AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Am I?”
She tried to keep tears from her eyes but when one slipped past her lashes, she wiped it away furiously. “Then you’re a bastard. I said I was sorry. If I’d known who you were, I assure you that I would never have entered your disgusting world.”
“I believe you, Raven, and ordinarily I would allow you to go of your free will. However,” I said as I lifted my finger. “There’s the issue with who your father is and what he means to me.” I waited until she understood what I was saying before continuing. “You see, your father is a direct enemy of my family and our corporation. I can’t have that. I won’t allow his interference in my business life to continue and as you’ve already determined, I’m a man who gets exactly what I want.”
“Oh, my God. Fuck you. I will tell my father and he’ll have you arrested. You sick fuck.”
It would seem our passion had died on the vine. I couldn’t help but smile. Her defiance was a tremendous turn-on.
“Not before he faces not only the loss of his reputation and his job, but he’ll be forced to face a horrific tragedy. It’s entirely up to you, princess. If you follow my rules and my orders, life will go on as you’re used to.” For now. “You have two minutes to decide.”
Raven wanted to spit fire then rip out what was left of my heart. At some point, she would attempt to remove herself from the deal, but that wasn’t going to happen. I turned away, heading toward the French doors, peering out at the crowded street below. “Less than one minute.”
I felt her presence behind me and turned to face her. Before she answered, she tossed the drink in my face. Inwardly, all I could do was smile.
“Fine. I’ll play your game, Arman, but if you dare try and hurt my family, I will kill you myself.”
CHAPTER8
Arman
Passion.
The notion was something I’d thought dead inside, a caustic effect of living my life in a crackled bubble of success and power. It felt as if at any time the expensive crystal would shatter into dozens of pieces, the jagged edges all slicing through me. I shook my head, laughing inwardly at the images crossing over my mind.
It was difficult not to think about Raven, both her voluptuous body and my reaction to the electricity we shared as well as the threat she’d made. Was she the kind of girl who would follow through with it? I had no doubt she might try if pushed, but she’d been taught to be a good girl as evidenced by how my praise had affected her.
What would her father think about his arch enemy fucking his daughter? The thought was evil, far too delicious and gave me a smile.
“You’re deep in thought,” Maddox told me from the driver’s seat as he headed toward the Southshore Harbor Marina. “Raven again?”
“That obvious?”
“Hell, yes. I haven’t seen you this indecisive since I’ve known you. But there’s a warm glow about you, my friend.” He laughed, shaking his head while I threw him a nasty glare.
“I have a lot to think about,” I barked, instantly regretting it. He didn’t deserve my building rage. Thomas did. Fuck the man. I rubbed my eyes, trying to shove aside the complexity and bullshit, but it was next to impossible.
I owned a large yacht, one used for corporate events and by family members. However, this was the slip where my personal boat,Sophia’s Revenge, remained docked and had for years. I had people to care for her, even ensuring the boat was taken out a couple of times a year. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d stepped foot on her. Too long.
The use of my beloved yet almost never used yacht for something of this nature had never been done before. However, it would appear changes to certain methods of operation as well as to aspects of life were in order. In the list of attributes that I sorely needed to work on, prudence followed patience. I almost chuckled as I tried to think what other ‘p’ word might be possible for the list because passion wasn’t one of them.
God, the stunning woman continued to linger in the back of my mind and had for the almost four days since I’d allowed her to leave my home and my life. Against my better judgment, although I was certain she’d play by the rules.
At least for now.
I’d kept Grayson on ice for far too long, but given he was working for someone else, no matter how deep under cover he was, he’d be required to check in from time to time. If the Feds were gathering information, they were already building a case, which meant they needed to be fed every once in a while. I still couldn’t believe my vetting of the man, as well as the continuous checks for any abnormal activity hadn’t raised a single red flag. The man was damn good at what he did. Even my attempt at discovering who he was through fingerprints had failed. It was as if the man didn’t exist other than inside my organization.
Bull. Fucking. Shit.
The single mistake the man had made was one that would cost him his life.
As it had our friendship. I continued to glower from the thought. I’d never be so stupid again.
I glanced over at the single man I could place my trust in, before rubbing my index finger back and forth across my bottom lip. “Yes, it’s inevitable at this point.”
“The woman?”
“The woman. She’s… difficult to erase.”
