Aria stared at the message for a long time, trying to confirm that she was reading what her eyes were showing. It was as though her brain had momentarily stopped working. She could not decipher what had for Maggie to take such a decision. 'But I am happy you did.' She mumbled, her sudden garbled voice gaining Noah's attention.

"Did you say something, sweetheart?" He queried, looking at her with his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah," Aria replied absent-mindedly, not giving him a glance. She was lost in thoughts and Noah sensed something to be off about her.

'What happened to her?' He wondered and pushed himself closer to her. "Is everything alright, baby?" He queried, his hot breath falling in her ears. The sudden invasion of privacy startled Aria and her head snapped in his direction.

"Why are you this close to me?" She questioned, attempting to move further away from him, much to his amusement. However, she was already towards the end of her side and she had nowhere else to go, with the car door trapping her at the back. Her eyes widened in horror and she looked down at her phone only to see the screen have turned black. A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she smiled to herself.

However, this action of hers only added more to Noah's suspicions and he leaned dangerously close to her, his lips barely an inch away from hers. "What are you doing?" Aria was on high alert and she took a peek at Ronnie, who had turned a blind eye to everything that was happening in the back seat.

"What am I doing?" Noah smirked, loving the way Aria's eyes had widened in frustration. She looked so delectable, delicate, and alluring that he had a sudden urge to bite her blushing cheeks. And he did just that earning a yelp from his victim.

"What the hell was that?" Aria held the cheek and stared at Noah in disbelief. She had never in a million years imagined Noah to bite her cheek. Her heart was already on haywire and her mind was a mess.

"I am sorry, I couldn't control myself." Noah shrugged, his apology anything but sincere. Aria glowered at him and shot invisible daggers. But the man remained unfazed, thoroughly enjoying her look of fury.

"You are unbelievable." She scolded him, her voice loud enough that even Ronnie heard her.

'As expected, only Madam can control the Boss.' He secretly cheered for Aria, betraying Noah completely. 'Sorry Boss. I am not sure why I feel that only Madam can save me from you and your anger, the reason to which I am yet to know. My loyalty always lies with you. But this time, it will be with Madam.'

Ronnie glanced at the couple at the back through the mirror only to find them in an extremely compromising position. Noah was completely over Aria, hovering above her, his lips just short of touching hers, while Aria was stuck to the door, her body lying in Noah's embrace. Ronnie immediately averted his eyes. He felt as though he was peeking at something he should never have seen and tried to focus on driving, which for the first time in his life, was becoming impossible and difficult.

The couple at the back ignored the blushing Ronnie and continued to stay in the position they were in, with Aria trying to push the man above her, away from her. This time, Noah moved back slightly, much to Aria's relief. She sat straight, still maintaining a distance from Noah, which he did not mind.

"By the way, what made you so lost in thoughts that you even forgot my presence?" Noah asked the question, hiding his suspicious tone. He had seen the way her eyes had traveled to her phone when he had inched closer to her and he also did not miss the way she had breathed a sigh of relief on finding it locked.

His question rendered Aria speechless. Though she knew that the man was overly observant, she did not know that he was this good. Aria could not help but curse the man's extremely alert mind and senses. 'Why is he this good?' She cursed her bad luck and tried to come up with an answer that could satisfy Noah who was staring at her intently.

"I am not going to tell you," Aria replied, racking her brain for some quick answer. She knew Noah would not let go of the matter and just as she had expected, his next question proved her right.

"And I am not going to let you off without knowing about it. So, tell me. What were you thinking about?" He pulled Aria by her waist and now, her breasts were almost touching his chest. The sudden pull made Aria let out a gasp, a sound that was too enticing and seductive to Noah's ears. If not for Ronnie's presence, he was sure that Aria would be on his laps and his lips would be devouring hers, engulfing her in a heated kiss.

Right at that moment, an idea struck Aria. "Why do you think I will tell you about my surprise for your birthday?" Aria asked, raising an eyebrow in defiance and her answer greatly satisfied Noah, whose heart was already leaping in joy.

"Oh, what surprise? Care to tell me about it."

"There is a reason why it is called a surprise." Aria refused at once and Noah could only sulk at being kept in the dark. He knew Aria would not tell him. But he still took a chance.

"Please, give me a hint at least."

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"Pretty please." He begged and Aria rolled her eyes at his attempts.

"No amount of begging will help you. I am not going to answer you. Wait for two days."

"But I can't. My mind is on overdrive thinking what might you be planning."

"Patience, my dear. Patience." Noah tapped Noah's chest and smiled at him sweetly.

"Patience is one thing that I don't have right now." He mumbled loud enough for Aria to hear and she giggled at his cute self.

"Let me tell you one thing then." Aria decided to go easy on him and not torture him more.

"What thing?" Noah's excitement rose at once and he looked at her as though he was waiting for his Christmas gift.

"You will love the surprise for sure. Be ready to get your mind blown away."

His mysterious words only added more to Noah's curiosity and now, he could not wait any longer to find out what Aria had in mind. "Are you going to offer yourself to me, my dear?" He asked with a smirk only to find Aria blush at his crude words.

"Noah," She punched him lightly and buried her head in his chest, embarrassment flooding through her entire self. "How can you be this shameless?"

Her reaction more or less answered Noah's question and his heart was already dancing in ecstasy. "I was right then."

"What? No." Aria pulled back at once hearing him tease her. "No."

"Don't worry, Aria." Noah pushed back her hair and held her face in his hands. "I don't mind the surprise you have prepared for me. I would to have you as my gift and my surprise." He winked at her and Aria gritted her teeth in anger.

"If you continue with your acts, I am going to cancel the surprise I have in mind." Aria threatened and it worked.

"You can't do this to me."

"Oh, I can. Try me."

Noah looked at her for a long and when he did not sense any hesitation from her, he was certain that she would stick to her words if he crossed his lines. So, he could only give up and control his curiosity, allowing her to do as she pleased. Right at this moment, Noah's phone buzzed and he attended to it, his hand not leaving Aria's waist. And Aria too did not try to wriggle away from him, even though she so badly wanted to send a message to Maggie.

'It's good that Maggie finally decided to leave the gang. I was so worried about her.' Aria thought to herself, remembering the day her friend had told her and Ivy her decision to join Jared's gang to find out more about his crimes. At first, the twins had tried to stop her using all means. But the girl had been adamant as ever and they gave in eventually, when Maggie promised to stay safe and return home in one piece.

Since the time she had joined the Vipers, Aria and Ivy were scared for her safety. The girl had put herself in danger without caring anything about herself. She was all alone in a wolf's den and given Jared's reputation and his long list of crimes, it was a given they feared for her safety. All they wanted was for her to leave the place as soon as possible. It was nothing but a hell hole and to think that Maggie spent so much time in that dangerous place with dangerous people around her made them shiver in fear.

Now that Maggie had decided to leave, Aria could relax and get one problem out of her mind. At least, her friend would be safe. But her escape would bring a lot more trouble for Jared would find out about Maggie's truth. They have to keep Maggie safe and Aria just knew what to do. She took a glance at the man beside her, who was still on the phone, and hoped he would help her in this matter.

Meanwhile, her friend in question was ready to leave the hell hole that had come to be her home for quite some time. She had brought nothing with her when she had joined the gang and she decided to leave with empty hands. She wanted nothing that belonged to Jared. Maggie took one last glance at the room before she opened the door, only to come face to face with the man she was escape from badly.