Chapter 3 The Threat Of Outside Noise

• “Are you always this relentless?” Aurelia gasped into the blackness, her voice trembling as Thaddeus’s mouth tracked down the slope of her breast.
• “When it comes to you, I have three years of restraint to catch up on,” Thaddeus growled, his lips closing over her peak, sucking her deeply into the heat of his mouth.
• Aurelia cried out softly, her fingers knotting into the short hair at the back of his neck as a sharp burst of pleasure rolled straight through her belly. Her thighs parted instinctively, her body demanding more of him as he worked his tongue against her, rolling her sensitive tip until she was squirming beneath his weight on the cushions.
• His hands didn't rest. One arm stayed braced beneath her back, lifting her toward him, while his other hand slid down the smooth silk of her trousers, seeking the button at her waist.
• “Thaddeus...” she breathed, her hips lifting into the press of his hand. “The waiter... the staff...”
• “They left thirty minutes ago,” he rasped against her wet skin, popping the fastener loose with practiced ease. “And with the elevators down sixty floors, nobody is coming up here tonight.”
• He tugged the zipper down, his warm fingers slipping beneath the waistband to glide over the lace of her underwear. The fabric was already slick and damp. A low sound escaped his throat when his knuckles brushed her wetness.
• “Look at what I do to you,” he whispered, his thumb finding her sensitive center and applying a slow, deliberate pressure.
• Aurelia’s back arched sharply off the sofa, her thighs trembling around his hand. “You... you did this to me three years ago, the moment you signed that paper.”
• “Liar,” Thaddeus said, his voice thick with desire as he slid two fingers past the lace, sinking them into her heat.
• Aurelia gasped loudly, her head throwing back against the armrest. She gripped his broad shoulders, her nails digging through his shirt as he established a deep, punishing pace inside her. Every stroke of his fingers sent heat straight to her core, melting away the last remnants of her icy control.
• “Say my name again,” he demanded, his thumb pressing down on her clitoris, coaxing her closer and closer to the edge.
• “Thaddeus….. Thaddeus, please” she sobbed softly, her hips moving in a wild counter-tempo to his hand.
• “That’s it,” he murmured, his mouth coming back up to capture hers, drinking in her breathless cries as her body suddenly tightened around his fingers, rippling with a powerful release that left her shaking in his arms.
• Before she could catch her breath, a sharp chime echoed through the silent room.
• Aurelia froze, her heart hammering against her ribs.
• On the glass coffee table a few feet away, a phone screen glowed bright blue in the pitch black, vibrating violently against the glass. The high ringtone broke the intimacy of the room like a physical slap.
• Thaddeus stilled, his fingers remaining embedded inside her slick heat, his heavy chest rising and falling against hers. He looked over his shoulder toward the light, his dark eyes flashing with cold irritation.
• “Don't answer it,” Aurelia whispered, her hands clinging to his waist, her body still humming from her release.
• Thaddeus glanced at the name flashing on the screen. Victoria Drake. His mother.
• “She’s calling on the satellite line,” Thaddeus muttered, his voice gravelly as he slowly pulled his hand back from between her thighs, leaving Aurelia feeling instantly cold and empty. He sat up, reaching over to tap the speaker button before turning the phone face down to kill the blinding glare.
• “Thaddeus?” his mother’s sharp, demanding voice filled the dark room, crisp and entirely unbothered by the citywide crisis. “I assume you are aware of the blackout. The board is already panicking about Monday’s market open.”
• Thaddeus leaned back against the sofa, his hand sliding over Aurelia’s bare waist, keeping her anchored beside him in the dark. “The grid is down citywide, Mother. There’s nothing to be done until morning.”
• “Don't be careless,” Victoria warned, her tone biting. “The Sterling family is watching this merger closely. Aurelia’s father called me ten minutes ago expressing concern about her company’s valuation if the power stays off through the weekend.”
• Aurelia sat up slowly, pulling her unbuttoned blouse together over her exposed breasts. The mention of her father felt like a cold bucket of water dumped over her head.
• “Aurelia is fine,” Thaddeus said, his voice dropping into that familiar, unreadable corporate tone he used in boardrooms. “She is with me.”
• “Good. Make sure she stays focused,” Victoria said cold-bloodedly. “Her family’s firm only survives if this merger goes through without a hitch. And more importantly, both families expect an update on the heir timeline before the quarter ends. Your grandfather is getting impatient, Thaddeus. Three years of marriage without a child is starting to look like a failure of management.”
• Aurelia swallowed the lump in her throat, her chest tightening in the pitch black.
• “That is a private matter, Victoria,” Thaddeus responded, his jaw tightening as his fingers dug slightly into Aurelia’s hip.
• “Nothing in this family is private when billions of dollars in stock are tied to your image as a stable couple,” his mother snapped. “Your father and I expect you both at the charity gala next Thursday. And we expect an announcement soon after. Don't let personal distractions ruin three years of financial planning.”
• Aurelia listened to the cold words hanging in the air. The raw, passionate man who had just taken her mouth and made her scream was suddenly gone, forced back into his role as the stoic heir to Drake Enterprises.
• “I know my duties, Mother,” Thaddeus said curtly. “Goodnight.”
• He disconnected the call, throwing the phone onto the cushion beside him. The faint glow died completely, returning the room to total dark.
• Silence fell over them again, but the heat between them had shifted, tainted by the heavy weight of their families' expectations.
• Aurelia pulled her legs together, fastening her trousers with shaking fingers in the blackness. “She’s right, you know.”
• “Aurelia”
• “We can’t forget why we’re here, Thaddeus,” she said softly, standing up from the sofa and smoothing down her clothes. “The blackout won't last forever. And when the power comes back, your mother and my father will still be waiting.”
• Thaddeus stood up in the dark, his tall frame looming over her. He reached out, his hand wrapping firmly around her wrist before she could step away from the couch.
• “Do you think I touched you tonight because of my mother?” he asked, his voice low, rough, and dangerous.
• “I think we both lost our heads because the lights went out,” she said, her voice wavering despite her best efforts to stay composed. “They expect a baby, Thaddeus. They expect a happy couple for the press. They don't know that we don't even sleep in the same room.”
• “Then let’s change it,” Thaddeus said simply, pulling her wrist until her front hit his chest again.
• “It’s not that simple,” she whispered against his shirt. “An heir is a business metric to them. A public appearance is a PR strategy. If we mix real feelings into this arrangement, everything gets messy.”
• “It’s already messy,” he rasped, sliding his hand up to cup the back of her head, forcing her face up toward his in the dark. “You think I can go back to sleeping down the hall after tasting you? You think I can sit across from you at dinner and talk about quarterly briefs after hearing you scream my name?”
• Aurelia’s breath hitched, her heart thumping wildly against her ribs. “Thaddeus...”
• “They want a show, Aurelia,” he whispered, his lips grazing her ear. “Let’s give them one. But what happens in this room when the doors are locked, that belongs to us.”