3. BURNING FOR THE WRONG MAN

ARIA'S POV

I dropped to my knees on the carpet of the suite, clutching my stomach. My breath came in short, ragged gasps.The room was turning upside down.

I was drowning in waves of unnatural, terrifying heat that felt like it was cooking me from the inside out.

My skin felt so hot it was actually starting to sting.

Through the thick blur of my tears and the dizzying fog in my head, I saw a pair of bare feet standing right in front of me.

Someone was in the room. With me.

I tried to scramble backward, my hands scraping against the floor, but my body refused to obey.

The heat had sunk too deep, locking my limbs in place.

A large, overwhelming presence stepped closer, completely blocking out the rest of the world.

My vision dragged upward.

He was entirely naked except for a white towel hung low around his waist.

His skin still damp, smelling like clean water, expensive cedar wood, and pure leather. A familiar, overwhelming scent.

Large, strong hands reached down, wrapping firmly around my trembling shoulders.

"Aria," a deep, rough voice whispered slowly, like he was testing my name on his tongue.

My heart stopped. The voice sounded so familiar. But I couldn't even start thinking about where I knew him from. My brain was too fried. The fire in my blood was driving me crazy. Too crazy.

His body felt so cold against mine. Instead of backing away, I lunged forward, my body now having a mind of their own.

I needed more of the coolness. I needed more… of the relief albeit brief.

I let out a pathetic whimper and buried my face straight into his bare chest.

I couldn't help it. He smelled so good, so damn good.

My hands moved on their own, sliding up his damp, flat stomach, desperately grabbing at his hard muscles.

"Cold," I cried out, the word slipping past my dry lips like a prayer. "Please... you're so… cold. Touch me."

He went completely rigid under my hands. I felt his chest expand as he took a sharp breath. His fingers tightened on my shoulders, trying to hold me still.

"Aria, stop. Look at me. You don't know what you're doing."

"I don't care," I whined, dragging my open mouth up his neck. I tasted the cool water on his skin, and it made my mind completely short-circuit.

I wanted all of him. I needed him to put out the fire. Anyhow he could. "It hurts. Its hurt.. so bad. Make it stop hurting. Please.” I begged, teary-eyed. "Aren't yyou ssupposed… to be my… saviour?"

I stood up on my tiptoes, completely losing my mind, and pressed my lips right against his mouth.

The kiss was messy, desperate, and wild. I didn't know how to do this properly, but the drug was making me bold.

I forced my lips against his, begging him to open up, whining into his mouth when he didn't move fast enough. I arched my body forward, pressing my breasts firmly against his hard chest.

The sudden pressure against my nipples sent a shocking jolt of pure pleasure straight down to my stomach.

He tried to push me back a little, his grip solid and resisting.

“Can you… save mme or nnot?” I stuttered out angrily, my chest heaving against his. I couldn't take his passiveness any longer.

His hands stayed heavy on my shoulders, trying to pull his head back, stubbornly fighting me.

The burning was too intense, and his hesitation was torturing me. “Just say… you are not… capable and… and then… then I will take care of it… my… myself.”

I began ripping my hands away from his shoulders, genuinely planning to pull back.

Daisy talked about doing things herself all the time. I should be able to figure it out. I was still frantically thinking about it—

When a low, dark growl vibrated deep in his throat.

“...remember, you asked for it,” he gritted through his teeth.

I couldn't catch all his words and I really didn't care about them either, too far gone, too content as the feeling of his large hands slid slowly down my shoulders to my waist, gripping my hips so tightly it was almost bruising.

He pulled me up, lifting me completely off my gold heels until I was flush against his massive frame.

He then kissed me back with a fierce, possessive hunger that almost stole the remaining air straight out of my lungs.

He didn't waste any more time. He carried me toward the bed, his lips never disentangling from mine for even a second.

I felt the towel loosening, disappearing somewhere into the pitch black as he flopped me down onto the big mattress so suddenly that a startled yell escaped my throat.

He smirked arrogantly against my lips in return as his large, heavy body fell immediately over mine.

Bastard.