Worth Dying For

Aiden gently dried her hair with a towel as Claire sat on the bed between his legs. It was a silent moment, but one filled with warmth and comfort. Exactly what she needed. Otherwise she wasn't sure she wouldn't bolt through the door, out of the house and into one of her hidden bases to avoid having to tell him the reason behind the bloody mess made on his property.

Once he finished, Aiden threw the damp towel onto one of the nightstands next to the bed and circled his arms around her waist. Nestling his face into her neck, he took a deep breath of her intoxicating scent that was now mixed in with his. Something he very much liked.

"We should do this more often Angel." He said to her as his breath sent shivers down her spine thanks to how close he was.

"I didn't know you were into watching me fight." Claire chuckled thinking he meant their earlier "exercise session".

"I meant bathing together." He chuckled as well. "But I do enjoy watching you kick ass. When did you learn to fight like that? I'v never seen anything like it before." He asked with genuine curiosity. Her skills were on par with the men from his top tier ranks. Those who weren't even mentioned due to the fear the mere idea of them caused.

Claire stayed silent for a moment before she leaned further back into his chest. "Up until I was fifteen I was trained fourteen hours a day. Or until I passed out from exhaustion." Her voice was calm, but the way she replied hinted that she was reminiscing about the past.

At her response, Aiden unconsciously tightened his arms around her. He wasn't expecting such an answer from her. Yes it was evident that only something as drastic as what she just said would make sense of what he saw earlier that night, but just the thought of his angel going through such a thing made him feel like embracing her. And if her training was anything like his own, he could understand why she would feel reluctant to share about it with anyone. Himself included.

Before anything else was said, he lifted her up with ease and shifted their position into where she was on his lap while facing him. With one of her legs on each of his sides, it looked like she was straddling him. Aiden couldn't care less about what they looked like at the moment, since his only concern was to be able to read her face while she continued with what seemed to be the very start of her long awaited explanation.

Claire wasn't shocked with how easy he moved her, but her heart hadn't prepared for his face to be so close to hers. She lowered her gaze for a bit while she fidgeted with her fingers. Something Aiden was aware she did when she felt nervous. Not wanting her to feel so, he started to draw circles on her back with his thumb. Coxing her to continue before she got lost in her thoughts again.

"The parents that brought me into this world did so out of love." She still hadn't looked up at him, but decided to tell him regardless of her inner turmoil. "They had the hopes of being able to make some much needed changes, and raise their children in a place where purely stupid beliefs and old traditions were at the root of everything."

Memories of an unhealthy and toxic upbringing bubbled up to the forefront of her thoughts. Forcing her to hold on to Aiden's shirt as she tried to clear them away and continue with her explanation. Aiden noticed this and decided that their current position wasn't good enough.

Pressing her against himself he picked her up by keeping one of his hands on her back and another one under her. He walked over to one side of the bed and got inside the sheets with her. They both laid on their sides, but Aiden shifted his body downward to be able to look at her properly. After making sure she was properly tucked in his embrace, he continued to coax her by rubbing his hand up and down her back in a soothing manner. Apparently being exactly what she need to be able to calmly continue.

"Colton was also trained from practically birth, but his focus was concentrated on the technological aspect of things. Hacking, collecting information, cyber espionage and anything practically with a circuit board fall into his area of expertise. He had a proper and balanced education." Her lips spread into a small smile at the thought of him and his goofy grin. "But he makes one hell of a spy. That's why most of the time his assignments require him to be away for months at a time. It's one of the many reasons why Lily and I stick to him like glue when he's in arms reach."

"That explains a lot of the customized tech you have at the base." Aiden had searched long and hard for the things he saw while being down there, but didn't have any luck at all finding anything. Which meant Colton was beyond good at what he did.

"Yeah. He designed all of the gadgets we use. From the things in our different bases to the beeper I use for things involving Lily. Even though he doesn't look the part, he's actually a genius."

Aiden couldn't help but smile. The proud look on her face said just how much she loved her brother. And thanks to being so concentrated on her face, he noticed when it shifted to a more pensive one.

"I have no doubt that if his situation were different and he didn't have to avoid the public eye like he does, he would've won amazing prizes and been worldly revered for his skills." There wasn't a single shred of doubt in her voice as she said so either.

"And why is it that the both of you have to avoid being seen?" He asked as his hand never stopped stroking her back.

She focused back onto his eyes and couldn't help but feel as if he could see through her. A sensation she had slowly started to grow accustomed to. "Because we're hiding."

"From who?" He asked in response. He knew that was the case, but there were still to many blank spaces as to the reason behind it. Or the people responsible for it.

"From the ones who made us orphans and forged us into weapons." Her eyes turned sharper. It was obvious that whoever she talked about were some of the same demons she had mentioned before. The ones greatly responsible for her hardships. Her secluded life. And the inexplicable depth of her eyes. Eyes that Aiden was sure held more secrets than they were ever supposed to carry and hold on to.

He had been calm and collected throughout the night, but his mind was anything but.

Yes, Claire had a powerful position and yes, she had more than enough money to flaunt and be considered one of the highest ranking socialite in the business world. But he was supposed to be ten times as big and powerful than her and a whole other world of people! He was a billionaire for god-sake! Yet not once had he managed to truly outsmart, figure out, or manage to impress the petite angel like woman in his arms!

There he was. The big bag Aiden Villan, heir to the biggest corporation in the international business regime, reduced to a pile of unanswered questions that couldn't even safe guard his own property properly.

His house, his multi million dollar, highly monitored, protected and extremely safe guarded house, was reached and breached within minutes. Minutes! His men faced opponents they weren't expecting yes, but they were trained to find threats withing the most mundane things imaginable. To see the invisible, think the unimaginable and quite literally do the impossible!

The fact that they were so easy dealt with meant that whoever his little lady was running from, involved with and wanted by, was someone Aiden couldn't simply ignore now. They had stained his reputation. Tested his patience. Played with his pride. And worse than all, put at risk the reasons behind his new found happiness! His girls were asleep under the impression that no harm would come to them under the umbrella of his protection, and whoever was behind that nights fiasco had shattered that notion without even caring it was THE Aiden Villan they were offending.

Blood had already been spilled. But regardless of what the angel in his arms ended up revealing, Aiden's hands were far from done being stained.

The gears in his head were turning. All of the things he had seen her do, the way everything around her seemed secretive yet well structured and organized, how her entire family seemed to have appeared out of thin air yet managed to stay hidden in plain sight and the top tier abilities that they each individually possessed, everything started to line up in his head. And if it were any other day, he wouldn't have been able to connect as many dots as he did.

But now she had finally given him more to work with.

She was orphaned. Her brother received a less brutal treatment growing up and they both know the ins and outs of not only the business world, but the underworld as well. Combined, they had abilities he had never seen before and they were forever accompanied by their loyal butler. The legendary Lone Wolf, who they call by the name of Ben. She had a daughter. One so young that she could easily hide from the world in plain sight as skillfully as she hid herself, her family, her top secret bases and even the fact that she was the CEO to a multimillionaire corporation belonging to the big three!

What was he missing!? What key element was he overlooking that prevented him from finally understanding at least half of how such a perfect being could exist within arms reach of him. Or better said, withing his arms!

Claire could see as Aiden struggled to figure her out without asking her anything. She wasn't sure if it was because he didn't want to ask anything that would make her uncomfortable, or because he was dead set on figuring it out for himself. Either way, she couldn't help but find him adorable. He was surely dying to ask thanks to the confusing predicament of not knowing enough to understand, yet there he was. Determined to see whatever her complicated situation was until the end.

She tightened her arms around his waist and slowly inched her face towards his. Once in her reach, she gently pressed her lips against his. Seemingly calling back his focus towards her. "I'm not done yet." She said to him with a small entertained smile. It amused her how hard he was trying. "So there's no need for you to wrack your brain so hard."

Aiden gazed at her for a moment before he too stole a kiss from her lips. "I can't help it. Anything that involves you overloads my head."

Claire smile turned somewhat sadder. "I... I've caused you more trouble than I'm worth."

He could see the conversation started to get serious again. "Really?" He grabbed one of her hands and raised it until her palm was on top of his neck. Gently pressing it down, he continued. "That's odd. Don't I have a pulse?" Claire's expression turned confused, so he clarified himself. "Angel, you're worth dying for. So I don't really understand what you mean."

The overbearingly cheesy line, his deep husky voice, his intoxicating scent and the way he held her hand to feel his pulse made a deep blush crawl up Claire's face. She could feel her heart pick up it's pace as he smirked at her mischievously. The heavy feeling in her chest, and the even heavier atmosphere their serious conversation created around them, was instantly lifted. Now it was replaced with Claire's bashful giggling and Aiden's deep hearty chuckling.

He pulled her into his arms and hugged her close. "If you're gonna get all shy about my romantic phrases then you should stop putting yourself down every time something happens." He leaned back and kissed her forehead. "I already told you. I don't care about anything other than having my arms wrapped around you and my Princess. You're both my girls now."

Claire closed her eyes and sighed. He was truly something else. "So you won't care if I come from an awful place?" She asked him as she tightened her arms around him again.

Aiden pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes as well. "The only place that matters is the one you're in now." He gave her a light squeeze for her to understand he meant his embrace.

"You won't care if the ones after me are from the underworld?" She asked.

"You're the Blood Ravens woman Angel. Can't really be picky about where enemies come from now can I?" He replied.

A few second passed before she asked him her third question. The one she was most unsure about. "Then what if the only man you could never truly protect me from, wants me dead?"

At that Aiden opened his eyes and leaned back a bit. Enough to look directly into her eyes which were now open as well. Looking up at him with what he could only describe as fear and genuine concern. "There's no such person walking on the face of this earth Angel." His answer was as serious as the look in his eyes. The gold Claire had long understood was tramped inside them, was swirling with passion as he pierced her with his gaze.

"His name is Malcolm Kitsch." She said which made her involuntarily fist his shirt in her hand. "The current leader of the Phoenix Clan."