Page 40 of Worth Every Risk

Unable to relax, I head down to the kitchen in my boxers to get a glass of water.Fuck it, water won’t cut it.I pour a scotch in a crystal glass and stare at it for a while. Then I take a few sips and listen to the creaks of the house. I move to sit on the sofa, which is tucked away towards one corner of the large kitchen. I sit and place my Scotch on the low level coffee table in front of me. A feeling of hopelessness spreads over me and I hang my head in my hands.

I haven’t turned on the lights, and moonlight streams in the basement window. I don’t know how long I sit there, drinking quietly in the dark, savouring this one glass of Scotch. Sipping it slowly, hoping it’ll take the edge off. Could be twenty minutes, could be an hour. Either way, it’s late.

The clink of keys in the lock shocks me, but I don’t move.

“Thanks so much, it was so fun. Just what I needed.”

It’s Aries. I check the time: 2.30 am. I’ve been in a daze for hours. I forgot she was going out. God knows how it slipped mymind, because Mrs Minter told me before she left, but…Jesus. I’m really not with it at the moment.

A man’s voice replies and my heart clenches in the oddest way. Was that Alec? Or someone else? She’d better not be bringing someone down here. I listen, hardly breathing.

They say goodbye, and I hear Aries’ footsteps clatter down the stairs.She’s coming.

I don’t move, watching as she stumbles towards the fridge.Is she drunk?She hasn’t noticed me sitting in the shadows. An illicit thrill runs through me at the idea of watching her without her knowledge.Is that fucked up? Maybe.I sink into the sofa, thankful that the kitchen is so large, and she’s unlikely to spot me, unless I make myself known.

She’s humming, dressed in a gold mini dress that’s all sequins, her hair free and messy. Lucie’s right with her Ariel nickname. She really does look like a mermaid, covered in shimmering scales. The dress makes her body look like a gift I want to unwrap. Slowly. I’d take my time with it… withher.

She pulls the fridge door open, staggering away as though she hasn’t realised her own strength, then she totters back towards it to peer at the contents. The glow of the fridge light puts her in a spotlight.

Fuck, she’s beautiful.

She slides her heels off, pulls out a block of cheese, and grabs some eggs from a bowl on the counter.

When she kicks the fridge closed the room is dark again except for the moonlight streaming in the window. She grabs a candle from a shelf and a box of matches. She strikes one, and a flame bursts, making her look other-worldly in its glow as she lights the candle. I don’t know why she doesn’t turn on the full lights, but candlelight it is.

She’s still humming. Dancing, even. Her hips sway, and her dress molds to the curve of her arse as it rides up and exposesher thighs. I don’t think she’s wearing a bra because her full breasts move freely beneath her dress as she shimmies. But then I’ve noticed she hardly ever wears one. It’s mesmerising, hypnotizing, watching her move when she thinks she’s alone. I imagine touching her, sliding my hands over that arse, cupping each cheek, nuzzling my head between her breasts. Heat pools low in my stomach and tingles stir in the tip of my cock. This woman turns me on without even trying.

She begins cracking the eggs into a bowl, whisking them up.Why the fuck is she doing this down here and not upstairs in her kitchen?I’d be irritated if she wasn’t so pleasing to spy on. But I don’t want to be a creep…

“No eggs upstairs?” I say, announcing my presence.

She continues dancing, her back to me.

Didn’t she hear me?I peer at her, noticing she’s using the headphones I bought her. A burst of satisfaction courses through me, stronger than any reaction I ever had to seeing Gemma flaunt the expensive gifts I bought her.

Aries raises her hands over her head, hips shaking like she’s in the middle of a nightclub, and her words from the other day spring to mind.Don’t you ever wear a shirt? And here I am in only my fucking boxers. Again.

I’m torn.Do I get up? Slink out? Sit still and wait until she’s finished, hoping she doesn’t see me at all?

That’s crazy. This is my house.

I push up from the sofa and pace towards her, driven by the urge to slide my arm around her waist, to pull her close, to press my fucking mouth against the pale skin of her neck…fuck.

I’ll leave. This is insane.

Suddenly, I’m right behind her. I don’t know how she can’t sense me, seeing as she’s all into her gut instinct and whatever other shit she rambles about, but she’s oblivious.

“Aries.”

She jumps out of her skin, spins one-eighty, and lets out a hair-raising scream as she flings two eggs at me. Maybe three. They crash against my chest, shells splintering on my skin. Aries isn’t far behind the eggs, coming at me, arms-whirling, walloping me with clenched fists.

Her attack is thwarted by the slick mess of raw egg that coats my chest. Her fingers are slip-sliding all over me. I don’t know if I’m in shock, but this definitely doesn’t feel as bad as it should.

She snatches her hands back, and the mixture of surprise and disgust on her face is absolutely priceless as she stares at the strings of raw egg that web her fingers.

She yanks her earphones out one at a time, dumps them on the counter like she’s annoyed with them, then steps back and flicks her hands, spraying raw egg everywhere. “Holy hell, where did you come from?” She’s breathing fast, like I’ve scared the life out of her.

“I was here before you were.” I point to the sofa.

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