by Cherry Kay
Mark pulled into the parking lot just as the van containing Darrel Porter pulled up. One guard got out and opened the van door while the other pulled Darrel out to the concrete. They both walked over to the other side of the van so Mark could carry out his business with the lesser man.
“Mark?” Darrel looked up at Mark in belligerent shock. Mark didn’t say a word. Instead, he took his cousin’s advice and made sure not to bruise his knuckles. Mark kicked the shit out of Darrel until he spit up blood onto the ground. That was when Mark stopped. He called to the guards and they loaded Darrel into the van before driving off.
Mark had to collect himself before he got back into the car. He had to admit he felt better now that he'd had the chance to kick Darrel’s ass for hurting Ari. Mark took several deep breaths, got into his car and headed to Ari’s condo to pack his bag with a few things. Mark took a quick shower and then sped over to Miss Marie’s house where Ari was waiting up for him.
“That took a little while, was there traffic?” Ari reached for Mark when he walked into her bedroom. Brooklyn had just left and Ari’s mom could be heard in her room talking on the phone.
“Yeah, there was an accident on the way to your place, it was bad, they had the entire road blocked off. I had to practically circumnavigate the globe to get there.” Mark hated lying to Ari, but the alternative would probably freak her out and she was delicate as it was. Mark would tell her eventually, just not right then.
“Oh, did you eat? My mom made some really good salad and salmon. There’s some in the fridge if you’re hungry.”
Mark shook his head and pulled Ari closer to him, careful of her ribs and tender spots.
“How are you feeling… really?” Mark studied her expression as she sighed and gave him a small shrug.
“I’ll be all right… I just, I wish I hadn’t been so soft on Darrel. Even the first time I dropped the charges and then I made this whole thing into no big deal and he ended up… I’m just glad he’s being put away. I just want to forgive and forget, I’ve never harboured him any ill will… I mean, of course I was angry with him. But this time I think he was sick mentally.” Ari told Mark everything she was thinking and he loved her for it.
“I’ll help you get through it, baby… maybe once you’re better you could join a self-defense class. It could really help to beat some guy up once a week or something.”
Ari laughed and then winced, Mark was happy she was laughing, but he didn’t want her to hurt herself.
“That might not be such a bad idea. As long as I have you I’ll be fine.”
Mark smiled, he loved to hear those words from Ari.
Clarissa
Ari thought she was ready to go back to her condo. After days of her family, including Mark, hovering around her like a fallen bird with a broken wing, she decided it was time for some distance. Ari could deal with Mark being there for her, but not her mother, Sandy, Lisa, Brooklyn, and the occasional appearance from Marcus and Kevin.
“Baby, I think it’s time we go back to my place now. It’s too crowded here.” Ari seemed to have caught Mark off guard with this and he looked at her in mild surprise.
“Are you sure? You know our house on Castilla will be ready in just a few more days,” Mark said while turning the volume down a little on the TV in Ari’s old room.
“I know, but I want to face being there again before we completely move on… it’ll help I think,” Ari said truthfully.
Mark nodded, understanding where she was coming from.
“If you’re one hundred percent sure, then we can go back to your condo. Only if you’re a hundred percent sure,” Mark reiterated.
Ari was so glad she had him; Mark was by her side when she needed him and he went at her pace with everything.
“I’m one hundred percent sure, Mark. My mom taught me to face my fears, that it would make me stronger, so that is what I have to do.”
Mark nodded and kissed Ari on her shoulder.
“Then that’s what we have to do, but as soon as the house is ready, we’re moving.”
Ari nodded, smiling at Mark’s determined expression. He wanted to get it all behind them as much as she did. If it didn’t hurt Ari’s entire torso to give Mark a bear hug, she’d do it. She really did love that man. At least Ari’s lip had healed so she was free to give him a sound smooch on the lips.
“What was that for?” Mark chuckled before kissing Ari twice more.
“Just for being you,” Ari said with a dreamy expression.
“I’ll have to be me more often then.” Ari had to really hone in her laughter, so whenever she found something funny she simply giggled rather than a full-blown rib-crippling laugh. It really wasn’t fun. Almost all her other injuries were healing or healed, but her ribs were taking the longest and were the most painful.
“So, come morning, we’re going back right?” Ari asked to make sure and Mark nodded.
“Don’t worry, I know your family is driving you crazy by now.” Mark kissed Ari’s nose and she snuggled against him contentedly. She was asleep as soon as she got comfortable.
In the morning, Ari and Mark had breakfast with Ari’s mom and then headed back to Ari’s condo. She had to admit she was growing more and more nervous the closer they got to the parking garage. Ari tried to remind herself that Darrel was in jail, he wouldn’t be there, and he wouldn’t pop out of the shadows, though all Ari could think about was how he'd just appeared behind her from thin air and mauled her.
“Relax, baby, you can do this. I’m here with you every step of the way remember?” Mark tried to soothe Ari’s nerves, but it only worked briefly. They were already pulling into the parking garage next to Ari’s car. She was pretty sure her phone was still inside it on the passenger seat.
“I… I have to go and get my phone from… the car.” Ari’s voice was shaky as she spoke. Mark squeezed her hand tightly in his before he got out of the car to open her door. He didn’t say anything as she walked over to her car and unlocked it. She bent inside, ignoring the sharp pain in her side as she got the phone. Ari straightened and closed her car door; she locked it and took as deep a breath as she could manage.
“How do you feel?” Mark asked her when she walked over to him. Ari put her cell in her purse and took Mark’s hand while they walked over to the elevator.
“I feel… I don’t know, I feel free. He’s not there over my shoulder anymore… now I have you.” Ari smiled up at Mark happily and he exhaled deeply as if he’d been holding his breath.
“Yeah you do, baby. I’m not going anywhere either.” Mark bent down to kiss Ari. He was tender with her and each of his kisses melted her heart because he relayed how much he cared for her in the brief contact.
***
Mark’s party was really packed. People seemed to be having a great time, though; even Ari’s mom was dancing with Mark to one of her favorite Nina Simone songs. Ari couldn’t help but laugh at the two. Mark’s mom, Isabella, was laughing, too. She’d never seen Mark dance with anyone but her before.
“You know, Ella, those dancing lessons you made him take really paid off. He’s an excellent dancer,” Ari commented. Mark’s mom smiled humorously over at Ari from her seat at their table.
“Yes, I told him when he was younger, ‘Marco, you will thank me one day because your dancing will find you the perfect woman to marry,’ and look, I was right.”
Ari laughed with Ella; she really did love Mark’s parents. His mom was always laughing and his dad was everything Ari imagined a dad would be like; loving, dependable, always doting on his wife and son. Ari bet Chris would be an awesome grandpa one day.
“Okay, enough laughing at me, now it’s your turn.” Mark came to sweep Ari in for his next dance and she went willingly.
“So did you like dancing with my mom, Marco?” Ari was getting used to hearing Mark being called by his given name now that his parents were around to do it. The first time Ella heard Ari’s mom call him by Marco, Ari could tell they would click.
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“You know what, I see where you got your dancing skills from… and by the way I’m thinking about changing my name back because the way you say it is so sexy.”
Ari laughed, she was relieved she could actually laugh instead of having to hold in her laughter for awkward giggles. It always made everyone else laugh harder, but she was left out from that. Now that her ribs were hurting less, she was almost completely back to normal.
“So I was thinking… if we had a baby, would you want his name to be Robinson or would you want him to have my Italian name?” Mark asked the question so casually Ari didn’t think anything major of it. Mark had been asking a lot of questions like that lately. When they were married would she want this or if they had twins would it be scary, and Ari just answered them truthfully.
“Well, I would like that; your real name just rolls off the tongue so nicely, Marco Rabottini. If our kids took your real last name, though, they’d have to have Italian first names. Which could work, but they’ll at least have to have French middle names.” Mark laughed at Ari for some odd reason and she shrugged. “My mother might be pissed otherwise.”
“I know, I’m not laughing because of that. I’m laughing at you.”
Mark looked at her in humoured awe. Ari smiled, but was wondering why he found her so funny.
“Why? What did I do?” Mark laughed again and Ari started to pout. “Really, you can’t just laugh at a person and not tell them why they’re funny.”
Mark pressed a kiss to Ari’s lips three times before he finally fessed up.
“I’m laughing because you’ve been missing all my signs. All week I’ve been dropping hints to prepare you for this moment.”
Ari looked at Mark in confusion and then covered her mouth in surprise when he got down on one knee. Right there in the middle of the dance floor with everyone looking.
“Oh this moment?” Ari gasped, a huge grin breaking across her face. Mark laughed and then he nodded. He actually seemed a little nervous, like Ari would say no! She might if all he asked her was something like, “Will you buy a dog with me?”
“Clarissa, you know that you are my whole world. Without you, I would have lost my soul and never gotten it back. You’re everything I want and everything I never knew I wanted. I love you and I want to start spending forever with you so… will you, uh, marry me?”
Ari intended to say yes, but an overjoyed half-sob, half-laugh came out first. Here Mark was, the love of her life asking her to marry him and he was nervous. She loved him that much more and she realized that it would be like this for them until they grew old and beyond. She’d just keep on loving him, every day would be a new revelation for why Mark was the one and she could literally sprout wings and fly from the joy and anticipation of it.
“Of course, I’ll marry you, Mark…” was Ari’s simple reply, her voice thick with all of the emotions she was feeling.
Mark’s face lit up; he was suffused with joy and he slid the ring, Ari didn’t even notice, onto her finger. Mark picked her up and spun her around before dipping her low while planting a passionate kiss on her lips. Only after did Ari realize there was a room full of cheering people and that she and Mark hadn’t actually transported to their own separate world.
Their friends and family soon surrounded Mark and Ari, all wishing them congratulations, and champagne was being brought out to cheer the newly-engaged couple. Ari couldn’t help her giant smile even if her cheeks were starting to ache a little. She was surrounded by the joy and happiness of what was to come for her and Mark. All Ari could think about was how crazy it was that one semi-drunken investment led to all of this.
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THE BILLIONAIRE'S
DARK SIDE
A BWWM Billionaire Romance By..
CHERRY KAY
Summary
“You never know who you might meet online...”
Tiffany Norman was not sure about trying online dating but she figured she had nothing to lose. She had no idea that the moment she downloaded that Matchr dating app was the moment that changed her life forever.
Her perfect match was a man named Thomas Belmont. Tall, dark and handsome just the way she likes them. He almost seems too good to be true.
In fact, Thomas is even better then that. He is a self-made Billionaire who is looking for love and the woman of his dreams. When he matches up with Tiffany he can not wait to meet her.
Only problem is, Thomas Belmont has many secrets and a dark side to his life that not many know about. One thing is for sure, when Tiffany discovers the truth about her perfect match, she is going to be SHOCKED...
Chapter1
“You ready to rip this thing?” asked the overly cheerful instructor.
White people are into the weirdest sports, Tiffany thought to herself as she stood at the edge of a hundred foot high platform and looked down at the harness and rappelling gear attached to her waist. The too-thin looking rope ran from a sturdy anchor point in the framework above them, through the complicated looking hunk of metal and pulleys that would supposedly allow her to control her descent, and then through her brake hand, before falling away towards the ground in long twin strands. Their rooftop perch was on the outside of a tall building that had been converted into an adventure center that boasted the city’s highest climbing walls and most daring urban adrenaline rushes.
“You can do it,” said her date from where he was clipped into the safety bar behind the instructor. “Just think of how hot you’ll look gliding down that wall.”
“In this ridiculous helmet? I don’t think so.” Tiffany smiled wryly before returning her attention to what she couldn’t believe she was about to do. “I don’t know why I let you talk me into doing this, Luke.”
“I’ll bet this is the most exciting first date you’ve ever had. Come on, you’ll feel great when you get to the bottom. Trust me.”
Tiffany closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Inhaling slowly, she focused on the breathing techniques she’d learned in yoga and tried to find a center of focus from which to draw strength. While Luke wasn’t the best match she’d seen on the Matchr dating site, he had won her over after a couple of weeks of enthusiastic and friendly instant messaging through the site.
After several stale and boring dates with other men from Matchr, she’d finally succumbed to the promise of a date that she’d never forget.
“Okay, so I just pull down like this to slow down or stop?”
“Just like that,” said the instructor. “You’ve got full control and there’s someone at the bottom to back you up if you lose your grip. All they have to do is pull down on the rope and you’ll stop immediately.”
“And no one has ever died doing this?”
The instructor laughed. “Not at our facility.”
“Luke, you better have a hell of a nice dinner planned after this.”
Not sticking around long enough to hear his response, Tiffany stepped out into open space and adjusted her hand until she started floating downwards. Her stomach lurched up into her chest, so she repositioned her brake hand and slowed herself down a little bit. The wall of the building whizzed past on her right, and out to her left was a breathtaking view of the neighborhood and the tall skyscrapers that loomed off in the downtown core. A sense of giddiness welled up inside her and by the time she touched down safely at the base of the wall, she was laughing like a crazy person.
“How was it?” yelled Luke from the top of the wall. The instructor was hooking him into his own rappel device so he could follow her down.
“Absolutely amazing!” She shouted.
When she was fully unhooked from her own device, the instructor on the ground show
ed her how to unbuckle her harness so she could slide it down over her long toned legs. She was glad to have put in the effort of visiting her salon for a wax the day before, as the harness had pulled her already short shorts up even further, exposing a lot more of the silky black skin on her thigh than she tended to take care of during skirt season. Not one for running or other types of exercise that required special clothes, Tiffany had had to borrow the skimpy athletic shorts from her friend, and she couldn’t help but notice how men’s eyes drifted down towards her legs and bum when they thought she wasn’t looking.
“Wow, what a thrill!” said Luke when he hit the ground.
“You look like you’ve done this a few times before.”
“Well, I may have a membership here. I usually just hit the rock climbing wall when I come for a workout but I thought you’d like to try this instead.”
Luke unclipped his helmet and ran his fingers through his close-cropped dark hair. His bicep and shoulder muscles flexed nicely and Tiffany caught herself thinking that she could easily fall into bed with someone as fit as him. She wasn’t turned on by muscle-heads who obsessed over lifting weights, but Luke had the sort of powerfully athletic build that came from a life spent in pursuit of adventure.
“It’s definitely a new experience for me.” Tiffany took her hair out of her ponytail, smoothed it back over her head to fix the mess the helmet had made, and then wrapped the elastic back over it with a few quick twists and a final snap. “I’ve seen this kind of thing on TV before, but I would never in a million years have thought I’d ever do it.”