Deep Consuming Addiction

Chapter 124

✨Garage Confessions and What he Gives✨

Elena Vale

Elena climbed back over the console slowly, still flushed, still trying to gather whatever pieces of composure she had left. Her dress was straightened with quick, quiet movements, like she could undo what had just happened by simply fixing the fabric.

Ari watched her for a second longer than necessary, a faint smirk tugging at his mouth as he adjusted his shirt, still undone from her earlier impatience.

About six buttons gone as he adjusted his shirt and pants, zipping it.

“You’re worried about my security?” he asked, amusement threading through his voice.

Elena shot him a look, biting down on her lower lip as she smoothed her hair. “They’re going to know.”

Ari let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head as he leaned back in his seat. “That’s what you’re worried about?”

“Yes,” she said immediately, though her voice lacked its usual firmness now.

That made him chuckle again, softer this time, more relaxed. “Relax.”

“I am relaxed,” she lied, reaching for the seatbelt like it suddenly mattered very much.

Ari glanced at her, still amused, still watching her carefully. “You’re not.”

Elena avoided his eyes, staring straight ahead. “Drive.”

"We're already home," he shook his head but the smile didn’t leave his face.

A few seconds of silence passed between them, but it wasn’t heavy anymore. It was different now—lighter, warmer, charged in a way neither of them were pretending to ignore.

Then Ari glanced at her again, clearly still entertained. “I’ve never had that done to me before.”

Elena turned sharply. “Don’t start.”

“What?” he asked innocently, though the smirk said otherwise. “It’s a valid observation.”

She covered her face for half a second, mortified. “Ari…”

He laughed under his breath, trying to pull her hands away. “What? I’m just saying—you were very… enthusiastic.”

“Stop talking.”

“I’m not criticizing,” he added, still amused. “I’m impressed.”

Elena peeked at him through her fingers. “You’re impossible.”

“And yet,” he said lightly, glancing at her again, “you still climbed over the console.”

That shut her up immediately.

Ari smiled to himself, eyes forward now, but his tone softened just slightly. “You good?”

Elena exhaled, dropping her hand from her face, finally giving up on pretending she wasn’t flustered. “No.”

That made him laugh again.

“Good,” he said simply.

And somehow, that only made her more flustered.

They sat there for a moment, the quiet wrapping around them, softer now, the earlier tension settling into something warm, something real, softer now, more intimate.

Elena glanced at his shirt, her fingers reaching out lightly to the torn fabric, guilt flickering across her face. “Sorry… about your shirt.”

Ari looked down briefly, then back at her, completely unbothered. “You think I’m worried about a shirt?”

Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

He shook his head faintly, a small smile still there, before reaching for her hand kissing it.

Ari’s eyes stayed on her, watching the way she tried—and failed—to fully recover her composure. There was something about it he didn’t rush, didn’t interrupt.

Instead—

He reached for her.

Both of his hands came up, large and warm as they gently held her face, stilling her completely. Elena’s breath caught slightly, her eyes lifting to his, the last of her fluster melting into something quieter.

He leaned in.

Pressed his lips to hers.

Once.

Soft.

Again.

Slower.

A third time.

Lingering just a second longer.

It wasn’t heated.

It wasn’t rushed.

It was deliberate.

Grounding.

“I love you,” he said, his voice low, certain, like it didn’t need anything else around it.

Elena blinked, like the words hit her deeper than she expected. The moment shifted again, softer, more intimate than anything before it.

Her hand came up, resting lightly over his wrist.

“I love you too,” she said.

No hesitation.

No overthinking.

Just truth.

Ari held her there for a second longer, his thumbs brushing lightly along her cheeks, like he was memorizing her in that exact moment.

Then he leaned his forehead against hers, exhaling slowly.

And just like that—

Everything else faded.

---

One week later it was now two weeks before Christmas.

Ari glanced down at his phone, his expression shifting into something more focused, more deliberate. “Baby, send me your account details,” he said calmly.

Elena’s head snapped up. “No.”

His eyes lifted to hers, unreadable. “Elena.”

She shook her head, already backing up a step. “Ari, no. I’m not doing that.”

He exhaled slowly, like he was giving her a moment to reconsider. “I’m not asking you to argue with me.”

“I’m not arguing,” she shot back. “I’m saying no.”

A small pause.

Then his tone changed—still calm, but firmer. “Don’t play with me.”

“I’m not playing,” she said, holding her ground even as her chest tightened slightly. “I don’t need—”

“I need the number,” he cut in, his voice steady, leaving no room for distraction.

“Ari—”

“Elena.”

The way he said her name stopped her for half a second.

Not harsh.

Not loud.

But certain.

She huffed out a breath, running a hand through her hair. “You’re not listening to me.”

“I am,” he replied. “You’re just not saying anything that changes what I said.”

“Ari.”

“Elena.”

She stared at him, equal parts frustrated and overwhelmed, knowing exactly how stubborn he could be when he decided something.

“So you want to do this the easy way,” he said, slipping his phone into his pocket as he stepped closer, “or I can—”

“Okay,” she cut in quickly, holding up her hand before he finished.

He stopped.

Watched her.

Elena let out a breath, shaking her head slightly, already reaching for her phone. “You’re impossible.”

A faint smirk touched his mouth. “You knew that.”

She shot him a look but didn’t argue again, unlocking her phone with a small sigh. “If you touch anything else, I’m reporting you.”

Ari huffed a quiet laugh. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me,” she muttered, though there was no real heat behind it anymore.

He stayed close as she pulled up what he wanted, his presence steady, unmovable, but not overwhelming.

And when she finally handed it over—

It wasn’t defeat.

It was trust.

Even if she wouldn’t admit it out loud.

The moment the transfer notification came through, Elena’s brows pulled together slightly, her attention shifting back to her phone.

Then she saw the numbers.

And everything in her stilled.

“Ari…” her voice dropped, almost disbelieving as she looked up at him. “This is more than my year’s salary.”

Ari didn’t flinch.

Didn’t look surprised.

Didn’t look like he had done anything out of the ordinary.

“Baby,” he said quietly, stepping closer, his tone steady, “I haven’t given nearly as much as I wanted to.”

Elena blinked, still staring at him like she wasn’t sure she heard him right.

“Because I know you,” he continued, his gaze softening just slightly. “I know you wouldn’t accept it.”

Her fingers tightened around her phone.

“Elena,” he said, his voice lowering, more personal now, “I haven’t done anything for you since we began dating that don’t sit right with me.”

That hit her differently.

Not the money.

Not the amount.

The meaning behind it.

“I’m a man,” he added, not arrogantly, not to dominate—but like it was something rooted in him. “I provide.”

He stepped closer again, his hand coming up to her arm, not forcing, just grounding.

“Please let me.”

Elena didn’t respond right away.

She couldn’t.

Because this wasn’t about numbers.

This wasn’t about pride.

This was about something she didn’t fully understand how to hold. It was new.

She looked back down at her phone, the number still there, unmoving, undeniable.

Real.

“I don’t know how to accept this much,” she admitted after a while, her voice quieter now, more vulnerable than she intended.

Ari watched her carefully.

Not pushing.

Not interrupting.

Just there.

“That,” he said slowly, “is nothing compared to what I want to give to you.”

Her chest tightened at that.

Because he wasn’t just talking about money.

She knew that.

He stepped in closer, his fingers brushing lightly under her chin, lifting her gaze back to his.

“I’m not trying to buy you,” he said softly. “And I’m not trying to change you.”

Elena swallowed.

“I just don’t like the idea of you carrying everything alone when you don’t have to.”

That again.

That same thing he kept coming back to.

Not control.

Care.

Consistent.

Unapologetic.

Unfamiliar.

Her eyes searched his, like she was trying to find the catch.

There wasn’t one.

And somehow—

That made it harder.

“I’ve never…” she started, then stopped, her brows pulling together slightly. “I’ve never had someone do this for me.”

Ari’s expression shifted, something softer breaking through the steadiness.

“I know,” he said.

And the way he said it—

Like he understood more than she had explained—

Made something in her chest ache quietly.

Elena looked away for a second, exhaling slowly as she tried to gather herself.

“This feels…” she hesitated.

“Like too much?” he offered.

She nodded faintly.

Ari tilted his head slightly, studying her, then stepped back just enough to give her space without leaving her.

“It’s not too much,” he said. “It’s just new.”

Elena let out a quiet breath at that.

Because that—

That felt closer to the truth.

New.

Unfamiliar.

Unsettling.

But not wrong.

Her grip on the phone loosened slightly.

“And if I say no?” she asked softly.

Ari didn’t hesitate.

“Then I respect it,” he said.

A pause.

“But I won’t like it.”

That pulled the smallest smile from her.

Of course he wouldn’t.

Elena looked down at the screen again, then back up at him.

“You really think I need this?” she asked.

Ari shook his head.

“No.”

That surprised her.

“Then why—”

“Because I want to give it,” he said simply. “Not because you need it.”

That landed differently.

Stripped of pressure.

Stripped of expectation.

Just—

Given.

Elena went quiet again, the tension in her shoulders slowly easing, though not completely gone.

She took a step closer this time.

Not because he pulled her.

But because she chose to.

Her hand came up, resting lightly against his chest, her fingers curling slightly into his shirt.

“I don’t want to feel like I owe you,” she said honestly.

Ari’s hand covered hers immediately, firm, grounding.

“You don’t,” he said.

“Not now. Not later. Not ever.”

She searched his face again.

Still looking for something.

Still not finding it.

And maybe—

That was the point.

Elena exhaled slowly, the resistance in her softening just a little.

“Okay,” she said quietly.

Not fully certain.

Not fully comfortable.

But not rejecting it either.

Ari’s expression didn’t change dramatically, but something in his shoulders eased.

“Okay,” he repeated.

His thumb brushed lightly over her hand, a small, steady reassurance.

And in that moment—

It wasn’t about the money anymore.

It was about her learning—

How to receive something she had never allowed herself to before.

And him—

Standing there, patient enough to let her learn.