Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Zain and Gadiel conversed in Arabic a little, but the conversation seemed rather stilted. Zain looked cold and faintly disapproving; Gadiel sounded defensive and sullen.
At last, Zain glanced at his watch and said, “Well, that was an absolute waste of time.” Wiping his lips with a napkin, he got to his feet and looked at Aiden.
Aiden sprang to his feet as well, feeling shaky, uncertain, and more than a little freaked out by his sudden spike of anxiety at the thought of Zain leaving him with Gadiel. Christ, was this what Stockholm syndrome felt like?
“Let’s go,” Zain said and strode toward the doors without even bothering to check that Aiden was following him. Arrogant dick.
At least his Stockholm syndrome didn’t suddenly make him think that Zain was less of an asshole than he was.
Thank god for small mercies.
Chapter Nine
The helicopter ride back to the island was quiet.
Zain seemed in a pensive mood, staring out the window. Aiden was in a self-kicking mood, trying to eliminate his stupid attraction.
Unfortunately, it was easier said than done.
As they walked toward the house, his eyes kept straying to Zain, lingering on his chiseled cheekbones, strong profile, and the mouthwatering Adam’s apple on his stubbled throat. Aiden wanted to put his mouth there and suck. Fuck, if he had any doubts left about his attraction to men, they were gone now. He definitely was attracted to men. Or at least to this man.
“I hope you realize that I didn’t buy you to suck my cock.”
Aiden paled, flushed, and stared at Zain. “W-what?” he stammered. But part of him wasn’t even surprised that Zain had noticed his stupid attraction to him. This man was too intelligent and observant to have missed anything.
Zain opened the front door and preceded him into the house. Taking his shoes off, he headed toward his office.
Numbly, Aiden took his shoes off as well and followed him, feeling like a man sentenced to death.
“Shut the door,” Zain said once they were inside his office.
His knees trembling, Aiden shut the door.
Leaning his hip against his desk, Zain regarded him with his inscrutable brown eyes.
Silence stretched, thick and suffocating.
“You told me you weren’t homosexual,” Zain said in a conversational voice.
If there was a god, a meteorite would strike the house right this moment, saving him from this humiliation.
Unfortunately, the cosmic bodies didn’t oblige.
“I didn’t lie,” Aiden said stiffly, looking anywhere but at him. “I just wasn’t entirely honest. I did find some men attractive in the past. I just didn’t do anything about it. So I wasn’t lying about my lack of experience.”
Silence.
“Can I go now?” Aiden said, rubbing the back of his neck. His face felt very hot.
“Look at me.” It was a quiet command, but it was a command all the same.
Aiden couldn’t disobey him.
Zain was eyeing him with a strange look on his face. “I’m not homosexual,” he said. “Your attraction is unrequited and unwelcome.”
This was the single most humiliating moment of Aiden’s life. He hadn’t thought it was possible to hate this man more, but he did now.
Laughing harshly, Aiden turned toward the door. “Right. All right. If that’s all—”
“I didn’t say you could go.”
Aiden froze with his hand on the door handle.
“While the situation isn’t ideal, it can be used to our advantage.”
Frowning incredulously, Aiden turned around. “What?”
Zain thrummed his fingers absentmindedly on the desk, his expression calculating. “Your lack of experience is a problem. Gadiel is skittish about the whole thing as it is. Saddling him with an unenthusiastic lover who doesn’t know what he’s doing isn’t going to work. You should at least know what you’re doing.”
Aiden’s heart started to pound. Did… Did Zain mean what Aiden thought he meant?
“I will allow you to practice on me,” Zain said, his fingers flexing on the desk. “Come over here.”
He was kidding.
He couldn’t possibly be serious.
It couldn’t possibly be happening.
Aiden swallowed, looking at him wide-eyed.
“It’s not funny,” he rasped out.
Zain’s lips twisted into a sardonic smile. “Trust me, I don’t find this amusing, either.” His shoulders were tense. His entire body was, tension rolling off him in almost tangible waves. “Stop wasting my time. We both know it will happen. You will get on your knees and you will learn how to suck cock. Now, Aiden.”
Aiden’s feet moved before he consciously made the decision. He stopped in front of Zain, feeling nearly dizzy with an awful combination of want, hatred, and confusion.
“Get on with it,” Zain said, his careless tone at odds with the intensity of his eyes. “Do you need to be ordered? I can order you.”
The world seemed to be wavering around him, shaky and out of focus. The only thing that remained firmly in focus was Zain’s haughty face and his dark, dark eyes.
“Now,” Zain said softly.
Aiden’s knees buckled. He all but fell, his knees hitting the plush carpet, as if pushed down by an invisible hand.