CHAPTER 94: CONTROL FREAK

ALEXIA’S POV

Aiden is a shameless pervert. A stupid bastard. Aargh!

Not only did he have the audacity to take me from my perfectly comfortable couch—where I chose to sleep, by the way—but he also had his hands on my... my... Arrgh! I can’t even say it!

And not just that—oh no, it gets worse.

He kissed me.

Not a small peck, not an accidental brush of lips—no, no, no. He really kissed me. Like full-on, possessive, dominating, ’I own you’ kind of kiss. And the worst part? The absolute most humiliating part?

I. Kissed. Him. Back.

I groaned, covering my face with my hands.

What the hell is wrong with me?!

Where was my self-respect? My dignity? My ability to tell this arrogant bastard no?! Did I lose them somewhere between his infuriating smirk and the way he whispered little wife like it was some damn spell?!

No, no, no. This is bad.

I need to reset. I need to remind myself who I am. I am Alexia. I do not swoon for Aiden Black. I do not get weak in the knees when he touches me. And I certainly do not—

"Still thinking about my kiss, little wife?"

I froze. My whole body went stiff.

Oh. That bastard.

Slowly, very slowly, I lowered my hands from my face and glared at him. Aiden stood there, arms crossed, looking like he had all the time in the world to enjoy my misery.

That stupid smirk was back.

I wanted to slap it off his face. Or kiss it off. No! Slap! Definitely slap!

"You—you—" I sputtered, my brain short-circuiting with the sheer amount of insults I wanted to throw at him.

"Me?" He raised an eyebrow, taking a step closer.

I took a step back.

"Stay away from me," I warned. "You’re—you’re a menace."

"A menace, huh?" He looked amused. "Funny, because just a few minutes ago, you didn’t seem to mind me menacing you."

I gasped. "You—!"

"Me," he repeated, stepping even closer.

I was running out of space.

I scrambled for an escape, for anything to distract this infuriating man, but my mind betrayed me—because all I could think about was the way his lips felt against mine. The way his hands gripped my waist. The way my body responded like a traitor.

I was so screwed.

Aiden finally got off me. About damn time.

I scrambled to my feet, my entire body still humming with the aftereffects of whatever the hell that was. My heart was beating too fast, my face was probably a deep shade of red, and worst of all—my lips were still tingling.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

He had finally gotten off me, but not before insinuating—no, practically declaring—that if I was looking for pleasure elsewhere, I was making a mistake because he was my husband.

The audacity of this man.

I lay there on the floor, staring at the ceiling, trying to process what just happened. Did Aiden just suggest fulfilling his ’husbandly duties’ so I wouldn’t ’cheat’ on him?

My jaw clenched.

This bastard.

Who the hell did he think he was?! First, he shows up late after making me wait all night, then he acts all possessive when a random guy calls me, and now he’s implying that I have nowhere else to look but him?!

I pushed myself up, fuming.

Aiden was already up, running a hand through his messy hair like he wasn’t the cause of my current mental breakdown. He looked so smug, standing there shirtless, all lean muscles and that stupid cocky smirk.

"I hate you," I muttered under my breath, brushing my hair back.

"Hmm?" he hummed, as if he hadn’t just said something outrageous. "Did you say something, little wife?"

I shot him a glare. "Don’t call me that."

His smirk only widened. "Why not? It’s the truth. We are married."

"Fake married," I corrected sharply.

He chuckled, eyes dark with amusement. "Well, if that’s the case, should I start acting like a real husband, then?"

I choked on air.

His eyes flickered to my lips for a brief second before meeting my gaze again, and I swear my brain short-circuited.

No. No, no, no. This man was dangerous.

I needed to get out of here before I did something stupid. Like kiss him again. Or worse—actually take him up on his ridiculous offer.

After dropping that ridiculous

insinuation that I should not look elsewhere for pleasure—because, apparently, he was my husband and it was his duty.

I turned to glare at him, ready to say something scathing, but he was already walking away like nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t just kissed me senseless. Like he hadn’t just whispered the most infuriating things in my ear.

Oh, hell no.

"You’re unbelievable!" I snapped, crossing my arms.

Aiden paused, glanced back at me over his shoulder, and smirked. "I know."

Argh! I hate him.

I clenched my fists, inhaled deeply, and told myself not to throw something at his stupid, handsome, smug face. Instead, I took another approach.

"You know what?" I said sweetly, stepping closer to him. "You’re right."

His smirk faltered slightly. "...Right about what?"

I shrugged. "About looking elsewhere. Since you’re obviously too busy for your husbandly duties, maybe I should find someone else to—*"

I didn’t even get to finish my sentence.

Aiden moved.

One second, I was standing there, enjoying watching his smirk drop. The next, I was pinned against the wall, his hands caging me in, his body inches from mine.

Oh... shit.

His jaw was clenched, his eyes dark. "Try it," he murmured, his voice low and dangerous. "See what happens."

I swallowed. Hard.

His proximity was messing with my brain. Think, Alexia. Think.

I forced myself to smirk, even as my pulse skyrocketed. "Why? You suddenly care?"

Aiden leaned in closer, his lips almost brushing mine. "I always cared."

And then—just like that—he let go.

Stepping back like nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t just ruined my entire thought process with three stupid words.

I stood there, stunned, watching him walk away.

I should’ve said something. I should’ve thrown a pillow at him. I should’ve done anything.

But all I could do was stand there, pressing a hand to my chest, and whisper, "What the fuck just happened?"

****

Everything was back to normal—or as normal as it could be. Neither of us mentioned what happened last night. I didn’t ask why he came home so late, and he didn’t bring up the fact that I had slept on the couch. We both just focused on getting ready—me for school, him for work—pretending that nothing had changed.

And honestly? I was fine with that. Totally fine.

At least, that’s what I told myself.

Breakfast was surprisingly peaceful. No snide remarks, no unnecessary glares—just the sound of cutlery clinking and the occasional hum of approval from Aiden as he sipped his coffee. I had almost let myself believe that maybe, just maybe, we had reached a silent truce.

Until my phone rang.

I frowned at the screen. Unknown number.

Before I could even think about answering it, Aiden went rigid, his grip tightening around his fork. His entire demeanor shifted—tense, alert, possessive.

I hesitated for a second before reaching for my phone, fully aware of Aiden’s burning gaze locked onto me. His jaw was clenched, his grip on his coffee mug just a little too tight.

"Are you going to answer that?" he asked, his voice eerily calm.

I glanced at him, then at the phone again. "I don’t know who it is," I muttered before finally swiping to accept the call.

"Alexia," a smooth male voice came through the speaker, sending an unfamiliar chill down my spine. "I was hoping to hear your voice before class."

I nearly choked on air. What the hell?

Before I could even respond, the phone was snatched right out of my hands.

"Who the fuck is this?" Aiden growled into the speaker, his entire demeanor shifting from calm and composed to outright possessive.

I gasped. "Aiden, give me back my phone!"

He ignored me, his eyes dark with something dangerously close to jealousy.

The voice on the other end chuckled. "Ah, you must be the husband. How interesting."

Oh. Oh no.

I reached for my phone, but Aiden only pulled it further away, his grip tightening. "Listen here, asshole—"

Click.

The caller hung up.

Aiden stared at the phone for a second, then slowly turned his sharp gaze toward me.

"Mind telling me why some bastard is calling my wife first thing in the morning, sounding like he’s about to take you out on a goddamn date?"

I gulped. This... was going to be a long morning.

Oh. Oh, shit.

I stared at my phone in Aiden’s grip, my mind running a marathon. That voice—it wasn’t just some random guy. It was Professor Sinclair.

I swallowed hard, my body suddenly feeling way too warm. Why the hell was he calling me this early? And more importantly, why did he sound so damn seductive when he said my name?

Aiden was still staring me down, his knuckles white around my phone. His jaw was tight, his whole demeanor screaming possessive caveman.

"Well?" he demanded, eyes locked onto mine like he was about to interrogate me for a federal crime.

I shifted in my seat. "Uh... I think that was my professor."

His brows shot up. "Your professor?"

I nodded slowly, suddenly feeling like I had done something very, very wrong. Which, to be fair, I hadn’t. Not really.

Aiden let out a humorless chuckle, shaking his head. "Right. Your professor is just calling you first thing in the morning, sounding like he’s trying to get in your pants?"

I gasped. "Excuse me? That is not what happened!"

He gave me a look. A look that said, Don’t even try me right now.

My stomach twisted, because honestly? I didn’t know what Professor Sinclair wanted. I had told him yesterday that I’d come to his office today to go over what I missed in class. That was it. Nothing else.

But Aiden? Oh, he wasn’t buying it.

Before I could explain myself, he placed my phone back on the table, face down, like it was some kind of crime scene evidence.

"Since when do professors call students before class?" he asked, voice deceptively calm.

I blinked. "I—"

"Do you always give your number out to strange men, or is this a new hobby?"

Oh, he did not just say that.

I crossed my arms, glaring at him. "Excuse me, Mr. Hypocrite, but I don’t remember giving you a hard time about your precious Liz calling you at all hours of the day."

The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them.

Aiden’s expression darkened, and just like that, the temperature in the room plummeted.

Oh... great. Now I’d done it.