“Now prisoner, O’Connell. Do you have anything you’d like to say before I carry out your punishment for being so very, very bad?” I try to act as seductively strict as I can without losing myself in hysterical laughter.
Aiden shakes his head and frowns. “No, ma’am. But I have been very naughty. And I’ll take any punishment you see fit.” He holds his hands out in front of him so I can snap the other cuff on his free wrist.
I push him back so he’s lying with his head at the foot of the bed. His smirk grows wider as I move on top of him, straddling either side his hips. Instantly, I feel his hardness beneath me, and I know we’re in for a fun night.
The weekend passes in a blur. We held nothing back, exploring each other in various places and as often as the mood struck us. Which was frequent. My favorite place was in the ocean.
It’s our final day, and I’m lying on my towel, dressed in a bikini soaking up the last of the sun’s rays before we have to pack and head back to reality. The quiet time, reading a book in the warmth with the salty breeze is something I will miss, especially when I think about what awaits us once we arrive home.
The pressure of work.
A tension-filled Niall.
Simply put—stress.
Aiden walks up to me wearing his board shorts and a pair of Aviator sunglasses. “You’re starting to burn, baby.” He thoughtfully stands in front of me, shadowing me from the sun. Looking down, I see my arms have a slight red tinge.
“Do we have to go back? Can’t you buy this place, and we can live here forever, making love in the ocean and in the bedroom and in the living room…”
“Maybe one day. But for now, work takes priority. Sorry.” He drops to his knees and kisses me.
“Oh, pretty please. Can’t we stay here?” I pout.
He bites my lip, then kisses it.
“Hmm… more of that, please,” I tell him.
Eventually, we have to leave to head back to civilization. I know it, and he knows it, so we walk back to get changed into something less revealing and pack our luggage.
Back to the stresses and strains of everyday life.
The days are slowly fading into each other with no more threats or pranks being played on us since Aiden changed the passcode on the control panel in the elevator, and hired security to check the premises. Although, most of the security has been relaxed now as we think the threat has passed.
Thank goodness, the world is returning to normal.
Niall’s back at work, but he’s having all his meetings out of the office at restaurants and other places. In other words, work is great. It’s pretty much Brielle, Aiden, and me having fun but still getting our work done on time and in the right way.
Josie seems to have stopped her persistent pestering, but she still insists on greeting my partner every single day, which irks the ever-loving shit out of me.
Brielle is still living at Killian’s, and Niall is looking after himself. Sort of. He’s getting thinner and obviously isn’t eating. Personally, I think he’s living on a liquid diet, one that consists of numerous glasses of Macallan and not much else. I might suggest to Aiden that he hire a chef to deliver food, so he at least gets something to eat other than whisky and pretzels every night. Not sure what happened to their help, guess the stupid old man must have fired them all.
Aiden comes out of his office and walks over to me. “You ready to go, gorgeous?”
“Ready when you are,” I reply.
Brielle walks with us down and through the main foyer.
“Good evening, Mr. O’Connell,” Josie calls out.
I turn to look at her over my shoulder but keep walking and stumble on that same pesky tile that I’ve tripped on once before. My bag goes flying, and its contents spread across the main lobby like Skittles.
Fuck my life! You’d think I would be more careful.
“Jeni, you okay?” Aiden helps me as I look down at my grazed knees.
“Yeah. Nothing but a bruised ego, yet again.”
I notice Josie walking around picking up my things off the floor.