Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 123575 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123575 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
“I’m here.” My voice sounds small even to my own ears. “I’m okay.”
Arson leans against the wall, arms crossed, watching our interaction with predatory interest. “Isn’t this cozy? The family reunion you wanted, Little Sister. Though perhaps not quite as you imagined it.”
I ignore him, moving closer to the glass again. Now that I can speak to Aries directly, I drink in every detail of him—the weight loss, the shadows under his eyes, the tension in his shoulders.
“What did he do to you?” Aries asks, gaze traveling over me as if checking for injuries. “Are you hurt?”
“Nothing.” I press my hand to the glass again. “I’m fine. I came willingly.”
His expression hardens. “Willingly? Lil, he’s dangerous. Whatever he’s told you, whatever he’s promised—”
“I know exactly what he is.” Our eyes hold, communicating more than words could. Years of silent watching, of careful distance, have made me fluent in Aries’s unspoken language. “I found Mother’s files. I know what they did to him. To others.”
Shock crosses his features. “You shouldn’t be involved in this.”
“I already am.” My fingers trace patterns on the glass, wishing I could touch him. “I have been since the night I saw you in here.”
“How touching,” Arson interjects, voice dripping with mock sentiment. “The star-crossed siblings, separated by glass and circumstance. Tell me, Brother, does it hurt to see her caring so much? After all your careful distance?”
Aries ignores him, focused entirely on me. “Listen to me. Whatever he’s planning, whatever revenge he wants—you need to get away. These men backing him, they’re dangerous. More dangerous than you know.”
My pulse quickens. “You know about them? The men in suits?”
“They’re why he’s doing this.” Aries’s eyes flick briefly to his brother. “Ask him what happens when his usefulness ends. Ask him about the others they’ve used and discarded. They tried to get to me too, and I know if Arson dragged you here to stay it’s because they must be sniffing around you too.”
Arson pushes off the wall, but something flashes in his eyes as he moves toward me with fluid grace. “That’s enough family therapy for one day, I think.”
I’m transfixed by Aries’s gaze, by the concern there—not just for himself, but for me. For his brother, too, though he’d never admit it.
“It’s going to be okay,” I tell him, not knowing if it’s true. “I’m going to fix this.”
“Lilian, don’t—” Aries starts, but I’ll never know what warning he meant to give because Arson wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me back against his chest and away from the glass while deactivating the intercom.
“I said that’s enough.”
“Let go of me!” I twist in his grip, nails digging into his forearm.
“Stop fighting.” His voice carries a warning, but I’m beyond caution now.
I struggle harder, watching Aries press against the glass, his face twisted with helpless rage. “Let me talk to him! You can’t just—”
“I can do whatever I want.” Arson’s grip tightens painfully. “This is my house. My rules. My game.”
My elbow connects with his ribs—a lucky shot that makes him grunt but doesn’t loosen his hold. If anything, he pulls me tighter against him, one arm like a band across my chest, the other circling my waist.
“Arson, please.” I try another approach, letting my body go softer in his arms. “Just a few more minutes. Then we can go back upstairs. Just let me—”
“No.” His lips brush my ear as he speaks. “You’ve had your reunion. Satisfied your curiosity. Now we’re done.”
Behind the glass, Aries slams his palm against the barrier, mouth moving in what must be shouting, though the speaker is now silent.
“Look at him!” I struggle again, desperate to return to the connection we’d established. “Look what you’re doing to him!”
“I see exactly what I’m doing.” There’s a dark satisfaction in Arson’s voice. “I see him watching something he wants but can’t have. Feeling helpless. Powerless. Just like I felt for ten years.”
Gradually, my struggles slow. Not from surrender, but from the realization that I’m accomplishing nothing except giving Aries a show of my helplessness.
Arson feels the change, his hold gentling slightly, though growing no less secure.
“Smart girl,” he murmurs against my hair. “Fighting just makes it worse for everyone.”
My breath comes in sharp gasps, heart pounding against my ribs—from exertion, from fear, from something else I don’t want to name. Arson’s body curved around mine feels both like a cage and a shelter.
“I hate you for this,” I whisper, though my body betrays me by leaning back into his warmth.
“No.” His voice holds dark certainty. “You hate yourself for wanting both of us. For being here in my arms while he watches. For the way your core tightens, and the desire that fills your veins every time I touch you.”
His words hit with uncomfortable accuracy. I close my eyes because I’m unable to face Aries while acknowledging such a truth.