Sold To The Demon Alpha
Chapter 35

Aria’s POV

When Raphael had told me that Roma wanted to see me the next morning after my distasteful run in with Carlos, I had thought it was a dream.

After obsessing about why Roma would want to see me, I had knocked on the door to his study and taken a deep breath, about to enter, when the door opened and Salem stepped out, her lips tilted up in a wide smile.

Looking at me like I was nothing more than an insect, she walked away, her h**s swaying as she hummed to herself and ran a hand through her head and I wondered whether the rumours were true.

Was she indeed Roma’s lover?

The jealousy that washed over me as I considered if it was true was like a cold bucket of water dumped over me.

Salem looked like the type of woman that Roma would want.

Beautiful from head to toe and strong, but more importantly, a werewolf.

I didn’t think I was outstandingly beautiful and I was definitely not strong. But worst of all, I was human. The mortal enemy of the werewolves.

There was a bitter taste in my throat as I pushed the door and entered to replace him standing behind his desk, looking down at papers that were arranged on his table.

And when I closed the door and he raised his head, his gaze focusing on me, I drew in a sharp breath.

His black hair fell to his neck and his blue eyes dilated and constricted as he watched me stand in front of the door watching him.

The room was quiet and thick with tension that could be cut with a saw.

We had not spoken since that time at the infirmary but as he looked at me, it felt like he was saying something and I could not fathom what it was.

“Come closer, Ajello.” He said and I sucked in a breath, my heart pounding in my chest as his deep velvety slightly accented voice reached my ears.

I nodded, walking closely but it was too good to be true, because I kicked my foot against the table on my way to him and the mug on the table fell to the floor and shattered to the ground.

“Oh. I’m so sorry.” I gasped and fell to my knees to pick up the broken shards, wincing when one of the broken edges cut into my skin.

I was about to continue picking up the shards but before I knew what was happening, Roma swatted my hand away and lifted me like I weighed nothing, placing me on the couch and glaring at me like a parent.

“How old are you? Five?” He asked, looking at me like I was crazy and perhaps I was, because if not that I was clumsy and my brain seemed to suddenly be working backwards in his presence, why had I not thought to get a broom and dustpan instead of picking up the shards with my hands.

“Twenty two? But I’ll be twenty three at the end of the year so…” I answered with an innocent smile and trailed off when I saw his less than amused face.

He shook his head like he did not know what to do with me and when I tried to stand, he growled and I fell back into the chair.

“Stay there. I’ll call someone to clean up this mess and get a first aid kid. In the mean time..” He walked towards his fridge and brought out a bottle of alcohol. Ripping open a new pack of tissue, he walked towards me and sat in the chair beside me, and I inhaled, his scent so nice, I wanted to move closer and bury my face in his neck and have my fill of it.

My eyes widened at how crazy my thoughts were and I shook my head.

He poured some alcohol into a piece of the tissue paper and opened his hand like I was a toddler.

“Give me your hand” He said gently and when I did, he took one look at me and sighed.

“This will sting.”

That was the only warning I received before the tissue met my cut and I winced, biting my bottom l*p as he cleaned it.

“Don’t bite your l*p. It’s distracting.” He whispered and even though I didn’t understand why it would distract him, I nodded and stopped.

When he was done cleaning, he wrapped my hand with a clean tissue and removed a ribbon from his pocket to hold his makeshift bandage in place and I shifted away from him, my heart beating too fast from his proximity.

“Why do you always seem to be hurt when I’m around you, Aria?” He asked but I knew it was a rhetorical question, especially because I didn’t know the answer either.

“I don’t look at it that way though. I just think that you are always around to save me.” I answered and his hand cupped my face, examining the cut on my forehead that had already healed. His hand was so warm against my face, I wanted to rub my face in it like a cat.

“Your wounds?”

“Fine.” I whispered and his eyes darkened as we stared at each other, his hand cupping my cheek.

However, he broke the spell first and stood, walking back to stand behind his table and cleared his throat.

“I called you here because I need your account details. I would like to pay your stipend.” He said and my eyes widened.

I knew that he paid the other servants stipend but since I was here to pay a debt, I had thought I was working for free. I told him the same thing and he shook his head.

“Do not worry about that. Your father is also paying back the debt in his own way and you have worked really hard. You deserve a stipend. Besides, no one that works for me, will ever not be paid for their work.”

My eyes widened with surprise and I was so happy. By the time I was done working here, I would have something to apply for music school like I had always wanted.

“Will you call out the details for me? I don’t want you to stress that hand?” He said and when I did, he wrote it down in a paper.

“You should go and check that cut with Scian. I’m sure she would be more than happy to have her most faithful customer return for a visit, even though I’m sure she won’t be pleased by that cut.”

I stood and looked at the mess I had made.

“I can clean this.” I said, looking for a reason to prolong my time with him because I had no idea when I would see him again.

“Don’t worry about that. Someone else will come and do it. You can go now.”

Nodding, I inclined my head and walked out of the office, releasing a breath as I walked to the infirmary, knowing two things.

One, Scian would be less than happy that I had returned with another injury.

Two, I was fooling myself thinking that I was already getting over Roma Ruggiero.