"If the waitress and her friend keep staring at you, I'm going to throw knives in both their eyes,"
L U C I E N
"Lucien, you broke Alex's nose."
I turned at the sound of Aria's voice as I wiped my brother's blood off my knuckles in the sink of my bathroom, the clear water now tainted the colour red as it diffused into the liquid and swirled down the drain steadily.
"Maybe next time he shouldn't act like an ásshole then," I said to her, the tenseness in my muscles involuntarily slipping away when I watched her lean against the right side of the threshold and cross her arms over her chest.
She was standing tall in grey outfit that consisted of what looked like a top and shorts attached, the piece of clothing's name lost on me but nonetheless pleasing when I hummed at the sight of her legs satisfyingly.
"Stop ogling my legs," she waved her hands in front of where I was staring to stop the thoughts of them wrapped around my waist, my eyes settling on her own which were narrowed when I stared at her bluntly and felt a bloom of tightness in my chest. "Stop ogling me."
"Can't blame me when you look the way you do," I complimented her easily whilst turning to tap off once I'd washed away all the blood, heat trapped in my eyes when I licked my lips and then unrolled my folded sleeves before I clipped in my cufflinks and cleared my throat. The sight of Aria was enough to get my own blood pumping, the term turning into a reality when I breathed in a breath through my nose and then turned to her when she picked up my suit jacket off the hook behind the door.
Manicured red nails gleamed in the light of my bathroom as she handed me the grey jacket, her heeled feet clicking against the tiled flooring as she stood in front of me and looked up with inquisitive eyes, the light cuts on her face from before now faded and hardly seen.
"Speak your mind, Aria," I said, narrowing my gaze at her before mocking her actions which made her bite the inside of her lip as she tried to supress the smile I could blatantly see curving at her lips slowly.
"You have blood right..." she trailed off quietly, letting me take my suit jacket from her hand as she licked the pad of her thumb and then rubbed it just below my lower lip. "Here," she finished, looking at where she was rubbing with more precision than needed before up at my eyes as I pulled at my sleeves.
"All done?" I asked her, running my tongue along my teeth as she nodded at the same time Tofu padded his way into my room and behind Aria, his little white body picked up by her before she tilted her head at me and then smiled with bright eyes. When she did my chest tightened suddenly, the feelings that I felt for her only seeming to have emphasised and tripled in strength the moment she'd taken me to my father's living space in Sicily two days ago.
The memory left me feeling like I was on fire every time I looked at her, but it seemed that lately I didn't mind the burn...especially when it was accompanied with the sight of familiar brown eyes and red lips.
"All done," Aria said to me in a exhaled breath, the dynamic between us seeming to have shifted into something completely different just as Tofu looked up to me and then tried to move out of Aria's hands.
She let him do so easily as I fought the need to cringe when white hairs caught against the fabric of my grey suit, Tofu's infatuation with me still going strong when I reluctantly supported him with the palms of my hands and held him to my chest that he was already pressing his head to.
I sighed.
It had been a total of two days since we'd landed in New York from Sicily, the last forty eight hours being a blur of getting used to the time difference whilst I dealt with business at the same time Jinx accompanied Aria whilst she apartment hunted.
From what I'd heard it had been unsuccessful so far which pleased me a lot more than it should have, my reaction only cementing the fact that Aria was having an effect on me like nobody ever had in my life. I would've been surprised however it seemed that I was doing a lot of things out of the ordinary lately, the change in my personal life now strangely welcomed along with the primal thoughts of Aria that I obsessed over.
Whether it was picking up on the things she liked to eat or the way that I'd noticed she never wore her hair up, Aria Moretti left me wanting to know every little thing about her.
...I was truly fücked.
"I'm going to go see my last apartment today," Aria said to me when she turned around, the smell of her perfume wafting into the air as she tucked her hair behind her ears and left me following after her with Tofu in my arms. "Do you want to come?" she asked me as she turned around to see my reaction.
I would've been a smartáss and commented something crude but instead I nodded, putting a fast forward on my need to cement everything I felt for her in stone considering I knew we had fücked before any feelings had come into play.
It only meant that I had been pushing away the concept of anything séxual becoming a reality between us so that I could really determine whether it was completely séxual feelings, in turn torturing myself when I became borderline obsessed with the need to touch Aria.
It was hard to do so considering she wore short dresses that did nothing to hide her legs and low V tops that showcased the curve of her cleavage, the sight of her exposed skin only leaving me in a constant spiral of wanting to fück her until I realised I had to stop myself.
I knew Aria had caught onto what I'd been doing since she'd told me herself yesterday, the teasing tone in her voice only acting like a dámned match to the pool of fire that was myself when she had also gone out of her way to let me know that her period had finished.
Dámn woman.
"You're mumbling," Aria said to me as we entered the kitchen, my eyes suddenly meeting hers until hers lowered and in turn left me looking down to see my fingers rubbing behind Tofu's ears subconsciously. "...and he said that he didn't like Tofu," I heard Aria whisper, my tongue pressing to the inside of my cheek as my control faltered when I found myself speaking.
"The only cat I like is between your legs, end of story," I told her, seeing her mouth open to say something until she closed it and narrowed her eyes when I hummed at the thought.
"You're an áss," I heard her mutter, her words silently agreed to whilst she walked to the fridge, my head simultaneously titling down to Tofu when I heard him purr as I kept rubbing across the back of his ears. "Anyways, the appointment is scheduled for two thirty so we have time to talk."
"To talk?" I asked her, my eyebrow raised as she nodded whilst taking a sip of water from the bottle she'd taken from the fridge, her mouth leaving a print of her red lipstick on the lip of it as she screwed the lid back on.
"About Joe," she said to me, her words leaving me feeling dumbfounded when I figured she wanted to talk about something else. "Was Johnson able to trace him back to Canada?"
"Not yet," I answered, feeling Tofu wiggle out of my grip when I leaned against the counter. Aria and I watched as he padded his way over to her, a quiet meow leaving him as he leaned up to coax Aria to hold him which she did so seconds later.
"Aaron said that he was able to find a lead but lost it when he got locked out," she said mindlessly when she stroked above Tofu's head and then looked up from petting him. "It's only twelve thirty, we can go meet him for an update and then go to the appointment," she suggested indirectly, her plans skimming through my head as I made a mental note of the time.
"We have to be done by five at the latest," I told her, nodding backwards to prompt her to start walking as I made my way into the foyer before adding to what I'd said before. "I have a meeting with your dad."
"Lovely," I heard Aria say sarcastically at the mention of her father just as Alex walked down the stairs, the ice pack that was pressed to his face making me smug until he boosted my ego further when he pulled it away and showcased the damage I'd done.
"You broke my fücking nose, ásshole," he muttered, sounding nasally as he descended the steps and looked at me through the eye that wasn't swelling.
"When they put a splint on your face, remember that you shouldn't fück around with the concept of our father's life...idiot," I retorted easily, seeing Jinx following Alex as he shrugged his jacket on and then looked at me.
"I'm on babysitting duty because of you," Jinx said whilst he rolled his eyes and patted Alex's shoulder, the groan that left him only making me smirk before I heard the horn of a car from the garage. I turned at the sound to find Aria nowhere to be seen whilst Tevez walked towards the living room with Tofu in his arms, my mind quick to put two and two together before I puffed out a breath and stepped into the garage to see Aria sitting in the passenger seat of my Range Rover.
"Are you done with Alex's bítch fit?" she asked, the engine already turned on as I walked up to the car and supressed the smile on my face at her words whilst slipping into the driver's seat. "You did a number on him," she turned to me.
"He shouldn't have picked a fight," I said simply as I clipped in my seatbelt and adjusted the mirror whilst Aria crossed one leg over the other, my eyes staring at my reflection until I turned around and spotted the coat that was on a hanger behind my seat. "Is that yours?"
Aria nodded at my words as I looked at the long beige trench coat that was hanging off one of the roof handles with a white metal hanger, a light breath hummed between my lips before I turned to open the garage door from the button in the car until I saw Aria doing so already.
The reality of her doing so only triggered the very fact that we worked together just like two puzzle pieces, the concept something that I couldn't deny as I kept quiet and disabled the hand brake. Whether it was bloodshed or just daily living it seemed that Aria and I predicted each other's movements, more so now than ever considering the circumstances that accompanied the change between us.
The thought plagued my mind and left me pressing my tongue to the inside of my cheek so I could supress the smile on my face again, the action a lot harder to do so when I caught Aria enthusiastically humming to a song on the radio whilst I drove towards the bar we were meeting Aaron at.
It didn't take us long to reach and walk into the bar once I'd smoked quickly, my eyes on the back of Aria whilst she stepped in front of me before turning towards Aaron who was spotted flirting with one of the waitresses, her apron covered body leaning over the circular table he was seated at.
"Oh yeah, well would you like it if I put my tongue-"
I cleared my throat behind him and watched as he turned, his sentence not finishing as he looked at Aria and I and smiled sheepishly, the look on his face making me raise my eyebrow as Aria walked to sit down once she'd taken off her coat.
"I didn't realise you'd be here so soon," he said as I felt the blonde waitress stare at me suddenly, my narrowed eyes doing her the once over until I moved past her and settled next to Aria who was in the middle of the sofa ringed seating that curved in a crescent shape.
"It was a quick trip," I heard Aria say, the tone in her voice making me look at her until I realised why she was speaking the way she was. The blankness on her face was focused on the waitress who was now asking what we wanted to order, her body faced to mine as she held her notepad close to her and didn't do anything to hide the way she was trying to emphasise her cleavage.
Aria's reaction only goaded my own, my smug chuckle only leaving her to call the woman a bítch under her breath as I ordered a beer and went back to looking at her when she ordered a diamond martini.
Her angered mood that I could see in her eyes despite the blank look on her face made me press my lips together as I turned to Aaron, his amused reaction suddenly dissipating when Aria told him to shut up.
"Well you're rude," he said to her whilst rolling his eyes, the hum that left Aria's lips echoing in my head as she reapplied her lipstick. "Anyways," Aaron started before sighing and bracing his hands together, "Why did you meet me here and not at my house?"
"Do you want your aunt to be used as leverage so that you can leak information to Joe about our whereabouts?" I asked Aaron bluntly, raising my eyebrow as he went silent before puffing out a nervous laugh.
"Being here won't do that...will it?"
"Salvatore owns this portion of city which means that he owns this bar. He has cameras everywhere so if anything happens, then we have all of it recorded," I said to Aaron, seeing his eyes widen, "It's a front for drug production downstairs," I finished as I watched the same waitress return with a tray full of our drinks. "You didn't know?" I asked him when I realised he was still staring with wide eyes when all of our drinks were put down.
"I just keep to figuring out tech. I'm a blabber mouth as it is, I don't need to know more than I should," he said honestly, taking a sip of his own beer as he pulled out his phone, played around with it for a minute before he pushed it towards me and told me to scroll. "Joe is in Penticton right now...that's his phone records."
"He keeps on bouncing back and forth between contacting people in New York and Sicily," I muttered, noticing the area codes as well as dates. "Why is he stupid enough to use a phone that he knows has a high probability of being tracked? Is he that much of an idiot to not know what a burner phone is?"
"Maybe he wants you to believe that," Aria mumbled across from us, Aaron and I turning to her where we watched her look forward with the same blank look on her face. "If the waitress and her friend keep staring at you, I'm going to throw knives in both their eyes," Aria said simply to no one in particular, my vision moving towards where she was looking until I settled on the waitress that had been serving us and said friend next to her.
I stilled.
Wait a minute, is that-
"You know her," Aria spoke up, her tone more of a statement than a question when I met the gaze of the familiar redhead before I turned back to Aria to see her already narrowing her eyes at me.
"We slept together," I said bluntly, the truth being something that I didn't feel the need to dodge around her despite the way she pressed her lips together and put her glass down abruptly.
"When?"
"Your jealousy is showing," I teased her, watching her shrug as Aaron side eyed the both of us before leaning in and down his seat.
"When did you sleep with her?" Aria asked again, raising her eyebrow as she inhaled a sharp breath and took another sip of her drink.
"I can't give you a specific date because it was multiple times," I said to her, my honest words only serving me an advantage when I watched her swallow harshly and hum.
Jealous Aria was fun.
"When was the last time you slept with her?"
"The day you arrived in New York," I told her, seeing Aaron press his lips together to stop him from laughing when Aria swirled her glass whilst looking at it before inhaling another deep breath.
"Ok," she said simply, swallowing again before bracing her hands in front of her on the table and acting like the conversation never happened. Her reaction left me helplessly smiling when I watched her poker face twitch, her eye sight suddenly squinting which led me to follow her stare until I realised the redhead I'd slept with was walking in our direction.
Oh, for fück sake.
"What's her name, Lucien?" Aria asked, her voice suddenly soft which only had me looking between both woman when I searched my brain for the name I didn't remember whilst Aaron cursed lightly at Aria's abrupt change in behaviour.
Was it something beginning with K? Krystal? Kathy? Kasey?
"I don't remember," I said honestly, my head tilting to Aria as she moved towards me at the same time the redhead reached our table.
"Lucien, you've been ignoring my calls for-"
The redhead's words were cut off when my face was moved towards the direction of Aria's, the sudden soft cushioning of her lips against my own suddenly awakening the supressed need I had for her as she kissed me.
Easily I responded, the quiet groan that left my lips swallowed down Aria's throat when she parted her lips and did the same with her legs as she moved to be over my lap whilst stroking her tongue against mine.
The heat of her mouth met mine as her palms cupped the sides of my face, the clear show that was fuelled by Aria's jealousy only setting fire to my bones when I soaked in her reaction and let it feed my ego as I smoothed my hands up the bare skin of her legs until I was cupping the curve of her áss.
The satin feeling of her skin felt fücking divine against the slight callused texture of my fingertips, her moan music to my ears when I twisted my hands inwards and effectively pulled her thighs further apart from the inside so that the apex of her thighs rested just above the ache of my cóck.
"Uh...guys," I heard Aaron say from behind us as Aria's hair tickled over my face when she moved up and tilted her head down, her tongue sensually moving across my own as her hand slipped down the side of my neck until she caressed the back of it with her fingers.
Her touch left a trail of heat wherever they touched, my body constantly pausing between relaxed and tensed when my blood streamed through my veins like molten lava and left my head spinning. I would've carried on had it not been for the fact that Aaron called Aria's name once again, her mouth moving away from mine as she turned around to him and glared whilst still staying on my lap with her hands over my shoulders.
"She left the moment you guys started kissing," Aaron said with a nervous smile, my chest rising up and down as I looked at the side of Aria's face I could see before her hair tickled my face again when she turned to look at me. Our eyes met as we both licked our lips simultaneously, my eyes moving to her mouth as my chest tightened until we both looked at Aaron when he spoke once again. "I swear you guys had a fight in Sicily..."
"We did," Aria said as she moved off of me, this time towards the edge of the seating so that she could stand up once she'd retrieved her purse from where she'd been sitting. "Lucien's an ásshole."
"She's a bítch," I said in turn to Aaron as well, our quick words only leaving the both of us to look at each other. She had a small mischievous smile on her face just as she moved back towards me, my head tilting to look up at her before she whispered in my ear. "You have lipstick all over your lips," was all she said as she pressed the napkin from the table to my chest, her body turning just in time for me to hold what she'd given me whilst I watched her walk in the direction of the bathroom.
"Well then," Aaron said, his eyes a little wide as he took a sip of his beer and looked at me when I wiped the red stain off of my lips. "You two seem to be..." he trailed off, squinting as he stared at what he could see of me up and down. "...close."
"I barely know anything about her if that helps the best friend jealously you have," I told him, taking a sip of my beer and ignoring the ache of my cóck as I rubbed at my chest to alleviate the tightness in it.
"I don't have best friend jealousy," he said, his tone blatantly showcasing his denial when he scrunched his nose at me once he watched me raise my eyebrow knowingly. "Okay, I have best friend jealousy," he admitted in a puff, putting his beer down before he leaned across the table to me. "But that's only because I don't want to go through what Ryder did to her all over again."
"What do you mean?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowed as I drank my beer and let the chilled liquid do its best to cool me from the inside out.
"Ryder never let Aria speak to me unless he was there whilst it happened," he said, the thought of Aria's stupid ex heating my blood and undoing any sort of calmness I had. "He basically took her away from me for three years which is why I have best friend jealousy," he put his emphasised words in air quotes.
"He needs to be castrated," I said to him bluntly, scowling at the thought of Ryder controlling Aria. "Ásshole," I muttered under my breath as I took another gulp of beer, my tongue darting out to lick against my lips before Aaron spoke to me again.
"Anyways..." he started, the word seeming to be something that he used frequently to start new conversations. "Do you really know nothing about Aria?" I shook my head.
"Apart from the obvious and things I catch onto, no," I said, the words suddenly dawning on me when I realised I didn't know Aria personally at all.
Fück.
"Do you want to know?" he asked, his eyes squinted as I thought about it for a few seconds before making a decision and nodding slowly but surely. "Great, ok," he grinned, sighing happily again. "Aria, Lucien wants to play twenty questions."
My eyes widened slightly when I turned to see Aria two steps from us whilst Aaron got up, his hands quick to dish out some money before he kissed Aria on the cheek and then left once he'd winked at me.
He just set me up.
That motherfuc-
"Did you really fall for his games?" Aria asked as she sat in front of me and took Aaron's place, her purse settling by her side as I huffed out a breath and swallowed down the rest of my beer before looking at her. "What do you want to know?"
I sent her a puzzled look until I realised what she was asking, the bright look in her eyes back as she rubbed her lips together and tilted her head.
Everything, was the word that entered my head instantaneously but I didn't speak it out loud, fearing that I'd look desperate.
"What is there to know?" I asked instead, licking my lips when I stared at the red of her own and watched them curve into a smile before she spoke.
"A lot," she said, my eyes meeting her gaze again when she spoke up playfully. "Ask and I'll answer your-"
"What's your body count?"
"Really?" she asked bluntly, rolling her eyes in amusement at my question as I hummed, crossed my arms and then leaned back in my seat to wait for her answer. "You really want an answer to that?"
"Sì," I nodded, staring at her dead on as I prepared for her answer and then mentally made a note of the amount of bullets I had in my gun.
"Six," she said to me, rubbing her lips together.
"All men?" I asked her, my question amusing her when she laughed.
"All men, Lucien," she said to me, biting the inside of her cheek. "I tried to experiment once but that went down the drain when the reality didn't match the fantasy in my head."
"Wait," I said, pushing the image of Aria and another woman out of my head when it strangely didn't turn me on but instead, made me jealous. "So you slept with a woman or?"
"We kissed, I took my top off, she took her top off and then I freaked out when I realised that I had to go down on a girl," she said, scrunching her face up at the thought. "Like...yes, women are séxy and attractive but I realised that I like díck and only díck."
"Oh?" my tone was teasing.
"I like your díck," she clarified, her words pleasing me more than they should have and also taking an affect when I wanted to suddenly claim her with it...right here...right now.
Fück.
"Okay, next question," I said, inhaling a sharp breath when I adjusted myself under the table. "I'm pretty sure I'm part of the six guys you've slept with, and I know about Ryder and Paolo, so the remaining three are...?"
"I had a fling with a guy called Venero when I was fifteen," my face scrunched up at the name. "...another one when I was just about to turn sixteen with a guy called Frank and then I had a pointless relationship with this eighteen year old called Louis who didn't know how to please a woman...that led to rebound séx with Paolo," she explained easily, her honesty only leaving me to inhale a deep breath as I subconsciously rubbed at my chest again. "Anything else you'd like to know about my séx life?"
"I think I'll enjoy getting to know it better myself," I said to her, indirectly promising the concept of it despite the both of us knowing it was going to happen anyways.
"You're a tease," she said.
"You like it."
"I do," she countered back easily, licking her lips again as she exhaled a soft breath. "Anything else you want to know?"
"When's your birthday?"
"The fifth of May," she told me. "I turn twenty one," she smiled slightly, reminding me of the fact that she was three years younger than me.
"Do you like big celebrations?" I asked in reference to her birthday, my words suddenly making her smile dissipate.
"I've never celebrated my birthday," she shrugged, clearing her throat. "It's just another day that reminds me that I'm here because of my mother who isn't."
"It must've been hard to lose her at such a young age," I said, recalling that she was only eight when it happened as she nodded and then sighed, only prompting me to change the subject. "Sicily or New York?"
"Sicily," she said almost instantly, the gleam in her eyes back. "Sicily is home and will always be home."
"So why the need to move back to New York?" I asked, genuinely inquisitive.
"I have points to prove as stupid as that sounds," she mumbled, going quiet as she fiddled with her fingers and then cleared her throat again. "I love New York too, but it's just a blur of bad memories that I'd rather get away from. I'll probably end up moving back to Sicily in a few years anyways."
"Oh," my voice was barely audible to my own ears as I replayed her last few words, one hundred and one questions swirling in my mind suddenly when I started to overthink.
Would that mean I'd go with her?
How long was a few years exactly?
"I don't know anything yet though," she said, as if she knew I wanted some form of reassurance. "I'll see when the time comes," she added, leaving me to nod as I ran a hand through my hair and then puffed out a breath. "I told you there's a lot to know about me."
Her words made the edges of my lips curl but I didn't smile fully, my eyes meeting her own before I spoke.
"Tell me more then."
With my words echoing between us she rubbed her lips together and supressed the smile on her face, the sight of her warming me from the inside out just as she inhaled lightly and then spoke.
"I was trained by my grandfather concerning my way of thinking, but it was your father who taught me about the gory side of things," she started, swallowing as she kept speaking. "I can hold my breath for three minutes straight if I concentrate hard enough," I couldn't help but smirk. "The first time I held a gun was when I was five...I also shot it at the same age since my father was adamant on all his children being able to defend themselves no matter the situation."
Fücking hell.
"I hate the way the colour light blue looks on me which is why I'll never wear it except when it comes to denim. I hate my hair up because I feel like it makes my face look too much like an oval...it also gives my dad the opportunity to tell me that I look like my mother," she inhaled a breath. "Uh...I'm a sucker for red roses, but I also like peonies. I love the sun and I also love the rain however lightning and thunder make me super uncomfortable. I hate when people I don't know touch me which fücking sucks when I have to do business, however I'll do whatever it takes to stay true to my word because it means a lot when someone trusts me."
Hm.
"I have a preference for gold jewellery and don't eat when I feel stressed out," she rubbed her lips together, "I don't leave the house without perfume and if my nail polish chips on one finger I have to get them all re done...uh...you already know that I have an insane phobia of the dark. Hm...oh...my favourite colour is red and currently, the amount of people I've killed are three hundred and two."
"You've killed three hundred and two people?" I cut her off, soaking up the words she'd spoken like a sponge.
She nodded and bit the inside of her lip, the unique things I now knew about her suddenly making my lips curl again as she looked at her phone and then told me that we needed to go if we were going to be on time to her apartment viewing appointment.
In a matter of a minutes we were already leaving once I'd paid for everything, the both of us soon settled in the car as I followed the directions on the GPS to the address Aria inputted the instant I'd started the engine.
"So does that mean that I now get to ask you questions?" she asked me, my head turning to her for a split second as I kept my focus on the road.
"Don't you already know things about me?" I asked her in reference to when she'd impressed me before we'd fought in the gym in my old home.
"I do," she answered, crossing one leg over the other whilst leaning to the left with her head against the seat. "I picked up on a few more things since then."
"Like?"
I saw her smile in my peripheral vision before she started speaking.
"You hate when I cover my legs up," she said to me, a low hum sounding in my throat when I agreed. "You don't like being blindsided and it stresses you out to the point where you'll smoke two cigarettes at a time or just flat out shout at someone because you can," her attention to detail made me press my lips together. "You also have the appetite of three grown men put together as well an unbelievable séx drive I can't keep up with."
Her words made me smirk.
"You don't like it when people doubt you because you like to be trusted and seen as loyal just like I do," she added, picking up on my personality which had me impressed all over again as I kept on driving. "Despite that, you hate being told what to do which normally gets you into trouble but you find a way to work it out in the end...which only means that you get called an egotistical áss most of the time however it seems you don't mind that."
"I don't," she hit me lightly on the shoulder as I smiled smugly.
"You value family more than anything. It's why you're fighting so hard for your dad," she started speaking again. "It's one of things I like most about you," my hands gripped tighter across the steering wheel when her words made my chest tighten. "...and on the topic of liking things, I know you like me too."
"I think you forgot the fact that you seem to annoy me a lot," I said to her in response, the amused sound that left her lips seeming to become a favourite when I turned to her again and watched her bite her bottom lip. "Add to my list of facts that I like it when you bite your lip."
"Oh?"
"Oh," I mocked her, looking back to the road as I easily flirted and basked in her reaction that was a small smile on her lips, the both of us suddenly content with everything as I kept driving us to the address until we reached it thirty minutes later.
The penthouse Aria was viewing today was about a ten minute drive from my house, the nearness oddly pleasing me as I looked up at the tall modern looking building before following Aria into the foyer once we'd passed the glass doors the doorman had opened for us.
"How much is this place?" I asked her, squinting my eyes slightly as I scoped my surroundings and made a mental note of everything.
"Forty eight," she said like it was nothing, my eyes widening at the number she'd said just as I watched her smile at a man who I assumed was the realtor. "James this is Lucien."
"Nice to meet you," he smiled politely, shaking my hand before turning around and leading us towards the elevators.
"Forty eight as in million?" I said to Aria, seeing her turn around and nod at me before following James until the doors of the elevator closed and we descended to the top floor. Silence ensued almost instantly as James kept himself occupied with the folder in his hands, my eyes suddenly narrowing at him when I wondered why he wasn't looking at Aria when she looked the way she did.
My thinking was backwards considering I would've had no qualms about threatening his life if he did look at Aria, the notion looming over my head when I looked back to her to already see her looking at me through the mirrored doors with a raised eyebrow.
The lack of the jealousy I was starting to accustom to only led me to be confused as Aria tucked her hair behind her ears, the sudden speech of James blurring my thoughts whilst he pulled out a card from the folder.
"This elevator won't ascend the top floor without this card," he spoke, a sudden beam of light from the ceiling reflecting off it when he turned in between his fingers before pressing it to the scanner that showcased a bead of green light. "You'll have full privacy, and of course security since you'll be the only one to access your unit, the penthouse."
As he finished the ping of the elevator doors sounded out, Aria's reflection cutting off steadily as the doors opened into an open space that was shaped like a circle. I watched as James led once again without sparing Aria any type of look, my eyebrow raising in turn when I followed after them both just as the doors behind us closed and the elevator descended again.
James kept speaking as he unlocked the door and allowed Aria to walk in first with me following, her mumbled thanks echoing in my ears as we entered a large corridor that acted like a path to the open space I could see at the end.
"Welcome to the Skyloft Penthouse," James started with a smile as I watched Aria look around, her inquisitive look steadily dissipating when she kept walking until we were all walking under what looked like a large glass cube. "The glass envelope of seven thousand five hundred interior square feet was designed to provide the utmost quiet indoor environment, with maximum exposure to the four thousand five hundred square feet of private, wrap around terrace and the spectacular three hundred and sixty degree panoramic views of New York's skyline."
Aria's heels clicked as she walked into the already furnished first level of the penthouse, my eyes on her as I kept walking and listened to James.
"On the first level, the living room boasts eighteen foot ceilings and features a floor-to-ceiling plain-sawn cherry wood hearth which contains a wood burning fireplace, one of the three that are in the residence," he said, my eyes following up the rectangular panels of glass that highlighted the space with bright light. "Oversized glass sliding doors open from all rooms on this level to the incomparable terrace, with a state-of-the-art outdoor stainless steel kitchen located on the southwest corner and a hot tub and private outdoor shower located on the northwest corner."
I heard Aria's impressed hum and I knew that she liked it when the gleam in her eyes returned as we walked towards the kitchen.
"The kitchen features top of the line fixtures and appliances with custom white lacquer cabinets and bluestone counters. Museum-quality polished concrete flooring and teak flooring are also featured throughout this level, extending seamlessly to the outside terraces."
With his words we walked through to the terrace, my hands tucked into my pockets as Aria peaked over the balcony before turning to me. She gave me a small smile when she realised I was looking at her already, my chest tightening all over again as she ran her hand through her hair whilst walking back inside and towards the staircase at the far end of the first level.
"A steel and glass elliptical staircase is one of two stairways that connect the entertaining floor to the very private bedroom suites on the second level," James said whilst walking up the glass steps, my hand ghosting over Aria's back when she walked in front of me and followed James down the corridor whilst simultaneously showcasing the rooms he was passing. "All bedrooms have luxurious en-suite baths, large closets, and each highlight beautiful views of the city," he said, showing us three rooms in total until he reached the end of the corridor and pushed open the door. "The master bedroom features extraordinary views, endless closets and a bathroom that features a honey coloured onyx bath and steam shower, jacuzzi and sauna."
"Wow," I heard Aria mumble as we walked into the bathroom, the floor to ceiling window allowing us to see the tops of nearby sky scrapers as well as the rest of the skyline.
"Other notable features include hand trowelled plaster walls and ceilings featured throughout, Lutron self-adjusting light and shade systems, state-of-the-art security system, climate-control system, and walls that allow artwork to be hung without fear of damage from sunlight. The penthouse also comes with a deeded private parking space in the building."
With his words James allowed Aria to make a decision by leaving us to carry on looking, my eyes back on her as she sat on the marbled lip that encased the Jacuzzi and sighed.
"You like it," I told her, my words more of a statement than a question as she looked to the window and then to me whilst nodding.
"I like it," she puffed out quietly, rubbing her lips together as she ran her hand through her hair again, stood up and exhaled a deep breath. "I'm going to buy it."
Her words shouldn't have affected me as much as they should have but the sudden weight in my stomach dropped, a blunt ok leaving my lips as I nodded a few times and watched as she walked out to go and see James.
I followed easily whilst mentally picking apart the penthouse, the abrupt and aimless hate I had for the windows leaving me to scowl at everything in my sight as Aria figured out all the paperwork.
It took her an hour to do so, the sixty minutes passing by easily when I kept picking apart things and smoking until we were leaving and back in the car.
"Since when do you have forty eight million dollars, let alone that amount in disposable income?" I asked her whilst clipping in my seatbelt, my fingers twisting the car keys until the engine purred to life.
"Didn't think I was a millionaire?" she asked, her tone playful as I pulled out of the parking space and looked at her before focusing on the road once I'd shook my head. "I know how to play people's games better than they can."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning...if my grandfather wanted me to do something, I'd look at all possible outcomes before squeezing out every single opportunity that gave me the advantage," she explained, pulling down the roof mirror so that she could fix her lipstick that didn't need to be touched in the first place.
It seemed to be a habit of hers.
"Whether it was poorly hidden offshore accounts, mistresses or just cursed blood money, I always twisted it so that I'd end up on top."
"You like being on top, huh?" I said easily, my words completely off topic which only led to her rolling her eyes amusedly once she'd flicked up the passenger mirror.
Wait...wasn't I supposed to be pissed?
"I like winning," she corrected, her voice pulling me out of my thoughts as she leaned towards me again. "There are two types of people in this world, wolves and sheep. The ones who kill, and the ones who get killed."
"And you're the wolf," she shook her head.
"I'm the wolf in sheep's clothing," she corrected me again. "I'm not a stranger to how men act around me because of the way I look. I use that to my advantage because like I've said many times before, séxist men just like you don't see pretty girls like me as a threat."
Her words made me press my tongue to the inside of my cheek before I hummed, the ache I had in my chest from realising that she was moving ignored when I became suddenly infatuated with the way that she thought again. It was strange how she worked things out but she was always successful in doing so, her thoughts intertwining against mine as I tightened my hands on the steering wheel and looked back at her again when she spoke.
"Blake is having a Halloween party next week," she started, still leaning in my direction as she stayed staring at the side of my face whilst adding to her unexpected topic. "Are you coming?"
"Probably, but I'm not dressing up," my words made her squint.
"Oh, you're dressing up," she spoke in a taunting tone, the shake of my head only prompting her to nod at me. "I'm going to find you a costume and you're going to wear it."
"Aria," I said warningly when she started going on about vampires. "I'm not dressing up."
"You are."
"I'm not," I argued.
"You are."
"I'm not."
"You are," she emphasised, my eyes rolling at her insistent words as we stopped at a red light, my fingers quick to light a cigarette between my lips before I blew smoke past my lips and rested my elbow against my open window.
"I'm not dressing up, I'm just-"
"My security?" she questioned, raising her eyebrow and then rolling her eyes. "Please."
"What do you mean please, that's literally-"
"If you go in a costume, I'll dress up as a séxy nurse if you ever get sick," she promised, her words cutting off my own as I looked at her and narrowed my eyes. I wondered about it for a second before I visualised it, the image in my head sudden morphing into an awaited promise when Aria looked up at me. "Deal?"
"...deal," I said to her, the mischievous look in her eyes only seeming to be reflected in my own when I pictured Aria in white fishnets and a matching uniform.
It was a sight in my head but I knew it would be better in person, the thought soon occupying my mind as I kept driving and smoking until we reached Salvatore's house. By then the time was ticking past four in the afternoon as Aria and I both walked into the house, her heels clicking against the marble tiles and only prompting a sudden flashback of the last time we were both here together.
The image in my head was of us both in the foyer and about an hour away from fücking for the first time, the visual now consisting of a naked Aria and the breathless sound of my name leaving her lips over and over like a sinful prayer.
What a stunning sight.
"You're staring again."
I blinked out of my train of thought and looked at Aria as she spoke, her head tilted just as her oldest brother Blake walked into the foyer. "He's expecting you upstairs," was what he said to me whilst pulling Aria close to his side with his arm around her shoulders, the frown on her face when he mushed her to his chest only leaving the edges of my lips to curl as I ascended the stairs to Salvatore's office.
I could hear Aria scolding Blake as I stepped onto the second floor, my eyes rolling amusedly when I figured that he'd stepped on her foot once I heard her snap about the price of her heels, the loud groan that left him in the following few seconds only serving to amuse me further until I set eyes on someone I didn't want to see when I reached the third floor.
"Ryder," I said blankly, my face void of emotion as he closed the door to Salvatore's office behind him whilst balancing himself with the crutch that was in his left hand.
"Lucien," he mocked my tone, my eyes settling on the thick bandage across his upper thigh that I knew was a result of Aria shooting him nearly a month ago.
Should've aimed a little higher, I thought in my head despite the way I cringed mentally, my feet still stepping across the corridor before I passed him without another word and knocked on the office door and waited.
Whilst I did I wondered why the fück Ryder was even involved with Salvatore until my thoughts ceased when I saw my older brother Alex already sitting in one of the seats of the office, my stare hardening when I suddenly felt a sense of betrayal that poked at my instinct to defend myself.
"Why are you here?" I asked Alex, shutting the door behind me whilst swallowing down bitter words when I felt cut out of business, especially considering it was between my brother and Aria's dámn ex.
"Salvatore wanted to speak to us both," he told me, the sight of his bloody, bruised and now splinted face alleviating the heat of my anger as I turned to see Salvatore pouring himself a scotch from the crystal decanter at the side.
At the sight of him I thought of Aria instantly, my mind quick to put two and two together when I figured out that she'd probably see Ryder considering she was only downstairs. The thought of them together even in the current circumstances had me abruptly clenching my hand over the arm rest, my tongue running over my teeth until I relaxed and realised that she could take care of herself...especially around her ex-boyfriend who had less than ten fingers because of her.
"Have you arranged security for Aria's apartment?" Salvatore asked me, his voice pulling me out of my thoughts as he sat at his desk and swallowed down a mouthful of scotch.
"Louis and Victor will be on standby twenty four seven outside her door," I started, maintaining eye contact when I mentioned two of his retired capos whilst pushing away the blooming heat of hatred I had towards Aria moving out. "Johnson is already focusing on upgrading the digital system and I will be escorting Aria to and from the building," I finished off, my face not giving away the white lie I told considering Aaron was also helping with the security from the inside out.
"Good," Salvatore said bluntly, my mouth swallowing nothing just as he went on to speak to us about separate business that consisted of us visiting the docks for a drug shipment that was happening tonight.
It wasn't a long conversation and in a matter of twenty minutes I was already walking down the stairs, the lack of Alex following me only leaving me to roll my eyes when I figured he was still with Salvatore. The thought left a bad taste in my mouth but I ignored it as I reached the foyer, the sudden sound of smashing glass and a groan echoing in kitchen before Blake shouted a curse.
"Do you want to lose another fücking finger?" I heard Aria snap as I walked into the kitchen, the heated glare in her eyes focused on Ryder who was leaning against the opposite side of the counter and rolling his eyes whilst turning to look at the dent that was in the wall from the glass Aria had thrown.
"Wait, you're the reason he's lost his fingers?" Blake asked, his confusion matching Dean's as they both looked at their younger sister who was standing behind the counter with another glass in her hands.
Well then.
"We dated, he cheated, I cut off his fingers," she said simply, smiling dramatically at the both of them as they squinted their eyes at Ryder.
"You dated my little sister and then cheated on her?" Dean asked, his body radiating tension along with Blake who was suddenly glaring at Ryder. The sight made me smirk and left me to lean against the wall behind Aria, my eyes settled on the back of her as she leaned over the counter and in turn pulled at the material of her shorts that outlined the curve of her áss.
Lovely.
"Your sister is crazy," Ryder bluntly said, his words doing nothing to help his situation when Blake suddenly moved towards him and pinned him to the counter with his hand around his throat.
"Don't ever fücking call her-"
"Crazy?" Ryder wheezed, the crutch he was holding onto now falling limply to the ground when Blake tightened his hand around his throat, adrenaline soon electrifying the air in the room as I looked between Aria and her oldest brother choking Ryder. His face steadily became red as he breathed out a laugh whilst voicing his slight pain, a smile curved widely on his face despite the way he was losing oxygen and doing nothing to fight back. "Your sister killed my son."
At Ryder's words Blake and Dean both looked at Aria, the confusion returning back on their face at the same time Blake let his hold go abruptly. In turn Ryder sagged quickly to the floor, his wheezed breath music to my ears along with his groan of pain as he reached for his crutch that Blake stood on to stop him from going anywhere.
"You killed his son?" Dean asked, clearly blindsided on his sister's life when I watched his face scrunch up slightly at the same time Aria's shoulders slumped. "Tell me he's lying."
"Dean," I spoke up warningly when Aria pressed her lips together, her head turning to me until she turned back to Blake who had moved away from Ryder and simultaneously sent Aria the same judging look Dean was giving her.
"I know that he cheated," Blake started, the subtle shake of his head along with the disappointment on his face leaving Aria to open her mouth and then close it when her brother kept speaking. "...but why does that give you the right to kill his child?"
Silence ensued suddenly, choking Aria and leaving a lack of words in the air as Blake's question echoed in the room. It only leave an open space for tension that filled in between us quickly, the sudden swallow I saw Aria take as Ryder stood up only prompting me to speak.
"She doesn't have to tell you any-"
"They don't know do they?" Ryder spoke up smugly despite being choked less than a minute ago, the hazy and crazed look on his face creating my blood to set alight when he looked at me as I glared. "You don't know either."
"Shut up," Aria warned him quietly, her words confusing me when I registered everything and realised Ryder was indirectly threatening to expose her for something.
"What don't I know?" I asked out loud, my lack of control over the sudden hatred I had for being blindsided coming into play when my eyes stayed narrowed on Aria. "Aria."
"I..." she sighed, looking down to her hands before up at me until her brothers spoke.
"What are you hiding Aria?" Blake asked.
"Tell them," Ryder taunted, the sound and sight of him making me want to shoot him in the mouth. It wouldn't have taken long considering the weight of my gun shifted against my back, my hands quick to move until I stopped when the stutter of Aria's words and the followed taunt of Ryder pulled me back to reality. "Tell them the exact reason you killed my son."
"I should've killed you instead..." Aria whispered, the shaky breath that left her lips sounded in my direction when she turned just as Ryder spoke up.
"That would've been too easy for you," he teased, chuckling as he looked at her, the exchange between them leaving a bad taste in my mouth. "You've always liked a challenge Aria, I dated you for three years, I would know."
"Ryder," I warned, the reminder making me easily pull at the handle of my gun that I moved to show him when I rested my hand against my belt, my chest tight and constricted with burning adrenaline.
"Are you going to shoot me?" he laughed, my lips pressing together when I swallowed and glared at him.
"Right after I skin you alive and nail your tongue to your throat."
He laughed.
"I would be scared but I'm not considering your threat is empty since I'm the one who knows what you need to know," he smiled, sighing dramatically. "However, I'll spear you the heartache and tell you anyways since Aria had lost the will to speak."
"Ryder, I fücking swear to God," Aria breathed out, the panic in her eyes setting my body alight in all the wrong ways when I squinted at her and then Ryder as he laughed. "Don't say-"
"You should all know that Aria has-"
"Enough!" Salvatore snapped loudly from beside me as he walked past the threshold, his presence in the room recognised when Ryder closed his mouth and we all instantly silenced ourselves. "Get out," he threatened Ryder, the glare in his eyes enough to make anyone cower as I stared at Aria and watched her avoid my eye contact whilst Ryder left and walked through to the living room.
His half sentence echoed in my head, the lack of explanation goading my angered reaction as I licked my lips and pressed them together, my stare still lingering on Aria as she gripped the edges of the kitchen counter with a white knuckled force.
"Take her home," Salvatore instructed me bluntly before telling Dean and Blake to follow him out the room, the both of them soon exiting and leaving Aria and I alone whilst the fizzle of adrenaline dissipated slowly and morphed into thick tension.
She was still silently standing by the counter, the clear avoidance she had focused on me becoming unsuccessful when I told her to meet me in the car with a sharp tone I didn't mean to use but couldn't help when I found myself wanting to know what it was she was hiding.
It made me sigh as my chest tightened uncomfortably, a pained breath passing my lips as I rubbed over the center of my torso and walked out the house and towards my car. Aria followed in suit and I watched from the driver's seat as she stepped towards the car before sitting in the passenger seat, the sudden shift in mood creating a tension to fill the air as I drove us back to my house.
We stayed silent apart from the constant thrumming of my fingertips across the steering wheel, my lack of patience showing clearly when I slammed the door shut to my car and didn't care for the slight splintering of glass that came from the window.
"Lucien," I heard Aria call my name in a sigh when I walked out the garage and through the door that connected to the foyer, my head shaking lightly when I heard her sigh again whilst she followed me towards my office until I was standing next to my desk. "Lucien, listen to me. Ryder doesn't-"
"What are you hiding from me, Aria?" I asked her as she stood against the door of my office that she'd now closed, her body leaning across it as she sighed. "You say you pride yourself on trust and made it a point to let me know that today, but yet you're still keeping secrets."
The frown on her face that followed from my words made me puff out a breath, the ache returning in my chest when I sat down in my chair and watched as she walked towards me.
She was still silent as she sat on the edge of my desk to the left of me, the closeness of her body distracting my thoughts for a moment when I found myself touching the hem of her shorts without thinking.
"I don't want there to be secrets between us," I told her, pushing away my anger at the thought of her hiding things as I skimmed the tips of my fingers across her leg until I reached her knee.
"I know," she replied quietly, looking at where I was touching her until she made eye contact with me. The dullness in her eyes only made me realise the extent of what she was feeling, my angered reaction scolded at in my head just as she moved her hand towards mine and scratched the tip of her nails across the tattoos I had on my hands.
The contrast of her bare skin against mine was a sight I enjoyed immensely, the visual of her running through my head as I waited for her to say something when she traced across the rose tattoo I had, her nail following the thorn laced vine until she sighed and spoke.
"Do you trust me?" she asked softly, her tone making me swallow when I looked at her and spoke without needing to think.
"I trust you."
With my words lingering between us the edges of her lips curled until she went back to looking upset, her eyes moving back to our hands before she looked up again, licked her lips and inhaled.
"Then I need you to keep that in mind when I tell you that it's not the right time to tell you why," she said, the pleading look in her eyes leaving me conflicted when I registered her words and recalled when she'd explained how the reason behind killing Ryder's son was complicated. "I can't tell you just yet why I did what I did."
"Aria, I-"
"Please," she whispered, her desperate tone and the sudden soft indent of her nails emphasising her words. "I need you to trust me on the fact that I can't tell you just yet."
Her voice echoed in my ears and the sight of her plagued my mind when I looked at her, my eyes searching across her face when she waited for me to answer. I wanted to figure things out and the only way I knew how was by knowing, however, despite my hatred for being blindsided, I couldn't help but nod.
My actions only made her sigh in subtle relief, her reaction alleviating the tension in my body and prompting me to speak again until I was cut off by the abrupt banging on the front door.
"What the fück..." I muttered, my shoulders tensing as I looked at my closed office door and then listened to the repeated banging, Aria and I both standing up as I squinted my eyes and reached for my gun whilst exiting the office with her in tow.
I kept her behind me as I watched Jinx appear at the top of the staircase, his confused look only mimicking mine as there was a groan of pain from the other side of the front door.
"Wait..." I heard Aria say from behind me, her eyes narrowed when there was another pained breath and a curse that came in the form of a male voice.
"Lucien...Aria...I need help," I heard the familiar voice whine loudly, an infuriated breath leaving my mouth when I cursed Aaron to hell and back for knocking the way he was.
"What is he doing here?" Aria questioned from behind me as I walked up to the door, my gun still in my hand just in case an enemy had found Aaron and was using him as bait for something. It was a thought that ran through my head as I opened the door, my mouth opening to snap at Aaron until it closed promptly when I saw the state of him shaking and covered in blood that didn't seem to be his, the bloody knife that was in his hand suddenly dropping as he choked out his words and looked at me desperately.
"I did something really fücking stupid."
*A/N*
HELLO CHILDREN I HAVE MISSED YOU ALL
long time no chapter huh? Dkskdkdk
I apologise. I was have a fight with my brain and welp, here I am nearly three weeks later with a chapter I hope you all enjoyed!!
A lot is going on with laria but feelings are being confessed and they're really comfortable with each other which is fun cos laria are a lot more fun to write when they're at the stage they're now at!!
Whew love life
ANYWHO THO
before most of y'all stop reading these end notes skdkskdk, let me tell you that this is ONE out of TWO updates this week!! The next update will be on Saturday and will contain smût for any readers who are still reading during Ramadan!
BUT ANYWHO
Yes, I have questions (:
What do we think of Laria rn?
What do you think Aria is hiding?
What do we think of all the things she told Lucien about herself?
Is Lucien getting too soft? More pew pew action and violence??
Ryder???
Were Dean & Blake right to judge Aria straight away after what Ryder exposed??
Aria is moving out? What do you think is gonna happen between her and Lucien now?
Any Deal theories so far??? I've heard a few and y'all have WILD minds dksjdjdj
Oh oh! Any deal scenes you'd like to see? Smüt wise/violence wise or anything wise!! Lemme know!
Next chapter is the Halloween chapter, so are y'all excited for that??
Dksjdjsjs I'm so excited for the next chapter and the ones to come bc smut & laria getting together is something I've dreamed since last October when I was planning this story 😭😭😭
I have so many things planned y'all!!!!!
ALSO ALSO
If anyone wants visuals for Aria's new apartment, just go to the priceypads website and type in "SkyLoft Penthouse" and it'll come up with all the images of her apartment that I used!
Apart from that, since y'all are getting a double update this week, can we do 170 votes and 700 comments??? Dkfjdjdjdj I know that's a lot but I'm HIGHKEY insecure and just-
Let me run away and hide cksjDKSJDJ
I'll see y'all on Saturday with the next update!!
Let me know what you thought of this chapter!
Vote + comment and all that good stuff & hmu on my social media's because I love answering questions/hearing about your Deal theories!
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I love you all to the moon & back 🌙✨