Aiden felt very cranky the next morning. He hadn’t slept well. Zain hadn’t come to his room for their usual round of sex in the evening, so he hadn’t seen him since the… the incident.
Aiden wasn’t sure how he was supposed to act now. Should he just ignore the issue? Was it even an issue? Maybe it wasn’t. Maybe he was overthinking it. People could say and do weird things during sex. Maybe Zain had just gotten a little carried away, and that dark, intense possessiveness in his eyes wasn’t real.
“Hey,” Aiden said when he entered the dining room. He could barely hold Zain’s gaze when the older man looked at him over the rim of his coffee cup.
He looked normal again. There was no half-crazed, possessive look on his face. His expression was inscrutable, almost cold, and Aiden’s stomach dropped.
Christ, what was wrong with him? Did he actually want Zain to go all crazy caveman on him?
Aiden stopped by Zain’s chair—and hesitated. These days he usually just got into Zain’s lap and kissed him good morning; more often than not, they even had quick sex in some form. But this morning, he felt… weird. A little uncertain. Almost shy. Which was ridiculous, considering that he’d had this man’s cock in him several times a day for months.
“Hey,” he said again. He grimaced before laughing. “Okay, this is awkward. And ridiculous. Stop making it weird and say something!”
“Someone has to balance it out. You talk too much.”
Pouting exaggeratedly, Aiden dropped himself into Zain’s lap and put his head on his shoulder. “Let’s not make this weird,” he said, wrapping an arm around Zain’s waist and snuggling up to him. God. He smelled so good. Half a day of not having Zain’s attention on him had been… unsettling. And that was very unsettling in itself.
“I wasn’t aware there was any weirdness happening,” Zain said wryly. “Besides you forcing your clingy self on me.”
Aiden huffed. “You should be thanking me. You clearly weren’t hugged enough as a child.”
When Zain said nothing to that, Aiden lifted his head and looked at him.
“Oh,” he said softly, feeling like an idiot. Of course he hadn’t been hugged enough. Who would even hug him? His ill mother who probably hadn’t even recognized him in the last few years before her death? His neglectful, grief-stricken father? Or the numerous servants that would keep their distance from a sheikh?
Zain’s expression became tight. “Stop giving me that look.”
“What look?” Aiden said, cradling his face with his hands gently. Zain’s facial hair was a little prickly to the touch, but Aiden actually liked the texture of it. Loved it.
He could almost feel the frustration buzzing under Zain’s skin before Zain leaned forward and kissed him, hard and greedy, the kiss punishing in its intensity.
Aiden melted into it, his mind quickly turning into needy mush, all the weirdness of the incident forgotten.
Some time later—much later—once Aiden fixed his clothes, and was drowsing dreamily on Zain’s shoulder, he murmured, “So, I’ve been thinking.”
“Don’t hurt yourself.”
Aiden playfully slapped him on the chest. “Oh, shut up. Anyway, since you’re letting me go soon, there’s no reason for me to stay locked up here, right? I’d like to get out, do some sightseeing. Can I go to Dubai?”
He felt Zain’s body tense up. “That’s not… wise.”
“Why not?” Aiden said, laying his hand against Zain’s pec and enjoying his steady heartbeat. Though, it actually wasn’t very steady at the moment. “Are you afraid I’ll run away?”
“I’m not afraid of that,” Zain said in a clipped voice.
“Right—because there’s nothing to be afraid of. Even if I do run off, it’ll be a win for you: you wouldn’t have to find a way to smuggle me out of the country without implicating yourself.”
“Yes,” Zain agreed flatly, but his muscles didn’t relax. His body felt hard and unyielding against Aiden, his arm like an iron band around his waist.
Aiden felt like purring in contentment. The tighter Zain held him, the better it felt. “Are you making some progress on that front, by the way?”
“Some.”
Aiden knew he should push Zain, because what kind of answer was that? But the truth was, he didn’t particularly want to talk about leaving while he was wrapped up in Zain’s arms. The mere idea made his chest a little tight and he squirmed closer to Zain. He didn’t want to think about it until he had to.
But there was something he did want to talk about. Something that had been on his mind for weeks—for months, actually, but Aiden couldn’t do anything about it before. He wasn’t sure he could do anything about it now, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask, right? His relationship with Zain was better now. A lot better. He felt… comfortable with him, god help him.
“There were four girls sold at that auction,” Aiden said, his throat becoming tight as he thought about what might have happened to them. Zain might be a royal ass, but at least he wasn’t cruel. He wasn’t a rapist. He doubted the girls had been as lucky as him. “At least, they were supposed to be sold after me. I never found out what happened to them. Could you find out?”
Zain was silent for a moment.
“That auction was anonymous,” he said at last. But it wasn’t a no.
His heart beating faster, Aiden lifted his head and looked at him pleadingly. “But you could find out?”
Zain hesitated and then nodded.
“I could try,” he said.
Aiden beamed at him. “And you will help them too if you find them, right?”
Zain opened his mouth and closed it.
“What makes you think I’d do that?” he finally said, his voice strained.
Cocking his head to the side, Aiden grinned. “Because you actually aren’t as much of a heartless bastard as you want people to think.”
Zain just looked at him for a moment, his expression vaguely pained and sour.
“Fine.”
Gasping in delight, Aiden hugged him hard, his heart filled to overflowing with joy, relief, and something that uncomfortably felt like adoration—and trust.
God, this was bad. But it felt so wonderful. This feeling. This man.
Snap out of it, Aiden told himself, trying to eradicate the emotion, stomp all over it before it could grow into something dangerous. More dangerous than this already was.
Christ, he needed some distance away from Zain. He needed to find out how bad this was.
“So, can I go with you to Dubai today? You can give me a few bodyguards if you don’t trust me not to get in trouble.”
After a long pause, Zain said, “All right.”
Lifting his head, Aiden smiled at him and pecked him on the cheek. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re the best owner I’ve ever had!”
“Funny,” Zain said, rolling his eyes, but Aiden could see a smile tugging at his lips.
The helicopter ride to Dubai couldn’t have been more different from their previous trip. Aiden spent it all but in Zain’s lap, snuggled up against his chest and chattering about the famous sights he wanted to see. Zain tolerated it, humming noncommittally and mouthing at Aiden’s neck.
“I keep forgetting to ask you… How is Gadiel?”
Zain heaved a sigh against his neck. “As expected—impossible to deal with.”
“That bad, huh?” Aiden murmured, stroking Zain’s fingers absentmindedly. “He’s not just being an irresponsible brat, you know. Some of the things he told me… they made me very uneasy. He needs help. Like, professional help.”
Zain sighed again. “I know. But I don’t trust a therapist to keep Gadiel’s secrets from our father.”
“I think he just needs to be loved,” Aiden muttered, pressing their cheeks together and enjoying the way Zain’s beard felt against his skin. “Love helps.”
Making a derisive noise, Zain kissed his neck.
Aiden shivered, the subject of Gadiel forgotten.
They arrived in Dubai much too soon.
When they left the helicopter, Zain handed him off to his bodyguards before getting into one of the two cars.
Aiden waved him goodbye cheerfully, but his smile slipped as soon as he climbed into the other car with the bodyguards.
His stomach was churning with discomfort and the overwhelming urge to get out of the car and run back to Zain.
Damn it.
This was worse than he’d expected. Although Aiden had genuinely wanted to get out and do some sightseeing, the main purpose of this outing was to find out how well he could handle being away from Zain.
Not very well, it seemed.
But he would have to learn. He had to leave his golden cage—had to want to leave it. He shouldn’t want Zain around so much. Wanting him was fine, but needing him definitely wasn’t. Because Aiden would be leaving soon. Eventually.
But not yet.
Not yet.
“Where to?” the driver asked in accented English.
Back to Zain.
Quashing the thought, Aiden shrugged with a lost smile. “Where do the tourists go?”
