Page 20 of Sacrifice (Corrupt Empire 2)

He opened the door to the stairwell and we were hurrying down the stairs a moment later. At least I was trying to in four-inch heels whilst being tipsy. Not an easy feat at the pace Aiden set.

“Slow down, I’m in heels,” I protested.

“For fuck’s sake,” he muttered.

Next thing I knew, he’d swept me up into his arms and carried me down the stairs at a light jog. I held onto his neck for dear life.

“Do you know what would happen if they saw us? We’d be fucked,” he said.

I didn’t reply because there wasn’t any point saying anything. This whole thing had been my stupid idea in the first place. I’d put us in danger by insisting Aiden take me out on a date.

He set me on my feet when we reached the bottom, but then we were out the stairwell and moving through the ground floor of the club. The staff nodded at us.

Aiden stopped by the front desk and asked for something. I wasn’t paying much attention to what he said. The attendant handed over two helmets. Aiden thrust one into my hands, picking up the other and tugging me out the door. I barely had time to register what was happening when we were out in the street and a few moments later, he ducked into an alleyway. There sat his fucking bike. I’d told him I was never getting on that thing with him.

“Are you crazy? How do you expect me to get on your bike in this dress?” I asked when he started sorting it out.

“Here.”

He handed me a pair of my jeans and took the helmet from my hands, resting it on the seat. I stared at him for a long moment. He really was crazy.

When I didn’t move, he started hitching my dress up for me until it sat on my hips. He took the jeans from my hands and helped me into them after I slipped off my heels. I tugged the dress further up so it bunched around my waist and zipped the jeans up. Apparently, this was me suitably attired when it was freezing cold out. He put the helmet on my head and secured it before putting his own on. I slipped my heels back on whilst he got on the bike and started it.

The noise made my heart pound. He waved me over. I swung my leg over and sat down, wrapping my arms around his waist. I trusted Aiden to an extent, but this was a bike and I’d never, ever wanted to get on one.

He edged the bike out of the alleyway and then we were off. It was terrifying. He wasn’t driving that fast, but I clung to him, my legs trembling. It was cold and I hated every moment of it. Perhaps if circumstances were different, I might have been okay, but knowing we could’ve been caught set me on edge.

Aiden didn’t take us back to his flat. We drove into a car park in Holborn and he parked up. There was no one about and he helped me out of the jeans and pulled my dress back down. He tucked my jeans back into the seat of the bike. I was a little unsteady on my feet after the ride, but I didn’t say anything about it to him. I was grateful he’d got us away from Frazier and Tristan.

“What are we doing here?” I asked as we walked out onto the street, hand in hand.

“I wanted to treat you.”

I looked up at him, but he wasn’t paying attention to me. A few minutes later, we stopped in front of a very expensive hotel. I found myself inside it the next moment.

“Are we staying here?” I asked.

“Yes.”

He took me straight to the lifts and we went up two floors. When we stopped outside the room, he handed me his helmet before reaching in his pocket for the key card. I followed him inside. It was a rather large, very modern looking suite with plush furnishings. The bedroom was separated from the lounge area.

Aiden took the helmets from me and set them down on a side table. I looked around the room with interest before checking out the bathroom. A huge marble bathtub and a separate rainfall shower.Holy shit.This place was beautiful.

I walked back out and found Aiden waiting for me in the middle of the room.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“It’s lovely, but you didn’t have to get us a hotel room.”

I’d never seen Aiden look nervous or unsure of himself, but at that moment, he did. I slipped out of my heels and walked over to him. Staring up into those steel grey eyes, I wondered what he was thinking. And when he didn’t reach for me, I couldn’t help but need to know what was up with him.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked after a long moment.

Of all the things I thought he might say, that was not it. Since when did he ask permission to kiss me? Didn’t he know how much I missed and needed him? Shit, it had barely been five days and yet a second without him felt like forever.

I went up on my tiptoes, wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his ear.

“Aiden, you can do much more than just kiss me,” I whispered. “I’m still yours. I told you, nothing has changed. I want your control. I crave it. I need you to tell me what to do.”

Feeling his solid body pressed against mine sent tingles down my spine.

“You have my submission. Now. Always.”

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