登入ARIA'S POVHis mouth was on me before I could prepare myself.I'd imagined a lot of crazy things over the years. Thought about the impossible, the unthinkable. But never, not even once, did it cross my mind that I would end up here. On my ex-brother-in-law's bed, his mouth between my thighs, warm and soft against my cunt.The realization hit me all at once, leaving me stunned and more than a little overwhelmed.Of all the twists my life could have taken, this was the one I never saw coming.The first touch of his tongue sent a shock through my entire body. My hips jerked off the bed as a sound escaped my throat, something between a gasp and a moan that I didn't recognize as my own.“Yes…” My hands instinctively squeeze my breast between my palms. “Oh right there. Xavier, that feels so good.”Xavier’s hands pressed my thighs apart, holding me open for him. His tongue slid through my wetness slowly, like he had all the time in the world and intended to use every second.Five years of ma
ARIA'S POVI hesitated for a while. Then I walked to the other side, lifted the sheets, and climbed in beside him.“Now, talk to me.” His fingers trailed along my cheek. “What's wrong?”My gaze dropped to my hands. “After what happened last night, I just... I realized how little I know about you, and how my mistake could’ve cost you your life.”“Aria…”“It could have gotten worse.” I cut him off with a broken voice. “I could have lost you because of something as simple as cooking dinner with the wrong ingredients. I could have been the reason you stopped breathing. Do you understand how terrifying that is?”“So you were worried about me?” He tilted my chin up. “Worried enough to come to the hospital barefoot?”I hid my face against his chest. “Xavier, that's not the point.”He chuckled and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer. “I'm so sorry, baby. And all you have to do is ask if you're curious about something.”I lifted my head. “Really?”“Really.”“Then what was it you were
ARIA'S POV“Xavier.” I shot up from the chair. “Oh my God, are you okay? Hold on, I'm going to get the doct…”His hand shot out and caught my wrist,pulling me back down onto the bed, right beside him.“You didn't answer the question, Aria.”I took a look at him, noticed how weak his grip was around mine. It could have been worse, way worse. “I thought I was going to lose you.” The words tumbled out between sobs. “I thought… God, you scared me.”His thumb brushed across my cheek, wiping away the tears that lingered on my face. “I never knew I was married to a crybaby.”I shoved at his chest lightly. “You should have told me, Xavier. You should have told me about your….”“You never asked.” He cut me off calmly. "And if it makes you feel any better, I'd eat every last piece of that meal if you served it again.”My brows furrowed. “You knew?”He shrugged like it meant nothing to him, and the movement alone looked painful.“You knew it had peanuts in it, and you still…” I straightened. “
ARIA'S POVWe've all been sitting here for an hour, waiting for someone to come out and put our minds at ease.And in those long sixty minutes, all I've felt is guilt. The fact that Xavier is lying in that hospital room because of me is something I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for.Every time I close my eyes, I see him collapsing. I see the confusion in his eyes. The way his body suddenly went limp against mine. The way I screamed his name over and over again while begging him to wake up.My chest tightened painfully.I wrapped my arms around myself and stared at the closed room once again.The moment the door to Xavier's room opened, everyone surged to their feet.I was the first one standing.Victor was the first to reach the doctor.“How is he?” he demanded. “What's wrong with my son?”The doctor removed his gloves and adjusted his glasses before answering.“Mr. Weston suffered an allergic reaction.”Silence fell across the hallway.Victor frowned. “An allergic reaction?”T
XAVIER'S POV“What?”Aria walked past me into my room before I could stop her. She crossed to the couch, sat down, and patted the space beside her.“I need to talk to you.”Oh.Here I was thinking she meant something else entirely.I walked in reluctantly and sat close to the edge, leaving enough distance between us to think clearly. “I'm listening.”Her gaze dropped to her hands. “About what you said... that you can't survive it if I left.” She looked up. “What did you mean by that?”“It's exactly what it meant.” My voice came out quieter than I intended. “I think I made it clear enough. But you insisted on leaving anyway.”“Xavier, the contract…”“I know what the contract says.” I turned to face her fully. “I made the rules, Aria. Every single one of them. But here I am, breaking every single one because I couldn't control my feelings for you.”Her lips parted. Closed. Then parted again.“I don't get it.” She slipped a hand through her hair, tugging at the strands. “I was your siste
XAVIER'S POVThe crowd pressed in from all sides.Hundreds of people gathered, screaming and crying in front of me. Their voices melted together into a wall of sound that vibrated through my bones. I pushed through them with my elbows and shoulders, my heart slamming against my ribs.Something was wrong.Something was terribly wrong.Then I saw him.Ian lay on the ground, his white shirt soaked red. Blood pooled beneath him, spreading across the pavement like spilled wine. His eyes were open but empty. His lips were parted, but no sound came out. Just him choking on his own blood.“No.” I dropped to my knees beside him. “No, no, no…”My hands pressed against his chest, trying to stop the bleeding. But the blood kept coming, warm and slick against my palm.“Ian!” I grabbed his face. “Ian, look at me!”His eyes didn't move.“Mr. Weston.”The crowd faded slowly.“Mr. Weston, wake up.”I gasped violently and shot upright from the couch in my office.My breathing was uneven, sweat soaked t
XAVIER'S POVThe moment I ended the call with Adrian, silence swallowed the room whole.I sat there for a long moment, staring at the dark screen of my phone, turning his words over in my head. Ian's name floated through my mind for a second, impossible to ignore.I debated calling him from a place
XAVIER'S POVShock didn't even begin to cover how I feel right now.One moment, I was calculating exactly how many bones I could break before security pulled me off Dean. The next minute, her lips were on mine.I froze.Every thought in my head scattered like smoke in the wind. The anger, the tensi
ARIA’S POVThe restroom door clicked shut behind me, and I exhaled for what felt like the first time since walking into this house.My reflection stared back at me from the mirror above the sink. I look pale, shaken, but still standing.I splashed cold water on my face and patted it dry with a soft
XAVIER’S POVThe bastard couldn't stop smiling.Dean sat across the table with that smug look plastered across his bruised face like he had already won something, like ten percent of my shares suddenly made him king of the world.I wanted to wipe that smile off with my fist again.But Aria’s hand r







