07

07

Bella Reyes

Against my own judgment, I nodded.

“Oh, Bella.” The low raspy way he said my name sent a wave of liquid heat rushing straight down between my thighs. “You shouldn't. You're far too gorgeous to be crying over someone like him.”

“Aries?” I asked softly, my voice barely working as I tried to regain my footing. “Why are you here?”

“For you, Bella. I came here for you.”

My eyes snapped open. “No, you can't be. Please, you need to leave.” I tried to spring off his lap, but his thick arm wrapped around my waist, yanking me back down against him.

This time, my back was flushed completely against his broad chest, and my ass was pressed so tight into his groin that I could feel the thick, heavy outline of his length nestled right in the curve of my cheeks.

A mixture of ice and fire sent a shiver down my spine. His fingers pinned my jaw, firm yet surprisingly tender, turning my face toward his until his hot breath fanned over my lips.

“Aries...”

“Fuck, the way you say my name drives me insane, Bella.” He pressed his forehead against mine, his feverish skin transferring its heat directly onto mine.

The tension in the air was suffocating, a magnetic, dangerous pull. And I needed out before it was too late.

Aries brushed his lips against mine so softly I thought I was imagining it. “Can I kiss you?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but he captured my breath before I could answer. The liquor on his tongue tasted sharp and dangerous, but I didn't care as he took my lips greedily, like he had been starving for this exact moment.

His desperate hunger to taste the inside of my mouth completely undid me. A soft moan slipped from my throat directly into his, making him tangle his fingers into the back of my hair, pulling me tighter to consume me whole.

“Aries,” I panted, gasping for air as he kept drinking me in. “Aries, wait.”

I was losing my mind, spiraling out of control when I needed to keep my head straight. It was wrong. The sudden memory of Tyler's transaction pricked through the haze of arousal flooding my veins. This wasn't real. He had paid Tyler to use me to blow off steam, and going through with this was suicide for my heart.

“Aries!” I gasped, shoving hard against his broad shoulders to force a breath of space between us.

His long lashes fluttered open, revealing grey eyes clouded with raw lust and alcohol. He was out of his mind drunk, and when he woke up tomorrow morning, he would probably forget this ever happened while I was left feeling like an idiot.

“We can't do this.”

“Why not?”

“Because...” I picked anxiously at the skin around my thumb, biting down hard on my swollen bottom lip. “We just can't. I know you paid Tyler to hand me over, and I can't do this. You can take your money back, or I'll work to pay you back every cent, but please, we can't—”

His fingers slid gently through the hair at the nape of my neck, making me shudder. “This isn't about some stupid deal, Bella.”

I stared at his slick, swollen lips, matching my own. His heavy gaze traced over my features. I had done this to him. The explosive, desperate desire I had spent months trying to pull out of Tyler came pouring out of a man I barely knew, completely effortlessly.

“I need you, Bella. Please.” His breath hit my lips, coating my tongue with his taste.

I never wanted it to fade.

“Is this because of hockey? To save the championship?”

“No,” he grunted, shifting his thighs beneath me.

His cock hardened so impossibly thick against my ass that I tensed, and the low, guttural groan that escaped his chest proved he felt every subtle twitch of my hips.

Aries bowed his head, dark hair falling into his eyes before he locked his gaze back onto mine. “Bella, please. Just do me this favor tonight. Please.”

His eyes were completely mesmerizing. Driven by pure instinct, I leaned into his space, and he closed the remaining gap, taking my mouth violently. He thrust his tongue deep into my mouth while one hand gripped my scalp and the other pulled my hips flush against his.

In one swift, fluid motion, Aries placed my hands on his broad shoulders and wrapped my legs around his waist. The smooth skin of my inner thighs squeezed his hard hips. He surged to his feet, carrying my weight as if I were weightless. Our lips remained locked in a frantic kiss as he backed toward the couch, lowering me down until the harsh fabric caught my back.

His heavy weight settled over me. He yanked his shirt over his head, revealing sharp, sculpted muscle, before stripping off his shorts. I pushed myself up, pulling my top over my head in a blur of motion. Frantic fingers worked at my jeans, unbuttoning them and shoving them down my thighs.

Aries' eyes darkened as he tracked the exposed skin.

“You're so fucking curvy and beautiful,” he growled, his voice thick with lust as his mouth covered mine again.

I kicked my jeans off my ankles and wrapped my bare legs tight around his waist. Aries rolled his hips against me, grinding his broad frame directly over my wet center. I gasped into his mouth, terrified he would feel just how dripping wet I was against his thin boxers.

He slid his forearm beneath my neck, lifting my head to deepen the angle as his other hand hooked into the elastic band of my lace panties. “Can I?”

I nodded so eagerly it was embarrassing. The cool room air hit my bare, sensitive folds as my panties were ripped away.

His dark eyes held mine captive as he shed his boxers. His bare, scorching skin pressed directly against my sensitive core. My eyes fluttered, but Aries bit down on his lower lip, his pupils completely dilated as he aligned his tip against my entrance, slowly pushing into my tight warmth. And I wanted to hold this moment tight and never let go.

“Can I?”

“Fuck. Yes... yes, you can,” I rasped, pressing my head back against his forearm.

Aries closed his eyes, his jaw clenching so tight his lips turned pale, and he drove all the way inside me in one long, deep stroke. My back arched off the couch as my body stretched around his thick width. The initial sting vanished instantly under a wave of overwhelming pleasure, and my hands flew to his back, my nails digging into his smooth, muscular skin to pull him deeper.

“Fuck,” he groaned.

“Aries...”

“Mm?” He gave a heavy, rolling thrust, filling me so completely it made my toes curl. “Are you okay?”

I opened my eyes, meeting his intense gaze. “Yes. Don't stop. Please keep going.”

He began to fuck me, closing his eyes as a sheen of sweat broke out across his forehead. I writhed beneath him, completely helpless to the rhythm, digging my nails into his shoulders and dragging them down to the hard muscle of his ass. Every time he drove into me, his glutes flexed tightly under my palms, making him let out low, dirty grunts.

“Fuck!”

Suddenly, Aries stilled.

Frustrated heat coiled inside me, and I desperately moved my hands to his hips, urging him to keep moving. “No, please... keep going.”

Aries forced one final, deep thrust into me that vibrated straight to my bones, pinning me to the couch, before he abruptly froze. The heavy, delicious fullness inside me vanished as he pulled completely out of me.

Panic and confusion flared in my chest. “Why?”

Sweat dripped from his brow, his dark eyes suddenly looking sober and clear. “I'm sorry. I couldn't help it.”

He pushed himself off me, his arm lifting from my neck so fast my head almost hit the couch cushion. “What?”

“I'm sorry.” He stood up quickly, his back turned to me.

“What do you mean?” My voice trembled as I sat up, pressing my back against the couch cushions.

Aries yanked his shirt over his head, followed by his boxers and shorts, pulling them up in record time. He ran a hand through his messy hair to push it back, a cold, unreadable expression settling over his features.

The heat in the room died instantly, replaced by a suffocating chill.

What had I just done?

“I'm sorry, Bella,” he said casually, pulling his shoulders back. “Thanks for your service.”

He offered a careless shrug, making my stomach drop to the floor. I frantically reached for my discarded clothes, pulling them over my bare chest and thighs. His eyes lingered on my trembling hands for a fraction of a second before he let out a sharp sigh and waved his hand dismissively.

“See you around.”

I sat there, frozen on the couch, watching him bolt out the door like he was being chased by a ghost.

I was so fucking stupid. It was impossible for anyone to be this gullible and naive.