Contract Marriage With My Billionaire Boss (Venus and Aaron) novel Chapter 28

**The Long Didn’t Say by Mark Twain – Chapter 28**

**AARON**

“Alright, last question,” she murmured, her voice a soft melody, slightly slurred, as if her words had been dipped in the sweetness of wine. “You have to answer me truthfully,” she insisted, attempting to inject authority into her tone.

It was adorable, really. She had no clue how charmingly naïve she sounded.

“Go ahead, ask away,” I replied, reclining against the couch, my glass of wine half-full, my mind wandering aimlessly somewhere far away.

She turned to face me, her eyes heavy with sleep yet sparkling with curiosity. “Why is there so much cereal in your pantry? And all those sugary snacks too. You got a sweet tooth or something?”

She scrunched her nose in feigned suspicion, as if she had stumbled upon some grand secret I was trying to keep hidden.

I couldn’t help but smirk. “They’re for my sister.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “You… you have a sister?”

“Clearly,” I responded, my voice dripping with dry humor. “You seem blissfully unaware of a lot of things, don’t you?”

I watched as the realization dawned on her, the flicker of understanding that she didn’t know a single thing about me. She must have thought I was just some cold, corporate jerk with too much money and an oversized ego. Yet here she was, sprawled on my couch, barefoot, wrapped in my hoodie, devouring my overpriced takeout as if she belonged.

And the most troubling part?

I let her.

A heavy silence enveloped the room, warm and thick. I shifted slightly, only to discover she had already drifted off to sleep.

Her head was tilted back, lips slightly parted, a stray strand of hair brushing against her cheek.

She looked like trouble.

The kind that creeps in slowly, wreaking havoc.

And I was now friends with Venus Astor?

Yeah, that was a mistake.

This wasn’t how I had envisioned things. Not even close.

I hadn’t chosen her for friendship. I had picked her because she was desperate. Because she had a fiery spirit and a sharp tongue that never seemed to tire—even if she held it back while working as my personal assistant. I knew she would say yes if I pressed the right buttons, and I needed someone outside my world. Someone temporary. A placeholder.

What I hadn’t anticipated?

This. Her.

Every time she snapped back at me, every time she rolled those expressive eyes or tossed a sarcastic comment my way as if it wouldn’t land her against the nearest surface—I found myself hardening.

Not emotionally. Please. That would be utterly pathetic.

No, this was something deeper. Rougher. Hungrier.

I couldn’t stop imagining what she would taste like after a night of red wine and laughter. How her voice would sound without the sarcasm—breathless, gasping my name rather than spitting it out like a challenge.

Venus.

The name suited her perfectly. Named after a goddess, and every inch of her made me want to worship. She wasn’t classically beautiful; no, she was too wild, too sharp around the edges. Her words came too fast, her eyes held too much knowledge. Her confidence? Reckless.

And that made her dangerous.

To my carefully constructed rules. To my sense of control.

Even now, as she dozed off in the aftermath of cheap wine and expensive pasta, she still managed to capture every ounce of my attention.

Her legs were curled beneath her, her dress hitched just enough to entice. Not indecent.

She wasn’t special.

She was simply in the wrong place at the right time—depending on how cruel the universe chose to be tonight.

I rose to my feet, grabbed a throw blanket, and gently draped it over her. Her lashes fluttered once, but she remained asleep. She merely shifted with a soft sigh, her lips parting as if she were lost in a dream.

I didn’t want to know what she was dreaming about.

But damn, if I didn’t want to be a part of it.

This was going to be torture.

Not because I would fall for her.

Please. I wasn’t that naïve.

It’d be torture because I wanted her, and I couldn’t have her.

Not yet.

Not while the ink on that contract was still fresh.

And certainly not while she looked at me as if I were just some cold-hearted bastard she had to tolerate.

But one day?

She’d look at me differently.

And when that day arrived?

All bets would be off.