Page 7 of The Arianna Arrangement

Especially since he’d have to go two months without this once we got to my father’s home. While technically what we were doing wasn’t against the rules, I knew neither one of us would be able to relax enough to really enjoy ourselves.

We also couldn’t really trust that my father wouldn’t try to make an issue out of it, claiming he was being disrespected under his own roof.

As I increased the suction on him, I gently cupped his balls in my free hand, rolling them around and tugging slightly on them. His control was completely gone with that move and his hands moved to my head, holding me in place as he thrust his hips a few more times before the salty tang of his seed hit my mouth and he stilled.

Turns out, a quickie was exactly what was needed because as soon as I’d released Tucker from my mouth and sat up, we heard stomping coming up the stairs.

“Ari! I hope to God you’re here and not fucking my brother right now!”

Tucker groaned and scrubbed his hands up and down his face. “I swear, she has the worst timing.”

I looked at him from the corner of my eye as I got off the bed and started getting dressed. “I think the worst timing would have been before you finished.”

He hopped off the bed and started pulling on his clothes too, knowing his sister would be at his door soon. “Maybe, but ruining the after glow and our cuddle time afterward is almost as bad.”

We’d just gotten dressed and I opened the door when Leyla stopped outside the door, hand poised to knock. “Good. You’re both here and dressed.” She marched right on in without an invitation, which meant she wanted both of us. If she’d just wanted me, she would have grabbed my arm and pulled me from the room. “I want to put a hit out on Bradley."

Bradley and Leyla were always fighting. I really didn’t get why they were still together but never before had she wanted him dead.

Tucker and I both responded at the same time, but with much different messages.

Tuck sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, a move I’d seen his dad and uncles do a million times. “You can’t just order a hit on someone because they pissed you off.”

“Does he need to die slowly or will a sniper work?” Obviously, there was a reason Leyla and I were ride or dies, and I would ride with this bitch to hell if that’s what it took.

Tucker whirled on me, shock written all over his face, while I saw Leyla smile behind him. “You can’t just order hits on people. That’s not how the world works!”

I shrugged. “It’s how my world works. I could have him dead within hours if you give me the specifics of what’s needed.” I paused, looking at my bestie. “I mean, if you want torture, it’ll take longer to get together than a couple hours, and cost a hell of a lot more, but it’s not like you can’t afford it.”

Ley’s smile grew. “And this is why you're my BBF.”

She’d decided the day that I moved to Crestwood that instead of BFF’s, we were BBF’s, best bitches forever.

Leyla skipped across the room to where I stood and looped her arm through mine, turning us and leading me out the door as she spoke to her brother over her shoulder. “Don’t bother us for a while. We have a murder to plan.”

Chapter 2

Tucker

“You need to put a leash on your daughter.” As soon as I’d heard my dad walk through the door, I’d barged into his office, ready to make him get Leyla in check. I would be gray before I turned twenty if someone didn’t do something about that girl. “She’s upstairs plotting murder, and I can’t even say that it’s a joke, because she pulled Ari into it and you know Ari has the connections to follow through.”

That got his attention. “Who are they plotting to kill?”

“Bradley.” Dad ran his tongue across his top teeth as he thought for a moment. I knew he liked the guy about as much as I did, which was not at all, but still. “You can’t seriously be thinking about letting them go through with this.”

His eyes snapped back to mine. “Of course not. That would be bad for business. Bradley’s father is the owner of the largest media conglomerate in the world. If my daughter had his son and heir murdered, he’d be quick to use his resources to ruin our business.”

“So you wouldn’t allow it simply because it’s bad for business, not because murder is wrong?” He had to be joking, right?

Dad sighed and ran a hand through his hair and for the first time, I could see how much stress he was under. “I don’t condone killing for no reason. But that statement has taken on a new meaning over the past twenty years. When I was your age, I would have been appalled by the issue. I would have said, then, if he’s a bad boyfriend, break up with him. Call the cops if things don’t get better. But what happened with Sterling nine years ago changed my perspective on that.”

My aunt Sterling had gone through some horrific things at the hands of the man her father wanted her to marry. “Bradley isn’t like Caspian. He’s just an asshole.”

“That’s all Spencer thought Caspian was, until he wasn’t. But I do agree that killing him isn’t the answer. I just don’t know what is. She keeps going back to him.”

I scoffed. “You need to arrange a marriage for her so that she can’t keep going back to him. Alessandro isn’t a terrible guy. He’s nothing like Lucian. He’d probably treat her well, and that could only make our family alliance stronger.”

“Son, there are so many things wrong with that statement. One, your situation aside, I’d never force my kids to marry someone they’re not in love with. Two, even if Alessandro isn’t like Lucian, he’s still under his fathers control. If she married him, she’d have to live under Lucian’s roof, following his rules. That’s not something I would wish on my worst enemy.”