Arranged love

EMILEE

Jasmine, Haven, and I sit on the couch at the Royal Suite. The guys left us with Grave and Cross.

They’ve been over in the corner having their own conversations. Grave’s cell keeps going off, and I’m pretty sure it’s a girl. Every now and then, he smiles and adjusts his pants. She’s obviously sending him dirty pictures.

“What is wrong with you two?” Haven asks us.

“Nothing,” I answer, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear. I showered after we returned from The Palace so at least I don’t smell like sex anymore, but I still feel pretty damn drunk. I’m going to have to sleep it off.

“You two are up to something.” Haven narrows her amber eyes.

Jasmine goes to speak, but the double doors to the suite open, and the guys enter.

I rise to my feet. “Everything okay?” I ask Titan.

“Yeah.” He comes over and kisses my forehead.

We have a lot to discuss, but right now, I’m just glad they returned from wherever they went. And I don’t see any blood splattered on their clothes. But … “Why are you wet?” I ask.

He ignores my question.

“So what did you find?” Grave asks, biting into a banana.

“We’re going to New York,” Luca announces.

“All of us?” Haven asks.

“Yes,” Titan is the one who answers. “Well.” He points at Grave and Cross. “You two are staying here.”

“Thank God,” Grave mumbles with a mouthful. “I hate New York. The city stinks, and I hate how crowded it is.”

I’m not sure it’s much different than Vegas when it comes to tourists, but I don’t voice my opinion.

“Do we even know what we’re looking for?” I ask.

“I will by the time we leave,” Bones answers me. “I have some contacts that I’ve already reached out to who are in New York.”

“Who do you know there?” I ask.

“He’s been fucking a supermodel there for the past few months,” Grave answers, winking up at his brother.

“Oh,” I say, unable to hide my surprise. I didn’t know he was seeing someone. I never thought he’d be unavailable. I mean, I don’t want him to myself, but we’ve had sex. I also don’t want to be the other woman.

Bones eyes his brother. “She’s not my contact.” Then looks at Jasmine. “It’s not like that.”

She shrugs, shoving M&M’s into her mouth.

“Why would Bones think Jasmine cares if he’s seeing someone in New York or not?” Haven whispers in my ear.

“Shh,” I tell her, trying to cover up this very awkward conversation.

“Have they …?”

“Hey Jasmine, pass me some of those M&M’s,” I order, reaching out my hand to avoid what Haven was about to ask me. I don’t want to have to explain what we did just a few hours ago in The Palace. It’s over. We’re moving on.

“I say give it two days. At the most,” Bones goes on. “That gives us enough time to get stuff in order before we leave.”

“How long will we be gone?” I ask.

“Depends on a few factors,” Titan responds but doesn’t go into detail about what he means by factors, so I drop it. Not like I have a life here anymore. Both parents dead. Burned down my house. Why do I care how long I’ll be gone?

Grave goes off to his room, already calling someone on his cell, and Cross walks over to Bones and starts having a conversation with him. I stand and hug Jasmine bye and then Haven. “I’ll see you girls soon.”

“Yep, call me later.” Jasmine kisses my cheek. “Get some sleep. You need it.” She winks at me.

“What’s going on?” Haven asks. “I know you guys are keeping something from me.”

“Look, we’ll have a long flight to New York, okay? I’ll tell you then. Right now, I just want to go to bed.” I dodge it for tonight.

She gives me a hug and walks out with Luca and Nite. I walk into Titan’s room and remove my shirt as he enters.

He locks his doors and turns to face me.

“I’m really tired.” I say trying to dodge what I know he wants to talk about. I’ve been staying with him since I burned down my parents’ house, but we haven’t spoken. I’ve ignored him. Until we had sex in The Palace earlier this evening.

He steps into me and lifts his hand. He gently cups my cheek, and I lean into the warmth. “We’re not doing this.”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“What?” I ask yawning.

“Fighting over something so idiotic. You’ve played this game long enough.” He leans down and kisses my forehead.

“But you lied to me.” I dig into my foggy and drunk brain to remember what has kept me standoff-ish toward him for the past week to begin with.

“I never lied to you. I didn’t willingly give you information.”

“Same thing,” I growl.

“No, it’s not.” He runs a hand down his face. “What do you want, an apology?”

“That would be a good start.” I lift my chin.

“Okay.” He crosses his tatted arms over his chest. “You go first.”

I gasp. “What do I have to apologize for?”

“You put yourself in danger by setting your house on fire.” I open my mouth to argue that, but he continues. “And you cost me thirty grand to say it was not arson.”

“Thirty grand?” I breathe.

“Yes,” he hisses and turns his back to me, entering his bathroom. He slams the glass door shut.

I had set that fire because I didn’t want any of it anymore. I did it in hopes that I could move on. And I did it so that piece of shit George wouldn’t get the house my father built for my mother. I never meant for it to cost Titan. I didn’t expect him to come to my rescue. It’s not like I sent him a warning of what I was planning on doing.

I open the bathroom door and step inside, refusing to let him end this conversation like that. I want the last word. Titan stands at the marble counter, rinsing his face in one of the sinks. His clothes are in a pile on the floor next to his feet. All he wears is a pair of black boxer briefs. His ink and muscular body fully on display. “I’m sorry.” I swallow my pride, my shoulders falling and my anger fading. “I didn’t mean to cost you anything.”

His hard eyes meet mine in the mirror. “You think I give a shit about thirty thousand dollars?”

“Yeah?” It comes out more like a question because I thought that was why he was mad. Was I wrong?

He releases a long sigh, grabs a towel off the rack, and wipes his face. He walks over to me. “I don’t give a fuck about the money,” he says. “I care about you and your safety. And what you did was reckless.”

“I …”

“I’m not trying to start a fight with you, but I also don’t want you avoiding me.” His eyes roam my face. “This is where you belong.” He cups my face again. “With me. I can keep you safe. I can give you what you need.”

“And what do I need?” I ask, running my hands up and down his chiseled abs.

A slow and sexy smile spreads across his face. “You tell me.”

“You.” It’s the only answer I can think of. I don’t need his money. This Kingdom. Just him.

He lowers his lips to mine and kisses me softly. “I’m right here, Em and I’m not going anywhere.”