Page 14 of King of Deception

I stumble back. He’s never talked to me like that before. My eyes mist with tears and I just know. I can’t do this.

I look away, blinking back the moisture. The words clog in my throat as I clear it. But I just… I can’t. “Preston… I think this is a mis?—”

“Shit, Bella, I’m sorry.” His tone is completely different as he pulls me into his arms, his nose dropping in my hair. “I didn’t mean that, baby. The pressure is getting to me.”

I nod, agreeing, because as much as I’d like this over, this is not a conversation for the middle of the ballroom at my brother’s benefit. “Go back to the party. I’ll get water, and I’ll join you and your parents momentarily.”

“Sounds good, sweetheart.” He gives my forehead a chaste kiss.

He hasn’t tried any more than that in months.

In fact, he immediately stopped the sexual pursuit when he asked me to marry him. I thought he was being a gentleman at first, but now…

I don’t care. The thought of being in bed with him the way I was with Gris is revolting. Which is so telling.

But still, I have no idea what changed his behavior toward me all those months ago. Maybe it doesn’t matter.

He leaves me there, standing by the conference room, as he returns to his parents. I don’t watch him go, relief making me feel lighter. I just need a minute to myself.

I slip through the door into the empty room, relieved there is a container of water and glasses on a table by the far wall.

I cross, and with a shaking hand, pour myself a glass. Bringing it to my lips, I let the cold water slide down my throat, cooling my heating body.

What are the chances that the man I fooled around with in Hawaii is here tonight in Vegas? That he’s an associate, or former associate, of Mason’s?

It’s beyond crazy. A million to one…

“Arabella.”

I gasp, the glass slipping from my fingers and shattering into a million pieces at my feet, as I spin to find Gris standing in the doorway. “How do you know my name?”

Is that the right question to start with? Probably not.

He cocks his head, staring at me. “You told me.”

“No. I didn’t.”

“Lying to me, Bella?” he saunters closer.

Water is puddling around my shoes. “Everyone calls me Bella. I didn’t lie.” I shake my head, never taking my eyes off him. This time, I sense the danger.

He keeps moving toward me and my nipples tighten. Even now, that danger is laced with attraction. No weak jaw or small shoulders here. Gris is everything I remember and, in the bright light of the conference room, he’s better. I swallow down my fears. “You, however…”

He stops a few feet away, quirking a brow. “I didn’t lie.”

“Was it a coincidence we met in Hawaii?”

“No.”

My hand flutters to cover my mouth, fear pulsing through me. “What was it then? Our meeting?”

He shakes his head. “Not the detail you want to get hung up on.”

“What detail should I… get hung up on?”

“I started as a partner to Mason before he royally fucked me on the tunnel he’s built under Vegas.”

No. I feel my head spin as spots show behind my eyes and I reach for the table.

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