Aries: Book 2 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series) (11 page)

Chapter Fifteen

‘I can’t accept your offer of protection. I need to go back to Nick. I belong with him,’ the man said, eyeing the door behind me.

He flung himself forward. It was a poor attempt to escape. He landed in a heap on the ground. Leo picked him up and sat him in the living room chair.

The Dysfunctionals were low enough to keep Pisces in a basement but we were doing the same. It defeated the object of our mission. It didn’t rest comfortably with me. Having the man tied up in our attic wasn’t justice, it was stupid.

‘Well, we need information. When you give it to us, you’ll be free to leave,’ I said.

I did a wheelie with my chair. I was bored but getting used to moving around.

‘I need to get back to him.’

Small beads of sweat formed on his top lip. Why was he starting to panic? His arms were tied behind him but I caught the slight shaking of his muscles.

‘What’s the rush? I thought you didn’t like him?’ Leo asked.

He sat on the edge of the chair, his thigh resting on the arm. It was thick enough to cover the whole area. I glanced down at my own. They were thinner than they used to be but were slowly building new muscle.

‘I have a mission as much as you do,’ the man said.

His arm moved suddenly and his hand flashed forward.

‘Leo!’ I shouted but it was too late.

The glint of a blade reflected the light as he thrust it into Leo’s leg. Leo howled and grabbed his thigh, toppling onto the floor. I pushed my wheelchair forward as the prisoner stepped over the side of his chair and made a run for it. I spun and gave chase as he crashed through the living room and into the open kitchen area. When I got to the doorway, he was skidding across the floor.

‘Cancer…!’ I shouted when she came through the front door and collided with the escapee.

‘I’m sorry,’ the man said to her.

She looked up at him. He grabbed the top of her arms but didn’t squeeze.

‘Please don’t,’ she pleaded.

I sped towards them. He turned and threw her into me, before making his escape.

‘Run after him,’ I shouted at Cancer, pushing her into a stand.

She rushed out of the door, coming to a stop at the top of the steps. I followed her.

‘He’s there! Go after him!’

She shook her head as a tear dropped down her cheek. I swore and thumped my thigh as he disappeared around the corner of the street. I glanced at her before reversing my chair back into the house. Leo limped into the kitchen. He had taken his shirt off and tied his leg above the knife.

‘Are you okay?’ I asked, wheeling to him.

He sat down at the dining table and nodded. Gritting his teeth, he took hold of the knife handle.

‘Wait!’

I looked behind me as Cancer came to us.

She gasped as her hand came to her mouth.

‘Let Cancer take it out. She can see it better,’ I said.

Her eyes widened and she slowly shook her head.

‘I can do it,’ Leo said.

‘Let her do it!’ I commanded.

Leo let go of the handle and frowned at me. He wasn’t great at taking orders but he seemed to understand that I meant what I said. There was a reason behind everything I did. I wasn’t fooling around.

‘I don’t want to, Aries, I—’

I grabbed her arm and pushed her towards him. She tried to turn away. I held her still. Her blonde fringe fell over her face.

‘Why are you…?’ Leo started.

He stopped talking when I gave him a sharp look.

‘Do it!’ I shouted at her.

She glanced back at me, looking into my eyes. Her brow was low. The crease in her forehead was unattractive. I raised my own eyebrows, daring her to go against me.

‘I’m sorry,’ she muttered, turning to Leo, grabbing the knife and pulling it out of his thigh in one quick move. She dropped it on the table and ran out of the front door.

‘What the hell was that about?’ Leo said.

His teeth were gritted as he breathed through the pain. The knife had gone deep but it was a clean cut. The gaping wound was seeping blood. Luckily, it had missed the vein.

I sighed and dug my phone out of my pocket. Leo would need stitches but we couldn’t afford for him to be questioned at the hospital.

‘How do you think he got a knife?’ I asked him.

‘Well, I don’t…no!’ he said, staring at me.

I text Virgo and asked her to get home as soon as she could. She was training to be a nurse at the local hospital. She had learnt to stitch us up and soothe our burns when we were growing up.

‘Cancer has been looking after him, hasn’t she? Why would we leave her to do that? It looks like he seduced, or manipulated her.’ I clenched my phone in my hand. I was tempted to launch it across the floor. The main link to our father had escaped.

‘She wouldn’t give him a knife, surely? How do you know it was definitely her?’

I wheeled over to the side and grabbed a bottle of alcohol. Going back to Leo, I handed it over. He thanked me as he uncapped the lid and took a swig.

‘It’s for your leg.’ I laughed, grabbing it off him as he went to take another mouthful. I poured it through the hole in his jeans and into the wound.

‘You…!’ he shouted, almost jumping from his seat.

The cursing didn’t stop when Virgo walked in. I took a healthy mouthful of vodka and put the bottle on the table.

‘That was good timing. I was wondering whether to go to the pub with some friends when I got your text,’ she said.

I smiled and gestured at the patient. She came over, took one look at Leo’s leg and went to her room.

‘I suppose I’d better strip,’ Leo said, unbuttoning his jeans and stepping out of them. He climbed on the dining table and lay flat, ready for Virgo to stitch him up.

‘I’m going to leave you to it. I’ve got a date tonight.’ I spun my chair and headed for my room.

‘A date…? Yeah, right, who would want to go on a date with you?’ Leo said.

I laughed and flipped my middle finger without looking back. The insult wouldn’t have bothered me before but it was my first date as a man with no legs. It would also be my first date with Natalie since we were young. We were no longer teenagers, and if I wanted to complete my mission, I had to work things out with her.

I got ready quickly. Time was getting on. I wanted to be punctual. I often found myself turning up to places just a little bit late.

‘I hear you have a date.’

I turned to see Pisces standing in the doorway of my room. She fiddled with the charm on her bracelet. I looked down at my own. I never took any notice of it. I often saw the others playing with theirs or trying to pull them off.

‘I have indeed,’ I replied, opening my wardrobe.

My brothers had lowered the railing so I could reach my clothes. I was determined to put it back up to its original height when I was walking again.

‘I hope it’s with Natalie,’ she said, coming in and taking my jacket from me.

I leant forward. She held it behind me as I shrugged it on. I wheeled over to the long mirror.

‘Yes, it’s with Natalie.’

I didn’t need to say anymore. I knew my duty and my mission. A part of me wished the date was with someone else. Someone that knew nothing about me. I hated following the rules, but with this one thing, I didn’t have a choice. I had something to do and so I would do it. No matter what it took, I was going to complete my mission.

‘It’s exciting.’ Pisces sat on the chair behind me.

My reflection stared back at me. The wheelchair was bulky in the middle of the room. The grey trousers that I wore were empty from the knee down. It looked odd with the smart suit jacket. I undid the top buttons on my white shirt and ran a hand over my hair. My chin was clean shaven and smelt of cologne. I looked closely at myself for a moment, tempted to throw a fireball at the mirror. I was hideous.

‘It doesn’t matter what you look like. You know that don’t you? Your twin flame soulmate won’t be able to resist you.’

Her words were said lightly but they hit their mark. I looked away from myself and grinned at my sister. ‘What about the other girls?’

She approached me. I took her offered hand and squeezed it. She hadn’t been touchy feely before. I had always grabbed my siblings for a hug but Pisces hardly ever let anyone near her. Antony had opened her up in ways that I never thought possible.

‘You don’t need other girls now. Trust me.’ She let go of my hand and left me to think about her words.

The idea of being tied down to one woman for the rest of my life was daunting but somewhere deep down, I welcomed it, too. If I didn’t have a mission in this lifetime, I would probably fool around with every woman I could. But when I had a purpose, there was nothing that could stop me. I had been with plenty of women. The explosion had been a wakeup call. I wasn’t on Earth to muck around, I was there to do something. Once I got something into my head, I was going to achieve it, or I would die trying.

‘You need a lift?’

Taurus hovered by the open door.

‘I need you to be my chauffeur for the night,’ I said.

‘How much are you paying me?’

I rammed him with my chair, making him hop back. He had a baseball cap on his head and an unshaved jaw. It wasn’t that warm outside but he wore shorts anyway.

‘Just do as you’re told.’ I led him out to the kitchen.

Leo and the others were gathered around the dining table, fighting over the chicken buckets that rested in the middle.

‘Look out, ladies, Aries is back!’ Leo sang.

They watched me as I wheeled across the floor to the front door. I wanted to ignore them. I couldn’t.

‘Don’t wait up for me,’ I shouted as I left the taunting and whistling behind.

The black van waited for me. I had to thank Taurus when he discreetly helped me into the back. I had no idea how the date would go, but for the first time in my life, I wasn’t cocky about it.

Chapter Si
x
teen

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so tense,’ she said as we waited for pudding.

We had been speaking nonstop for two hours. The end of the night was drawing near. I had never bothered with treating a lady right in the past. I wanted to try and make an effort for Natalie. She wasn’t just some girl I wanted to shag.

‘I’m okay,’ I lied.

Would she see past my lack of legs enough to go to bed with me? I didn’t necessarily want to do it after the date, although I wouldn’t say no. I wanted her badly but I had to admit I was scared. Was it even possible for me to do it?

‘I know you.’ She looked at me over the rim of her glass as she took a sip of wine.

We might have been young but we had made the effort. We drank wine and ate posh food. She wore a midnight blue dress that hugged her in all the right places. Her hair flowed down her back. Her eyes were huge, enhanced with makeup. I liked that she had gone to so much effort for me.

‘You don’t know me.’

She licked her glossed lips as she put her glass down. I groaned inside and wished she would take me back to hers, instead of trying to delve. I hated it when women tried to get inside me. What was the point of it? Every woman I had slept with, or talked to more than once, had asked questions.

‘You don’t do romance, do you?’

It threw me off. I waited for a probing question but she didn’t ask it.

‘Maybe you do know me,’ I replied then laughed when she smiled. ‘Let’s go back to yours.’

The smile left her face as her gaze flicked to the table. She was thinking of me with no legs. Would it be possible? Did I even want to try? A part of me knew that I had to. I had to see if I was still capable of being a man. It had been on my mind for a while. I hoped Natalie would give herself to me.

‘Is that wise?’

Her throat moved. She wanted it as much as I did. She probably remembered the times that I had thrown her on the bed and had her against the wall. I might have only been twenty one but I had quite a lot of experience.

‘Yes, it’s wise,’ I said.

She nodded and got up to leave. I pushed away from the table. A woman from the next table stared at me. I smiled at her. She fanned herself with the menu. Her boyfriend snarled at me for making eyes at his woman. I winked at him. His gaze followed my wheels, probably feeling sorry for me. I didn’t care. I was going home to prove that I was still a man.

*

‘Are you sure?’ Natalie asked as she unlocked the front door.

She lived on the ground floor so it was easy for me to get around. As soon as the door closed behind me, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her down to me. She almost tripped. I had to let her go so she could grab my shoulders to steady herself.

‘Sorry,’ she mumbled before leaning in and kissing me.

Heat zoomed through me as I pulled her hair. My lips left hers to trail down her neck. She pushed me and the wheelchair slid backwards.

‘Let’s go to the bedroom.’ She stepped away from me.

I followed her lead, although I would have preferred to go first. She unzipped her dress as she walked backwards. I unbuttoned my shirt as we went into her bedroom.

‘I’ve been watching your body move when you’re working out, and all I could think about was touching you.’

Her words surprised me. I had been so engrossed in my recovery; I hadn’t noticed her eyeing me up. I shrugged off my jacket as she let her dress fall to the ground. She wore matching underwear and although it was nice, I wanted her to take it off.

‘I want to touch you,’ I replied, undoing my trousers.

It was true. I was completely ready for her to do what she wanted with me. The thought made me falter. My fingers slipped, and I had trouble getting my hands to coordinate. I tried to pull my trousers off but they got stuck on my metal bolts. She would be in complete control.

‘Here,’ she whispered, bending down.

She kissed me deeply, thinking that she could distract me as she got my trousers unstuck. I could feel everything, though. I was aware of my trousers falling away from my legs far too early.

‘Get on the bed,’ she said into my ear.

I forgot the trousers and did as she said, my excitement returning. I settled against the pillows and looked at her as she stripped for me. She crawled up the bed slowly.

‘You’re still so hot.’

A flash of fire that didn’t turn me on, crawled over my skin. What did she mean?

She reached up and ran her hands up my thighs. I grabbed them and pulled her up my body. I didn’t want her lingering down there. I chose to ignore her comment and reached out to unclasp her bra but she pulled away.

‘Let’s take our time,’ she said, stroking my abs.

A frustrated breath left me as I resisted the urge to grab her and get it over with. She would have to go on top. I usually liked the position but I wasn’t used to it being mandatory. When I reached for her again, she tutted at me and started to pull my pants off. As she did, I watched the short trip they took down my legs. My stomach rolled at the sight. She went to lie on me. I grabbed her arms and pushed her away.

‘I can’t do this.’

She was on her hands and knees at the end of the bed. The image should have made me want to take her and finish what we had started but I couldn’t. I grabbed my chair and hoisted myself into it, before rushing to the bathroom. All I could hear was the sound of the wheels dragging on the carpet.

When I shut the door, I leant over the toilet and emptied my guts. I was never sick but the sight of my stumps when Natalie had tried to turn me on made me throw up.

‘Are you okay?’ Her quiet words filtered past the sound of the running tap.

I washed my mouth out and spat before looking up at the mirror. It was a good thing I couldn’t see my reflection. I only just fitted inside the small bathroom. I was grateful for the sanctuary. I threw a towel over my lap and opened the door.

‘I’m sorry, I have to go.’ I wheeled forward.

She wore a dressing gown and chewed on her fingernail. She followed me when I went past her and back into the bedroom to get my clothes.

‘Please don’t go. We can just sleep,’ she said, grabbing my chair and stopping me from moving around her room.

‘I can’t sleep. I need to get out of here.’

She put the brake on my wheelchair and came to stand in front of me. ‘You’re not running away from me again.’

I flipped the brake off and reversed. ‘I’ll go naked then.’

She came after me. She was quick. She slammed the door shut and I ran straight into it. I growled but she ignored me. She threw off her dressing gown. I ran my gaze over her naked body. She grabbed my towel and dropped it to the ground.

‘I’m not letting you run from me again, do you hear me?’

She didn’t give me a chance to answer. She grabbed my head and kissed me hard. I tensed but my arms wrapped around her as she climbed onto me.

‘I can’t…’ I protested. She sat on my lap, and I found that all of a sudden, there might be a chance I could.

‘This is happening. You want me, and I want you,’ she whispered into my ear.

Her breath hit me. She was right. There was no point in fighting or running. We had to find a way to make it work.