All Chapters of Her Stepbrother’s Desire, Her husband’s Obsession: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

“You’ll let me call you daddy again”“I didn’t say you weren’t allowed to before though”, Aston cocked his head to the side. It seemed like that wasn’t a satisfactory answer. The boy stood still, resolutely looking at him.Aston liked the kid.He was a smart little shit.He was also from Aria. He liked everything from Aria.“You can call me daddy again.”The boy nodded like a soldier and raised his hands, signaling for Aston to carry him.Now that Aston thought about it, he hadn’t ever lifted the boy. He hooked his hands under Asher’s arms and carried him first to his chest.He smelled soft and pure. Like a freshly bathed child should. He could smell hints of whatever floral thing he always smelled on Aria around the middle of Asher’s head and he gave in to temptation and sniffed.“Ugh. You’re also weird like mommy,” Asher said, leaning his sleepy head on Aston’s chest.Aston subconsciously held on to his little head, moving to sit on the seat he couldn’t reach, with Asher in his lap

It took everything in Aria not to just lean into Aston when he placed his hand around her neck. She had never liked being treated like a possession, but with Aston’s massive hands spanning her, holding her hostage as she tried to get an angle good enough to post, she wanted to be…owned. Abruptly, the door slammed open. “I finally found your house! Where’s my key holder, boss Aston?!” Aria’s eyes widened and she whipped her head to see who exactly owned that new voice, just Aston’s hand kept her in place. He did not let her move at all. “Get out”, Aston all but snarled. “Not till you give me my key holder! That thing is so important to me and what did you use it for, sir?!” It sounded like the person was walking closer now. Aria could feel Aston’s body heat increasing. Wait…was it because he was angry? She tried to angle her head again but damn, Aston actively turned her head away this time. “You don’t need to bother with trash so early, my lady”, he whispered and leaned o

Before Aria could properly feel her shock, Aston broke the kiss, his eyes dark and unreadable. “Now it’s evenly spread, I’m certain my little designer is pleased,” he said, his tongue ghosting over his lower lip. Aria was certain her eyes were blown out wide, what the hell just happened? Then his words made her check the mirror on reflex. The lipstick had in fact been evened out. And it looked natural, like she hadn’t spent nearly all evening scrubbing off the essential oils on her lips. A kiss really was the best way to get perfect lipstick. But that didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the fact that Aston Beaumont, her husband and the man that was SUPPOSED to be her enemy with a temporary truce, had kissed her while absolutely sober. She looked back at him and startled, he was so close, she could practically feel his breath ghosting her lips once again. There was a small quirk of his lips and Aria felt a shiver up her spine again. “You’re rather close,” she breathed

Aria walked down to the velvet seat she had just been lured out of, smoothing the drape of her gown in preparation to sit back down just as the rustle of black silk settled directly in front of them.Aston did not shift an inch. He took his place beside Aria, his shoulder a steady, unyielding warmth against hers, his attention fixed squarely back on the brushwork of the Murrelet.“Aston,” a voice murmured. It was soft and breathless, carrying the delicate, trembling cadence of a woman catching her breath after a long search. Before Aria could react, a slender hand, gloved in sheer lace, drifted toward her.“Gretchen.”His voice was barely above a whisper, entirely flat, yet the woman’s hand froze instantly in mid-air. She withdrew it to her chest with a faint, fragile flutter of her fingers, her lashes dipping as if wounded by the mere weight of his tone.Aria deliberately pressed her mouth down to prevent her full disgust. She was so reminiscent of a younger Hartie that Aria felt the

“It rubs me the wrong way that Vane is even getting this money,” Aria whispered.“He wouldn’t be able to sell it either way. We’re…” he paused, looking contemplative,”…seizing the paintings, for lack of a better word.”Aria still wasn’t pleased. Aston had no use for the paintings. He’d agreed to her returning them to their owners, under leverage of course. But it wasn’t enough somehow.“I wish there was a way we could tank his reputation alongside it, make it seem like he’s a swindler trying to sell fakes or something,” she said, dropping her head onto his shoulder, a habit she’d picked up from every movie and event she attended with Linda.Aria was always in need of a place to rest her head.Aston’s shoulders slightly tensed and Aria shot back up. Or at least she tried to. His other hand pressed her head back down onto his shoulder, rubbing her hair.“That’s an easy itch to scratch, my lady,” he said, his voice lighter than she’d heard it in a while.Aria furrowed her brows in confus