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 youdon’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…”
