Page 36 of Betrayal (Corrupt Empire 1)

“You saw me as an… angel?”

“An avenging angel. I don’t know what I was thinking. It just seemed appropriate at the time.”

He smiled a little, but it was haunted.

“I take it your family didn’t encourage this.”

“Not really. Architecture was a compromise.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy it. It was just a lot of work that didn’t necessarily involve me being creative.

“I won’t stop you drawing.”

“You won’t?”

“No.” He looked away. “I got you what you asked for. It’s on the counter.”

“Oh, right. Dinner.”

I hadn’t exactly forgotten. It’d just been pushed to the back of my mind. I put the drawing down and hopped off the bed. I walked towards the door, turning to find him staring down at the pages scattered across the bed. Who knew what Aiden really thought about me drawing him in the way I had. I knew better than to ask.

I left him to it, going into the kitchen and getting started. It took a little while, but when I was done, the kitchen smelt amazing and I was ravenous. Still, I was nervous. What if this wasn’t enough?

I placed the dishes down on the table. When I looked up, he was standing in the doorway.

“Um… I was just going to come find you,” I said, leaning back against the table.

He came into the room and stood before me. He’d changed into a plain t-shirt and shorts. It hugged his muscles and my mouth went dry. Why the fuck did he have to look so beautiful all the time? The intricate patterns of his tattoos were stark on his tanned skin. I wanted to trace my fingers over them. Have him explain each one.

“Something smelt nice…”

I shifted away from the table, showing him what I’d made. Steak fajitas complete with all the trimmings. I’d made the guacamole and salsa from scratch. I had a thing about Mexican food, but I was hoping Aiden would like it too.

I was perfectly aware just how fucked up me trying to please the man who’d taken me and held me against my will was. Nothing about this situation was anything other than completely twisted.

“I hope it’s okay,” I mumbled.

Aiden reached out, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me into him. He tipped my head up with his other hand.

“I’m sure it’s more than okay.”

My breath caught. The way he looked at me sent shivers down my spine. And his touch scorched my skin.

Get a grip.

“I don’t want it to get cold.”

He let go of me and moved away to sit down. It took me a second to put my head straight on again before I joined him. Aiden being close to me gave me all kinds of feelings and urges. I really couldn’t think about how much I wanted a repeat of last night so desperately it made me ache. How much I craved him on a level I didn’t really understand.

“Who taught you to cook?” he asked after we’d both served ourselves and were digging in.

“Um… my mum mostly, but I used to bake with Esme, my nanny.”

“You bake?”

I shrugged. Not so much these days, but I wasn’t bad at it.

“I used to. Why? I didn’t think you’d be into desserts.”

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