Page 7 of High Stakes

He takes me back through the apartment and to his bedroom. “Are you going to seduce me?” I ask with a giggle. He shoves me through another door and I’m in a bathroom. The lights flick on, and I’m temporarily blinded by the brightness.

“Hilarious,” he huffs “Now pee.”

I wait for him to leave before fumbling about to lift my dress. The relief is instant, and I groan in pleasure. Once I’ve finished, I open his bathroom cabinet and peer inside. Aria reckons you can tell a lot about a man from what he keeps in here. It’s all very neat and tidy, with bottles of expensive looking aftershave all lined up. Painkillers, a razor and a comb, nothing exciting.

I wander back through to his bedroom. It’s clean and bright. Nothing like Carl’s. The sheets are white cotton, not a crease in them. I run my hand over them, loving the feel of the cool cotton against my hot skin. It’s so inviting, I can’t stop myself as I slip out of the dress and climb onto it, allowing my head to sink into the fluffy pillow, closing my eyes.

Aiden

“I’m serious, JP, it’s not funny,” I whisper yell into the phone. “She’s completely naked and lying on my bed. What am I supposed to do?” His laughter rings out. I knewI shouldn’t have rung him, the useless bastard. I left her for five minutes and when I went back, she was lying on top of my bed, fast asleep.

“Bet she as the most gorgeous pair of tits,” he muses, “Is she tanned everywhere?” When I don’t respond, he calm’s himself down. “Okay, just chuck a blanket over her. I’m sure she’ll be mortified when she wakes up. But see this as a great opportunity. She’ll respect that you didn’t try it on with her, and that you took care of her while she was wasted and vulnerable. Girls love that shit.”

I disconnect the call and quietly creep back in to where she’s curled up on my bed. She is tanned everywhere, I note, as I pull a blanket from my built-in wardrobe.

I freeze when I hear her moan.“I’m sorry, please don’t.”She’s clearly having some kind of nightmare. I feel like I’m intruding so I start to back out, she suddenly cries out. I place the blanket over her quickly so that I can make my escape, but she grabs my arm. I’m frozen to the spot, staring at her tiny hand gripping my thick, tattooed wrist.

“Stay,” she whispers, and I can’t tell if she’s still dreaming. She gives me a gentle tug. “Please Aiden, stay with me.” She shuffles over and gently tugs me until I lay down.

Well, this is an unexpected turn, I didn’t even have to make an effort,I muse.

I lay on my back and hold my breath as she crawls against my side and snuggles down, burying her face against my bicep.

“Thank you,” she murmurs, and I hear her light snores a second later. I lay wide awake for some time, trying not to notice the heat of her warm, naked body, pressing into my side.

CHAPTER FOUR

Bella

Oh gosh, my head. I groan before stretching out and I freeze as memories of last night flood my mind.Oh god, oh god, oh god. I squeeze my eyes tight.Please don’t let it be real. I slowly open one eye but soon squeeze it shut again. Yep, that confirms it, the memories are real.Crap, crap, crap.A cough makes me jump in fright and my eyes shoot open.

“Morning sunshine.” Aiden’s smirking, and I want to slap it off his gorgeousface.

“Why am I naked?” My voice is croaky, dry from all the alcohol, and I pull the blanket tighter around me.

He grins wider. “You called me Khal Drogo.”

I throw my forearm over my eyes, “No I didn’t.”

“Oh you did. Do you often play out fantasies, Bella? Or should I say, Daenerys.” I can hear his sniggers. I pull the pillow over my head and hold it there to hide my embarrassed, crimson coloured face. I’m sure I would remember saying that, but he does look a bit like him, it was my first thought when I saw him at my dad’s house. “Your phone’s been ringing non-stop; I think Carl’s getting annoyed.” I peek out from under the pillow and see he’s holding my phone and flicking through it. “Call me before I track your mobile and come and find you.” He reads it with a smugness in his tone, “He really isn’t a nice guy, is he? So clingy and desperate.”

I sit bolt upright. “Shit, where’re my clothes?”

He shrugs his large shoulders. “You took them off.”

“Aiden help me, if he comes here, he’ll go mad. I don’t need his stress today, I feel like crap,” I say, desperately.

He holds out my phone so I can see it. “Can I post this on your Facebook?” It’s a selfie of me and him. I’m passed out and he’s grinning up at the camera, doing a thumbs up.

“Delete that right now. Do you not understand my current situation or are you trying to ruin my life?”

I climb from the bed, keeping the sheet wrapped around me as I stomp into the bathroom, relieved to see my dress just inside the door. I dress quickly and proceed to go through his drawers until I find some toothpaste, alongside several unopened toothbrushes. I arch a judgmental brow, wondering if he has a lot of unexpected, overnight visitors. The thought niggles me.

Aiden

I click ‘add photo’ and upload the image of me and Bella to my social media. I don’t often use it, but if I want to have this woman for myself, I need to start stirring up some shit between her and lover boy.

She appears in the kitchen doorway looking dis-shelved, but still beautiful. I mentally slap myself.Since when do I see anyone as beautiful?Fuckable,yes,but never beautiful.

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