Chapter Three
Nex.
The minute I stepped off the elevator, the door at the end of the hall opened. A smile eased across my face as Cia Malone exited the room and turned her back to drag a suitcase into the hallway. By the time she shoved it out the way and the soft click of the door sounded, my chest was at her back and my fingers pressed into the soft flesh of her hip through baggy cotton sweats. Cia sucked in a deep breath and her body stilled, forcing her muscles to go rigid.
“Looks like I made it just in time,”
I rasped lowly next to her ear. She didn’t move or speak for a long moment.
“Merrick or Warren?”
Her tone was low, but steady, which surprised me. Cia was a woman on the run with a lingering future she didn’t want. Her question confirmed that she assumed I was here to drag her back to the hell her family was sending her to, yet she didn’t show fear. Only anger that she hadn’t escaped before I arrived.
I leaned in closer so my lips grazed her ear when I spoke. “Neither.”
Cia pushed away from me. I let her. When she turned and her eyes met mine, she stumbled back, landing with a thump against the suite door. Her eyes flickered with recognition and I smiled… sinfully slow.
“You know who I am, don’t you?”
She shook her head hesitantly and I laughed darkly.
“Yes, you do, Little Flame. You know exactly who I am, which is good. That means you won’t try anything stupid.”
She tensed and her eyes darted past me. I could read her thoughts.
Maybe I can run?
“You can try, but you won’t get far. I’m being paid a lot of money to keep you occupied for the next couple of days, which means you’ll be my guest. How comfortable that stay is depends on how smart you are. If you run, fight me, or try to outsmart me even once, I’ll tie you to a bed and you’ll stay that way until I get word to let you go.”
“Let me go?”
she rasped in a scratchy voice. I nodded slowly and she quickly countered, “You don’t let people go. You…”
“Kill them,”
I finished for her and stepped closer. She tensed, pressing her back against the door harder. “I thought you didn’t know who I was.”
“I do,”
she stated quietly. “Nex. They call you Promise because anyone who ends up on your list is promised death.”
I smirked. “Good, and lucky for you, Ciana, I don’t kill women, which means you get a pass as long as you follow my rules. If you don’t, I know plenty of people who don’t have a moral compass and would gladly do what I won’t. Now, is that all you have or is there more inside?”
She frowned briefly then her eyes lowered to the suitcase before slowly crawling back up to mine. “You said neither. If Merrick or Warren didn’t send you, who did?”
“Does it matter?”
Her eyes narrowed and she pushed away from the door, edging closer to me. There was less than a foot between us so she didn’t have far to go. Cia lifted her chin enough to peer directly at me.
Little Flame found some confidence. My dick twitched.
“Yes it matters. You’re obviously here for me. Even if there’s a sliver of ethics in you that prevents you from killing women, the person who sent you after me might not be so kind. Who sent you here?”
“That’s none of your business, but I can assure you, the person who did won't lay a finger on you.”
But I just might.
Her eyes narrowed and I exhaled a sigh before asking, “Do you want to marry Warren Harte? I hear he’s a sick son of a bitch where pretty things like you are concerned.”
Her eyes narrowed a bit more and I smiled. “I’m not marrying him.”
Fuck, she was beautiful. I’d seen her plenty of times in passing. However, right here, right now, staring into those beautiful browns brought a different visual.
And the fact that she was completely pissed about the situation she found herself in made my dick hard with the thought of taming that anger.
“If you truly mean that, then I’m the best option you have right now.”
Something flickered in those beautiful brown eyes of hers.
“If you won’t tell me who sent you, will you at least tell me how much they’re paying?”
“No.”
I reached around her and grabbed the handle of her suitcase. “Let’s go.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not negotiating with you. You’re going with me, Little Flame.”
I turned my back and started down the hall, expecting Cia to follow. If she truly knew my reputation, she would.
“What makes you think it’s my freedom that I want to negotiate?”
I paused my steps and glanced over my shoulder to find her standing in the center of the hallway, arms locked across her chest, expression determined. Fuck, she was sexy and I was about to entertain whatever foolishness she would send my way.
Entertain, not agree to…
I turned back in her direction. “Didn’t the men in your family teach you the very important lesson about not making deals with the devil?”
Her confident mask slipped for a brief second, then she dropped her arms to her sides and rolled her shoulders back. “The men in my family are the reason I’m being auctioned to the highest bidder. Quite frankly, they can kiss my ass. Now would you like to hear my offer or not?”
I chuckled and smiled. “Go ahead.”
“I’m supposed to marry Warren in two days.”
“You are.” I nodded.
“I’m sure in one way or another the reason you’re here is somehow connected to that decision.”
“It is.”
“He’s a sadistic son of a bitch.”
I arched a brow and she added, “Your words, not mine, but regardless of how you say it, you’re aware of how he treats women.”
“I heard things, yes.”
“You’re here to somehow make sure I marry him, even if he’s not the one that sent you. Someone who’s invested in that marriage did.”
She was right but not in the way she thought. Arlo did not want Cia and Harte married because it would cost him a shift in power.
“Agreed.”
With slow steps, I closed the space between us. “You said you wanted to negotiate. What are you offering, Little Flame?”
Her brows narrowed. “Why are you calling me Little Flame?”
I reached forward and she flinched. I paused my hand briefly before I gripped her neck and pressed my thumb gently to the front and applied pressure to the nape of her neck, allowing my fingers to graze over the space where a tattoo was inked—a cluster of stars drawn with flames extending from them.
She tensed and swallowed. I felt the movement beneath my thumb. “What are you offering, Cia?”
She stared blankly for a long moment then blinked several times. “Marriage.”
My eyes narrowed in confusion and she added, “A marriage between us. Marry me.”
“You said you know who I am. Why the fuck would you want me to marry you?”
“You’re not a good guy. You were right when you mentioned making a deal with you is the equivalent of making a deal with the devil…”
I smirked. “You’re not making your case, Little Flame.”
She stepped closer and lifted her chin. My hand was still around her neck so I felt the shift in her pulse.
“You and Warren are both dark but you’re not like him. You’re the kind of darkness that I can handle.”
My dick swelled within seconds and my eyes narrowed. She exhaled a slow breath. “You kill people but he ruins them in the darkest ways. Death is better than living through the degradation he’ll attempt to make me suffer. And you said you don’t kill women, which means I’m safe with you. Other people might not be but I am.”
“I still don’t get where you’re going with this.”
“If you marry me, Warren can’t. People are afraid of Promise. They won’t challenge you. Men like you don’t want wives and families but you do want power, control. I’m a Malone. If you marry me you get both, power and control…”
“And a wife you just admitted I don’t want.”
Not once had I considered myself marrying anyone. Ever. I didn’t need companionship beyond fucking women when the urge hit. I was perfectly content being free to do whatever the fuck I wanted whenever I wanted.
So why is my dick incredibly hard in consideration of her offer?
“Only in name…”
Her eyes met mine. “I don’t want a husband and you don’t want a wife. We’re perfect for each other.” She forced a smile.
“No.”
I turned back toward the elevators. “Let’s go.”
I felt her move behind me. She cut off my path and placed her hands on my chest. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t give a damn about being connected. The kind of power and control I crave doesn’t have a damn thing to do with what marrying you can offer. Do you know why all the families fear me?”
She shook her head and I smiled. “I’m the one thing they can’t control. They fear what they can’t control because I’m unpredictable and that scares the shit out of them. Unlike them, I have nothing to lose. Being connected to you will change that. So you’ll have to do better with your negotiating if you want me to marry you, Cia.”
“Then what do you want? I’ll give you anything.”
“Anything is very open ended, Cia. Are you sure you want to go there?”
Her eyes flickered with fear before she lifted her chin defiantly and nodded.
“Why?”
“The alternative is much worse in my opinion. I’m not marrying Warren, so name your price.”
I took a step closer, bending slightly. My face was inches from hers. “You want me to marry you, then what I want in return is a marriage not just in name, but in my bed. I want your body, Cia. To use whenever, however, I want. Are you willing to agree to that?”
Her eyes went wide and I smirked and stepped around her. “I thought not. Now let’s go.”
The second my hand wrapped around the handle to her suitcase and I took my first step, I heard her voice again.
“Yes.”
That one word caused my dick to go hard again and I knew I had just royally fucked up.