He would get her back in bed eventually

He would get her back in bed eventually
"You need company, little lady?"

Aria jolted at the sound of Dominic's voice in her room. She had been wrapped up in her blanket, and now she pulled it down to find him standing right next to her bed.

"You," she said, annoyed.

Dominic looked at her. Deep. Intense. "You think you can start calling me Dad now, Kitty?" His voice was cold.

Aria tried to stay calm. "I do not have to do that."

"You do. Because I am your dad now."

Aria clicked her tongue. She sat up and stared right back at him.

"What if I do not want to?" She said it with a smirk, like she was challenging him.

Dominic stepped closer. He leaned down until his face was near hers. "You are my Kitty, in case you forgot. Did you forget that night we had? You think I am letting you go after that? You are wrong, Kitty. I am going to make things even hotter between us." His whisper made Aria go completely still.

Forget that night? How could she? She felt how good it was too.

She started to say something, but Dominic cut her off. He kissed her. Hard.

At first, Aria was shocked. But then, slowly, she started to feel okay with it. Comfortable even. His mouth on hers felt right.

But underneath that, she was angry. At him. Because his status now was her stepdad. Even if they were not related by blood.

Aria pushed him away. She managed to break the kiss.

"What?" Dominic asked.

Aria did not answer right away. She just looked at him.

Dominic leaned in again, but she stopped him.

"Aria?" He said her name.

"Do not do that again. We are at home, not somewhere else. You are my dad now."

"Stepdad. That is different."

"It is not different. How do you think Mom would feel if she found out?"

"Then we keep it secret. As long as…"

"Do you love me?"

The question hit him like a shot. Dominic went quiet.

He did not answer. He honestly did not know what to say. Love? No. Not yet, at least. He did not love Aria. It would be complicated if he did. So better not to go there. But if he told the truth about not loving her, he would lose access to her body. This beautiful girl in front of him. But lying felt wrong too. If he lied and said he loved her, she would hurt every time he was with Helena.

"What do you want me to say?" He made it vague on purpose.

Aria clicked her tongue again. She looked at him like he disgusted her.

"That answer is so weak," she said, her voice full of sarcasm.

"Just leave. I do not need you to comfort me. Relax. If you are worried about me accepting you as my stepdad, I already have. So do not pretend to care."

She pointed toward the door. "The exit is right there. I am sure you remember where it is."

Dominic looked at her calmly. He smiled a little.

Give up?

That was not who he was.

He would get her back in bed eventually. There would be another time.



That afternoon, Aria was busy handling her move to America. She thought after she rejected Dominic, he would take back the scholarship he offered her. But she was wrong. He was still letting her go through with it.

She felt lucky. Finally, she could leave this country. At least for a few years.

And one more thing. She could get away from Dominic. Well, not completely away. He might follow her there eventually.

But right now, she did not care. She would let time pass and hope that when the future came, it would be on her side. One hundred percent.



Afternoon turned into night. Aria was exhausted from everything she had done that day. She did not think it would be this tiring, but she was wrong.

This was the part she hated about service here. If you did not tip, everything took forever. She did not expect to be dragged all over the place by the staff. Her body was wrecked. Especially her feet and shoulders.

She walked into her room. Once inside, she dropped onto the bed and stretched out.

"You look tired."

A deep voice made Aria jump. Her eyes snapped open, and she looked to see who spoke.

"Dominic? Why are you in my room?" Her voice came out louder than she meant. Angry.

Dominic had been sitting on the lounge chair in the corner of her room. Now he stood up and walked to the door.

He locked it fast and turned back to her.

Aria was not scared. She had never been scared of him. She just watched blankly as he walked closer. Closer. Until he stood right in front of her.

She noticed him looking at the documents she had brought in. They were on the bed.

When she reached for them, Dominic grabbed them first. He opened the folder.

"You are moving faster than I expected," he said, flipping through the pages. Reading everything.

"Give those back!" Aria tried to grab them.

But he was too fast again. He held them out of reach.

"What do you want?" This time she yelled. Loud. She did not care if her mom heard.

Dominic laughed. "You are funny. You think yelling will bring your mom? Helena is out of town. She left an hour ago."

Now she was trapped. She had no leverage against this man.

Aria gasped when Dominic suddenly bent down. His face was level with hers.

"Why are you avoiding me? I am your dad." He whispered it.

Aria did not answer. Instead, she found herself looking at his face. Studying it. He was perfect.

"I know I am handsome. But right now, I am your dad." His words made her flustered. She looked down at the floor.

Dominic found it cute. On one hand, she was his stepdaughter who kept defying him. On the other hand, she was this adorable girl who sometimes mesmerized him.

"Why are you looking down?" His face was so close to hers.

Aria cursed under her breath. This good-looking man in front of her was testing her. She did not know how to handle her stepdad anymore.

"Kitty. I miss you."

Thump.

Kitty?

That was what he called her. The name he used when they were both trying to reach that peak together. When it felt so good in bed.

Did that name still count? Now that he was married to her mother?

Aria looked into his eyes. She forgot for a second that he used to be her sugar daddy. She did not know if that was still a thing between them.

Dominic moved even closer. His face almost touching hers. He smiled that small smile.

"You know, Kitty? I have a lot of people who can help me. You can not hide from me. Especially not in the country where I was born."

Thump!