All Chapters of Appealing To His Gaze : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

AIDEN’S POVI had left Devin downstairs because the way he was spiraling had reached the point where he couldn’t even sit still without his knee bouncing like his body was begging him to run from something he couldn’t outrun. He was breathing shallowly, his hands kept tugging at his hair, and I could already tell he wasn’t going to get a single coherent thought out until he burned through all that panic sitting in his chest like it owned him. I didn’t have the energy to babysit him through the rest of it, not after everything that came out between us, not after the ridiculous chain of events since the meeting. So I said I was going to shower, and he nodded without looking up, mumbling something under his breath that didn’t even sound like words.When I got to my room and closed the door, the quiet hit me so suddenly it almost felt wrong. The house had felt full, heavy, cramped the minute Stella left earlier, but now it felt too still, like the walls were waiting for something else to

DEVIN’S POVI reached the venue with a headache forming in the back of my skull. All the way here, Stella talked about decorations, about the caterer, about the stupid finger foods she hoped my father ordered because she didn't want anything "too greasy." I barely listened. My mind wasn't even in the car. It was still in the living room. Still in the kiss. Still in the mess Aiden and I had created and walked away from like nothing happened.The minute we stepped into the event hall, I felt like I was stepping into a cage. The lights were bright. People were everywhere; smiling too big, talking too loud, wearing clothes that made them look important. Employees, shareholders, board members, old friends of my dad, people Stella liked to impress because she thought it made her look powerful. I knew most of them. They all turned when we walked in, offering greetings, handshakes, congratulations I hadn’t officially earned yet.Stella held onto my arm as if she wanted people to see us as a p

DEVIN'S POV.I slid my lips to his ears, drawing a low whimper out through him as his own cock responded by growing to full mast, rubbing directly against my ass as I grinded harder on him.“Maybe… guy will fuck you better… or wait, do you want to fuck him instead?” I asked, biting hard on his ears that a sharp wail coursed off his lips.“Tell me… have you jerked off to thoughts of your lover? Marcus? Answer me aiden,” I asked, pulling my teeth away just to bite harder when another wail had burst free from him.“No… of course not. Stop, okay! I haven’t thought of Marcus like that after our sex I've not been hard or aroused like that,” Aiden groaned as I pulled my mouth off his ears, staring intently at him.“Then tell me… whose cock do you picture… whose face do you see when you stroke this long hard cock of yours?... Tell me who you belong to, Aiden … I want to hear you say it…” He parted his lips to speak as I straddled him again, pushing my ass against his cock and running my finge

STELLA'S POVBy the time I got home, it was close to midnight, the hallway lamp throwing that dim yellow that always made the entrance feel smaller than it was. The whole house was quiet in a way that didn't match the night we just had. My husband had been announced as CEO. People had clapped so loud the room shook. Everyone congratulated him like he'd just been crowned king of something sacred. Even the board members, the ones who always looked like they were smelling something bad, shook his hand with real respect. It should've been one of those nights we carried home with us, buzzing with pride and excitement, something we could laugh about in bed, something we could talk about until we fell asleep. Instead, walking inside felt like stepping into a vacuum because I already knew Devin wouldn't be celebrating, not really, not with me.I kicked off my heels quietly and pushed my hair off my shoulders because the sweat from the event still clung to my neck. Out of habit, I checked the

AIDEN'S POV.The gallery was filled with people of all sorts, the most elite, the highest of all calibers, wealthy men, spokesmen and women, every possible person found in high positions were here Tonight, it should have been my universe. Every painting sold, every piece that had once sat gathering dust now in the hands of collectors, every new artist whose work I'd fought tooth and nail to showcase finally shining under the glow of approval and money-it should have felt like victory. And for a heartbeat, it did. But then my phone buzzed in my pocket and the world tilted, seeing the caller id was Marcus.I froze mid-step, my fingers clenching my glass of water with such a tight grip that seeing his name light up the screen made my chest seize up in a way no art gallery, no applause, no sales numbers ever could. The last week, the last night-everything that had happened with Devin-it all came flooding back to me: the reckless abandon, the heat, the shame, the undeniable hunger that had