“She needed my help and I was more than willing to lend her a hand. To be honest, I believed her when she said she’d seen you and Gabriella together. You don’t exactly have a great reputation when it comes to women.”
“I know. I worked hard for that reputation and now it has come back to haunt me.” He raked his hand through his hair, picturing Arial’s sweet face and her gorgeous body that he would probably never have the chance to explore now that he’d ruined everything.
“So… about my apology.”
“What? Oh yeah. What are you apologizing for?”
Matthew pulled himself up to his full height, giving the moment a certain amount of dignity. “I want to apologize for my lack of cousinly respect. I don’t know what happened between us to bring about such animosity but there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be supportive of each other. I’m not sure that we can ever call each other the best of friends, but we can certainly act in a friendlier manner.”
Carson narrowed his eyes. “Did Terence put you up to this?”
“No, Uncle Terence knows nothing about it. You know he’s never understood why we can’t get along.” Matthew walked up to the edge of the desk and held out his hand. “Can we call a truce on this long-standing feud? I still have no idea what started it but it’s probably high time that we ended it. As Arial so rightly told us, we’re supposed to be a pair of grown men and we certainly haven’t been acting that way.”
Carson stared down at his cousin’s outstretched hand. The mature, manly thing to do would be to accept Matthew’s apology. Old Carson would have told him to get out but old Carson no longer existed. He clasped Matthew’s hand and shook it firmly. “Apology accepted, although I’m surprised that you don’t remember how the feud started.”
Matthew released his hand and looked at him quizzically. “Because you always were a spoiled little brat?”
“No! I mean, I’m not denying that I was spoiled. As the only child of Terence and Martha DuMonde that was inevitable. Can’t you remember what happened in the sandpit when we were three? You broke my tip truck.” He knew it sounded petty but heck, it still rankled even after all these years.
Matthew threw his head back and laughed. “Are you serious? I wish you’d told me before now. I would’ve gone out and bought you a hundred little plastic tip trucks to make up for it.”
Carson grinned. “There’s still time. It’s never too late to make amends and I quite like the idea of lining my bookshelf with one hundred toy trucks.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Arial
The four walls were closing in on her. Ignoring Bethany’s advice, she’d turned her phone on again and she couldn’t stop checking for the call from Carson that never came. She had to get out of here before she went mad. Darius had been up earlier, politely knocking at her door to ask if she needed anything, and she’d sent him down to the Casino boutique in the lobby to buy her a pair of sandals. She was going to order some room service for dinner but instead she would go the Casino and put a few coins in the machine before dining in the restaurant. Being around other people would help.
Darius lifted his hand in acknowledgement as she walked into the Casino. She went directly over to the bar to see him. “How would you like to serve a lady a drink?”
“One of my famous cocktails?”
She laughed. “It’s probably not a good idea. In the mood that I’m in, I’d end up inhaling the entire drink in two seconds flat. I’ll have a white wine, please.”
She carried her drink over to a bank of poker machines and was about to sit down when a man appeared beside her. She looked up to see Michael Cavenaar grinning down at her. His eyes were red-rimmed and he reeked of alcohol.
“Hello, beautiful lady. Looks as if it’s my lucky night.”
“Hello, Michael.”
He looked confused now but she could see he didn’t recognize her. He cocked his head to one side. “Are you a mind reader?”
“Uh, weren’t you at our wedding?”
“Was I?” He peered at her and she could see the puzzle pieces sliding around behind his eyes but failing to click together.
“The DuMonde wedding. I’m married to your best friend Carson, an important point that you seem to have forgotten.” She shoved her left hand in front of his face to give him a close up of her wedding ring. There was no engagement ring yet but Carson said it was coming and she was happy with his suggestion. They both knew that their so-called engagement was too much of a whirlwind to treat it as a normal engagement and she preferred to wait until their love was open and real before accepting his ring – if that moment ever came. At that stage, she would happily wear an engagement ring that illustrated the true depth of that love. Sadly enough, she was no longer sure they would ever reach that impossible summit.
Michael grabbed her hand as if to push it away but instead he pulled it up to his mouth and kissed her fingertips.
“Ewwww!” She snatched her hand back and had to force herself not to run to the bathroom to scrub it clean or better yet, slap his smug cheek. However, she’d never slapped anyone in her life before and while it looked good in the movies she doubted whether it would play out so well in real life. “What are you doing?”
He leaned closer. His breath smelled of rum and pepper jack cheese. “You’d have to be blind not to notice the connection between us.”
“Jeepers, Michael. How much have you had to drink? You’d have to be dead and buried not to notice that I’m not interested in you.”
“I know the circumstances surrounding your farce of a marriage,” Michael slurred. “I also know that you haven’t let him fuck you yet.”
The urge to slap him instantly got stronger. Why would a palm that had never struck anyone on the face in the past itch to lay a ringing slap across that complacent cheek? “Don’t be vulgar.” She felt like a stitched-up maiden aunt as soon as she said it. But isn’t that what you are, Arial? You’ve never had sex. You’re an anomaly, an outlier. You don’t fit into this modern idea of how the world should be.
“Bethany. Your friend is Bethany.” He seemed pleased with himself for remembering this. “We dated a couple of times.”
“I know. She told me.” She sat down on the stool and dropped a couple of coins into the machine, hoping he’d get the hint and go away.
“Why isn’t your devoted husband with you now?” Michael stood close behind her, pressing himself against her back. She turned around to glare at him. “Do you mind?”
He didn’t move. “No, I don’t mind. In fact, I like it a lot.”
“Don’t be such a creep.” She scrambled off the stool and picked up her wine glass. “You should go and sober up. Learn some manners while you at it. I’m sure Carson won’t be impressed to hear that his best friend was hitting on his wife.”
“If he really wanted you he wouldn’t allow you to be sitting in here on your own while he’s out with Gabriella.”
Arial stopped walking and spun around. “He’s out with Gabriella?”
Michael seemed to be having difficulty seeing her. “That’s what Gabriella told me.”
“When? This afternoon? Or earlier?”
Michael waved his hand around, although his gesturing didn’t make much sense. “Some time. I don’t know when.”
Arial looked at him uncertainly for a few seconds longer before walking back to take a seat up at the bar. Darius frowned at her. “What’s up? You don’t look happy.”
“No, I’m not happy.” She sipped glumly at her wine before centering the glass in the middle of a gilt-edged coaster etched with the Casino motto. Dumonde Casino, A Place Where Your Fortune Can Change For The Better In An Instant. Her fortunes were on a rapid downward incline at present and she was just waiting for the sickening crash once she reached the bottom of that incline. Yes, Michael was appallingly drunk but what if there was some truth in what he’d just said?
“Can I do anything to help?”
She gave Darius a faint smile. “No, but
thank you for offering. I have to work this out for myself.”
He nodded solemnly before turning away. She watched as he picked up the receiver on the desk phone and punched in a number. She sighed and spun around on her chair to look out across the bright, glittering lights of the Casino. Carson hadn’t come looking for her. He clearly didn’t care, or at least he didn’t care while he had the beautiful Gabriella to distract him. Soon she would have to make a decision about the future of her marriage but it wouldn’t be tonight. She was too dejected for any major decision making tonight.
Chapter Forty-Four
Carson
Darius’s phone call had shaken him, sending his thoughts reeling and laying all of his emotions bare. He cared about that girl. He knew that now without a hint of doubt and he wasn’t going to waste another minute. It pained him to think of her sitting forlornly at the Casino bar, all alone and looking miserable. He wasn’t going to allow her any more time to cool down or get her thoughts together. He needed to be by her side now.
He fidgeted in the back seat of the car all the way into the City, checking his phone constantly and grumbling about how long it was taking to get through the traffic. It seemed that everything was conspiring against him today.
“Sorry about this, sir.” The driver met his eyes in the rear view mirror. “The traffic is uncommonly busy. I think there’s a concert on at the event center.”
“Just do your best.” He glared out the window, wishing all the vehicles would just disappear and leave the road clear.
When they finally reached the Casino, Carson was out the door before the car came to a complete halt. He ran through the entrance doors, flying past the startled doorman and racing up to the bar. Darius shook his head as Carson thumped his hands down on the glossy, varnished wood of the bar top. “Where is she?”
“She finished her drink and retired to her bedroom. She said she was going to eat in the restaurant but she changed her mind. She said she might order from room service later if her appetite returns.”
“Carson!” Michael lurched up behind him and clapped a heavy hand on his shoulder. “I was just talking about you.”
“You’re drunk.” Carson shrugged his friend’s hand off. “Michael, you’re a mess.”
The man leaned closer, as if sharing an important secret. “Might have had a few too many.”
“More than a few. Darius, bring him a coffee and then order him a car to take him home.”
“Nah, nah. I don’t want a coffee. I was thinking of going to the strip club.” He hiccupped loudly. “You should come. Bring Gabriella.”
“Why would I bring Gabriella?” He placed his hands on Michael’s shoulders and shoved him down onto a stool. “Sit there and have a coffee. It’s for your own good.”
“Gabriella said you and her have a thing,” Michael slurred.
“No, we don’t have any kind of thing.”
Michael laid his arms across the bar in an attempt to keep himself upright. “That wasn’t what I told your wife.”
“What?” Carson grabbed him by the lapels and forced him to look at him. “When did you talk to Arial?”
Michael tried to shrug but failed, almost tipping himself off his stool in the process. “A minute ago? An hour ago? A day ago? Does it matter?”
Carson turned away without another word and marched across to the elevators. He punched the button and waited impatiently for the car to descend. He was not going to leave here without Arial. He needed his wife by his side. There was no way he would allow her to stay here tonight. She was coming home with him, where she belonged.
The elevator finally arrived and he rode up to the level where her room was located. He hurried down the wide carpeted hallway and knocked on her door. “Arial? It’s me. Let me in. There’s been a huge misunderstanding and I need to clear it up.”
He waited anxiously, wondering what he would do if she refused to open the door. He could call security of course, and they would bring a key, but how would he deal with the idea that she didn’t want to see him?
The lock slid across and she pulled the door partway open. Her face was very pale, almost as pale as it had looked when she lay in the hospital bed. “What do you want?” she asked softly.
He had to force himself not to shove the door open and sweep her into his arms. He’d learned in the past that those bullish tactics did not work with Arial. “Can I come in and talk to you? I don’t really want to have a conversation in the hallway of my own Casino.”
She pursed her lips before nodding and opening the door wide. “You can come in.”
He didn’t hesitate. He strode into the room and took her hand before pushing the door shut, creating a wall of privacy for what he needed to say. “I’m so sorry but I wish you hadn’t run before asking me what was going on.”
“Why was Gabriella at our house?”
He was pleased that she was still allowing him to hold her hand. It felt very small and dainty within his own. My God, this woman was beautiful. He would never grow bored of gazing at that face.
A tiny frown formed between her brows. “Carson?”
He took a deep breath. Confession time. “Gabriella invited herself in. She propositioned me but I refused her.”
“She must have had a reason to believe that she stood a chance with you.”
He steadily held her gaze. “We have a brief liaison in the past but I swear to you that I have not been with another woman since we took our vows.”
She nodded and he hoped that meant she believed him. “Why did you lie to me about how I received my injury? You even told the doctor that I’d slipped in the bathroom.”
“I’m sorry about that too.” He swallowed hard. This was more difficult than he thought it would be when all he wanted to do was kiss her. “When I realized that you couldn’t remember the fight I decided for my own selfish reasons to keep it from you.”
“What were the selfish reasons?”
“I didn’t want you to think badly of me. I didn’t want you to know how immaturely I’d acted. I wanted you to be proud of your husband.”
“I am proud of my husband,” she said quietly, so quietly he could barely hear her words. Not that it mattered if he heard her or not. His entire concentration and focus was on that luscious mouth. He knew he could never tire of kissing it. He would never tire of anything about this woman and that realization was more exciting than any business deal he’d ever transacted. He loved her.
Chapter Forty-Five
Arial
She could scarcely believe he was here with her, speaking calmly and answering each of her questions in turn.
“Gabriella was never interested in me. She was only interested in my money and what my money could do for her.”
The problem was that she was having as much difficulty as Michael had experienced earlier in saying what she needed to say. Carson’s closeness had flustered her and all she could think of was Bethany’s suggestion that she should take her husband to her bed. Her heart was fluttering like a butterfly in her chest and her pulse raced. “Evil is the root of all money.” No, that wasn’t right. She couldn’t remember the words. Well, she could remember the words but her brain was having difficulty getting them in the right order.
Carson didn’t let on that he’d heard her misquote. Maybe that was because he hadn’t noticed it. He was paying a lot of attention to her mouth but that didn’t mean he was listening to the words that were coming out of it.
Somehow they’d moved across the room to the bedroom doorway without her noticing. She laid her hand on his chest to prevent him from edging her any further into the bedroom. “Wait. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the past few hours and I need you to be honest with me. Is our marriage real or not?”
“It’s real. It’s as real as any marriage could ever be.” He let go of her hand and instead wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close and kissing her as if he really meant it. She sighed against his mouth and gave herself up to the ki
ss. It certainly felt real.
They broke apart but he still held her close. She chewed on her lip while her heart pounded and she tried again to say what she wanted to say. She had to listen to her heart now. “I’m ready.”
His eyes widened. “For…?”
“Yes.” She said it once and then she said it again, louder and stronger this time. “Yes. I’m ready to make love with you.”
“Oh, darling.” He lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. His eyes were so filled with warmth and longing that she wanted to cry. It was crazy and strange and exciting all at once but she knew this was right. This was exactly what she wanted. She’d promised herself that the first time she had sex it would be with the husband she loved and Carson was that man.
He undressed her slowly, taking his time to remove her clothes and drop sweet kisses onto her skin. His touch was thrilling and she could feel how damp she was but he took care not to touch her pussy. Soon she grew impatient and she gently pushed him away. “Take your clothes off. I want to see you and I want to feel you.”
He didn’t need any more encouragement. His clothes hit the floor almost as soon as the words had left her mouth and then he was lying stretched out on the bed beside her. She giggled and reached for his stiff cock, enjoying the shape and feel of it in her hands. “Is this for me?” she teased.
“Only for you,” he growled. He rolled over and onto her, positioning himself above her before ducking his head and sucking on her nipple. She gasped and gripped his shoulders. She could feel his cock pressing into her stomach and she instinctively opened her legs wide.
“Not yet.” He kissed a trail of tiny kisses around each breast, stopping at his leisure to suck each nipple in turn. She forced her hand in between their two bodies to grab his cock, delighted to feel it pulse beneath her touch. He groaned against her breast. With her other hand, she seized a handful of the thick hair on the back of his head and forced him to come back to her mouth. She tugged at his cock as he kissed her and he groaned again. “What are you doing to me?”
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