These last few months seeing Aria down, depressed, and her mind stuck on what happened in the past, was killing me. But it was also worrying me because I've heard and read that depression can be hereditary. So seeing Aria back to the woman I had fallen in love with over two years ago was excellent to have back last night. The last thing I want to see is the love of my life dealing with a serious medical illness like what her mother has gone through. However, if depression is what Aria is going through at the moment, then I'll do what I vowed to do when we married, and that's doing everything in my power to help her get through it.

Aria looked peaceful and like a doll as she slept with the blanket tightly held underneath her chin, still naked from our unforgettable night of showing our love for one another like old times. So because of what she learned the day before and how Aria was dealing with it, I felt the right thing to do would be to let her sleep—to give her a break from taking care of Walter and Wyatt. So I quietly and carefully got out of bed and then tiptoed across the room to check on them, and after seeing they were both still sound asleep, I headed back into the bedroom to shower.

After closing my eyes and tilting my head underneath the running water, a pair of soft hands rested on my shoulders. The next thing I felt were lips trailing along my chest. I opened my eyes as I tilted my head forward while wiping the water away from my face. I grinned as I lowered my hands to her hips and pulled her tightly against me. "What do you think you are doing?"

She sighed while looking into my eyes. "I thought I'd join you in the shower. But if you'd rather shower alone, I can leave." She lowered her head, and when she started turning towards the shower curtains, I gripped her hips tighter, stopping her from exiting.

I lowered my mouth and kissed her forehead. "I didn't say I didn't want you joining me. I figured after the day you had yesterday; you'd want a break from taking care of the two kids and leave them to me to care for while you sleep in. So I'm surprised to see that you're awake. That's all." I took her face in my hands and lowered my lips to hers, kissing her softly and slowly.

Her hands rested over mine, warming me with her smile that melted my heart. "I would have enjoyed sleeping in, but when I opened my eyes and saw an empty bed, I couldn't go back to sleep. So when I heard you were in here, I decided to come to join you in the shower."

"You just wanted more of me, didn't you? You can't get enough of me or my sex pistol," I devilishly smirked, teasing to get a rise out of her.

Her lips curved upward, and then she quietly giggled. "I can't help that I enjoy you stretching and filling me to the core with that enormous organ God had gifted you with. And how you move it inside me, hitting all the right spots, always has me craving for more." She raised an eyebrow, causing my dick to twitch from the seductive look in her eye. "Not to mention, I also like how it fills my mouth when my lips are wrapped around it and how your protein shake makes me full. That, I have to admit, is my favorite."

My cock instantly hardened. Aria admitting to enjoying the taste of me was a significant turn-on. I may not always allow her to satisfy me with a blowjob, but I'm in fucking heaven when I do. It's not that I don't like blowjobs because I do—I fucking enjoy them, and I love watching her fuck her mouth with my cock. It's just that I'm the type of guy who likes to give and satisfy rather than receive and be satisfied. Because seeing Aria satisfied is all that matters to me, and it makes me happy to see my wife happy.

"Look what you did," I chuckled, pointing down at my rock-harden cock.

"I can fix that," she said happily, lowering to her knees and immediately sucking me in while fondling my lower hangars that are as hard as fucking rocks. And if she does what she did hours ago and licks the backside of my fucking ball sack. I'm going to lose it.

And... she did.

Damn it.

"That's it," I groaned, bending down, and in one quick swift, I lifted and pressed her up against the cold shower wall. "You're in big trouble now, woman," I told her as she squealed. I crushed my lips to hers. "Big trouble."

***

Aria was against my cooking breakfast for everyone. Not because I can't cook, but because she was in a good mood finally and wanted to be the one to satisfy our tummies. So, I sat down next to Walter, and since Aria was wearing only a shirt of mine, I sat at the table, quietly watching her every move as she worked around the stove. And I loved every minute of what I was seeing.

My dick was twitching, and the longer I stared at her legs and her fucking ass cheeks that occasionally peeked out whenever she reached into the cupboard above the stove, the harder I was becoming. I discreetly lowered my hand to my crotch and quietly disciplined him for wanting to deliver more goods to Aria. Something inside me told me someone else was enjoying the beautiful sight, so I turned my head to the right and smirked when I saw Walter's eyes glued to Aria. Lucky for him, had it been any other guy checking out my wife, their face would see my fist.

Since it's Walter, I let it go, but that still didn't mean I wasn't going to say anything. I leaned closer to him, and with a grin, I teased, "What are you looking at, ole man?"

With his eyes still on Aria, he responded, "I was checking out the shitter splitter. It's damn sexy to look at, but I've never understood how anyone could wear such a thing. If I wore a thong like the one Aria has on right now, I'd be irritated as hell, thinking something was in my ass, and I'd be digging at it the entire time, trying to remove the thing riding in between; my ass cheeks."

He can't help himself. However, I should have expected that response from him. His admission also had me facepalming and in stitches.

I lowered my head and shook it, hoping Aria didn't hear what we were discussing.

Walter leaned toward me. "Nevertheless, I'll bet you my dentures that by you seeing her nice firm ass shaking while she's cooking and how it's staring you right in your face, it's making you want to rush over and spin her around, lift her onto the counter and motorboat her whisker biscuit. Am I right?"

I lifted my head and looked at him, choking as I spoke, "What?"

An innocent grin formed on his face as he eyed Aria, calmly saying, "I only say that because if she was my wife, that's what I would do."

Jesus...

My eyes widened, and I raised my hand, repeatedly pointing at him. "What?" He asked, just as I was about to scold him. "I'm only being honest with you. I may be an older pig-headed man, but I'm not dead... yet."

Aria turned around and pointed at us with the spatula she was using. "What are you two troublemakers up to now?"

I chuckled, "Troublemakers?"

"Yes. Troublemakers. I can hear you two bantering back and forth. So what is it that are you two bickering about?"

"We're just talking guy stuff, that's all," I said, not letting her know Walter was checking out her ass and talking about the thong she was wearing. If I admitted to Aria what Walter was up to or what he was saying, she'd probably never want to walk around the house that way again. At least not until Walter was no longer here with us. And since I enjoy seeing my wife walking around the house half nude, I refrained from telling her the truth.

However, Walter couldn't help himself and busted me with my lie.

"I was admiring the pink strap separating your butt cheeks," Walter confessed with no hint of worry in his voice, only amusement. "You know... You should really showcase that look around here more often. I enjoy it, and I know the boy toy ogling next to me enjoys seeing it even more..." He snapped his head my way and widened his eyes when he saw the look on my face. "Uh oh, I better shut my big mouth. The next thing I'll see is his fist coming at me, knocking my lights out. Or worse, knocking me out to the point where it'll put me six feet under."

I slapped my hands to my face, covering my eyes. "Walter? Was that really necessary to tell her that?" I groaned.

"You bet your sweet ass it was..."

Aria giggled. "You both are pigs..."

"Don't you forget that either," Walter proudly told her, then with a grin, he mocked, "Oink, oink."

Aria must still be on her sexual high. Instead of getting mad at me for lying and Walter for being his typical pig self, she smiled, pulled her shirt further down over her ass, and shook her head as she turned to face the stove. I was for sure Aria would've snapped at Walter for making sheep eyes at her as he was. Hell, even I wanted to lash out at his choice of words. But instead, I remained quiet and looked over at Wyatt, patiently waiting for his breakfast.

Hopefully, she's almost finished with breakfast; I'd like to hurry and eat. I have two things to accomplish today, like visiting with Justin and meeting with a potential buyer of my nightclub.

Aria walked over to the table, blowing and waving at the steam coming from the scrambled eggs she made for Wyatt. She looked at me after scraping it onto his tray. "Make sure those aren't too hot for him, please?"

As she walked back into the kitchen, my eyes remained glued to her, and she must have known my eyes were focused on her ass because she slowly slid up her shirt as she headed to the stove—making sure I saw the pink thong Walter was excited to see. Then, thinking Walter was still gazing at Aria, I snapped my head his way. Then, when I saw him turned towards the TV, watching another one of his favorite shows, Bonanza, I let out a breath of relief.

Aria came back with plates for Walter and me and set them down before us. I picked up my fork and winked. "Thanks, beautiful."

"You're welcome," she replied with a glow on her face that told me she was still on cloud nine. But, unfortunately, it also said that if I wanted to continue seeing her in seventh heaven, I needed to hurry and eat, pick up Justin, and demand that he bring me to their father's.

"You're going to make yourself sick eating like that," Walter said as I hurriedly shoved eggs into my mouth.

"I have things to do today, and I'm running way behind."

"What do you have going on today?" Aria asked, looking confused as she sat next to Wyatt.

"I have an important meeting to attend," I informed; then, after seeing her brows drawing together, I added, "there's a potential buyer for the nightclub that I have to meet with soon. And if I don't get there by noon, I don't want him leaving thinking I backed out."

"I didn't know you had it on the market," Aria said with sadness in her voice.

"I put it on the market a few days after Wyatt was born," I enlightened, looking down and scraping the last of my scrambled eggs onto my fork.

"Why? Why haven't you told me this before? I thought you used to love that place," Aria asked.

"Key. Words... Used to love that place. I've stated before that there are too many terrible memories that I don't need haunting me for the rest of my life," I stated. "It's the last memory of Shelby I need to be erased from my life," I added, my eyes flickering up to greet hers, hoping Aria got the hint that she needs to do the same, especially if I can't get her father to admit why he did what he did all those years ago.

"Oh... I guess you're right."

I think she got where I was going with this.

I Hope...

Walter looked at me, studied my face for a moment before looking at Aria, and then he looked down at his food, muttering like he knew what else I had on my agenda for today, "I hope you get what you're looking for."

Yeah, me too...

***

I showed Mr. Davis throughout the entire lower level of the nightclub, then after showing him around and the daily cash flow reports, I walked him to the door leading to the apartment I previously shared with Shelby. While walking up the stairs, I explained and showed the security system I had installed, what it all entailed, and the reasoning behind the revolutionary security system I had in place.

"Is there someone living in the apartment at the moment?"

I nodded. "Yes, the apartment is being rented right now. However, my renter knows the nightclub is for sale. He's also aware that if I sell my pride and joy, he'll have to find another place to live."

"Do you know if he's home right now?" Mr. Davis asked as I punched the code in by the door. "I'd like to meet him if he is."

"No. I informed the renter you'd be here today, checking things out. He mentioned he was going to be visiting with his mother, anyway. She's been in the hospital for quite some time now, fighting a sickness that they can't seem to figure out what it is."

"That's too bad. I would have loved to meet your renter. Especially if I decide to buy, I'd like to know who'd be a tenant of mine," he winked, letting me know that he's not one of those assholes that replaces current tenants with new renters. It also told me he doesn't plan on living here either if he bought my club.

"I'm sure he'd like to meet you as well. So if you decide to buy, I'll arrange for that to happen."

As we entered, his head snapped back, looking above him when the lights turned on. "Wow. That's pretty neat. I like that."

"Yeah, it's very nice. As I explained earlier, because of the crazy stuff going on in my life before I met my wife, I felt the best thing to do was to have motion lights installed and sounds in each of the rooms alerting me whenever the door opened and someone has entered. It's also the reason behind the extra security I had installed up here. I also figured that because the nightclub is below and the curious drunks roaming the club, not knowing what they'd do or try doing, I'd have extra protection from them as well."

"That's a good idea."

He slowly spun around with a pondering look on his face. I looked at my watch, hoping I wasn't late meeting Justin, then shoved my hands in my pockets after seeing I still had time with the potential buyer. "So... what are you thinking?"

"I like it all..." he admitted, looking back at me. "I like the numbers you presented, the layout of the building, and I really like this upper loft. It's all perfect." He scratched the top of his head while taking a deep breath. "But I have to be honest with you."

Here we go... he's going to tell me it's not what he's looking for.

Damn, that sucks. I honestly thought by the way Mr. Davis was acting and the sparkling in his eyes as he looked around, he was interested.

"At first, I wasn't so sure if this nightclub was for me and felt the price you had it listed was way too high. It's a lot more than the other nightclubs I had looked at and was interested in and what I was willing to spend. And I came here thinking if this nightclub was, in fact, for me. So I planned to lowball your asking price. But now. After seeing the establishment in person, and not just photos my agent had shown me, I'm more sold to this nightclub than before walking inside."

I was wrong... but lowball me?

Is this guy for real?

I already listed the nightclub much lower than what it's worth because of how badly I want it out of my life.

"I appreciate your honesty. But I have this nightclub listed way less than what it should be. So if you lowball and give me some ridiculous offer, I'm afraid to say that I'll have to punch you in the mouth and tell you to forget it. As much as I would like to see this place out of my hands, I'm not giving it away. No fucking way. I'm already being more than fair with what I'm looking to get out of it."

"Look. Gunner..." he paused, softly chuckling. "As I was saying, I planned on lowballing you. Not that I will lowball your asking price. Having said that, I am more than pleased with the looks of the club and the amount you're asking for. So easing your mind, I'd like to let you know I agree with you; it's much lower than what the listing price should be. So, with that being said. Sold," he smiled, offering me his hand.

Thank. Fucking. God...

I hurriedly gave him my hand—happily shaking it and smiling like I had won the lottery. "You have absolutely no idea how good this makes me feel to sell the place finally."

His brows drew together. "Now you have me curious. Would it be out of line if I were to ask why you're that desperate to sell this wonderful establishment?"

I pursed my lips, shook my head, and then smiled. "No. It's not out of line. This club has been my baby for years. I love the nightclub, and so does my wife. But there are too many memories I don't need to continue being reminded of. So therefore, it's something that needs to exit my life.. for good," I informed him as I walked him out the door.

***

"Sorry, I'm late," I said as I pulled out a chair. "After six months of being on the market, I finally sold my nightclub."

Justin's eyes widened. "Oh, wow! I had no idea you were selling it."

"Aria had no clue, either."

"Why? I thought you loved that having that place."

"I did, but it was something I had to do. It was the last memory I had to rid Shelby of my life. And mission fucking completed," I emphasized as I lifted the menu from the table. "Anyway, I'm glad you could meet with me on short notice."

"It's no problem; I have nothing going on today. So, what's this all about?"

I set my menu down, then folded my hands together with my eyes on Justin. And one thing I noticed is his expression—a guilty look—like he knows why he's here. But instead of assuming he knows, I'll see what he has to say first. "I'm curious about how you're doing after visiting your mother yesterday."

"I'm doing good. It was quite a surprise to hear our sister is alive, and I'm still feeling shocked by it. But it's also something I've wondered about," he began saying, then told me exactly what Aria had told Walter and me that June admitted to but failed to explain why he'd wondered about their sister, which makes me think he knows more than what he's let on.

"By the way, I'm buying," I told Justin as he looked at the menu.

"Work's for me," he grinned, then frowned as he set his menu down. "I know you didn't ask to meet to see how I'm doing, so will you enlighten me on why it was so important that we have lunch today?"

Just as I thought, he knows I'm on to him.

"Absolutely. But not until after we order."

For ten-plus minutes after ordering our food, I contemplated when to confront Justin about knowing where his father's whereabouts were and why he hadn't mentioned anything to Aria about it. And the longer I sat, stirring the straw in my glass of ice water, listening to Justin talk about his proposal to Nikki, the more I realized he was stalling me.

"I'm extremely happy for you, Justin. I am. And I want you to know that Aria and I feel you two are the perfect couple who deserve a life full of happiness, and we'd like to share that happiness with you."

"Thank you."

I nodded. "You're welcome. Aria's been patiently waiting for a niece or nephew to enter the family. Well... she claims she's patiently waiting, but I know differently," I chuckled.

"Yeah, Nikki brought that up to me last night. She's more than eager to start a family and said she would love to give Wyatt someone to play with, especially since Aria can't get pregnant anytime soon."

Tell me about it. I'd prefer to see Aria bear children than fight myself, but it is what it is, and she's adamant about wanting to continue to fight. So, because it's something I introduced her to, I won't stop her from doing what she's been enjoying. "Someday, we'll add to the family," I sighed, lowering my eyes to the glass of water.

"Anyway..." Justin said, then paused.

I looked back at Justin, saw the look on his face, and knew the wheels were turning. The longer I kept my gaze on him, waiting for him to speak, I noticed the wheels spinning faster. "I think you have an idea why I wanted to talk with you without Aria. Don't you?"

He nodded slowly. "I think so."

"And what do you think the reason is?"

"I believe this has something to do with my father."

The corners of my lips raised upward into a massive smile. "Very good. So, after lunch, you'll bring me to see your father."

I hope the chapter was okay!❤