(Theme Song of the Chapter: Bad Things - Mgk, Camila Cabello)

Sophie◆Cruz

THE CHANDELIER'S OVERHEAD casted a soft, golden light across the ballroom, making the entire scene look like something out of a dream. But it was anything but a dream, as Earl's eyes were glued to my cleavage—you'd think I had eyes on my breasts.

I was vexed and couldn't believe that my choices had led me right to this moment. When I accepted Aiden's offer, I thought it would be my escape from Earl, along with the benefit of making more money than I could ever dream of at Vitality Rehab & Wellness. Yet here was the old man, right in front of me.

"What brings you here?" I asked, feigning genuine interest as I fiddled with the strands of my hair tucked behind my ear.

Earl winked before his eyes scanned the gallery, eventually landing on Aiden, who was sipping his drink and conversing with a man several feet away.

"I could ask you the same thing. You came here with Mr. Accardi? How do you know him?" he asked, a hint of jealousy lacing his voice.

"He is my client," I said slowly, mentally kicking myself for how ridiculous that sounded.

I had always preached to Earl about boundaries, and here I was, allowing Aiden to entangle me in whatever this was.

Earl gave me a look, subtle scorn in his eyes. "I thought you didn't go on dates with clients."

I swallowed before shooting him a playful smile. "Just not the married ones."

Earl erupted in heavy laughter, and I watched him nervously. He tilted his head back, his laughs becoming snorts, and I found myself wanting to flee right then and there.

My body froze as his hand suddenly reached out and touched my shoulder, massaging it with his fingers. I looked at him, not even attempting to hide the sheer horror on my face. I turned to where I had last seen Aiden, only to find he was nowhere to be found.

Where the hell did he go?

"You are too cute," Earl said. "You're lucky I love the chase."

"How long are you planning to stick around? I heard there is an afterparty." I lied.

Did Galas even have after parties?

Earl furrowed his brows before humming to himself. "Really? Well that's too bad. I actually have to leave very soon. I have an early flight."  He explained.

"Oh?" I muttered in both relief and curiosity. "Where to?"

"Calabria, Italy. You know for business and a bit of gettaway. Just for a couple days to really get to enjoy the italian countryside."

I nodded to myself growing more bored in the conversation. "Well, I hope you have a safe flight." I granted him a forced smile.

He licks his lips taking me in once more. "It will be the longest 4 days..." He mumbled, almost to himself.

Ew.

Earl gave me a final lingering look before turning and walking away. I watched his retreating figure, feeling a strange mix of relief and unease. Just as I turned back, Aiden appeared at my side, his dark brown eyes tense.

"We need to leave," Aiden said firmly into my ear, his voice low.

I barely had time to process his words before he was guiding me toward the exit. His hand gripped mine with an urgency that alarmed me greatly. We wove through the crowd and out into the cool night air. The parking lot was nearly deserted, the distant hum of the city the only sound.

Aiden's sleek, black luxury car was parked under a dim streetlight. As we approached, I noticed something that made my heart skip a beat. There was a smear of blood on his white shirt cuff. I froze for a moment, my mind racing.

"Aiden," I began hesitantly, "you're bleeding."

He glanced down at his cuff, then back at me with an emotionless face. "It's nothing. Just a scratch."

But there was no visible wound. I frowned, trying to piece together what had happened. Aiden opened the car door for me, and I slid into the passenger seat, my thoughts swirling. As he settled into the driver's seat and started the engine, I couldn't shake the image of the bloodstain.

We drove in silence, the city lights blurring past. I stole glances at him, trying to understand. There was an edge to him tonight.

"What did Earl tell you?" He interrogated, his large hands gripping the steering so tightly as we began to accelerate into the street.

"Nothing, really. He just said he's leaving for Calabria, Italy tomorrow."

I could hear Aiden whisper something to himself before responding. "Calabria? Interesting..."

As we sped through the night, I pondered the mystery of Aiden Accardi. What had he gotten himself into? And why was he so insistent on leaving in such a hurry? The questions lingered, but I knew better than to ask them now.

◆◆◆

It was all over the news.

Two bodies, one being a senator, were found at the basement level of the Grand Operlale where the Gala yesterday was held.

As I watched the the news from the flat screen television of the Accardi estate's guest house, I was in complete shock.

"Senator Ivan Smith has been identified as one of the deceased..." The reporter said. "There has been no suspects found in this case."

As they revealed a photo of Senator Smith my stomach turned and my body grew cold. He was the man I had seen Aiden talking to yesterday. I had just seen him, alive and well, and now he was just...gone. He was gone and there have been no suspects identified. How does that happen? How can someone perform a crime such as that and get away so unscathed?

My phone buzzed in my hand, and I looked at it to see a text from Aiden.

Need you in the main house.

I stared at the message, my mind racing. The images of Senator Smith, the blood on Aiden's cuff, and the urgency in his voice last night all swirled together, forming a chaotic storm of confusion and fear inside my mind. What was going on? And why did Aiden need me now?

From the few days I have been here I had noticed Aiden Accardi lived a weird life style, random cars were always pulling up to the estate at strange times. Something popping like fire works could be heard from the main house at times, assumably from the late gatherings he seemed to be hosting.

I slipped on a pair of shoes and made my way to the main house, each step feeling heavier than the last.

Aiden was standing by the window, his back to me, staring out at the sprawling estate grounds.

"Why do you look like that?" He asked firmly.

How the hell did he know what I looked like? Did he have eyes on the back of his head?

I looked down at my attire and instantly blushed. I was wearing my old University of Miami spirit tank and some Mickey Mouse shorts that cut just below my butt. In my defense, it was 8:00 in the morning, but certainly did not make it less embarrassing.

"Oh..." I said sheepishly. "I can change—"

"No," Aiden interjected, his deep voice intimidating. He turned around, his eyes look into mine deeply. "Why do you look so scared?"

My shoulders slumped  as he spectated me, and I shifted my feet. "I saw the news..." I said.

He nodded his head slowly. His eyes don't leave mine and his expression was one I could not decipher.

"Yeah, the violence that's been occurring in Miami lately is peculiar. It seems that our government should deal with that." Aiden's voice was icy and daunting. "Huh, Sophie?"

I nodded my head rapidly in nervousness. "Y-Yeah."

I could see his eyes grow darker and his mouth forms into a smirk. "Little mouse has a lot on her mind..."

I opened my mouth to protest before I shut it in frustration at the expecting look on Aiden's face. This man was truly a piece of work. His mind games were the last thing I needed this morning.

"What the hell do you need me for?" I questioned, my voice was snappier than usual but I couldn't help it—It was too early for this.

Aiden's large hand grabbed my jaw firmly and he tilted my head up. His jaw was now clenched and something almost sinister circled around in his dark chocolate brown eyes.

"Watch your mouth," He reprimanded. "nothing worse than a pretty woman with a dirty mouth. Didn't your mother teach you better?"

"Didn't your mother teach you about personal space?" I retorted forcefully, my voice muffled by his hand on my jaw.

There was a sudden change in his eyes, a shift that caused my mouth of courage to purse shut. Silence enveloped us as our eyes remained locked in an tense stare. The only sound was the heavy breathing that seemed to echo in the room.

"My mother is dead." he said, his voice a deep whisper. His eyes were ablaze as he removed his hand from my jaw, leaving behind a lingering warmth, and watched me intently.

My mouth parted in awe, a mixture of shock and sympathy washing over me. I let out a shaky breath, the weight of his words hanging in the air like a heavy fog.

"I'm—I'm sorry." I told him softly.

His eyes glaze over me and he cocked his head in the direction of his staircase.

"I need you to show those remedial exercises for my shoulder."

◆◆◆

I watched as Aiden began to perform the remedial exercises for his shoulder, his movements fluid yet controlled. With each stretch and rotation, I could see the strain etched on his face, a evidence to the pain he endured.

As he reached a particularly difficult angle, I moved closer, offering my assistance. My fingers grazed his skin as I adjusted his posture, feeling the warmth of his body against mine. My hands ran down the corner of his back trying to see if he reacted and if he had any pressure points in those areas.

"Does it hurt?" I questioned.

I could hear him let out a breath of annoyance. "What do you think?" He growled.

I was already particularly sensitive due to our encounter earlier so his tone of voice set me off, and I walked away from him walking towards my tote bag that sat on the desk across the room.

"Where do you think you're going?" he called after me.

"We can continue this when you stop being so mean," I replied, my voice tinged with frustration.

"Sophie..." His voice was a low murmur, stopping me in my tracks.

I closed my eyes, trying to resist the pull he had over me, but his voice was like this magnetic pull, impossible to ignore.

Turning to face him, I met his narrowed eyes with skepticism. "Why?"

His movements were deliberate and daunting as he approached me. "What do you mean why?"

Running a hand through my hair, I let out a sigh. "Why me? You're Aiden Accardi. You have access to the largest network in all of Miami. You could have chosen anyone else suitable to be your personal physical therapist, but you caught me at my job and offered me the role."

Aiden closed the distance between us, his features dark and intense. "There is no one more suitable for me than you," he said, his voice smooth and mesmerizing.

Shaking my head, I protested, "That makes no sense, Aiden. There are plenty of suitable physical therapists. You don't even like me! You're mean, you barely follow my directions, and you cross all boundaries."

But he was mere inches away from me now.

"Boundaries made of straw," he whispered. "Just admit it, sweetheart. You love when I'm this close. There's a part of you that relishes it."

His scent engulfed my senses, and I shut my eyes in shame. He was right. A part of me did love when we crossed the limits of our professional relationship.

"Aiden..." I started, but he backed me into the corner of the wall, and my voice faltered into a whimper.

"Fuck, I'll never get tired of hearing that," he murmured against my ear, his hands firm on my waist as he pulled me closer, the heat between us intense. I could feel him pressed against me.

And there is this brief second where I felt myself relax in his touch.

A brief conversation with our eyes.

Aiden grabs my chin and meshes my lips with his. His lips were soft yet demanding, coaxing a response from deep within me. I melted further against him, my body surrendering to the overwhelming desire that pulsed between us.

Aiden's hands now fell from my waist and  squeezed my butt hard. His lips kissed me more roughly domineering me. I let out a moan and he hums in my mouth in approval.

Sophie, what are you doing?

But I didn't care about the repercussions of what I was doing and the guilt of consciousness that always resided in the back of my mind was diminished to nothing, not a match for the fervent nature of whatever was brewing between me and Aiden.

Burning.

I was burning.

Aiden's left hand played with the spandex band of my booty shorts before his large hand made its way under the fabric. His rough and long fingers began circling the wet spot on the fabric of my panties.

"You're already so fucking wet, baby." He said through the breaks in our kiss.

His large hands cupped me hard. I moaned before my body froze and my wake up call sobered my mind.

Aiden, feeling my body tense up, removed his hand and the the shameless part of me was disappointed at the loss of contact. I could feel myself throb, my body wanting more.

"Fuck.." I said breathlessly.

Aiden's lustful and hungry eyes studied my face, his pupils flickering.

He leaned into my ear. "Next time a dirty word leaves your open mouth, I'll replace it with my cock."

And with that Aiden walked away, leaving me in the room with a lingering question.

What was the next dirty word I would say?

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-V