Novels by Arthur St. Lean

138Nicodemo HarringtonShe fucking smelled like another man. My nose wasn't playing tricks on me. For weeks now, my mind had been going completely haywire. Brianna must really think I'm a fool.“Ready?”“Almost. Give me a minute.”“Sure, love. Take all the time you need.” I offered a tight smile, my phone ringing right on cue. I held up a finger. “Excuse me, love.”She gave me one of those fake, tight-lipped smiles I knew all too well. She really thought she was so smart.Glancing down at the screen, I swiped the green icon and brought the phone to my ear.The contact on the other end knew better than to waste my time. “I looked into it. He'll be there.”“Good.” My heart settled into a calm state before the impending storm. I hung up, tapping the screen to open the files he had just sent over.Watching the paper trail of this man she'd been obsessed with lately, a wave of pure disgust twisted in my chest.Did she honestly think our marriage meant nothing anymore? How dare she? It had

137Brianna Pounds“Zeus?” I whispered, my back beginning to ache under the sheer weight of his body.He didn't answer right away. He took a few harsh, steadying breaths before he suddenly jolted off me.Uprooting my torso from the cold wood of the table, I spun around to find him buckling his belt and zipping up his pants.“What are you doing?”“What does it look like I'm doing?” he deadpanned, keeping his focus entirely on fixing his pants and smoothing out his shirt.A heavy wave of shame washed over me as I reached down, readjusting my underwear to cover myself, my hands coated in a sticky mix of our fluids.“Zeus...”I barely finished his name before he shot a razor-sharp glare at me.My heart exploded into a wild, frantic rhythm.“I've given you what you wanted, so stay out of my life,” he said, his voice cold and devoid of emotion. “I don't ever want to see you again. Whether by accident or by you stalking me, I don't care. Just make sure our paths never cross again.”My mouth

136Brianna Pounds I was out of breath so quickly that I worried he might actually suffocate me. At my attempt to pull away, he actually let me, his grip loosening a tiny bit as he grazed my bottom lip with his teeth. A sudden rush of heat pooled deep in the pit of my stomach.His lips disconnected from mine, and I opened my eyes slowly to find him lifting his body up and off me. Just as I managed to drag a fresh breath into my lungs, I felt his cold hand sliding toward my underwear.“No, no, no,” I gasped.Before I could lift my head to protest, he pinned me back down by the neck and shoved my underwear to the side, allowing the cold air in the room to hit my sensitive spot.“Brianna,” he growled, his voice thick and commanding.I let out a soft whimper under my breath.“Do you want this, or not?”Sweat broke out across my forehead. This was officially the point of no return. I had been chasing this man around for days now, and even though this wasn't how I had envisioned things goi

135Brianna PoundsOn high alert, I strained my ears against the wood of the door. I thought I heard Nicodemo's heavy footsteps recede down the far end of the hallway, but he could easily still be searching for me. Stepping out right now meant we risked bumping straight into each other.Opening my eyes, they locked onto Zeus's slightly widened ones, and I immediately yanked myself backward.“Watch out!” he warned, reaching for me as I stumbled against the edge of a massive conference table.Damn it. I hadn't even noticed the furniture behind me. I let out a sharp gasp, turning around to realize we were trapped in an isolated, dark boardroom. I spun back around, only for my hip to collide with Zeus. He was standing so close that in a moment of sheer panic, I turned my back to him, trying to control my ragged breathing.Damn it. Damn it. I had actually kissed him. Why on earth did I do that? Now he was going to get the completely wrong impression. He was going to look at me like some de

134Brianna PoundsThis was the first time my attempt had completely fallen through. A total failure.I didn't know which was worse: that everyone around me was actively standing in my way, or that I had zero solid leads to work with anymore. I had assumed things would get easier given the information I had managed to gather, but it turned out finding answers was only getting harder and harder.So when Nicodemo asked me to go to the office with him, I didn't hesitate to accept, even though we were barely on speaking terms. I knew it was just another one of his desperate attempts to mend things between us, but I didn't care.That house was boring the absolute hell out of me. Besides, I wasn't on speaking terms with that woman either, and the sound of her baby's constant crying was driving me up the wall.He pulled into the executive parking garage and cut the engine. We used to do this all the time. Nicodemo and I. In my past life, before the entire disaster struck, we would ride to th

133Brianna Pounds“Take your bastard baby and get out of my sight, Brenda,” I warned, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.This woman was driving me insane, letting the piercing, grating cries of her pathetic little infant drill straight into my frayed nerves.“Brianna, please...”Why was everyone suddenly acting like I was some heartless, unforgiving monster, when they were the very ones who hadn't hesitated for a single second before stabbing me in the back?“Please, I just want to talk to you. Don't be like this. Please. It's me, Brenda.”I glared at her from head to toe, letting my eyes linger on the crying newborn she really should have been feeding instead of standing here wasting her breath. She was trying to beg for something she was never going to get, something she didn't remotely deserve, while wasting my precious time in the process. Finally, I dragged my gaze back up to her face.Our eyes locked, hers glistening with unshed tears. What was I even supposed to say to