trying to make a straight face. “Let’s run off to Vegas tomorrow and get hitched. Would you like a couple dozen babies to go with the marriage?”
Zayden raised his eyebrows high and screwed his nose upwards in confusion. “I mean…sure, kids, yeah. I am not sure about dozens though. How about just three or four? After you’re settled in your career, of course.”
“What career?” I played along with a completely serious face. “I don’t suppose I will be requiring much of a career after marrying you, now will I?”
He chuckled. “Okay. You can stay home and spend all my money if you like, but I have the slightest bit of a suspicion that you won’t be happy unless you’re trying to run my company for me.”
“Nah! What’s the point of tricking a rich businessman to fall for you if you’re not going to spend the rest of your life lying
around doing nothing?”
“Oh, so this was your grand plan the entire time?” He grinned. “That makes a whole lot of sense.”
“Mm-hmm,” I said, putting my hands over his head and pulling him towards me for a quick peck on the lips. “Now we should probably start putting some clothes on.”
I got up and started looking for my panties. But Zayden remained on the floor on his knees, looking intense.
“This is not a joke, Aria. I would actually like us to be married. Sooner rather than later if that is okay with you.”
It took me quite a while to process the fact that Zayden was being completely serious. Suddenly, all humor disappeared from the room and my giggles were replaced only by the thudding sound of my own heart, which was now pounding as though I had just gotten off the scariest roller coaster in existence.
I tried to open my mouth and speak a few times. A futile effort, since my tongue now pretended it was glued into my mouth and words were alien concepts to which it had never been introduced. My mind on the other hand was working on extra-time, trying to understand the meaning behind Zayden’s request. Marry him? Perhaps he meant something else? Like, uh, like…
“Do you know what you are saying?” I finally summoned the ability to make some sounds and sounded idiotic.
“Not at all. I’m just blabbing on nonsensically.” He shook his head sarcastically. “Seriously Aria, yes or no? Will you marry me?”
“You know I once took an advanced level college economics test while I was still a sophomore in high-school. I have never in my life encountered anything as difficult as that test had been that afternoon. One particular question got me so stumped; I threw up and ran out of the exam hall.”
“What does that have to do with anything we are discussing?” Zayden asked impatiently.
“I thought that would be the hardest question I had ever been expected to answer in my whole life,” I said. I added softly, “Until now.”
Zayden’s face changed colors so fast, I felt that I must have been imagining it for a little bit. I had never seen him so red and wasn’t sure it particularly worked towards adding charms to his handsome features. If someone had told me Zayden Sinclair was capable of blushing to begin with, I would have laughed in their faces. But watching his perfect olive skin get patched with deep red, while his eyes focused firmly on the bathroom floor, made me feel thoroughly uncomfortable.
The Boss (The Boss Romance Series Box Set) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) Page 28
