Darkest Risings (11 page)

His
admission should scare the hell out of her as inexperienced as she was, but his
words had the opposite affect. He was warning her, was giving her a reason to
stay away from him, but she didn’t care what his tastes were in the bedroom.
She wanted him, plain and simple. Something told her that no matter how
dominant and rough he liked to be, he would never hurt her.

“I
don’t care.”

He
rotated his hips and ground his hard cock against her ass. “You should care.
You’re not for me, Wilhemina. You’re too gentle, too naive.”

“You
won’t hurt me, Aldin.”

“How
do you know?”

His
words were laced with something that made the hairs on the back of her neck
stand on end.

“Now
you’re getting it, sweet Wilhemina.”

How
did he do that? It was as if he could sense what she was feeling. Read her
thoughts.

“Am I
interrupting something?”

Aldin
released her instantly.

She
turned on shaky legs and came face to face with one of the most beautiful women
she’d ever laid eyes on. Tall, blonde, legs up to her neck, model perfect.
Everything Wilhemina was not. She didn’t miss the subtle look of guilt that
flashed in Aldin’s eyes. Was this an ex-girlfriend? Or maybe not an ex at all?

Jealousy
tore through her, and she didn’t like the feel of it one bit. It was an emotion
she wasn’t used to, an emotion that he seemed to provoke from her with ease.

“I’m
Alaina.” She extended her perfectly manicured hand.

“Wilhemina.”
She shook Alaina’s hand.

“What
are you doing here?” Aldin asked.

“I’m
here for our lesson, or did you want to cancel?” She smiled and looked from
Aldin to Wilhemina and back to him.

“I
forgot. I’ve had other things on my mind,” he answered.

“I
see that.” Alaina glanced over at Wilhemina once again.

Wilhemina
didn’t get the feeling that Alaina was jealous in any way after catching them
in a compromising position so she doubted anything serious was going on between
the two. Although if she were fortunate enough to look like Alaina, she
probably wouldn’t be jealous of anyone. She looked at the pair. They made a
striking couple. She couldn’t deny that. But her heart could. She wanted Aldin,
no matter if she should or shouldn’t.

“Nice
to meet you, Alaina. I was just leaving. Please don’t let me interfere.”

Wilhemina
hurried past Aldin and Alaina. She made up her mind then and there as she
sprinted up the stairs. If she had a chance at Aldin, she was going to take it.
He stirred things up inside her she didn’t know existed, and she wanted to find
out why he was able to do so when no other man had ignited anything more than a
passing interest.

And
his bedroom preferences? She shivered. She had a feeling she’d enjoy anything
he did to her in the bedroom. She wanted to learn everything he could teach
her.

* * * *

Alaina
crossed her arms over her middle and tapped her foot.

“What?”
Aldin raised one brow.

Alaina
sighed. “Nothing. I guess that”—she jerked her head toward the stairs Wilhemina
had practically run up—”means we are okay?”

“Don’t
start with me, Alaina. Besides, I already told you we were okay.”

“Yeah.
You did, but I’m not sure I believed you at the time. I do now though.” She
smiled and patted him on the chest as she made her way toward the gym.

He
grunted. “What made you change your mind?”

“Oh.
Nothing. Nothing at all.” Knowing he couldn’t see her face as she walked away
from him, she smiled. “Why don’t you come show me some moves, big boy?”

“I
already worked out.”

“Something
tells me you have some leftover frustration to
expel
. Or maybe you’re worried a girl will kick your ass?” She
turned and made sure he saw her smile this time.

The
thunderous stare he gave her made her want to giggle. Yep. He had it bad for
Wilhemina, but he wasn’t going to admit it any time soon. She was glad to have
her friend back, happy that nothing detrimental would come from the mistaken
feelings he thought he’d had for her.

“I
highly doubt you can kick my ass, especially since I showed you all of your
moves.” He swaggered toward her in cocky man fashion.

“You
haven’t shown me all my moves,” she said.

He
would definitely kick her ass, but she’d never admit it to his face. She’d
gotten over a lot of her hang ups, dealt with many of her illusions, but
stubbornness was not and never would be one of those things. She liked her
mulelike tactic toward life and didn’t plan on giving it up any time soon.

“Let’s
go, Beau Jack.” Aldin walked past her and climbed into the boxing ring.

“Who
the hell is Beau Jack?”

“Spruce
up on your boxing trivia and you’ll figure it out.”

“No,
thanks. I’ll let it remain a mystery.” She climbed into the ring, making a
mental note to secretly find out who the hell Beau Jack was later.

Had
Aldin finally found his match? She hoped that was the case because he deserved
to be happy. He would be a prize to the right woman whether he believed it or
not.

“Should
I feel guilty that I’m happy the boys are busy tonight?” Avril said from the
couch before taking a bite of cheesy pizza. “Pizza for dinner is heaven.” She
took another bite. “That is so good,” she murmured with her mouth full.

“It’s
been awhile since we’ve had another woman in the house to share girls’ night
with,” Ebony said before taking a sip of dark burgundy wine. “Not that I don’t
love our nights together, Avril, but you have to admit, the more the merrier.”

“It’s
been nice being here.” Wilhemina smiled. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been
able to hang with the girls. I swear all I saw on the East Coast at work was
men, men, men. By the time I was done working, there was no time left for
girls’ night. The days were long.” She took a bite of her slice of pizza and
closed her eyes as she chewed. The thick sauce coated her tongue. It was some
of the best she’d had.

“Did
you enjoy your job, Wlhemina?” Ebony asked.

“Yeah.
At least for awhile. After it became apparent I wasn’t going to get anywhere,
it turned into more of a chore. I worked hard, but I kept getting passed over
for promotions.” She took a drink of her wine. “Don’t believe it when people
say that men and women have equal opportunities. There were several men way
more inexperienced than I was, but they kept magically getting positions I had
applied for.”

“That’s
ridiculous!” Avril said before grabbing another slice of pizza.

Wilhemina
wondered how she kept her slim figure eating like that. Some girls had all the
luck, a fast metabolism and a kick ass body.

“I
agree,” Ebony said before opening a delectable-looking box of chocolates.

“What
do you think Marilena needs to talk to the guys about?” Avril said as she took
a chocolate from the box after devouring her second slice of pizza.

“No idea.”
Ebony shrugged. “I’m sure it’s nothing. At least I hope it is.”

“Whatever
it is, I’m sure the boys can handle it.”

Wilhemina
frowned. What exactly could be so horrible about a mother meeting with her
sons?

“Um,
what do Ashe, Aiston, and Aldin do for a living?”

Ebony
and Avril exchanged a look that gave Wilhemina the impression that she wasn’t
going to get a straight answer.

“They
aren’t in the mob are they?” Wilhemina laughed, not sure if she was completely
kidding.

Avril
and Ebony giggled.

“No.
Nothing like that. I guess you could say they are in the line of community
service. They help people out who are in bad situations.” Ebony sipped at her
wine and raised a brow at Avril when she rolled her eyes at her.

Good
grief. Were they involved in organized crime? Were they loan sharks? She
couldn’t imagine the Ebony she’d known from high school being agreeable to her
husband’s involvement in such a thing. She also found it hard to believe that
Ashe, Aiston, or Aldin would be a part of anything illegal.

True
they were all scary—for lack of a better word—in their own ways, but they all
seemed to be honest, up-front men. The type that would be loyal to the ones
they loved. Still, she’d seen a lot of screwed up things while working as a
journalist, and her imagination had a bad way of getting the best of her more
often than not.

She
took another bite of pizza and decided to let the subject rest for now. She
simply wanted to enjoy a night with her friends and relax.

“What
are we going to watch?” she asked.

“I’ve
got something special. Just for the girls.” Avril giggled as she picked up a
large remote from the table beside the couch.

“Does
Alaina ever join you for girls’ night?”

“Weelll,
that’s a long story. I didn’t know you’d met Alaina.” Ebony frowned.

“Yeah.
She showed up earlier in the basement. I had wandered down there and ran into
Aldin in the gym.” She wasn’t going to fill them in on the details of what
happened in the hallway. “She was arriving as I was leaving. Said she had a
lesson with Aldin.”

“Oh.
Yeah. He gives her, um, self-defense lessons,” Avril said. “I don’t know why he
bothers with that bitch.”

“Avril!”
Ebony chastised.

“What?
You know I’m right.”

“No.
She’s changed. I know you are only protecting me, but you have to give her
another chance.”

“Pfft.
Not after what she did to you.”

“What
did she do to Ebony?” Wilhemina asked.

“It’s
another long story.” Ebony sighed.

“She
tried to steal Ashe from her.”

“Avril!”

“Well.
It’s true.”

“She
did?” Wilhemina frowned and now wondered if there was in fact more between
Aldin and Alaina.

“Like
I said, it’s a long story. It’s in the past, and she apologized. I forgave her,
and she’s changed,” Ebony said. “Now can we please watch the movie?”

“I’m
sorry, Ebony.” Wilhemina felt terrible for upsetting her friend.

“No,
no. It’s nothing really. It’s simply water under the bridge and it tends to
rile Avril up.”

“Hey.
She hurt my best friend. I don’t forgive things like that easily.”

“I
know. I know. And I thank you for being my best friend. Now please start the
movie.”

Wilhemina
was curious about all the juicy tidbits now. She wasn’t a gossip, but the
journalist in her was always chomping at the bit for information.
Too bad, Wilhemina. Let it go. It’s not
worth upsetting Ebony and Avril.

She
sighed and got comfortable after snagging a chocolate from the box. She took a
bite and groaned. It, along with the pizza, were so going right to her ass.

* * * *

Marilena
sat across from her sons in the study. Ashe lounged behind the ornate desk in
the middle of the room, Aiston sat on the black leather couch, and Aldin leaned
against the bar with his long legs crossed at the ankle in front of him.

How
in the world was she going to explain to them what she’d done? And even more
impossible? How would they ever forgive her? They wouldn’t.

“What’s
going on, Mom?” Ashe asked.

She
took a deep breath in resignation of what she must do.

“I
want all three of you to give me your word to not leave this room until I am
completely finished telling you what I need to say. Promise me that no matter
what I say, you will hear me out.”

“You’re
starting to creep me out. What’s going on?” Aiston leaned forward and rested
his hands on his knees. “You know that’s no easy feat.”

“Give
me your word. All of you.” She waited until all three nodded before she
continued. If she knew one thing about her sons, none of them would break their
word.

“First
of all, I have someone I want here while I explain things to you.” She called
out telepathically. “
Ragnor, it’s time.”

A
second later, Ragnor shimmered into the room.

Ashe,
Aldin, and Aiston all tensed at the unexpected visitor.

“It’s
okay,” Marilena murmured.

“How
could you give someone permission to shimmer in our home after what happened to
Ebony, Mother?” Ashe asked through clenched teeth.

“I
don’t need permission. I can shimmer where I please whenever I please,” Ragnor
answered in a deep voice.

The
pain inside Marilena’s heart was near crippling. Her sons favored their father,
but she never realized just how much until she saw them all, as grown men, in
the same room together.