Two Ships

Astrid:

"Mrs. Camelio, what do you say to that generous proposal from Mr. Camelio?"

I sat up straighter in the highly uncomfortable conference chair, my mouth curled into a sneer, staring down my soon-to-be ex-husband.

"Bullshit!" I sneered.

My lawyer and supposed best friend, Sydney, placed a reprimanding hand on my arm, but I shrugged it off, turning my rage to the lying, cheating bastard I used to call my husband.

"You slimy piece of shit!"

He leaned forward, his dark caramel eyes blazing with untamed fury. A lock of blue-black hair, which I used to love to run my hands through, fell into his hard face. "Do not insult me, Astrid!" he seethed, and I refrained from shoving my middle finger into his arrogant Italian face.

"I don't want that whorehouse in the Seychelles. You can take it and shove it up your ass!" I shot back at him.

I didn't flinch when he shot to his feet, knocking the heavy conference table between us back a few inches. "Astrid, don't provoke me," he said, his voice cold. Normally that tone would make me stop in my tracks, but not the New Astrid Waller.

It only made me more enraged.

I rose too, meeting his fiery gaze with no fear. "What are you going to do, Aaro?"

Mr. Winchester, Aaro's lawyer, spoke up, his stark white beard quivering as he said, "Mr. Camelio, please calm yourself."

"I want the house in Ascot," I spat out.

"No!" Aaro erupted, a vein popping in his forehead, "No! I won't give you that house."

"I don't want any alimony, nor do I want any shares in your wretched company. I don't want your money, I just want that house."

Why was that house so important? It was the first property we bought together, we had spent our honeymoon in that beautiful Victorian mansion, and we had so many memories in that house. I'd be damned if I let him take it away from me and befoul it.

"I am not giving you that house, Astrid, and that's final!"

Final?! FINAL?!!!! Oh, I'd show him final—when I ripped his stupid sexy face off. Just before I leapt across the table to attack, Sydney interfered, "Why don't we sit down and talk about this like adults?"

My hands gripped the table tightly as we stared each other down, neither of us backing off.

Finally, after a bout of charged silence, Aaro spoke, his tone softer but still cold, "Can I talk to you outside, Astrid?"

"That would be unwise," Sydney interrupted, and he turned his blazing eyes on her. "I would prefer if you kept your thoughts to yourself, Miss West."

His eyes flicked back to me, softening as they did. "Please, just five minutes." I nodded, my mind enthralled by his caramel gaze.

Once again Aaro Camelio had managed to take away my free will with just a well-placed soulful gaze.

"Astrid, it wouldn't be ideal to speak with him," Sydney hissed in my ear as I passed her chair on my way out.

I patted her shoulder, her blond bob swaying. "It's okay, Syd, we're only going to talk. If he tries anything, I'll whoop his ass."

I followed Aaro's lean muscled frame, perfectly accentuated in a pitch-black Armani suit, out the conference room. If it wasn't designer, Aaro Camelio didn't wear it.

Another thing I despised about him.

As soon as the heavy doors closed behind us, I was in Aaro's arms. "Wh-what are you doing?" I stammered out.

Instead of answering, his big hands trailed down my back, capturing the end of my red hair and wrapping it around his fist.

I struggled against his hold. "Let go of me! You fucker!!" I hissed.

His hand fisted in my hair yanked, drawing my head upwards to look directly into his face.

His expression was weird, his eyes holding an intensity I had never seen and which managed to still my struggling.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked, trying not to wince at his tight hold on my hair.

"I never realized how green your eyes are, mio amore," he finally said, his voice soft and wistful. Now he's complimenting me?

"It's a little too late for compliments, isn't it Aaro?" I asked, my tone a tad bit condescending. His eyes darkened as his mouth lifted in a sneer. "You actually think I did it, don't you?"

I pushed against him, trying to free myself from his grip. "Let me go, asshole. I don't want to talk to you any longer. I've endured a lot of things, but not this."

His grip tightened, stilling all my movements. "Talk to me!" he hissed. "Talking to you is a waste of time," I hissed back.

His next move caught me by surprise, and I couldn't react until it was too late.

He surged forward, closing the space between us, and captured my lips in a searing kiss.

I came to my senses pretty quickly and struggled against him, beating his chest with my fists, but to no avail. Instead, he captured my hands and pinned them behind me, deepening the kiss.

His lips danced over mine, seeking entrance—which I gleefully denied him until he pinched my wrists, making me gasp. He took that opportunity to plunder my mouth with his tongue.

To my horror, my restraint softened, and I started kissing him back, falling victim to his expert lips.

The bold, dominant strokes of his tongue caused arousal to flood my nether regions and my legs to quake under me.

He backed me into a wall, pinning me completely against it with his body, not breaking the kiss. His other hand cupped the back of my head, his fingers digging into my scalp.

The kiss was hot and needy, scalding, like two flames melding together.

We had been married three years, and he had never kissed me like this, with so much passion and emotion.

His lips left mine and trailed down my neck, leaving soft kisses and bites. His hand holding my wrists loosened as it cupped mine, guiding it to his crotch, where his slacks stretched over his huge hard cock.

"Your defiance makes me horny, amore," he drawled, his slight accent thickening.

Against my better judgment, my hand cupped his hard on, massaging it through his slacks. His responding moan made my panties flood.

"One last fuck for the road?" He asked, laying a soft kiss against my jaw.

Damn, I was horny. Very, very horny. He'd always had ways of making me feel so needy, and he was doing it now, his thick voice, his trailing hands, his hard dick pressing into me.

I nodded, unable to speak, and before I knew it, we were tumbling through the bathroom door, locked together in a super-nova-like kiss.

He pushed me against the wall beside the door, hoisting my legs up around his waist.

He didn't waste any time, dragging my navy pleated knee-length skirt up to my waist and ripping off my lace panties.

"This is gonna be quick, love," he panted as he broke away from me, undoing his pants with one hand.

Soon enough he was sinking into me, his big hard cock stretching me open. I moaned, the slight pain mixing with the pleasure into an intoxicating mix.

He groaned, his lips against my ear, his hot minty breath blowing across my face. "You're so tight, love."

My fingers sank into his hair, holding him against me as he started thrusting into me hard and fast, banging my hips against the wall.

My gasps and moans mixed with his throaty groans as he cupped and squeezed my tits almost painfully through my fleece shirt and lace bra.

My legs began to shake as my orgasm neared. His hard thrusts rubbed against my g-spot, making me see stars.

"I'm coming!" I gasped out as my walls began to spasm around him, signaling my climax.

He let out a loud groan as he stilled, his cock jerking deep in me as his scalding semen bathed my insides.

We both came down from our highs pretty quickly, and he let me down, pulling away from me to tuck himself back into his pants.

I straightened myself, tugging my skirt back into place and fixing my shirt before glancing at the mirror to fix my hair.

He adjusted his blazer and gave me a rakish smile, one that always made my heart skip a beat. "Thanks for the fuck, Astrid."

And with that, he disappeared out the door.

I took a deep breath, trying to pull the tattered remains of my ego together before leaving that bathroom.

I pushed open the conference room door and headed back to my seat, avoiding Aaro's eyes.

"What happened?" Syd asked as soon as I sat down, and I replied, "It's nothing important."

She gave me a weird look.

A throat clearing caught our attention, and I watched as Mr. Winchester sat up straight and motioned to Aaro beside him.

"My client, Mr. Camelio, has decided to give you the house in Ascot." My eyes widened, "Really?"

"If," he continued, "you agree to adhere to his ground rules." My eyes narrowed. "What rules?"

He cleared his throat again, looking kind of flustered, and Aaro spoke up, his eyes on me.

"No parties, your family isn't allowed on the grounds, and no boyfriends or males in the house." If he thinks he can control me after this divorce, he doesn't know what he's in for.

I smirked at him, "Deal."

"Perfect," Syd chimed in, "Everything's settled amicably."

I stood, gathering up my satchel, ready to escape this suffocating room, but before I could do so, I was cornered by the one person I wanted to avoid.

"This is it, Astrid. It's over," he drawled, his posture relaxed but his face strained.

"It was over the minute you tainted our love. Now you're free to fuck anyone you want," I spat out and stalked away from him, only stopping when his deep voice called out.

"Try to remember to keep your legs closed, Cara, because your body belongs only to me." Lucky, the room was empty except for the both of us.

I flicked my middle finger at him, "Go fuck yourself, Aaro."

Astrid:

Three years later…

I bit back a laugh as I watched Maura try to run but tumble face first into the grass, Xenia padded over to her and nudged her with her head, a proper big sister move.

These animals are just amazing.

I whistled and the two tiger cubs perked up and bounded to me, crashing into my legs, all 24 pounds of tiger.

I chuckled and crouched down, scratching them under the chin and petting their heavy, beautiful striped coats, while they purred and wound between my legs.

They were both orphaned cubs I had discovered during my expedition to Sumatra last month, their mother unfortunately had a difficult birth of her twin cubs and didn't survive. I found these two beauties absolute starved right beside their dead mom during my trek through the Sumatran lowlands. I just had to take them, and care for them before bringing to the Ascot private zoo, where I work.

Yea, I'm a wildlife vet and conservationist. My job is to care for the many, many animals at Ascot Private zoo and I absolutely love it. After my sabbatical leave to Tanzania where I worked with the Lions and leopards there, I spent another year in Indonesia, majorly Sumatra studying the Tigers and other big cats there. I've only just returned to England last year and thanks to Sydney, my angel of a best friend, I got this amazing job.

The cackling of the walkie talkie in my hand drew me from my thoughts and I listened to the crackling voice of my coworker Amanda "Dr. Waller, Mr. Renson is asking for you and the other vets to report to his office immediately" I ran a hand through my spiky hair and blew out a sigh "Do you know why?"

"No ma'am"

I glanced at the yowling cubs at my ankles. "Okay fine, just let me put the babies back in."

"Okay ma'am."

I crouched down, after shoving the talkie in my pocket and scooped the little tigers into my arms, heading towards the rock opening at the other end of the enclosure that leads to their pens.

The little ones weren't so happy about me cutting short playtime. They were yowling out my eardrums and scratching at my back, clearly wanting to spend more time in the sunlit enclosure.

A few meters away from the exit, I stopped in my tracks, not because Maura had started to pee down my midriff. It was because right at that moment the last person I would even think to walk through that stone archway into the tiger enclosure at Ascot Private zoo did.

I stood staring into the model-like face of my ex-husband: Aaro Camelio.

He stood at his imposing height, towering over me. His dark hair was much longer, curling around his too handsome face like a noir curtain, his caramel eyes blazed in his otherwise bland, expressionless face. He hadn't changed much from the last time I saw him, decked out in his almost customary black Armani suit, complete with an expensive looking black and silver striped scarf hanging from his lapels, it looked familiar but I pushed that thought aside.

"Aaro" I breathed.

The imposing man in front of smirked as his heart-wrenching eyes took me in. I suddenly felt self-conscious. I mean, I was disappointing all women on the globe by looking like cat shit in front of my ex. My hair clung around my face in spiky clumps, I had cut it too short when I was in Sumatra to beat the humidity and it hadn't grown back yet, I hadn't slept in over a day and I knew my eyes reflected that strain, also I had tiger pee dripping down my leg.

Sorry to all women.

"Your hair is too short, I don't like it" Aaro's deep voice resonated throughout the small space. I frowned.

After three years, that's what this bastard had to say to me?

Anger bloomed in me but before I could retort, a shrill voice filled the air. "Mr. Camelio!"

A busty blond wearing the tightest work dress I've ever seen hopped through the stone way, stopping beside Aaro, her too high heels sinking into the soft dirt.

She looked every inch like one of those thirst trap bitches that men drool over in those dirty magazines, obvious fake boobs and bleached blond hair, collagen filled lips.

So this was Aaro's new type, bleached blond bimbos? My anger grew as I felt inferior. He truly had changed.

A rough tongue licked my ear and I jerked back to reality. The cubs were still in my arms.

I knelt and freed them, they bounced on the grass, happy to be let down but sticking close to me, wary of the new comers.

Why won't they? Aaro was the devil's spawn.

Loud huffing drew my attention to the stone way again as my boss emerged, looking winded, his wispy white hair sticking to his forehead, his wire rimmed glasses lopsided.

"Mr. Camelio!" He huffed "I almost lost you"

Aaro didn't even regard him, his eyes were stuck on me, still kneeling with the cubs winding around me.

The intensity of his gaze made the long dead butterflies in my stomach flutter to life and start beating around my belly. I shouldn't still be feeling flutters for this man. He was my ex-husband. We were divorced.

"I had to see the doctor everyone was talking about, the famous tiger whisperer" he responded, a slight mocking tone to his voice.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. He was trying to provoke me, but I wasn't going to play his game.

"Oh, of course, sir," Mr. Renson gushed, hurrying over to me and all but yanking me to my feet and shoving me to stand in front of Aaro.

The cubs bounded away, seeking entertainment elsewhere since I was preoccupied and couldn't play with them.

"Astrid" Mr. Renson touched my arm and motioned to Aaro "This is Mr. Aaro Camelio, Mr. Camelio, this is Dr. Astrid Waller, our resident big cat specialist and all round Veterinarian"

Aaro slowly offered his hand, his eyes never leaving mine "It's nice to meet you Doctor" I wasn't backing down from his challenge.

I took his hand and shook "Likewise, sir."