“I’ll tell you a story,” he says.
“I don’t want a story, I want —”
“There were two friends.” He cuts me off, still sponging my back. “They were both ambitious and stopped at nothing to get what they wanted. They both had flowing businesses, but they decided against a partnership because they loved challenging each other more. The rivalry grew harsher and nastier over the years. They were both notorious businessmen and never cut each other any slack.”
His movements slow like he’s absent-minded. Instead of the sponge, his fingers draw down my back like he’s scribbling something. “Their rivalry began to cross limits in ways that neither of them noticed. Or maybe they did notice but they never gave a fuck. The moment their families got pulled into their rivalry, things became ugly.”
He stops talking and his fingers stop their caress. I turn around so my back leans against his bent leg.
Aiden watches me with darkened eyes. It’s like he’s surrounded by his black demons and all of them want to hurt me.
My breath hitches as my instinct screams at me to run. It’s one of those times when looking at him is exhausting.
I swallow, but I don’t move. “And?”
He’s silent for a beat. “And what?”
“Where’s the rest of the story?”
“Next time.”
“Next time?” I all but snap.
“You’ve been through a lot today.” His poker face is on. “You should sleep.”
“I’m not tired.” I push at his chest.
“Hmm. I thought you were sore. Maybe I shouldn’t hold back, huh?”
My cheeks heat at the promise in his words. I quickly recover when I recognise his tactics. “You don’t get to deflect your way out of this. You promised to tell me everything and now you’re telling me to go to sleep?”
He clutches my wrist and manoeuvres me so I’m facing him. His legs cage my waist and I have no choice but to bend my legs on either side of his hips.
At this position, my legs are stretched open and even though our lower halves are covered by the bubbly water, I can almost feel his erection near my most intimate part.
He threads his fingers into my loose hair and his gaze travels to my flushed breasts. My nipples harden under his intense scrutinising.
I only release a breath after he slides his metal eyes back to mine. “I didn’t say I’ll tell you everything, I said I’ll tell you a story which I just did.”
Frustration bubbles in my veins. Damn him and his manipulations. Will there ever be a day when he won’t pull me in hook, line, and sinker?
But that’s how it is with Aiden. If I want to get anything out of him, then I need to play his stupid games. I need to try and think with a mind as deviant as his.
Taking a calming breath, I briefly close my eyes before opening them again. He’s staring at my scar with that poker face.
If only I could read his mind and see what’s behind that facade.
Having him fixate on me that way brings a strange sense of vulnerability. The itch under my skin blooms to the surface.
I don’t know why he has an obsession with my scar.
Or with me, basically.
If what I heard from Jonathan and Silver’s conversation is true, then Aiden is supposed to hate me, not be this obsessed with me.
But then again, isn’t obsession just another form of extreme hate?
“Does the story you just told me have to do with what I overheard from Jonathan and Silver’s conversation?”