Absolute Pleasure (The Sinful 2)

“When the time is right, I’ll make sure she knows everything,” Maddux said.

“Okay, so Arabella overheard,” Tempest said, ignoring Hunter’s outburst and getting back to the conversation at hand. “That still doesn’t explain why she’s here and Theodore is a free man.”

“He’s not a free man,” Maddux said, leaning his backside against his desk. “I still own him. His three-million-dollar debt and all his assets, and now, his only child and daughter, which was a deliberate and calculated choice I made.”

“Really?” Hunter asked, his tone edged with disbelief.

“Yes, really.” Maddux sent Hunter an impatient look. “Once Theodore realized he was now indebted to me, he nearly had a heart attack—”

“Too bad the fucker didn’t die,” Hunter interrupted bitterly.

Maddux continued. “With her father’s health at risk, it was Arabella who jumped in and begged me to take her in exchange for backing off of her father. And it was a split-second decision based on the fact that Arabella’s offer nearly pushed Theodore over the edge. So, I agreed, knowing it would eat away at the old man that I had complete control over his daughter, which seemed like a nice bonus at the time.”

Gripping the edge of the desk with his hands, he glanced from Hunter to Tempest, clearly trying his best to smooth things over. “Look, I know this wasn’t the plan, but it’s the way it turned out and I’m going to play the situation with Arabella by ear for now. But make no mistake. I’m not done with Theodore Cole. Not by a long shot. I’ll give him a week or so of thinking the worst about Arabella living here with me, and

even after I decide to give her back, I still have every intention of taking him down and exposing him for the corrupt, immoral bastard he is. I have his debt. I own every single one of his assets, and when his illegal activities come to light, his reputation and his life won’t be worth shit. This doesn’t change anything.”

“No, it just delays it.” Hunter’s caustic tone came through loud and clear.

“Hunter—”

Hunter held up a hand to cut off Maddux as he pushed to his feet, his gaze narrowed. “Look, you do whatever you need to do with Cole’s daughter. Play your little cat-and-mouse game with her. Get her out of your goddamn system if that’s the issue and then get your fucking head on straight and finish what Theodore started.”

Beyond irate at his brother’s choices when they’d had a specific plan, Hunter stormed out of the room. Luckily, Arabella was no longer in the kitchen, which was a good thing, because he probably would have had a few choice words for her. And despite how much Hunter hated her father for killing their parents, Maddux had assured him and Tempest that Arabella had no idea about her father’s criminal past, the massive amounts of people he’d swindled out of money, and the few he’d actually murdered.

Hunter needed to calm down, because for as angry as he was right now, he had to trust that Maddux knew what he was doing . . . and that the outcome would still result in Theodore’s financial, mental, and emotional downfall.

Chapter 8

Despite the unpredicted insanity of the past two weeks with his siblings and the situation with Arabella and Theodore Cole, Hunter had managed to find out who Elle was—more formally known as Elaina Darian—thanks to Michael’s stellar memory of that night and the name on the invitation she’d presented to him.

A few days after the fairy-tale ball, Michael had provided him with her basic personal information, including the fact that she was co-owner of Darian Commercial Realty with her stepmother. Hunter had been sitting on the email that included her business address, the company’s website, and office phone number—all details about her that were public knowledge—mostly because his family situation with Theodore Cole had imploded spectacularly days after the fairy-tale ball and had forced Hunter’s attention elsewhere.

Hunter was still trying to comprehend the events that had unfolded after Maddux’s decision to take Arabella Cole as a pawn to destroy her father, and how much their lives had changed in such a short span of time. Initially, Hunter had been pissed about the exchange and hadn’t hesitated to make his resentment toward Arabella known. Without question, he’d initially been an ass to her, but what he hadn’t expected was for her to be completely unaware of her father’s crimes and innocent of any wrongdoings. He also hadn’t expected her to be kind, sweet, and compassionate . . . and the one woman to thaw the ice around his brother’s heart.

A lot of shit had gone down with Theodore and his lackey, Gavin, including kidnapping Arabella and holding her hostage in exchange for Maddux’s life—and Maddux getting shot trying to protect Arabella in the process. It had been a fucked-up situation all the way around, but suffice it to say that both men were now behind bars on a list of legitimate criminal charges that would put them in prison for the rest of their lives.

As for Maddux and Arabella, despite the circumstances of how they’d met, the two of them were now inseparable. Without a doubt, Hunter had initially been shocked as hell at the realization that his brother—who’d never let any emotions or women distract him during the fourteen years he’d spent plotting revenge against Theodore—had fallen hard and fast for their enemy’s daughter. Yet he and Tempest had never seen Maddux happier than he was with Arabella. Smiling. Laughing. Looking at her as though she meant everything to him.

There was no denying that their brother was finally at peace with the past that had haunted him for so long, and seeing how much Arabella cared for Maddux was enough for Hunter to trust that her intentions toward his brother were pure. Hell, Maddux had already moved her into his penthouse and was well on his way to being domesticated.

The beauty had tamed the beast, Hunter mused with a wry shake of his head. The whole situation was un-fucking-believable—like a page right out of a modern-day fairy tale.

Now that everything with Theodore was resolved and life had calmed considerably, Hunter was ready to pursue Elle, and not just as a woman he wanted to fuck again. In the time that they’d been apart, he’d learned two crucial things about himself. One, his fascination and desire for her hadn’t diminished but instead had become an essential need he couldn’t ignore. And two, learning that Maddux had been shot protecting the woman he loved had jarred something loose around Hunter’s hardened heart and made him realize that life was way too fucking short to not embrace the things he wanted. The things that mattered. Like a sweet, kind, and sensual woman like Elle.

The one thing he knew for certain was that the future didn’t come with any guarantees and never would. He’d lost his parents tragically, followed by Natalie right after they’d gotten engaged . . . and while both of those losses had devastated him, he couldn’t help but feel that it was time he let go of the bitterness tainting his heart and embrace the feelings Elle had unearthed inside of him in one short night . . . not run from them and what could potentially be something special.

Hunter exhaled a deep breath as he stared at the picture of her posted on her real estate website. He wanted this woman in his life. It was just a matter of convincing her to give him a chance when she’d made it clear he was a one-night deal. She’d made no attempt to reach out to him about her shoe when she knew who he was and where he lived, so it was up to him to make the next move. Now that the chaos that had rained down on the Wilder siblings the past few weeks had subsided, it was time to contact her, and the perfect opportunity had just presented itself.

As he absently scrolled through the brand-new listings that had appeared that afternoon on the Darian Commercial Realty website, one structure in particular immediately grabbed his attention. Not for himself . . . but for Tempest, who’d been looking for a particular type of building in Brooklyn to purchase for her next venture. This one was located in a gentrified area of Williamsburg, and the specifications were pretty damn close to what she’d been searching for.

Hunter wasn’t a believer in fate, not after watching Natalie take her last breath in his arms, but if he did believe in that crap, he’d say that the universe had just given him a legitimate reason to contact Elle, on behalf of Tempest’s interest in the building.

The contacting agent was listed as Penelope Keys, along with her cell phone number, which meant that Hunter was going to have to see what he could do about sweet-talking the woman into convincing Elle to show him the property that evening, or at least accompany her.

Feeling more optimistic than he had since the morning she’d bolted on him, he picked up his cell phone and texted his sister.

I might have located a building for you and Wilder Things, he typed out, then grinned to himself and randomly added, And I also found my Cinderella. Are you interested in seeing both this evening?