The Queen Of Bad Things, page 4
The downstairs was an open concept. The house was completely furnished. It had eight bedrooms and nine bathrooms. There was a basement that was set up as a recreational area.
After I showed Aria around, we went out to the patio. There was a table for two. Dinner was on the table, and there was a waiter. He offered us some wine. I thanked him and dismissed him.
The house was close enough to the beach that we heard the waves rolling off the rocks. Aria stared out at the ocean as we ate.
“It’s beautiful here. Are we staying here tonight?” Aria wondered.
“For the weekend,” I corrected. “You work so hard all the time. You deserve a break.”
Aria smiled. “Sounds good to me.”
When we were finished eating, we went upstairs. I pulled Aria out to the balcony. The view of the ocean was unbelievable from our bedroom.
Aria peered over the balcony and smiled. The sand looked silver beneath the moonlight. The dark waves crashed against the shore. Aria placed her hands on the railing of the balcony.
“It’s unbelievable,” Aria said. She turned around and smiled at me. “I love it so much.” Aria threw her arms around my neck and smashed her lips against mine.
My original plan was to ask her at dinner, but I chickened out. The velvet box in the pocket of my jeans felt like it weighed a hundred pounds.
Aria broke the kiss and stared at me, confused. “What’s wrong?”
My fingers tightened on her waist, and my hands shook. I wasn’t the nervous type at all. I didn’t even know what nervousness or jealousy felt like until I met Aria. Aria knew me so well that it seemed as if she could sense my fear.
“I—” I stopped. Damn, what the hell was I supposed to say? I thought it over for hours, days even. I knew exactly what I wanted to say, and suddenly I drew a blank.
Aria smiled and pressed her lips to mine again. Her lips burned mine like a raging fever. I knew that men couldn't hit menopause, but that is what it felt like. The hot flashes were unbearable. I wasn’t sure if it was my nerves or from her body being so tightly pressed to mine.
It has to be now, you idiot, or you will have to plan to ask her some other way, and you aren’t that creative! I grabbed her face between my hands and pulled out of the kiss again.
Aria stared at me, confused.
“Okay, I have to get this out before I can’t,” I muttered. My chest rose and fell heavily against hers.
Aria arched a brow. “Spit it out, Ace. What?”
“Did I mention you look beautiful?”
Aria snickered. “You’re procrastinating telling me something, and you don’t usually do that unless it is bad news or a surprise. Did something happen?”
I sighed and shook my head. “It’s not bad. Well, it might be. I suppose it depends on how you take it,” I muttered and grimaced.
“Ace—” Aria whined.
“Okay, I’m sorry,” I said and chuckled. “I’ve spent days thinking about this, and suddenly I’m at a loss for words, which doesn’t happen to me very often. When it does happen, it is usually your fault.”
Aria chuckled. “Is it?”
“Yeah,” I said. “There are like a million things that I should be saying right now, but I suck at this type of stuff.”
Aria pursed her lips and waited for the rest. Her chest rose and fell heavily from anticipation.
“One of the many things that fascinate me about you is your reactions are never what I expect, and right now, I have no idea what to expect. So, I’m just going to ask. . .” I trailed off. I kept one of her hands in mine and pulled the small box from my pocket. I knelt on one knee and opened the box. “Aria Marie Perez, will you marry me?”
Aria’s eyes widened in shock, and she swallowed hard. Her jaw dropped, and she threw a hand over her mouth. “What? Oh my god.” Aria’s hand fell from her mouth. Both of her hands shook violently. Tears fell from her eyes. “Yes, of course,” Aria choked through tears.
“Damn, for real?” I arched a brow.
Aria giggled and nodded.
I stood up and placed the diamond ring on her third left finger.
Aria grabbed my face between her hands and smashed her lips to mine. Her body molded to mine. She pushed me back into the bedroom.
All of the nervousness washed away, and desire took its place. I had been dying to get her out of the dress from the moment that she changed into it.
Aria trailed her lips down my neck while I untied her dress. The dress fell to the floor at her feet. My gaze swept over her body.
Aria’s hand burned against my skin as she lifted my t-shirt off. Aria’s forehead rested against mine, and her hot breath tickled my face and made my insides smolder.
We stripped down to nothing as we stumbled back to the California King bed that was in the middle of the room. Aria started to slip one of her heels off.
“Leave those on.” I gripped her thighs, lifted her, and carried her the rest of the way to the bed. Her legs snaked around my waist.
Our breathing was ragged by the time that I got her to the edge of the bed. My fingers tangled into her hair, and I bit down on her lip.
Aria moaned and pressed her warm body harder to mine. She broke the kiss and arched her head back slightly. “Fuck me now,” Aria demanded.
“Rough?” I smirked.
“Rough,” Aria repeated breathlessly.
I gripped a fistful of her hair, spun her around, and forced her to bend over the mattress. She grabbed onto the blankets and kept her heels planted on the floor.
Without warning, my hard-throbbing cock filled her.
A loud moan escaped her, and a deep throaty groan came from me. Most of the time, we didn’t start out soft and slow. We were fast and rough. Her ass bounced against me, and I licked my lips.
My hands fell to her hips, and I dug my fingernails into her skin. I took one hand off her hip and smacked her on the ass.
“Mm, papi,” Aria moaned. “Spank me again.”
I slapped her on the ass a second time.
Aria put a hand to her wet folds and rubbed her clit. Her hips moved in circles and matched my thrusts.
I slowed and stopped as I watched her push her ass against me and move her hips. “Fuck me,” I groaned. I gripped onto the bed frame with one hand and squeezed her ass with the other.
Aria’s walls tightened around my cock. She moaned and pulled the blankets off the bed. Her legs shook, and her movements became sloppy.
I bit hard down on my lip and tried like hell not to release with her. It felt impossible to hold it back — a tight knot formed in my stomach.
Aria finished her orgasm. I pulled out of her and exploded. A groan escaped me, and my body shuddered as I released.
Aria turned around and smiled at me. Her eyes drooped slightly. Aria was almost always exhausted or hungry afterward.
I chuckled. “You look like you might fall asleep standing, bebita.”
“I’m tired,” Aria murmured.
“Me too,” I agreed.
Aria kicked her heels off. I lifted her and carried her onto the bed. I pulled the blankets back onto the bed and covered us. It didn’t take either of us long to fall asleep — like most nights I dreamt of Aria.
Chapter 4. Moving
Things were a disaster by the time we got back home from the beach house. We had to come back home early because shit was falling apart.
“We can’t spend one fucking weekend away without being blown up over stupid shit,” I muttered.
Luis sighed. “I’m sorry, man. What did you want me to do about it? The Cali Cartel is pissed off. According to Arturo, the artillery is complete shit. He wants the brand we were getting before.”
Aria scoffed. “Oh, please. Obviously, Arturo wouldn’t know what a good gun is if he was shot in the head with it.”
I snickered. “I can make an exception, if you will, bebita.”
“Woah, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, you guys,” Joey said. Joey waved a hand as if to wave the topic away. “Look, Arturo can be an asshole, but the last thing we need is more enemies. Hell, we still haven’t even taken out the Aryan brothers. God only knows when the hell they will strike again. We have enough shit going on as it is. It wouldn’t be wise to get in over our heads.”
“Maybe we should recruit. Losing Jax and Gabriel wasn’t good. Not to mention Dad is gone,” Aria said. Aria plopped down in her desk chair and started to chew on a pen.
“Recruiting wouldn’t be the worst idea,” I agreed. “We have too much going on for the time being, though. Maybe later down the road, it would be a good idea.”
“Arturo wants Aria to meet with him,” Benny said. Benny crossed his arms over his chest.
“What?” I raised my eyebrows and stopped midstride.
Luis bit his lip. “I know it isn’t ideal,” Luis started.
“Not ideal? It’s not going to fucking happen!” I snapped. “That asshole can deal with me.”
“Babe, it’s fine. I can—” Aria started.
“No, you can’t!” The venom in my voice made everyone jump slightly. There was no way that I would allow Aria to meet with Arturo. “Did you guys forget that the bullet that killed Jax was meant for her?”
“Ace, this isn’t the same thing or even the same guy. Look, I can handle him,” Aria said.
“Ace, you are the one who insisted that she could handle this job. You said she could lead us. She is the boss, and that is who he wants to speak with. You knew that this type of shit would happen,” Abel said. “Aria can handle it, and you know that as well as the rest of us.”
“Man,” Austin muttered and grimaced. “You know I hate not siding with you, but I can’t on this one. They’re right. Aria needs to deal with this.”
I groaned and plopped down on the couch across from Aria’s desk. “Fine, but you better tell them that if they try anything stupid, I will move heaven, hell, and earth to destroy them. Call the idiot and set it up,” I told Luis. I need a drink — I thought to myself.
Aria grabbed my cigarettes and lighter. She rarely smoked, but it was a habit that she picked up a couple of months ago. Smoke rolled out of her mouth.
The boys left Aria and me alone in the study. The door closed with a soft thud.
“Ace, I’ll be okay,” Aria said.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You fucking better be. What the hell do you expect me to do if you aren’t? It’s never good to take the chairman to these meetings. So many chairmen have died because of meetings like this.”
Aria sighed and shrugged. “I could walk across the street next week and get hit by a bus.”
“That isn’t funny, bebita.” I rolled my eyes. She would make a joke like that.
“Do you hear me laughing?” Aria tilted her head. “You can’t spend your time worrying about what happens to me. It will only hold us back, and you know that.”
I sighed but nodded. As much as I hated to admit it, I knew that she was right. I just couldn’t stand the thought of something bad happening to her.
A black Cadillac rolled up and stopped near the warehouse. Aria stood beside me with her arms crossed over her chest. The boys were gathered around us.
Arturo and three of his men climbed out of the vehicle and approached us. They stopped several feet in front of us.
“You all came,” Arturo said and chuckled. “Travel in a pack? That’s smart.”
“Well, you got me here,” Aria said. “What exactly is the problem, Arturo?” Aria placed her hands on her hips and shifted her weight to one leg.
“The artillery isn’t the same. Why are you suddenly changing it up?” Arturo asked rudely. “You even jacked up the price.”
“Don’t insult my intelligence, Arturo. It is, in fact, the same,” Aria said and took a step forward.
“It’s a different brand,” Arturo argued and took a step forward.
I moved closer to Aria.
“It’s a better brand. My father picked them out himself. He intended to give people something better. Tell me, how is that wrong? Maybe if you do not appreciate our effort to give you something better, this relationship should be over. It’s no skin off my ass. You would be one less dickhead I have to deal with,” Aria snapped.
Arturo raised a gun to Aria’s head.
The boys and I drew our weapons and aimed them at Arturo and his men.
Arturo smirked at Aria.
“You don’t really want to shoot me,” Aria snickered. “You would die the second you pulled that trigger, and you know it. I don’t think you are ready to die. See, the thing is, I know that you don’t have any other gun dealer, and you need these guns. You’re going into debt, Arturo.”
Arturo’s smirk faded.
My eyes flickered to Aria. What the hell is she talking about?
“Didn’t think I knew that did you?” Aria tilted her head. “We gave you a fair price. You will make a great profit off those guns if you sell them to the right buyer. Be smart about it, and you might just pull yourself out of the hole you dug.”
Arturo lowered the gun and gritted his teeth.
The boys and I didn’t move. We kept our guns on the men. I wanted to blow off Arturo’s head just for aiming his gun at her in the first place.
“I guess we will see how it goes then,” Arturo muttered.
“If you decide that you don’t like the artillery, I will be willing to give you a full refund in trade for the guns I sold you,” Aria offered. The offer was more generous than he deserved.
Arturo and his men put their hands in the air as if in surrender and began to step away. Arturo turned to head back for his vehicle.
“Oh, Arturo!” Aria called to him.
The boys and I lowered our guns and stared at Aria with a curious expression.
What more could she have to say?
Arturo spun around unwillingly and met Aria’s stare.
Aria smirked. “If you ever put a gun to my head again, I will kill you with my bare hands.” Aria’s confidence made me smirk.
Damn, I knew my girl was a little badass.
Arturo nodded. “My apologies.” Arturo climbed into his vehicle. The vehicle disappeared up the driveway in a cloud of smoke.
“That was awesome!” Benny guffawed. “How the fuck did you know about the debt?”
“Well, you taught me how to hack into bank accounts, and I checked his bank records,” Aria said. “He’s not even broke. He is in serious debt.” Aria smirked.
“Wow,” Austin huffed.
Luis chuckled. “Damn, you can take care of yourself.”
I smiled and shook my head. “You’re something else, bebita.”
Aria shrugged. “Let’s go home. I want to see my baby.”
Aria had fallen asleep in Angel’s nursery. I took Angel from her carefully and placed him in his crib. It was getting late. I picked up Aria bridal style, and she didn’t stir at all.
After I put Aria in bed, I went into the bathroom to take a shower.
The hot water spilled down my face and chest. The events of the day continued to race through my head. Every time that I thought about Arturo pointing a gun at Aria, I grew angry. My pulse quickened, and my nostrils flared. I slammed my hands against the tile of the shower.
“Fuck,” I spat through clenched teeth. I turned the water off and stepped out. I needed to go to bed and stop thinking about it, or I would go search out Arturo and put him in a hole — a hole he couldn’t crawl out of.
To my surprise, the bed was empty. It took me a moment, but I realized that Aria probably went back downstairs.
Without knocking, I walked into the study. Aria sat at her desk with a pen in her hand. She draped over the desk and yawned loudly. She blinked several times and opened her eyes wider.
“Bebita,” I murmured. Sometimes, Aria worked too hard, and I would have to put my foot down. This was one of those times.
Aria looked up from the paperwork and squinted at me. She rubbed her eyes. “Hi, babe. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pass out. I need to get this paperwork done.”
I stopped beside her. “Let’s just deal with it tomorrow. You’re exhausted, and so am I. This is getting out of hand. I know that you want to do your job as best you can—”
“Really, Ace, I am fine,” Aria said.
“You’re going to work yourself to death, Aria,” I snapped. “Even your father knew he had to sleep once in a while.” It seemed like a low blow, and I hated saying it to her, but she needed to hear it.
Aria huffed and went back to her paperwork. She pursed her lips and scribbled her name across the bottom of the page.
As soon as she signed her name, I took the pen from her and threw it behind me.
“Hey!” Aria whined.
I swiped my arm across the desk, and everything that was on the desk hit the floor. Things rolled and clattered around the floor.
Aria gasped.
The chair spun under my grasp. I lifted Aria from the chair and sat her on the desk. “I said that is enough.” I used my bossy tone, and most people, apart from Aria, didn’t argue with me when I used it.
Aria snickered. “Who’s the boss?”
“I am,” I growled playfully. My fingers tangled into her hair, and my lips crashed against hers.
Aria moaned against my lips.
My mouth moved down her neck, and I nibbled lightly. I unbuttoned her jeans and yanked them off.
“Oh, god. Ace, we can’t do this right here,” Aria murmured.
“Bet,” I whispered in her ear. With one finger, I snapped the thin fabric of her thong and pushed it aside.
Aria gasped and slid her hands down to the waistband of my shorts.
“I’m fucking you on this desk, and then I’m taking your ass to bed with me,” I murmured in her ear.
Weeks had passed, and Aria and I had gotten the Perez estate finished. We planned to sell the mansion in town and move to the estate.
“Ace.” Tammy came into the kitchen.
“Hey, Tammy,” I said. “I’m glad you’re awake. I wanted to talk to you.”
Tammy smiled at me, but the smile didn’t touch her eyes. I couldn’t fathom what she was going through. Tammy was pregnant with Carlos’s baby, but she wasn’t that far along. It had to be difficult to dream of raising a child together and then lose him like that.
