Page 31 of Just a Bit Captivated

“It’s just a silly little crush,” Aiden muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

Just a silly crush.

It was.

If it wasn’t, he was fucked.

Chapter Twelve

After some thought, Aiden decided that there wasn’t any point in moping about something he couldn’t change. So, he had a bit of a crush. So what?

Aiden wasn’t a stranger to crushes. His teenage years weren’t so long ago that he’d forgotten all the embarrassing, unsuitable crushes he’d had, starting from his mom’s best friend and ending with his brother’s very hot ex-wife. In hindsight, there was a clear pattern with his worst crushes: he always seemed to gravitate toward the forbidden. Luckily, his crushes had always been fleeting, and he had no reason to think that it would be any different this time.

His thing for Zain wasn’t the end of the world. He just had to wait until it inevitably passed, as all his inappropriate crushes had in the past. Nothing to worry about.

So Aiden was in a pretty good mood when he entered the dining room the next morning.

But his mood took a hit the moment he saw Zain.

He’d thought he was prepared to deal with his silly crush.

He wasn’t.

Even looking at Zain was disorienting, Aiden’s emotions contradictory and confusing.

Zain was seated at the head of the table, mouthwateringly handsome as usual. His black hair looked soft and gorgeous, a striking contrast to the white thobe that hugged his wide shoulders and fit arms. Zain was sipping his tea, his eyes fixed on the paperwork in front of him, his fingers absently stroking his chin.

Aiden still felt the same burning dislike and resentment when he looked at him. This man was still his captor. He was still the same arrogant dick he’d come to hate. Aiden hadn’t suddenly started liking him just because they’d had sex.

He just wanted to kiss him.

The thought—the desire—made him sigh inwardly. For fuck’s sake.

“Good morning!” he said, trying to ignore the horrible butterflies that were fluttering all over his stomach.

The asshole ignored him.

Aiden felt the familiar desire to introduce his fist to Zain’s mouth. Unfortunately, his desire to put his mouth on that mouth was far stronger.

“Back home it’s not very polite not to say anything when people tell you good morning,” Aiden said, walking closer.“Are things different here?”

When Zain finally deigned to look at him, his gaze was unreadable. He looked about as approachable as a stone gargoyle.

Aiden still wanted to kiss him. He wanted to touch him. God, this man was such an unfeeling, problematic mess, but Aidenitchedto touch him. He wanted to slide his fingers under Zain’s impeccable white cuff and trace the veins and muscles of his wrist, feel his pulse beat under his thumb. He wanted to feel him up. Badly.

Aiden closed his eyes for a moment, exasperated with himself.

Maybe indulging this stupid crush would cure him of it. Overexposure was a thing, right?

“Are you going to stand there all morning?” Zain said. “Sit down.”

Aiden sat down.

In Zain’s lap.

“Hi,” he said, cradling Zain’s face with his hands and giving him a beaming smile.He knew his smiles annoyed Zain for some reason. The dick seemed to like making everyone miserable, so Aiden was determined not to give him the satisfaction of seeing him scared and sad.

A muscle by Zain’s left eye twitched.“Remove your butt from my lap,” he said, in a suspiciously conversational voice.

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