Page 4 of Ruthless Touch

Aria’s arms tighten around me as she whimpers in my ear. It’s the sound every man loves to hear. She’s sweet and sexy, and for the first time in so long, I enjoy seeing a woman come on me.

My release follows hers, hastened by her body milking my cock. Aria sags against me as my body sends jets of cum into her.

By the time I’m finished, I can’t think of anything else but her.

That can’t be. I can’t let myself feel this way again. The last time nearly ruined my life. I won’t let that happen again.

I lift Aria up off me and set her on her feet before standing up and walking into the bathroom. When I see my reflection in the mirror, I stop dead, recognizing that look.

No. Not again.

CHAPTER TWO

Aria

Three weeks. That’s how long I’ve been here in Gideon Rule’s penthouse. He promised me he wouldn’t make me feel like a prisoner, but not an hour after that deal between us was struck, he went back on his word and left me here in my gilded cage with my trusty guard stationed outside the door so I don’t get away.

Not that Gideon does anything with me.

I felt how hard he was that night when he agreed to protect me. He wanted me as much as I wanted him. And then he fucked me, and it was incredible.

Yet since then, he’s never touched me. Not again that night or any night since. I sleep beside him in his bed every night, but he doesn’t even seem to know I’m there.

Or maybe it’s that he doesn’t care if I am.

Filling my lungs with a deep breath, I work to calm myself as my thoughts of him next to me every damn night makes an ache form between my legs. He’s nothing short of beautiful, and that’s not a term I normally use to describe men. Gideon Rule is, though. Like a priceless statue carved out of marble, he’s breathtaking while at the same time colder than any man I’ve ever encountered.

Those expensive suits that fit every inch of his body perfectly do little to conceal how truly stunning he is, but that night as I watched him strip out of his clothes, even I was surprised at how powerful his body is. Muscles appear to strain beneath his skin, corded and taut like an animal set to attack. They’re a complete contradiction to his face, which always seems so cool with its restrained expressions that rarely let on what he’s thinking.

I’ve had nearly a month to study the man who insists on keeping me here with him, despite the fact that he treats me like something to be looked at and never touched, and I’ve come to the conclusion that Gideon Rule is a vicious as the rumors say he is. The problem is his disinterest in nearly everything about me has created a need to know every gorgeous inch of the man.

The sound of the penthouse’s front door closing rouses me from my daydreams about my captor, and I sit up in bed, clutching the covers to my chest. It’s an instinctive motion, not one that’s necessary since I’ve walked around this place completely naked, and I swear he hasn’t given me a second glance.

“Aria?” he says in his deep voice with that lilt to it that always makes him sound slightly annoyed whenever he says my name.

I don’t answer him, wanting to make him come back to the bedroom he left hours ago. When he appears in the doorway dressed in his dark grey suit and black dress shirt with that silver and red tie he’s worn twice in the time I’ve been here, I level my gaze on him and wait for him to tell me what he wants. I suspect it’s something important since he never returns here during the workday.

Gideon is nothing if not a dedicated employee of his family’s business. Or maybe he’s merely a workaholic. A cold, unfeeling workaholic who prefers to be downstairs dealing with things that assistant of his could do instead of spending long, luxurious hours in bed with me.

That thought makes me salty, so when he gives me the slightest hint of a smile, I don’t give him one back. I’d smile if he didn’t leave me alone in this goddamned gilded cage all fucking day. Or if he showed me a hint of kindness or interest once in a while.

“I called for you. Why didn’t you answer?” he asks, his tone clearly aggravated now.

His dark brown eyes narrow to slits when he’s upset, and right now, I have to wonder if he can even see me with how they look. I wish that made him unattractive, but somehow even when he’s angry he’s beautiful.

It must be all the time I spend alone up here. That’s the only explanation for how I could possibly still want this man after the weeks I’ve been neglected here.

As irritated as he is, I mumble, “If you must know, I was busy.”

“Doing what?” he asks as he steps into the bedroom. “You’re still in bed at nearly noon. That doesn’t sound busy to me.”

His dismissiveness annoys me, so I roll my eyes as I say, “I was constructing a wonderful fantasy of being held prisoner in a beautiful penthouse and not being ignored for weeks on end. I planned on playing with myself afterward to ease the tension.”

Gideon’s eyes open slightly wider, a sign I’ve surprised him. Good. He should be ashamed of himself for how he’s behaved toward me for the past few weeks.

“You asked,” I say with a chuckle, enjoying how little control he has of this conversation after only a few moments.

“I did,” he says, his smile growing a little. “Well, if you’re finished enjoying yourself, I have a surprise for you.”

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