Page 36 of Dark & Deceitful

“Stop. Please.”Stop hurting yourself. Stop putting me through this over and over again.

“Kali. No. You don’t get it.”

I grip the edge of the table on either side of me. “But I do. I’m the woman you left. The woman who gets to live next to you while you live your new life with your new family. I get it. Our son came out. I’m proud of him. I know you’re proud of him, too. Stop making this more than it is. This isn’t about us. This is about him and the job we have to do. We need to focus on that and our kids. That’s it. Let it go.”

“Kali.”

Swallowing down a hot branding iron of pain, I palm my stomach as if talking to him physically hurts. Right now. It does. I don’t want to do this. “Dark. Let. It. Go,” I beg because I don’t want today ruined with memories of us, our baggage, our issues. This is about catching up with our kids, friends, and our son’s news.

Refusing to spend another moment locked in this room with him, I approach the door. Dark doesn’t hesitate to step to the side to let me leave. For that, I’m grateful.

Rejoining our family is a breath of fresh air. It’s just what I need.

For the rest of the day, it’s us at the bar, eating, drinking, and soaking up the now. We eat homemade pie and shoot pool, even though I lose each time. Axel calls in a few more brothers, and soon the place is swarming with Sacred Sinners. Drunken antics aside, the day bleeds into a fun night, and when I finally pour my tired body into the back of an Uber, I’m smiling the entire ride home. When I fall asleep, that same smile is still in place.

NINE

Dark

Relaxingin my leather office chair, foot propped on my knee, I stare out of my floor-to-ceiling wall of windows from my sixteenth-story office that overlooks the bustling cityscape below. The sky is bright blue today, not a cloud to be seen for miles.

A knock sounds at my door.

“Come in,” I call out as I watch a woman the size of an ant scurry across the street with her child in hand.

Theclick click clickof heels hit my hardwood floor as they approach my desk. “Sir,” a sensual voice purrs, drawing a cunning smile to my lips.

Without breaking my view of the world below, I set both feet on the floor, unfasten my trousers, and pull out my hardening cock. “You know what to do.” I motion to my member, and she knows exactly what I require as she drops to her knees and swallows me whole.

It’s part of my world… This world… Where Dark is dead and Maxim Drake lives.

In four short days, Kali will meet this man for the very first time. Let’s hope she doesn’t run before I can catch her. My wife is in for the ride of her fucking life.

When I fist the hair of the woman blowing me, it’s Kali’s brown hair I see, her eyes that look up at me, and that sensual red mouth I explode into.

Because whether she likes it or not… Whether she believes it or not… Kali’s mine.

TEN

In T-minus eighteen hours, it’s showtime. Lined up on the dock in a long row of similarly dressed crew members, two of Mr. Cassiano’s muscle-bound brutes give us orders for our weekend cruise. Tomorrow morning, we upgrade from his two-stateroom yacht to a small luxury cruise ship with enough staterooms to sleep twenty-six. The two female hires and I are in charge of keeping the new visitors comfortable, with whatever means necessary, as the rest of the crew keep everything else running smoothly. At no surprise to me, we’re the only females working this cruise. The rest are trusted male employees of Mr. Cassiano’s, including Romeo and his two sous chefs.

“We will all meet back here at six a.m. sharp,” the tallest of the men instructs, reading from a clipboard. “You will have the rest of today off to pack a bag and get a good night’s rest. Everything you bring aboard will be inspected for safety and confidentiality reasons. Unless you’re given permission, cell phones or other electronic devices will not be permitted on board.”

In other words, they don’t want photos leaked or us calling for help when shit pops off. Which it will. It’s an illegal auctionof literal humans. Not that I’m supposed to know that. Neither are the two other female employees. It’s just a party for the rich with their companions—that’s the schtick they're selling us. Let’s see how well these other two take the news once they see it’s an auction. I’m prepared for anything—from naked, drugged-up women to a vile sex cult party. You never know what’ll happen. With Dark present as millionaire Maxim Drake, at least I know he’ll have my back.

After handing each of us over our assignments in packet form, we’re dismissed, and I walk straight to my favorite coffee shop at the boardwalk for a tea and warm chocolate croissant. Carrying my fresh matcha and buttery pastry to a small booth in the corner, I’m so engrossed in reading the paperwork that I nearly knock over my drink when Romeo claims the seat across from me with a coffee and a smirk.

“Hola,” he greets, sipping from the edge of his to-go cup.

I rasp a choppy, “Hello,” clutching my chest.

Romeo good-naturedly chuckles at my discomfort. “Sorry I startled you.”

Shaking my head, I wave him off. “It’s okay. I was focused.”

“Riveting, hmm?” He nods toward the paperwork.

“It’s a lot.” I slap the thick stack of papers on the tabletop.

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