Deep Consuming Addiction

Chapter 129

✨ Eleven Months✨

Ari Darven

The year was coming to an end, and for the first time in a long time, Ari actually felt it.

Not in the way most people did—with celebrations, resolutions, or quiet reflection—but in the shift.

Everything had shifted.

His mind run through the months behind him. Deals closed. Battles handled. Problems eliminated. It had been a year of control—of precision, of staying ten steps ahead.

That was his normal.

What wasn’t—

Was Elena.

She hadn’t been part of the plan.

Hadn’t been something he calculated or allowed for.

And yet, somehow, she had become the one thing he couldn’t move around, couldn’t predict, couldn’t control.

Ari exhaled slowly, his thoughts settled on her. The way she challenged him. The way she didn’t bend. The way she looked at him like she saw everything—and stayed anyway.

That wasn’t something he was used to.

Most people either feared him or wanted something from him.

Elena?

She wanted nothing he could give in the usual way.

And somehow, that made him want to give her everything.

A faint smirk touched his mouth as he looked at her, shaking his head slightly at himself.

If someone had told him at the beginning of the year that he’d end it like this—

Thinking about a woman more than his own empire—

He wouldn’t have believed them.

But here he was.

And the truth was—

For all the control he had everywhere else in his life…

With her—

He didn’t want it.

That night in February when Ari Darven first saw Elena Vale standing under dim lights, sharp-eyed and unimpressed by him.

He remembered it with unsettling clarity.

The way she hadn’t tried to impress him at all.

The way she had walked away first.

Now she was asleep in his bed.

His life had shifted in ways he hadn’t anticipated. Subtle at first. Then undeniable.

He woke before dawn, for a moment he stayed still, watching her. Her hair spilled across his pillow, one arm tucked beneath it, her breathing slow and even.

He reached out and brushed his thumb lightly along her shoulder before slipping out of bed.

He had plans today.

But first, work.

The warehouse shipment delay couldn’t wait, even on his day off. Matteo had called late the previous night — controlled but irritated. Something about customs clearance and an unexpected hold.

Ari stepped into the shower, letting the hot steam roll over his shoulders. It loosened the tension he carried like armor.

He braced one hand against the cool tile and closed his eyes.

Then he felt it.

Soft palms sliding over his back.

He didn’t need to turn to know it was her.

“Elena,” he murmured, voice rough from sleep.

She hummed in response, stepping fully beneath the spray. The water slicked over her skin as she pressed closer, her cheek brushing between his shoulder blades.

“You disappeared,” she said softly.

“I was trying not to wake you.”

“I like waking up with you there.”

That simple confession did something to his chest.

He turned then, hands finding her waist. Water cascaded around them, steam curling between their bodies.

“You should still be in bed,” he said quietly.

“Or,” she countered, eyes lifting to meet his, “I could be right here.”

There was nothing hesitant in her gaze now. Not after shared mornings and arguments and laughter and family dinners and quiet nights.

He kissed her — slow at first. Warm. Familiar.

She responded instantly, fingers threading into his damp hair. He lifted her effortlessly, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, laughter slipping between kisses when the water splashed harder against the tile.

The moment wasn’t frantic.

It wasn’t reckless.

It was intimate.

Steam, skin, breath — the closeness of two people who knew each other’s rhythms now.

He carried her back against the wall, kissing her deeper, and she held onto him like she always did — not dependent, but anchored.

Slowly, he slid into her and back out, working his hard member into her. Her hips start moving back and forth, starting slow and building momentum as he slide the full length of him deeper inside her. Finally, she felt all of him inside her.

His hands on your hips, he started thrusting her against the shower glass. he heard the desire in her breath. Feel it in her hands gripping him. In her body as it presses against him.

"Oh, Ari..."

She panted and he groaned as he started rhythmically pounding into her. He went faster and harder, then slow it down and almost stop.

He slide his member out for a moment and his hands slide along her body, feeling around her breasts and grabbing them as he pressed against her again harder.

He thrusted into her harder and hitting deeper and deeper.

"Yes...yes," she cried out.

"Right there, baby."

"Right here," he asked stroking her longer.

She felt her pleasure build and she cried out as her orgasm washes over her. He didn't give her time to recover and keep filling her up with his thick member.

Elena moaned and gasped and cry out as their bodies move together less control and restraint, more aligned with their desire.

Elena gripped his shoulders as he pound her against the glass and she felt herself riding another wave of pleasure and he was right there with her feelings the exquisite feelings from his knees up to his lower belly.

He kissed along her shoulder and up her neck, slowly planting more kisses on the side of her face before sliding out of her. They embrace and kiss again. A long, lingering "thank you for that" kiss. Their tongue moved against each other in sync.

Afterward, they stood beneath the water, foreheads touching, breathing evening out together.

“You’re thinking,” she said softly.

“I’m always thinking.”

“About work?”

“Partly.”

Her fingers traced idle patterns over his shoulder. “And the other part?”

He hesitated.

“Eleven months today,” he said finally.

Her expression softened. “You remembered.”

“I remember everything.”

She smiled — that quiet, genuine smile that had undone him from the start.

“I have to go to the warehouse this morning,” he said reluctantly. “Shipment issue.”

“Matteo?”

He nodded.

She sighed dramatically. “Fine. Be a responsible crime-adjacent businessman.”

His mouth twitched. “I’m legitimate.”

“Mm-hm.”

He set her back on her feet, switching to warm water and helping her lather her back. “Clear your schedule.” They soap up and wash each other off. Slowly, playful running hands over sudsy body parts.

She blinked. “Why?”

“Because when I get back, the day is yours.”

Suspicion flickered in her eyes. “Ari.”

“No meetings. No emails. No Maya. No work.”

“You’re being bossy.”

“Yes.”

They clean off and step out to dry ourselves. Wrapped in towels, They kissed again and head to get dressed for the day. She laughed, stepping out to grab a towel. “What are you planning?”

“If I tell you, it defeats the purpose.”

She narrowed her eyes at him but didn’t push.

An hour later, Ari stood inside the warehouse office with Matteo, reviewing shipping manifests spread across a steel desk.

Matteo leaned back in his chair. “Customs flagged three containers. Random inspection, they said.”

Ari’s jaw tightened. “Nothing in them that shouldn’t be?”

“Not unless someone misfiled paperwork.”

Ari scanned the documents again, mind sharp and calculating. Eleven months ago, he might have stayed here all day, controlling every detail personally.

Now, he found himself glancing at his watch.

Matteo noticed.

“You’ve got somewhere to be.”

Ari didn’t deny it. “Handle the clearance. Call our contact. If there’s pushback, escalate it.”

Matteo smirked faintly. “Elena?”

“Yes.”

“That serious?”

Ari met his friend’s gaze evenly. “Yes.”

Matteo nodded once. No teasing. Just understanding.

“Then go,” he said. “I’ve got this.”

By the time Ari returned to the penthouse, late morning light flooded the living room.

Elena was curled on the sofa with a book, glasses perched low on her nose. She looked up as the door opened.

“You’re back early,” she said.

“I told you to clear your schedule.”

She marked her page slowly. “I did.”

He walked toward her, studying her for a long moment.

Eleven months ago, she had been a challenge.

Now she was… home.

“What are we doing?” she asked again.

He extended his hand.

“Get dressed. Comfortable.”

Her brows lifted. “That’s not ominous at all.”

But she took his hand anyway.

Because in eleven months, they had learned something vital about each other:

She trusted him.

And he had never trusted anyone like this before.

Today wasn’t about business.

It wasn’t about family expectations or power or strategy.

It was about her.

And Ari Darven — who remembered every detail from the night they met — intended to make sure she never forgot this day either.