Bitter Arrangement: Chapter 10

His mouth feels like heaven. His lips are soft as they dominate mine, and his tongue slips into my mouth with a hungry growl. He tastes like whiskey and fire, and I push myself against him, heart racing, every inch of skin glowing with pure, stupid need.

I have no freaking idea what’s going on, but I like kissing him.

We stay locked like that in the dim hallway. His hands roam my body, touching me, exploring my legs and ass. I gasp, wanting more, impulsive enough to let him drag me into a bathroom and fuck me right there on the sink. But as quickly as he started, he breaks the kiss off.

I gasp, staring as he raises the watch.

“How did you—?” I start, looking down at my hands.

“You’re not the only thief in the world.” He steps back, his expression dark.

“Did you kiss me as a distraction so you could steal that back?”

“This is for your own safety.”

“Fuck that.” I snatch at it, but he holds it up above my reach. Bastard, he’s a great kisser and he’s really tall, which is such a pain. “Give that back.”

“Don’t you get it? You stole this from a Black Mantis member.”

I frown a little. “That name sounds familiar.”

“It should.” He uses his fingernail to pop open the case and pushes down on a hidden latch. The whole watch opens, and instead of intricate gears, I’m staring in at what looks like electronics. “They’re one of the most vicious criminal organizations in the world.” He fiddles with a part of the circuit board until something small and silver pops off.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking out the battery.”

“And why are you doing that?”

“So it can’t keep transmitting your location.”

I feel my feet go numb. “It’s been doing that?”

“It’s been trying, at least.” He puts the watch back together, minus the battery, and shoves it into his pocket. He’s about to say something when a couple of guests come toward us, heading to use the bathroom.

Alexan steps close, one hand on my hip, his mouth down against my cheek. Almost like we’re stealing a little private time.

The woman smiles at us, and I feel my cheeks turn bright red. It’s not what you think, lady. But I actually don’t know what it is myself.

“We’ll talk about this more later,” he says once she’s gone. “You have no idea how much trouble we’re in.”

“What’s this we thing? I thought you were supposed to find it. Now just… give it back?”

He sighs and shakes his head. His lips brush against my neck. “You don’t understand.”

“Then make me.”

He pulls back and his expression is bleak. I don’t think I’ve seen him looking so hard before. I find it weirdly sexy, if I’m being honest with myself, but it also makes me very, very worried.

“There you two are.” Cass comes walking over with another man in tow. I recognize him from earlier in the night. He’s Tigran Sarkissian, second-in-command of the whole Brotherhood. “We were looking for you.”

“Time to cut the cake,” Tigran says, looking between us. He’s not smiling, like he knows something’s going on. “Everything okay?”

“I just needed some alone time with my new wife.” Alexan slips his hand into mine. “We’re all good.”

“You two ran off suddenly. Everyone’s kind of worried.” Cass studies me, clearly trying to figure out if I’m actually okay.

I smile at her, slip away from Alexan, and put my hand through her arm. “We’re all good. Just getting to know each other. Let’s go take care of that cake.”

I tug her away and we put some distance between the two hulking Armenian gangsters.

“You sure you’re good?” she asks, sounding concerned.

I honestly don’t know how to answer that. Alexan has me pretty freaked out, but I still don’t fully understand what’s going on.

All I know is he looked grim back there, like we’re both going to be murdered very slowly and very painfully.

“Don’t worry. Honestly, everything’s fine.”

I do my best to keep it together for the rest of the night. I catch Alexan lurking near me more and more often as the evening wears on. He actually dances once or twice, or at least he stands on the edge of the dance floor and moves in a way that could be construed as “swaying” by normal people, while I get down with everyone else.

He stares at me constantly.

It’s unnerving, but I’m kind of used to it by now.

When the night winds down and guests start leaving, he’s glued to my hip, like he’s my bodyguard or something. And finally, when my dad says he’s heading home, Alexan just tells him that we’ll be staying at his place this evening. Dad frowns at me but only nods his head. “Don’t get in trouble,” he says before stalking off.

Brenden gives me a tight hug. “You’ll be alright,” he says, shakes Alexan’s hand, and follows Dad to the car.

Leaving me alone with my husband.

“I’m guessing this isn’t about consummating our marriage,” I say once we’re waiting for the valet to pull his car around.

“It can be if that’s what you want.” He doesn’t sound particularly enthusiastic about the idea.

“Talk about sweeping a girl off her feet.”

“Should I get you rose petals for the bed? Put on some mood-setting music? Or would you prefer if I stole something valuable from a very murderous criminal organization?”

“I didn’t know it was there,” I say through my teeth, getting frustrated. “I don’t even understand why this is such a big deal.”

He looks like he wants to explain, but the car arrives. We drive in silence, and I’m left with about a thousand questions and no way to answer them.

But something starts to bother me. It’s the way Brenden reacted when I told him about the watch. It was subtle, but it was clear.

He was afraid of the name Jeremy Fong.

I take out my phone and send him a quick text.

Riley: Do you know anything about a group called the Black Mantis?

He responds right away. And it makes my spine tingle.

Brenden: Don’t ask me about them ever again. Don’t text me back. We’ll talk later.

My mouth runs dry. He’s never acted like that before. My older brother taught me how to steal a car. There’s never been any secrets between us. Nothing’s ever off-limits either. He teaches me what he knows and we trust each other implicitly.

But if he won’t even text about these people?

Alexan parks out front of his house, and I start to think I’m in deep shit.

Once we’re inside, he leads me into the kitchen and sits me down at the counter. He pours two glasses of wine, puts the watch down between us, and stares at me as he drinks his down.

I sip mine, itching to break the silence but too stubborn to talk first.

“If I return this to Iron Head⁠—”

“Who now?”

“That’s his code name,” Alexan says, giving me a stern look. “If I return this to him, he’ll want to know who stole it. If I refuse to say, he’ll torture me until I talk. And believe me, wife of mine, no man in this world can hold out forever when the Mantis decides they want to know something.”

I pick up my wine with both hands and hunch over it. “What if you don’t turn it over?”

“Then the Mantis will take that as a failure, and they will punish me and my entire organization. Maybe they won’t kill me, if I’m lucky, but they’ll make sure we suffer.”

“All for some stupid electronic watch?”

He grunts and looks down at it, shaking his head. “I don’t know what’s on that hard drive, but it’s extremely important.”

“So just, I don’t know, destroy it. Or tell them you found it in the lake. Or invent some other story.”

“They’ll know I’m lying.”

I laugh, feeling somewhat hysterical. “That’s really convenient.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Clearly not. Jeremy Fong was just some guy. He didn’t even seem all that clever. And now you’re telling me he’s this fancy Iron Head whatever, and his criminal organization is ruthless and knows everything?”

“Pretty much.” Alexan refills his wine and paces. “What were you thinking, stealing from that man anyway?”

“I was thinking my dad’s a fucking asshole and I felt like doing it.”

“Which means you weren’t thinking at all.”

“Hey, look, you’re a fucking asshole too, congratulations.”

“Don’t get pissed at me. You’re the one that fucked us both.”

“Fucked us both?” I shove back and stand. My glass sloshes slightly and spills on the counter. “Look, how about this? Give me the stupid watch back and I’ll deal with it. My brother will know what to do.”

“Absolutely not.” He picks up a sponge from near the sink and wipes up the wine. God, he’s such a neat freak; even in the middle of an argument he can’t help himself. “Your family isn’t up for this. Mantis will tear them to shreds.”

“And you can handle it? Seems like you’re doing great so far.”

“I’m saving your life.”

“Are you sure about that? Or are you just saving your little token wife and keeping your alliance together?”

His look is cold and flat. “What’s the difference?”

“Asshole.” I don’t even know why I’m so mad at him. He’s not wrong—I’m the one who stole the watch and set all this in motion.

I’m just sick of people treating me like an idiot.

“Give me time to fix this,” he says, staring at me with that bizarre, intense stare, like he’s trying to see under my skin. Or just under my dress. “For now, you’re staying here.”

I pull back in surprise. “Wait, you mean I’m moving in?”

“That’s what wives normally do.”

“Good thing this isn’t a real marriage, right?”

“It’s real,” he says, his voice dropping into a harsh whisper. “Otherwise, I’d hand you over to the Mantis right now and let them cut your throat.”

“Then do it if that’s what you want so badly. Go ahead, I fucking dare you.” I grip the glass tightly, shoulders hunched. Anger rushes into my core. I want to scream, but I know this isn’t his fault. He’s not the one who dragged us into this.

It was my fault. My stupid impulsiveness.

All because my dad treats me like a child.

And maybe he’s right. That’s the kicker.

“Don’t you get it?” Alexan asks. “I’m trying to protect you.”

“Why even bother?”

“Because you’re mine.” He puts his wine down and comes around the island. I back away, keeping space between us.

“We’re married. But I’m not yours. There’s a difference.”

“I don’t see it that way.”

“Great, I get it, you stalked me for a couple of weeks and we had that one afternoon⁠—”

“When you got off in my bed.”

“When I made another stupid, impulsive mistake.” That’s starting to sound like the story of my life, actually. “But we’re nothing. You owe me nothing. I don’t want you doing this whole protector thing only to turn around and act like I should be worshipping you or something. Because that’s not me.”

“Is that what you think? My love, if you’re going to get on your knees for me, it’s not in fucking worship.”

I stare at him, my mouth opening. What is wrong with this man? Even right now, when apparently we’re dealing with life or death stakes, he’s still talking dirty?

And I’m cursed to freaking like it.

“I’m going to bed,” I announce because this conversation isn’t getting us anywhere. At the look on his face, I clarify that it will definitely be alone.

He follows me to the steps and up into the hall. “We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.”

“Fine, whatever, just right now I need to sleep and think.” I pause at the door to his guest room. The bed’s been made up with new sheets since the last time I was here. I wonder if he changes them often, or if this was for me.

I hesitate before going in. He’s watching carefully like he wants to say something. I take a breath and hold it, and some of my frustration fades.

“I know I’m not being fair,” I say without looking back at him. “This has just been a long day and I’m not at my best. Thank you for not turning me in.”

“You’re welcome,” he says from the shadows across the hall. “You’re my wife now, Riley. Like it or not, we’re in this together.”

“You and me, a regular old team.”

“Something like that.”

I glance back at my husband. I’m struck by how beautiful he is. Big and dark with an athletic body.

And that voice—and that smell⁠—

I force myself to shut the door before I do something stupid again.