Page 43 of A Sinner's Truth

“What?”

“I said remove your panties, Aria. Orgasms are better than any drug I know.”

Aria slides her hands up under her dress. When they slide back down again, a pair of black lace panties are hooked under her thumbs. I’m doing this for her. It’s what a husband would do to help his wife, and for better or worse, Aria is my wife for the next twelve months.

Her panties hit the floor, and she steps out of them before kicking the material aside. “You don’t have to do this, you know,” she tells me.

Without a word, I walk Aria over to the bed, pushing on her shoulders until she falls backwards. Then I drop to my knees, spread her thighs apart, and get my first look at her pussy—fucking beautiful. Completely bare and glistening for me. My mouth waters. I know how good she tastes, and I’ve wanted another sample since this morning.

I glide a finger through her wet folds, loving how her body shivers at my touch. “Even your pussy is beautiful.” For someone who proclaims they don’t like sex, she sure as shit responds in all the right ways. “You want to forget the world, sweetheart? I’m going to make you forget your own name.”

“Doubtful,” she huffs. “But you’re welcomed to try.”

“Challenge accepted.” I bite into her upper thigh before my lips move north. Using my two index fingers, I spread her pussywide open. My tongue slides through from the bottom up. I repeat this four times before I close my mouth over her clit and suck while flicking my tongue along the hardened bud.

“Oh shit.” Aria’s curse is followed by a moan. She can claim she doesn’t like sex as much as she wants. But her body tells me differently. Her cunt is dripping with her arousal. “What the hell are you doing to me?” she gasps.

I move my head to look into her eyes. “You good?” I ask her. I know she is, but I want to hear it from her.

“Don’t stop.” She scowls at me.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” My tongue swirls around her clit, and I push two fingers into her opening.

Aria tightens her thighs, closing them on my head. I don’t stop. If anything, I increase my efforts. I’m not leaving this spot until she’s coming with my name on her lips. My fingers push in and out of her. She’s so fucking tight and warm. My cock fights against the constraints of my pants, wanting to get out and inside Aria. Not yet. I’m not ready to take this thing between us that far.

What I am ready for is to feel her come apart for me. My teeth graze along her clit, and I alternate between sucking, licking, and biting while my fingers pick up the pace. Pumping in and out.

Aria’s hands land on my head. I can’t tell if she’s trying to pull me off or push me against her. Her hips start moving, thrusting in rhythm with my fingers. And then it happens. Her legs stiffen and her fingers tug at the ends of my hair as she screams my name so loud I’m sure all the partygoers downstairs can hear it.

I continue to lick her until her body is completely limp beneath me before I slide up the length of her and find her mouth. My tongue pushes in and swirls around. When I break away from the kiss, I smirk. “So, still of the opinion that you don’t like sex?”

“I might be becoming partial to certain sexual acts.” She smiles up at me and something strange happens. I feel… lighter than I have in a long fucking time.

Of course, that lightness dissipates as soon as the guilt crashes down around me, Shelli’s face in the forefront of my mind. For a moment, I forgot. I let myself play into this role, and I forgot.

“It’s okay,” Aria says. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Santo.”

I jump to my feet and shake my head. “I know,” I tell her. “I have to go mingle for a bit. Stay in here if you don’t want to come back down.” I don’t look at her when I walk out of the room. I can’t.

I also don’t return to the party. After swiping up a bottle of Cinque, I get in my car and drive. There’s only one place I need to be. With Shelli. I don’t deserve to see her right now, but I need to. I need to apologise. I want to tell her it won’t happen again, but I know it will. Aria is fast becoming my new favourite addiction.

She helps me forget while the whiskey forces me to remember.

Chapter Twenty

Iwake up alone. I shouldn’t be surprised. I went to sleep alone. I don’t know where Santo disappeared to last night. Once I was locked away in his room, I wasn’t going to walk back out to that party.

Now, in the light of day, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. Santo was really passionate about me not returning to myfather’s company. That said, I can’t sit around here all day and wait for my new husband to grace me with his presence either.

After showering, I throw on a light-blue blouse and a black pencil skirt. My hair is tied up into a high ponytail and I applied minimal makeup. Enough that says I made an effort to look nice. I might not be working at my father’s company, but I do need to drop in. I can’t just disappear on the team I’ve been working so closely with. The right thing to do is to let them know I’m leaving, exchange goodbyes and everything. I can do that without running into my father.

It’s a good thing Santo isn’t here. I can get out of the house without him trying to dictate where I can and can’t go.

I pick up my phone and throw it into my purse. I should message Drew later and see if he wants to meet up for lunch. I grab my shoes and head downstairs as quietly as I can. As I pass one of the scary guys in suits, he says something into the sleeve of his jacket. I really need to take up Italian. I hate not knowing what people are saying about me.

“Aria, good morning. Great party last night, right?” One of Santo’s brothers stops in front of me—Gabe, I think.

“Ah, yeah, it was.”

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