“You don’t have to pretend that you care about me.”
He thought I was pretending? Screw him.
And screw me for actually having that lapse of judgement.
I lift my chin. “I don’t care about you.”
“Is that so?”
“Not at all, Aiden. You’re nothing to me.”
“Nothing, huh?”
“Absolutely nothing.”
I don’t get a warning.
Aiden’s lips crash to mine in an animalistic frenzy. I don’t get to think or breathe.
All I can do is… feel.
Still holding me by the waist, his other hand grabs my nape in a possessive hold.
Aiden doesn’t kiss me, he claims me. His teeth nibble on my bottom lip before he thrusts his tongue inside my mouth.
It’s a clashing of tongues and teeth and lips.
It’s suffocating and liberating.
I can’t breathe.
But who needs breathing?
My fingers dig into the hard ridge of his chest, fisting into the T-shirt for balance.
Aiden lifts me and sits me on some surface. I wrap my legs around his waist while he continues ravaging my mouth. My head turns dizzy, hazy, and begins floating.
Aiden’s presence doesn’t only fill my air, but it conquers it.
Smashes it.
Breaks it apart.
His hand sneaks under my T-shirt at that place where my top meets my jeans. I hiss in a breath when his rough, calloused hand meets my softer skin.
Aiden pulls away, and air assaults my lungs. I’m disoriented when he smirks in a lazy, sinister way.
“Nothing, huh?” he motions behind him.
That’s when I realise we’re in public.
I just let Aiden kiss the shit out of me in front of the entire school.
My cheeks heat and I freeze as if that will make me disappear.
No chatter comes from behind us, so I’m sure everyone’s attention is on us.
Can the earth swallow me, please?
While still tangled around him, Aiden lifts me up and carries me out. I hide my head in the crook of his neck, not daring to make eye contact with anyone.
Aiden leans into my ear and whispers, “It’s time you become completely mine.”
Chapter Twenty
Aiden doesn’t stop when murmurs break whenever we walk.
He doesn’t stop when his teammates howl behind us.
His steps are confident and sure while his fingers continue drawing circles down my back.
I want to think it’s an endearing touch, but that’s not how Aiden works, is it? He doesn’t do endearing. Possessiveness suits him better.
The entire school just watched us tonguing each other and all I can think about is the meaning behind the tiny circles.
Truth is, I couldn’t care less about the audience.
All my senses are filled with Aiden. His height. His muscles that might as well be made from granite. The effortless and sure way he holds me.
His strength always had me in knots. There’s something about the way he carries me that’s all… male.
And his scent. His damn, clean, addictive scent.
With my head hidden in the crook of his neck, I can’t resist the urge to inhale him in and safeguard his scent to memory.
A door clicks then closes and Aiden stops. It’s my cue to lift my head. I release a breath when I make out a simple, non-characteristic room that must be for guests. There’s a medium-sized bed, a nightstand and a cupboard. Floral wallpaper covers the walls.
It reminds me of… home.
Not my home with Aunt and Uncle, but my actual home in Birmingham.
That’s such a disturbing thought.
I don’t remember home and I don’t want to.
My attention drifts back to Aiden who’s been watching me intently.
Since the beginning of this year, he’s been having this slight draw in his thick brows. It’s like he’s cracking a mathematical problem or a cyber code.
The brief show of humanity disappears and the poker face takes over.
It’s then I realise that I’ve been holding him like a vice.
Worse. We’re alone in a room and he’s blocking the only exit.
I attempt to scramble down his body, but his lethal hold tightens around my midsection.
“Ow. That hurts!” I push at his chest.
“Then stay still.”
“Ugh. Let me go, Aiden!”
“Why? You came here for me, didn’t you?”
The arrogance of this bastard. “You wish, arsehole.”
“Then who did you come for, hmm?” His eyes spark, and it pisses me off.
Hepisses me off.
And apparently, I’m vindictive as hell because I give him a taunting smile. “Who do you think? I came for my boyfriend Xander.”
His eyes darken, but he smiles in a chilling, horror film kind of way. “Repeat that.”
I gulp, and the sound crackles in the burning tension in the air.
“Go ahead, sweetheart. I dare you to say that again.”
I shouldn’t.
Considering the murderous energy swirling around him, I should cut my losses short and shut up.
I must be out of my mind because I say, “My boyfriend Xander. He must be looking —”
It happens so fast, I barely register it.
Aiden throws me on the bed and crawls atop of me. My breath hitches when I make out the crazed look in his eyes. It’s as if someone turned the switch on.
Iturned the switch on.
I lie beneath his looming body. His shoulders strain against the cloth of his T-shirt and he’s breathing heavily as if he’s coming down from a run.