Tempted By My Ex’s Brother-In-Law - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Aria’s POV
I felt like I was dreaming.
That surreal feeling didn’t go away, even when his silver Rolls-Royce drove us to a private estate nestled on a hillside in the middle of the city.
He still hadn’t explained why he brought me here. When I followed him into the grand, insanely luxurious foyer, I couldn’t help but finally blurt out, “Um… Alpha Grayson?”
He turned and looked at me.
“Umm, won’t your sister and Jace mind me being here?”
“This is my private residence,” he replied.
My heart thudded harder in my chest, leaving me a little breathless. “Well… that’s great, but my real question is… why did you bring me back here?”
He stared at me with those stormy gray eyes, unreadable, and just standing there under his gaze made my entire body heat up.
“Because, Aria, I—”
But he didn’t get to finish.
“Alpha Grayson, do you have a minute?” Nova appeared with an apologetic look and whispered something into his ear.
He nodded and turned to me. “Please wait here, Aria.”
“Oh—sure, yeah, go ahead.”
They left, and I was left standing alone in the massive hall, turning in awkward little circles.
Honestly, I was so nervous I felt like I might puke.
If May were here, she’d be screaming with excitement, probably convinced that Alpha Grayson was madly in love with me and couldn’t bear to watch me suffer anymore, so he whisked me away to his private mansion to spoil me rotten.
God…
Just thinking about that made my cheeks go up in flames.
Nope. Not happening. I couldn’t let May’s delusions hijack my brain. I was an adult, not a teenager. Fairytales didn’t happen in real life.
So why did Grayson bring me here?
Oh I really wished he didn’t have work to do right now because I was literally dying out of curiosity over here.
“Miss Collins?”
A voice behind me jolted me out of my spiral. I startled so hard that I accidentally knocked a crystal piece off a sculpture.
“Oh my god!” I fumbled to catch it and turned around, face flushing in horror.
A middle-aged woman in a uniform stood behind me, calm and composed.
“I—I’m so sorry!” I stammered. “How much is this statue? I’ll pay for it.”
Please don’t let it be one of those million-dollar pieces. I prayed internally. I really didn’t need to go more bankrupt.
But the woman just smiled. “No need to worry. We rotate those pieces all the time—it’s no big deal.”
She waved her hand, and two maids walked over and carried the sculpture away like it was nothing.
“Alpha Grayson apologizes for having urgent work,” the woman said politely. “He asked me to take care of you in the meantime. I’m Mrs. Jones, the housekeeper here. If you don’t mind, would you come with me?”
I nodded nervously and followed her through the hall into the heart of the villa.
I swear this was the most beautiful building I’d ever seen.
Every inch of the place was designed to perfection—stylish, artistic, more stunning than anything I’d ever seen even on TV.
We entered a bright, airy sitting room with floor-to-ceiling windows that opened up to a full garden view, where you could see the lawn and red roses in full blossom.
I couldn’t help but gasp.
“Oh wow.”
“This is the Alpha’s favorite reading lounge,” Mrs. Jones said with a smile. “If you don’t mind, please wait here. I can also prepare a guest room if you’d like to rest.”
“I’m fine right here.” I quickly sat down on the cloud-like sofa. “This is perfect.”
“Great. Then I’ll have someone bring tea and refreshments. Feel free to browse the bookshelves or magazines. If you need anything, just ring the bell.”
Soon, maids brought in tea, coffee, fruit, and even laid out forks and knives for me. Once everything was set, they all quietly left.
It all felt way too unreal.
Even the people here were nicer than anyone I’d met out in the real world. I cupped my face in my hands and let out a little giddy laugh.
The sunlight was warm on my skin, and the couch was so soft I could melt into it. Before I knew it, my eyelids started getting heavy.
I gave up trying to fight it and fell asleep.
And that turned out to be the best nap I’d had in forever.
Way better than passing out on the cold tile floor of a supermarket. So much better that when I finally started waking up, I almost didn’t want to leave my dreamland.
I yawned, stretched, and slowly opened my eyes.
The golden light of sunset was now spilling through the windows. Crap—I must’ve slept for hours. At some point, someone had even covered me with a soft blanket.
Across from me, Grayson was sitting with a laptop on his lap, his face perfectly sculpted by the orange glow of dusk.
“Uh, you’re done with work?”
I sat up quickly, instinctively wiping at the corner of my mouth.
Thank god it was dry. Drooling in front of Grayson Hart would’ve been the final nail in my dignity’s coffin.
He closed the laptop and looked at me, amusement flickering in his eyes. “How was your nap?”
“Good,” I admitted, cheeks hot. “Better than I’ve had in a long time.”
“Then do you want to stay here?”
My mouth dropped open in shock.
WAIT.
WHAT?
“What the…Hold on—didn’t you say you don’t sleep with virgins?” I blurted.
“I still don’t,” he replied coolly.
“Then why do you want me here—are you suddenly in need of a maid or something?”
He chuckled, then pushed a document across the table.
“Take a look at this first.”
I picked it up. It was a contract. A literal contract between me and him.
The first few pages listed an absurd number of perks: a weekly allowance that made my eyes bug out, full access to the house, room and board, a compensation money once the contract terminated… I could even write in my own conditions.
And at the very end, I finally saw the two things he asked of me:
1. I had to be available whenever he needed me, and stay close.
2. He gets to decide when the contract ends.
“I… I don’t understand.” I looked up from the document, still completely lost. “You just want me to be around you? That’s it? Can’t anyone do that?”
He didn’t seem like someone who lacked companionship.
He crossed his hands on his knee, resting his chin on his fingers, and stared at me. The way he sat looked exactly like a predator lying in wait. And I—yeah, I was definitely the prey.
“My doctor diagnosed me with severe insomnia,” he said. “I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep since 9. Sometimes it makes me… irritable.”
I shivered.
From his tone, I had a feeling “irritable” was putting it mildly.
“But you seem totally normal most of the time.” He was more elegant and composed than anybody I knew.
“Extreme episodes are rare. And I make an effort not to let outsiders see it. But your scent calms me. Just being around you seems to help.”
I stared at him, stunned.
As wolves, we all had our own unique scent. May said that mine smelt like coconut ice-cream. Our scent could express emotions, or even attract a mate.
But healing? That was new.
“Are you sure it’s that simple? Just…stay close to you and you’ll get better?”
“Appears so. But we need to keep testing. My medical team is desperate already, and before my condition gets worse, I’m willing to try anything.”
I bit my lip. “Are you sure it’s okay to tell me all this? Isn’t this a top secret?”
This kind of information could be worth a fortune to his enemies.
He smiled faintly. “That’s fine. Because once that contract is signed, you belong to me, Aria Collins.”