Billionaire On Fire: The Complete Series (A Bad Boy Alpha Billionaire Romance) (49 page)

“That’s not at all what I am saying, Aria,
and you know it,” Stacey said, looking as annoyed as I was. “It’
s just
… I am just saying be careful. You
know this guy very well by now, and you are going back despite disliking some
of his ways. If you are expecting him to change a little, sure that could
happen, but a complete one eighty is unlikely, and you’re just wasting
everybody’s time if you go back with particular expectations in that regard,
because it will end just like it did last time.”

That made way more sense than I liked.
Stacey was right, I couldn’t go in there thinking everything was suddenly going
to be different. Most likely, he would still have controlling tendencies, and I
would have to learn to talk him out of it without wanting to storm out every
time.

“I will be careful, I promise,” I said
finally. “You guys are absolutely on point about this. But you understand that
I am in a sticky situation, right? There are only two days until payment and I
have so far been completely unsuccessful in coming up with a plan to do it
without Zayden’s help. As much as I hate to admit it – and would never ever
admit to him, god no – I do need him right now, so I will have to make more compromises
than not.”

“As long as you are aware that’s what you’
re doing.
”
Stacey smiled.
“There is nothing wrong
with a little compromise, Aria.”

Nick made a coughing sound.

“What?” Stacey snapped looking at him.
“Are you trying to say something to me, Nicholas?”

He looked like he had a bullet fast
approaching his face and finding a direction to duck in to dodge it. “No. Uh, I
mean, like. Yeah, sure. We compromise. Both of us, all the time.”

He was trying hard not to meet her eye.

“You think I don’t compromise enough!” Her
face changed completely in realization.

I started feeling uncomfortable about
being there. It was one of those rare moments, when I became very aware of the
fact that Nick and Stacey were a couple in a real relationship with real
relationship problems – and not just bickering about blogs and video games -
and I was intruding on their private moments.

Trying not to draw attention to myself, I
slowly got up, but their fight was getting heated and I was sitting right smack
in the middle of the two so there was no way to escape without drawing
attention to myself. I thought it was best to just announce my departure at
that point, so I said softly, “I am really tired, guys, I have a long weekend
ahead of me, so I am gonna be off now.”

Without waiting for an answer, I began to
march off, but Stacey stopped me. “Wait! What do you think, Aria? Do I not
compromise enough?”

“
I don
’t know,” I mumbled, feeling uncomfortable to be
summoned into the conversation. “How would I know?”

“You live with us! You see us together all
the time. You must have an opinion!”

“
I don
’t,” I said not entirely truthfully. In all honesty, I
did think that Nick made the majority of the compromises and Stacey made the
majority of the decisions in their relationship; however, this seemed to work
for them, and wasn’t that kind of the point? There certainly wasn’t a universal
rule of conduct that worked evenly for everybody, was there? Something that I
would need to keep in mind as well; every two people are different, and need to
find their own unique ways to make it work, no matter how crazy or ridiculous
it may seem to other people.

“You guys really need to talk this out
among yourself, but I will say this, I have harped on this over and over again
the entire time the two of you have been together, and to date, I would be
harder pressed to find two people that are completely perfect for each other.
And that remains true even if one of you may be more…” I looked at Nick with a
half-smile, “….compromising.”

Then I walked away, not letting Stacey
stop me this time, and feeling kind of pleased with myself for the way I
handled the situation.

Dealing with other people’s problems,
however, was much easier than addressing your own. I could write an essay on
Nick and Stacey’s relationship, and relationships in general, and people in
relationships. I could write an essay on love even, in a heartbeat. Yet, when
it came to understanding the best approach to handling my situation with
Zayden, I was always at a complete loss. I had a plan but I wasn’t sure how it
was going to work. Knowing him and his weaknesses, I didn’t doubt he would
physically cave in a second, but would he make the payment?

A part of me wished that we had gotten
comfortable enough with each other that I could just straight up ask him
whether he was planning on making it, but I had tried in my own way, hadn’t I?
And he clearly wanted to keep me in the dark and was enjoying taunting me like
this. That was the kind of thing I needed to learn to be okay with if I was
determined to continue whatever this was. Zayden Sinclair loved playing games,
and he wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, was he? His games weren’t entirely
un-stimulating. I wasn’t saying that I enjoyed feeling like I was constantly in
the middle of a mental tug-of-war, but it was refreshing to always be left
wondering what was going to happen next. It kept me on my toes and I could at
the very least safely say that having Zayden Sinclair in my life meant there
was never a dull moment.

---

On Saturday I woke up early in the morning
to groom myself thoroughly. After spending hours cleansing, toning, exfoliated,
and waxing, I felt much more relaxed about my upcoming encounter with Zayden.
Not that seducing him was ever going to be the difficult part; he would get
excited even if I showed up in a rucksack, but I wanted him to feel that I had
put in some effort, so that he saw that I cared. Which is why I had purchased
the sexy lingerie that was staring at me with anticipation.

My nerves began to bubble up again. Never
before I had worn anything of this sort. Best I had done was purchase bras and
panties from Target separately to match the colors. This deep red and sultry
corset from Victoria’s Secret had cost a fortune. If I didn’t wear it, I could
just return it, since I was feeling guilty about it anyway.

But if I thought about the opportunity
cost – something my line of work had just hard-wired me to do all the time – it
amounted to a very, very small price to pay. After all, if Zayden was happy and
he went ahead and made the payment, then I would have a lot less to worry about
altogether.

With that in mind, I stripped naked and
put on the red lingerie. When I looked in the mirror, I gasped. The outfit had
superpowers. My breasts, half-covered, were popping out tight and firm, and so
much bigger than I had ever seen them. All my curves were highlighted to
perfection and I felt more attractive than I ever had in my entire life. Zayden
was in for a treat, I thought happily, then got nervous again. What if he
didn’t even want to sleep with me and was just calling me over to officially
end the contract? I had woken up this morning to the dream that Ned took me to
Zayden’s office instead of Zayden’s house, where a room full of people were
waiting in anticipation, including a camera crew from the local news station.
It was some kind of a training session on how to fire somebody, and I was the
test subject.

Needless to say, waking up from that dream
was unnerving. Of course, I knew deep down that Zayden wasn’t actually ready to
let go of me just yet.

Trying not to dwell on that too much, I
started putting on the rest of my outfit. A simple black halter dress that was
a little too short perhaps, but served the purpose of getting Zayden’s
immediate attention. The lingerie corset had been so effective in doing its job
that even through my halter dress, my breasts looked like they had been carved
to optimal perk. Even I wouldn’t have been able to turn down what I saw in the
mirror if I were
a guy.

Feeling satisfied, I put on my make-up and
tied my hair back in a loose bun, letting strands fall evenly on the contours
of my face. This caused the back of the halter to be open, adding to the
seductive look I was going for. I finished it off with a pair of Stacey’
s red stilettos
that was to match what
was underneath the dress when it came off, and that made me feel tall and
slender. A little bit of sexy perfume and a cute red purse later, I was ready
to go.

Ned arrived ten minutes later and instead
of buzzing up, Zayden called me.

“You ride is waiting for you downstairs,”
he said on the phone.

“Did you have to deliver the message
remotely? We have a buzzer, you know?”

“Oh yeah, Ned wanted to utilize the, uh, ‘
buzzing
’ service, but I thought it best to
not pass up on an opportunity to make this phone call.”

“
Well
,
I hope that you feel satisfied,” I said, amused.

“Not yet, Aria. You know what I sound like
when I am satisfied,” he chuckled. “This is obviously not it. Now tell me, what
are you wearing?”

“I have to go. Ned is waiting for me
downstairs.” I couldn’t suppress a smile, so I felt glad that he couldn’t see
me.

“I pay him to wait for you,” he said,
unconcerned. “Tell me, so I can prepare.”

“Prepare for what?” I asked playfully.

“What do you think?” He was starting to
sound frustrated.

“
I don
’t know. To discuss the contract I suppose.” I tried
hard not to burst out laughing.

“Maybe. But that’s not what I am talking
about and you know it. It has been a difficult few weeks, Aria. I have been
dreaming about it every single night.”

“About what?” I asked innocently.

“Come here and I will show you.” His tone
had an abrupt change. “Ned is downstairs, it’s rude to make him wait.”

“What the hell? You just said–”

But he cut off before I could finish my
sentence. More excited and nervous than I had felt all day, I walked downstairs
to find a black BMW waiting for me.

Chapter 8

Zayden

I kept checking the time at an alarming
frequency. Tonight was going to be exciting. I had sent my entire staff home so
it would be just me and Aria in this big house with so many rooms. And so many
beds.

She didn’t know it yet, but I had already
made the payment to her mother’s hospital bill earlier today. I wasn’t planning
on telling her until later either. She needed to see the error in her ways and
learn to never cross me like that again. The fear that I would maybe not make
the payment at all should be an excellent way for me to regain the upper hand
in this dynamic.

To my great disappointment, I realized that
during the past month she had completely stolen that position from me. Asking
to break the contract! Even though it had all turned out pretty well in the
end, she had unintentionally manipulated me into making some big changes in my
life. I didn’t remember the last time in my life somebody had had such a
profound impact, and not necessarily in a positive way.

But it was all okay, because she would be
here any minute, and I missed Aria far too much to waste the time pondering
over my own mind games. Tonight was about reconciliation.

When the doorbell finally rang, I got up
instantly to get it for her, and when I saw her I forgot almost everything,
even my name.

“Your mouth is hanging open,” she said
with a radiant smile, walking inside comfortably.

What? I couldn’t quite process anything
that was happening or anything she was saying. All I knew was that Aria had
somehow managed to get even hotter than I had ever seen her before – I didn’t
even think that was possible – and all the blood in my body rushed away from my
brain and everywhere else and deposited itself into my groin.

“Say something. You’re making me nervous,”
Aria said, now sitting cross-legged on my couch. With those deep red stilettos,
her legs looked like they were out of a fashion magazine catalogue. I just
wanted to grab them, pull up her skirt, and take her right there.

“
You look
…
exquisite,
”
I said, unable to find the perfect word to describe exactly how good she
looked.

“You’re talking to my boobs?” she said
following my gaze.

“No.” I was still glaring at them. “But
sure, those too. Did they get bigger somehow?”

She chuckled girlishly. I had never quite
seen her like this before, acting so feminine, sitting cross-legged on the
sofa, wearing deep red stilettos!

“You’re trying to seduce me?” It wasn’t a
question, as I realized what was going on, and couldn’
t help feeling excited.

“Why on earth would I do such a thing?”
She batted her eye-lashes innocently, playing with her hair.

“Why wouldn’t you?” I grinned. “You had
some of Zayden and you just had to come and get more.”

“
I don
’t know what you are talking about.”

“Oh, that’s how you want to play, then?
Game is on.”

“
I don
’t know what you are talking about,” she said again,
this time with a hint of a smile lingering around her lips. Her lipstick
matched her shoes perfectly. I thought of how I would be smearing it up all
over her face soon enough and felt myself getting hard.

“Are you hungry?” I said to change the
subject, so that I didn’t give in to my temptations just yet. Although she would
probably like that, the important thing here was to win, and it was getting
increasingly difficult as her breasts were almost outside of her dress. I
wanted nothing more than to kneel on the floor and suck them until she came.

“I am so, so hungry, not for food though,”
she said with a look that made me almost change my mind about dinner.

“
I don
’t know what you’re talking about,” I said mimicking
her and turned around to walk towards the kitchen. Looking at her was not going
to help the situation in anyway whatsoever. “Follow me.”

Even the staccato sounds of her heels was
increasing my desire so I walked as fast as I could, trying to think about
dinner instead of the desert that was to come after.

“Where are we headed? Your house is huge!”
I heard her exclaim behind me. “What mind-blowing concoction has your chef come
up with today?”

“I sent him home,” I said causally,
arriving at the kitchen and then turning to look at her. “I sent all the help
home.”

“But dinner?” She screwed her mouth and
then gasped. “You don’t expect me to cook, do you? I mean, well, I guess I
could, but I am not dressed for that. I suppose I could change.”

“Aria, stop mumbling. We are grilling.
Well, I am, outside on my balcony.”

“Then why are we in your kitchen? It’s
such a nice kitchen!” She looked so excited about everything in this house that
a part of me just wanted to ask her to move in with me and be done with it. I
thought of her tiny apartment and wondered if it would, in fact, be worth
finding her a better place to stay. I highly doubted she would be okay with it,
though.

“We are here because I marinated some
steaks earlier that we will take outside and grill.”

I opened the fridge and looked around for
a suitable beverage to offer her. She had said she liked beer, so I had gotten
her some Belgian Ale, but perhaps she would want wine since she was dressed all
seductive. It suited the role she was currently playing.

“
Beer is fine,
” she said, noticing my hesitation.
“Thanks, I didn’t even think you kept any in your place!”

“
I don
’t.” I shrugged. “But since you were coming over–”

“Thank you Zayden.”

“And I did something else you might
appreciate,” I said removing the steaks from the fridge. “I marinated the steak
in curry powder. Thought it would give you your kick.”

The look on her face right now was worth
all the curry powders in the whole world. She looked absolutely delighted, like
she couldn’t believe that someone would do that for her.

“What?” I grinned.

“When was the last time you cooked?”

“
I don
’t remember,” I said honestly. “I never have to and
don’t have the time anyway. My chef does an excellent job without my
interference.”

“Then why are you cooking – or grilling I
guess – now?”

“Because, Aria…” I spoke like I was
explaining two plus two equals four to a very difficult infant. “I really like
you.”

Her cheeks blushed so hard upon hearing
those words that they almost matched her lipstick. “I... I really like you
too.”

I raised my eyebrows quizzically. “Really?
I never quite got that from you, based on the fact that you were trying to
break the contract only a month ago, so that you could get as far away from me
as physically possible.”

“It wasn’t like that,” she said, the joy
from before beginning to wane from her face. “You know what it was about. I
have never answered to anyone in my life before, Zayden, not even my parents.
So I just don’t have a way to deal with somebody trying to control me other
than cut them off.”

“Did it ever occur to you–” I cut myself
off mid-sentence, realizing what a waste it would be to get into this right
now. “Never mind, let’s not dwell on this now. Let’
s go outside.
”

I offered her my hand – and she struggled
before deciding to take it – and escorted her towards the balcony. “Close your
eyes,” I said on the way there. “
And
no cheating, Aria. I
’ll know if you cheat and if you do your
mother’s bill might not get paid.”

She stopped walking and looked at me with
a slight hint of annoyance mixed with amusement. “Is that what it is going to
be from now on? ‘Oh Aria, breathe at rhythmic intervals of .05 seconds, or your
mother’s bill might not get paid!’”

“Just close your eyes. Trust me, you will
like this!”

After a brief moment she finally did and I
reached for her hand again. When we were at the balcony, I said, “Now open.”

She gasped loudly; I was sure all the
neighbors in a five-mile radius could hear. “What – what did you – why?” Her
eyes were starting to tear up.

I had the whole balcony decorated with
heart-shaped red balloons and scented candles, and in the middle was a table
with her favorite bottle of champagne and two chairs underneath a crystal
chandelier. It was like Valentine’s Day had thrown up all over the balcony. We
were facing the view of the mountain with a beautiful lake on its foothills.
The scene was as romantic as it could get, and Aria’s tears and inability to
form a complete coherent sentence was what convinced me that I had done it. I
had won.

“You did all of this for me? By yourself?”
she asked when she could finally speak properly again.

“Do you see anyone else here?” I lied and
shrugged. I had thought of it, so I did have some say.

“Oh Zayden!” she said and threw herself at
me, almost knocking out the steaks I was holding in my left hand. I tried to
carefully place them by the grill, but it was difficult to move because Aria was
holding on to me tightly. After I finally managed to place them away, I drew
her closer for a proper embrace and stroked her hair. “Do you really like it
that much?” I said grinning, very pleased with myself.

“You just want to hear me say it, don’t you?”
she mumbled against my chest. “Yes, Zayden. I like it that much. This is hands
down the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me. Or anyone I know. Not
even Nick for Stacey.”

“Great, I have outdone a nerdy little kid,
I should be proud of myself.”

“Shut up, I am in the middle of a very
special hug with a very special guy, let me enjoy this,” she mumbled.

We stood there holding each other for a
long time.

---

“This is delicious!” Aria closed her eyes,
devouring the steak. It was satisfying to watch her enjoy something I created.
“
I don
’t
know why people haven’t been putting curry on their steaks since the beginning
of time.”

“I think we can use this moment to firmly
establish the fact that I am a genius.”
I smiled.

She giggled. “You’re running a multi-billion
dollar corporation at such a young age, and running it so well at that, and of
all things, a steak recipe is what makes you declare you’re genius?”

“Priorities.” I shrugged. “And I am not
all that. I was handed everything, I didn’t earn it really. Born with a silver
spoon and all.”

“But you had the skills to handle what was
given to you. Oh god, Zayden, is this modesty? You are capable of such a
thing?” She made an expression of complete shock.

“Very funny. In any case, you will be way
ahead of me by the time you’re my age. You are really bright, Aria. I don’t
know if anyone has ever told you this.”

“Nope, never heard it before.” She winked.

“Have you thought about what you want to
do after you finish college?” I found myself asking.

She shrugged. “I am studying to be a loan
officer so that is what I plan on doing I guess.”

“Would you want to come work for me
instead?”

“Newsflash, I already do,” she chuckled.

“No, not something trivial like that.” I
waved my hand dismissively, but upon seeing the change in her expression, I
added, “I mean… not like there is anything wrong with working as a teller while
you are getting your degree. Again, it’s more than I did when I was your age.
But I am thinking more like finding a suitable long-term position for you in my
bank.”