Page 28 of King of Deception

“Will you be the duke someday?”

“Unlikely, but possible.”

I let out a long breath. “How many spots are you away from being an actual king?”

“Fourteen.”

I guess I don’t want to discuss anything of consequence. My heart is aching. And I don’t want to tell Gris anything I’ll regret. So instead, I keep asking about his life away from Las Vegas. “Do you like the weather in England?”

“It’s dreadful. Then again, all this sun is almost oppressively happy.”

I smile. “I liked New York. Summer, winter, everything in between. It snowed at Christmas sometimes.”

I’m curled into the seat, my eyes closed. His finger brushes over my cheek. “I like New York too. I like Boston even better.”

“Oh yeah, why’s that?”

“I don’t know. It’s older. Smaller. Homier.”

I feel myself unwind. It’s so nice to have a regular conversation. “I’ll go someday. When this is all over. I mean, if I can afford it.”

“Afford it?”

I shake my head. “Mason’s cutting me off at some point, I’m sure. I may never trust Luke again. Maybe Roman will help me out… or Leo. Then again, I’m not sure I want to ask. I’ve been a burden enough.”

He’s silent as I kick off my heels and draw my knees up. I’m in a dress, curled in his seat like a small child. And maybe it’s childish, but I have this feeling like I just want out of this whole life. Of this mess. Escape.

I’m in the vortex of a tornado, and one wrong misstep, I’m going to be drawn in, flung to some unknown place, likely in a broken heap.

“I seriously doubt your family finds you to be a burden, Bella. They all love you.”

“I am a burden.” I open my eyes, but I turn away from him to look out the window. I’ve only ever sucked resources, I’ve never been an asset. “The one time I brought something of value, Preston’s contacts, I messed it all up.”

And that’s the truth.

Gris is silent for a minute. Two. It goes on so long, I get lost in my own thoughts. The hum of the engine and the passing city.

But as we reach the garage of my building, he finally speaks, “Luke sent me to Hawaii to save you.”

CHAPTER TEN

Arabella

“Save me? You?”I snort, my eyes still closed. “You are the last man who should be unleashed on an unsuspecting female.”

“Too true. Don’t be mad at him, though. His intentions were to send more of a Prince Charming, I think. Convince you that you might find someone besides Preston when you couldn’t deny your attraction to me.”

“I don’t believe that Luke sent you to be a Prince Charming without supervision.”

“You weren’t speaking to him, he was worried.” I open my eyes in time to catch Gris’s wince. “And I did it once before. With Nia Kincaid.”

That one makes me sit up. “You’re kidding me.”

“I was the perfect gentleman,” he lifts a hand from the shifter and holds his palm up like he’s swearing an oath. “With her.”

“You? And Nia?” It’s like peeling an onion, these stories about my family. How do I not know any of this?

He shakes his head. “I pretended to be interested in her and then when she came out to meet me for a date, Jake intercepted her and brought her out to the desert.”

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