Devious Deals: A Dark Mafia Romance (Bale’s Villainous Tales Book 3) by Sarah Bale

Author:Sarah Bale [Bale, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-12T16:00:00+00:00

15

Ari

I wake up feeling decent for once. The stress of keeping this secret from Kieran is eating me alive. The sooner I tell him, the better. Maybe then I’ll stop being so nauseous all the time.

I find him in his office on the phone. He motions for me to wait. I take the time to look him over. He’s so handsome that it hurts to look at him. I move across the room, climbing onto his lap. He snakes his arm around my waist, holding me close.

“Noted. I’ll be there. Goodbye.” Ending the call, he asks, “Did your dress arrive?”

Tonight is Ellie’s fundraiser, and we’re going so I can support her.

“It did.” I play with a button on his shirt. “Did you find out if Winter is going to be there?”

“All the Families from Chicago will be in attendance.”

I groan. “Great.”

“Ari, you don’t have to speak to her if you don’t want to.”

I look up at him and nod. “Thank you for saying that.”

“Always here to help. Now, what else is on your mind?”

My chest is tight. “How do you know something’s on my mind?”

“I can read you, pet, and I know when you’ve got something weighing you down.”

Nerves flare, and suddenly I’m scared. Once I say this, there’s no going back. If he reacts the way I hope, then it will be worth it. If he doesn’t…

“Ari?”

“I… I love you.”

He laughs in my face. “No you don’t.”

“It’s not funny, Kieran.”

He shakes his head, still laughing. “You are a child, pet. You know nothing of love.”

I stand facing him. “You’re wrong, Kieran. I do know what love is, and I love you.”

“Pet, you don’t know me. Not really. This so-called love that you speak of is based on a fantasy of who you think I am.”

“I know enough.”

He crosses his arms over his chest. “Fine, then. If you know me so well, then I’m sure you can answer these questions. What’s my middle name?”

“James.”

“When’s my birthday?”

“November 15, and you’re a Scorpio.”

His gaze narrows. “What were my parent’s names?”

“Laurie and Nolan.”

“These are all things anyone could know.”

“But I know them because you told me.” I think, trying to remember more tidbits he told me. “You hate the ocean, but you don’t tell people this, since you own a fleet of ships. Your first pet was an Old English Sheepdog that died when your neighbor hit him with his truck. You used to love spending the summers on your grandfather’s farm and said the fields of wheat remind you of the ocean in a way.”

“Enough. None of this matters, Ariel.”

“It does matter.” I exhale loudly. “I love you, Kieran, and I think that if you thought about it, you would see that you loved me, too.”

He stands, his eyes flashing. “I will never love a Triton. Get out of my sight before I say something we’ll both regret, and never bring this up again. Go. Now.”

His tone pierces my heart, and for the first time, I think maybe I’ve made a mistake by being here.

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