Chapter 109 Claimed
Kane’s POV
The drive home felt longer than usual. My knuckles ached. And Christian’s blood…stained the leather of my gloves. I stripped them off at a red light and tossed them in the bag I kept in the back seat.
The city lights blurred past my windows. Sirens wailed somewhere behind me, getting fainter as I put distance between myself and that parking garage.Christian was finished.
The feds would have him in custody within minutes. And he deserved every second of what was coming.
I flexed my hands on the steering wheel, as the penthouse came into view. I pulled into the private garage and killed the engine.
I took the elevator up.Aria was standing in the living room, arranging something on the table.
The moment she saw me, she ran, wrapping her arms around my waist, with her face buried in my chest. She held on so tight I could feel her trembling.
“Hey,” I said softly, my arms coming around her. “I’m here. I’m okay.”
She didn’t speak. Just held on tighter.
That’s when I noticed her eyes were wet. Tears tracked down her cheeks, dampening my shirt.Concern shot through me like ice water.
“Aria.” I pulled back slightly, trying to see her face. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
She shook her head, still not speaking.
I didn’t wait for an answer, I bent down and scooped her up with my arm under her knees, the other around her back. She curled against my chest immediately, her fingers gripping my shirt.
I carried her to the bedroom. Pushed the door open with my shoulder and set her down gently on the bed.
She pulled me down with her, refusing to let go.
“Talk to me,” I said, settling beside her. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
Instead of answering, she reached for her phone on the nightstand. Her hands shook slightly as she pulled up something and handed it to me.
News headlines filled the screen.
ASHFORD HEIR ARRESTED ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING CHARGES
FEDERAL INVESTIGATION EXPANDS TO ASHFORD FAMILY ASSOCIATES
RICARDO MARTINEZ NAMED IN CONNECTION TO ASHFORD TRAFFICKING RING
My jaw tightened.
Of course. Aria’s family was about to be destroyed along with Christian.
“I know you did this somehow,” Aria whispered. Her voice was rough, like she’d been crying for a while. “Thank you.”
I turned my head away, heat creeping up my neck. “I didn’t…”
“Don’t.” She shifted closer, her hand coming to my face, turning me back to look at her. “Don’t pretend you didn’t. I know you, Kane. I know what you’re capable of.”
I couldn’t meet her eyes.
“He hurt you,” I said finally. “I couldn’t let that go.”
“I know.”
She moved then. Shifted in my arms, before settling more fully in my lap. Her legs straddled my thighs, her body warm and soft against mine.Then she leaned in.
“Kiss me, Kane.”
Every muscle in my body went rigid.
I shook my head. “Aria…”
“Why?” Her hands came to my face, cradling it. “Why won’t you kiss me?”
“Because I’m not good for you.” The words came out harsh. And Desperate. “I’m not a good person. I’m a monster, Aria. If you knew what I’ve done, what I’m capable of doing, you wouldn’t want me.”
Her eyes searched mine. Then, instead of pulling away like she should have, she leaned in closer.
Her lips found my jaw, giving me a soft gentle kiss.
“Aria,” I warned.
She ignored me. Kissed down my jaw to my neck. Her fingers worked at the buttons of my shirt.
My hands shot out, gripping her hips. To steady myself. To keep from grabbing her the way I wanted to.
She unbuttoned my shirt slowly. Each button releasing with a soft pop that sounded impossibly loud in the quiet room.
When she pushed the fabric aside, her lips found my chest.
I hissed through my teeth.
“Aria.” Her name came out strangled.
She kissed lower. Found one of my nipples and her tongue…
“Mia dea,” I breathed. My goddess.
She bit down gently and my head fell back against the pillow behind me.
“Ah, Aria…” My hands tightened on her hips. “Wait. Wait.”
She pulled back slightly, her lips pink and wet, her eyes dark with want.
The sight of her disheveled, and so beautiful, made me instantly, painfully hard.
“If you do this,” I said, my voice rough, “I won’t ever let you go.”
Her steady eyes met mine.
“You’ll be mine,” I continued. “From now until eternity. And even then, I’ll come for your soul. Do you understand? There’s no going back from this. No changing your mind later. You’ll be mine completely.”
“It’s already yours, Kane,” she whispered.
Something in my chest cracked wide open.
“Aria…”
“My soul. My heart. All of it.” Her hands came to my face again. “It’s been yours since that first night. Since you caught me when I fell. Since you took me in and kept me safe and made me feel like I mattered.”
“You do matter.”
“Then stop pushing me away.” She leaned in until her forehead rested against mine. “Stop trying to protect me from yourself. I know what you are. I know what you’ve done. And I’m choosing you anyway.”
“You don’t know everything.”
“Then tell me.”
I was quiet for a long moment.
Then I spoke. Told her things I’d never told anyone. About the jobs I’d taken. The people I’d hurt. The lines I’d crossed in the name of loyalty and duty and survival.
I told her about my father…Vincent, the man who’d taught her art, who’d been kind and gentle with her. And how that same man had trained me to kill before I was old enough to drive.
I told her about Gavin. About the years we’d spent in the darkness together. About the things we’d had to do to build the empire that kept us safe now.
I told her everything.
And when I was done, when I’d laid out every ugly truth about myself, she didn’t flinch.
She just kissed me.On the mouth.
And I broke. My goddess reached out to me. A lonely sinful man. And I want to accept. I can have this for myself. Right?
My hands came up to her face and I kissed her back. Poured everything into it…all the want I’d been holding back, all the need, all the desperate longing for something good in my life.
She made a soft sound against my mouth and my control snapped completely.
I flipped us. Pinned her beneath me on the bed. She gasped but didn’t protest. Just looked up at me with those huge dark eyes.
“Mine,” I said against her lips. “Say it.”
“Yours,” she breathed.
“Say it again.”
“Yours, Kane. I’m yours.”
I kissed her again. Harder this time. Her fingers threaded through my hair, pulling me closer. Her legs wrapped around my waist.