Chapter 3

I got back to my apartment that evening, my body feeling physically drained. I was exhausted after an almost 12 hour shift at Green Town prison.

Would it always feel like this? Maybe I would get used to the pure demand of it all. I was hoping I would.

My apartment wasn't exactly a homely place to go back to either. I wanted a bath and maybe a glass of wine after my first day but the hot water hadn't been fixed yet and I had no food or drink in the house.

I sighed.

I couldn't even be bothered to take a trip down to the shop to get anything, I was just too tired.

Instead, I took a cold shower, got dressed in to a wrinkled pair of pyjamas from my suitcase and slipped in to an old bed that was left behind.

Well, at least it was comfortable enough.

I tried to sleep. I tried with all I could but I just couldn't seem to get the relaxation I wanted. I tossed and turned for at least an hour and as my belly rumbled, I slapped my pillow as if it were to blame.

Why couldn't I sleep?

Maybe, the tattooed criminal was playing on my mind like a broken record. What would it feel like to have him behind me? Infront of me? Is he rough or gentle, his voice turning in to a raspy gruff.

Shit. I needed to stop.

Why couldn't I get that damned man out of my mind? He wasn't a nice person, he wasn't somebody I should have been thinking about. It was highly illegal and extremely wrong of me to do so. He was under my care and my mind was being totally inappropriate.

I was going to hell. I knew it.

Just as I was about to hit my pillow again and maybe even throw it across the room in my sleep deprived anger, my phone blared from the floor and I picked it up with a huff.

"Hello." I greeted. I hadn't even checked to see who was calling me.

"Hi darling." My mom's voice flooded the mobile. "I just rang to ask you how your first day went?" She sounded hopeful and full of her usual happy energy. To hear her voice was enough to calm me down and keep me level headed.

I was also appreciative for the distraction away from the beast behind bars.

"It was okay." I tried to sound less exhausted than I was but there was no doubt my mother would be able to sense it. She always did.

"You sound tired, love. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I am. It was a good day." I replied back truthfully. I would get used to the exhaustion I felt today but I doubt I'd ever get used to the excitement of the job.

"Oh, I'm so glad." I could almost hear her smiling on the other end. "Don't forget to message your sister. She rang up the other day and told me she'd be visiting home in a few months time, how exciting is that?" She sounded ecstatic as her words played out.

I missed my sister dreadfully. She was also away working in Africa. She did anything to help others and was often away from us all, however, when she came home it was like she had never been away. The  news itself was enough to make me happy.

I couldn't wait to see her.

We messaged whenever we could, we tried to keep in contact more but it was always so hard when we were always so busy.

But she was my eldest sister in a family full of children. She protected me and soon as I was old enough and big enough, I did the same.

"I won't forget." I said. "I can't wait to see her."

My mother and I hung up the phone after I was up to date with all the gossip back at home. It made me truly homesick but this was exactly what I needed. I needed to get out, away from the family and live.

I fell asleep, exhaustion hitting me but a smile on my face.

***

"So we're all clear on what we have to do today?" A new chief I hadn't seen before rolled out a list of jobs we had to get through.

I was on my daily contraband check in all the cells. With that being said, my nerves had really started to kick in. I did one floor and that floor always held Aaron King. Why was he getting me so nervous? I didn't know. I didn't know why he made me feel like this, why my heart soared when I heard his name.

Did he make me nervous because of the way he was or did he make me nervous because I wanted to do more than I was allowed?

God, why was I thinking like this?

I had to get him out of my mind once and for all.

I started my job for the hour and allowed myself to be distracted. That was way up until I was due in to cell 102.

I walked over to cell 102, my heart beating too fast already as if I had run around the prison a few times. I didn't know why I was so nervous or why my hands had started to sweat and feel clammy.

I think it had something to do with the inmate inside cell 102. God, why couldn't I just keep my cool?

I unlocked the cell door and locked it back up behind me. The cell smelt like Aaron, musky and masculine. I knew he was in here without even having to check. His presence was too powerful not to be known.

I turned around and saw Aaron, his back facing me and his face facing the wall again. In the bunk beneath him, there was an empty space.

Great, we were alone.

I looked around the cell, my usual ritual and as soon as I was about to walk over to the bunk bed, Aaron moved until he was standing on the opposite wall just as if he knew the ritual now too.

I patted the two bunk beds down and made sure everything was clear before standing up straight again.

"Where's...uh..." I trailed off, not knowing Mr Tall and Lanky's name. I was hesitant to turn around and face Aaron, knowing the way my body would react. So I didn't turn.

"Jeff." His voice came out and so did the goosebumps on my skin. I wanted to shiver under the penetrating gaze I knew he was giving me.

I pretended to touch the bottom bunk again, my mind filling up with many possibilities. I knew I needed to get out of here, I needed to stop this and the way I felt right now.

"You've just done that bunk." He sounded amused but his voice still gave nothing away. He was so mysterious it was thrilling to see. I was obviously being pulled to him, his aura penetrating every part of me.

"I know." I sighed again. I stopped my fussing with the bottom bunk but I still couldn't turn around.

I heard a step being made behind me. Then another, and another, until I could feel breath on the back of my neck. I couldn't breath as he stood behind me, his presence so overpowering I couldn't even think.

"What are you doing?" I breathed. I needed to get out of here, I needed to leave. I fiddled with the keys in my hand, itching to run to the cell door and unlock it.

"What are you doing?" He repeated my words back at me.

Before I could speak, Aaron turned me around before him. I gasped as he moved me, I gasped as soon as I looked in to his eyes.

I wish I hadn't.

They were dark and intense as they looked to me. His mouth was set in to a line, his face serious and plain of any emotion. His eyes, however, they told me everything.

"You're- you're-" I tried to stutter out the words but my fear and excitement gripped me like nothing else, like a noose around my neck. Was I more fearful than excited? Probably not. I should have been. I had never been so close to a cold blooded killer in all my life.

"I'm what?" He questioned, his brows furrowing.

"A killer." I stated. "A murderer."

As soon as I said the words, Aaron moved away from my body. He walked over to the wall, his back now turned against me.  His body was stiff but he didn't say a word.

Soon, he turned back around, his eyes made of stone.

"You're scared of me." He stated so matter of factly. I didn't reply as he continued to stand there, his eyes on mine, his fists clenched to the side of him.

Was I scared of him? Yes. How couldn't I be? He was who he was and I had been sheltered from things like this my whole life. This new job was an eye opener for me. I was naive, innocent and it showed.

Sensing my dedication not to speak, Aaron shook his head. His muscles moved as his arms bulged to the side of him.

"You're in a prison full of criminals." He said, his voice lowering. "And you're scared of me?"

"I'm not scared of you!" I finally snapped. I knew he couldn't touch me, he wouldn't touch me because I was the one in charge here, not him. He knew it too, he must have.

"I see." Aaron grumbled. He took a cautious step forward and I took one back. "So you're telling me, if I touch you here..." he laid a finger to my chin. For such a large, masculine guy, he had the softest touch. It felt as if my breath had left me in an instant.

How could a man like this have such a gentle touch?

"...you won't want to scream for someone to help you?" I swallowed at his words. I was petrified but I had realised that I was in charge here, not him. He couldn't make me feel like this.

"No." I let out firmly. I ripped his hand from my face. "You're trying to scare me but it's not working. I know I'm half your size and a female but that doesn't give you the right to play games with me." I hissed his way. Aaron's eyes darkened as he watched me. My wrath was aimed at him but it was clear to see that he didn't care.

"I'm not trying to play games with you." He replied. "But I can smell your fear."

"Maybe that's because you're touching me." I snapped. "I've never been this close to a murderer, let alone let one touch me." I spat. I was being highly unprofessional now and I really did need to get out of here. I was taught to stay calm, always. I shouldn't take anything personally but how could I not?

Even now, there was nothing more I wanted to do than jump his bones. It was starting to rattle my cage, I had had enough of these stupid feelings towards Aaron and I wasn't going to be affected by his presence any longer.

"You need to watch your mouth." Aaron warned, his voice deep and threatening.

"And you're going to make me?" I answered back. My chest was heaving as pure irritation sweeper my bones. No man had gotten under my skin like Aaron had in only a few seconds. "I think you're forgetting who's in charge here."

"If this were the outside, you wouldn't be in charge." He said. He came even closer and when I realised I couldn't move any further back, I looked to him, my heart beating quickly. "No body is in charge of me." He whispered before me, his breath hitting my face harshly.

My mouth opened and closed but no words would leave my mouth.

"Leave." Aaron demanded. I looked to him in shock. I was the one with authority and he was telling me to leave? "Stop looking at me as if you can't quite believe I'm telling you what to do." He snapped. "You need to get out of here."

I gathered my thoughts and collected my dignity up from the floor just as if it were scattered piece by piece on the floor.

Once I got to the cell door, I unlocked it. Before I could turn, Aaron grumbled.

"Playing games are for kids." I turned to look at him. He was now sat on his bunk, his large legs hanging over the edge of his top bunk. "But you're the most fun I've had since I've been here."