Page 1 of Ruthless Secrets (Alpha Mafia Daddies #6)

Chapter One

CLARA

Wearing my wedding dress, which I designed and made myself, while sipping champagne at the bar in the Plaza Hotel should be a dream come true.

I am hopelessly romantic and have dreamed about my wedding day ever since I was a little girl after all.

Except, my ring finger is still bare, and I can’t wait for this day to be over.

“Another!” I slam down my empty shot glass on the bar.

The bartender eyes me warily but when I shoot him a look, he decides not to question me.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out why I’m drowning my sorrows with tequila.

A prickle at the back of my neck as the bartender sets another shot of tequila down in front of me has me glancing to my right, and I almost fall off my stool.

“Are you a mirage?” I try not to stare at the handsome stranger who is watching me with the darkest brown eyes I’ve ever seen.

“Excuse me?” The hint of a smile tugs at his lips .

“It should be illegal to look like that,” I mutter under my breath as I reach for my shot.

His answering chuckle is deep and gravelly, and it sends a shiver down my spine.

Damn, I must be drunk. I never normally have the courage to speak to handsome men at bars. But then again, I’ve been in a relationship for the past five years, so I haven’t really had much need to.

His eyes still weigh on me as I throw back the shot and slam the empty glass down.

I don’t even bother with the lime or salt. That would only take up valuable drinking time.

“Don’t ask,” I warn the sexy man sitting next to me before waving at the bartender to bring me another.

The alcohol barely even burns my throat anymore, but the buzz is starting to kick in and I reckon after a few more, I won’t even remember anything about the last few hours.

That is the goal at least.

“Wasn’t going to say a word.” He smirks.

My skin is on fire under the heat of his gaze. Though that may also be due to the fact that I’m wearing ten layers of fabric and a corset that is so damn tight I haven’t been able to take a full breath in five hours.

I know what he’s thinking. I know what everyone in this damn bar is thinking.

I should just go upstairs to my hotel room to change, but the thought of entering the honeymoon suite alone is more depressing than sitting at the bar in my wedding dress. So, I stay put and order another shot.

I turn in my seat to face the sexy man next to me. “Let’s play a game.”

My words come out a little more slurred than I’d like but in all fairness, I think most of the blood in my body has now been replaced with tequila .

“What kind of game?” He leans against the bar.

He’s undone a couple of buttons on his black shirt to reveal his tanned skin underneath, and the sleeves have been rolled up to the elbows, showing off his powerful forearms.

I think I might actually be drooling. I didn’t think men could actually look like that .

“Never have I ever.”

I can tell that the man is trying not to laugh from the way his eyes crinkle at the edges, but his lips remain firmly sealed.

I reach for yet another shot. “I’ll start.”

“Never have I ever found out that my fiancé knocked up my best friend on the morning of my wedding.”

The man’s eyes widen.

I down my glass and set it on the bar. “Yeah, it’s been the day from hell.”

When I heard stories of shit like this happening to other girls, I used to think how stupid they were. How could they not have seen the signs? Were they just too blinded by the idea of the happy ending that they were willing to look past the red flags?

And then it happened to me, and I realized how naive I was.

With my bouquet in hand and lipstick applied, my best friend and maid of honor admitted that she had been sleeping with my fiancé.

My heart shattered, and I was unable to breathe for a second. The betrayal was more than I could take.

But more than the fact that the two people I trusted and loved the most outside my family had just plunged a giant knife on my back, it was the fact that she is now also pregnant with his child that ultimately broke me.

“Shit, I’m sorry.”

I shrug. “Don’t be.”

Adam agreed not to have sex for the month leading up to the wedding so that we could make the wedding night even more special.

Hah!

I guess my unwillingness to put out before the big day drove him right into the arms of my best friend.

So, Jess gets the happy ending, and I get the hangover from hell.

I throw back yet another shot but before I have a chance to set the empty glass down, it’s being taken out of my hand.

“I think you’ve had enough,” the man says.

“And I think you’re wrong. I’m not even drunk—” I hiccup.

The handsome stranger gives me a look that suggests I might be wrong.

I scowl at him.

He sets the shot glass down. “Are you staying at the hotel tonight?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

The burning hole that has been left in my pocket after paying almost a month’s rent for a room for the night is yet another reminder of what this day has cost me. Like hell am I going to let it go to waste.

I guess I could finish my night off upstairs. There is a bottle of champagne and a jacuzzi bath waiting for me after all.

When I attempt to slide off my bar stool, the heel of my shoe gets caught in one of the many layers of fabric I’m wearing, and I almost fall flat on my face but thankfully, my new sexy man friend is there to catch me.

“Easy there.” His hands wrap around my waist. His big, strong, sexy man hands.

I’m so drunk.

“Stupid ass dress…” I gather up my skirt and try to ignore the voice in my head that is screaming at me to run my hands al l over this man’s chest, his entire body for that matter, right here in the bar.

Tonight might have been the worst day of my life, but I really don’t want to finish it off in jail.

“I think I should walk you back to your room.” He holds out his arm for me to take.

I eye him warily, but then my eyes flick over his broad frame and my blood starts to heat.

I might be heartbroken and drunk, but I’m officially single, so who am I to deny this man the opportunity to come back to my hotel room?

It’s not like I have a fiancé or anything waiting for me back at my room.

I have no idea how I manage to walk in my heels from the bar all the way to the twelfth floor. It might have something to do with the arm wrapped around my waist or perhaps the tequila currently making its way around my bloodstream, but I’m finding it hard to concentrate.

He guides me out of the elevator. “What room are you in?”

“Uh…” I take my clutch out from under my arm and try to open it but fail miserably.

“Here, let me.”

I hand it over to him and try my hardest not to stare as he roots around for the hotel key.

He hands it to me. “You’re in room twelve eighteen.”

I hiccup again. “Don’t you mean you’re in room twelve eighteen?”

He shakes his head and smiles. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

He half-drags me down the hallway until we reach my room.

The reality that I’m going to spend my wedding night alone is starting to hit.

I look up at the man. “You could come in for a drink. ”

When he raises his eyebrows at me, I realize how that must have sounded.

“I mean for coffee.” I roll my eyes.

He chuckles. “Coffee sounds good.”

After a few attempts at getting the door to open, I have to hand him over my keycard to open up the room and when I head inside, I immediately spot the bottle of champagne on ice.

He follows my gaze. “Don’t even think about it.”

“I wasn’t going to.” I head over to the couch and kick off my heels.

I rub at my sore feet as he gets to work making us some coffee.

From this angle, I can really appreciate how tall and broad he is.

Adam wasn’t unattractive by any means, but this man is on another level. And it’s not just his looks. He radiates power .

I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to sleep with him. But I sure as hell would like to find out.

“I can feel you staring.” He chuckles.

The sound has my skin breaking out in goosebumps.

“You’re very nice to look at.”

He chuckles again as he picks up the two steaming mugs of coffee and brings them over to the couch.

“You’ll feel better after you drink this.” He hands me a cup before taking a seat beside me.

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Not that it’s any of my business, but it sounds like you’re better off without this guy.”

I shrug. “Perhaps. But right now, it just hurts.”

“Hence the tequila?”

“Actually, the tequila was to celebrate the fact that I didn’t kill him. ”

He throws his head back and laughs.

I eye the thick column of his neck, and I’m overcome by the sudden urge to lick it.

What the hell is wrong with me?

“So…what were you doing at the Plaza tonight?” Enough about me. I’ve been done with this day for hours now.

“Looking for a bride.”

My cheeks flood with color as his eyes roam over my dress, lingering a little longer on the swells of my breasts.

I chose to do a strapless dress that is tight around the waist to try and highlight what I was told were my best features, and it seems to be doing the trick.

“I made the dress myself.” I take a sip of my coffee.

“You’re incredibly talented.”

His throat bobs as his attention returns to my face.

“I have many talents,” I tease as my tongue darts out to wet my lower lip.

“Oh, I’m sure you do.” His eyes darken in a way that has my blood heating.

“Do you have any special talents?” I try to ignore the dull ache that is beginning to build between my thighs.

My month of celibacy is turning me into some kind of feral animal around this man.

“Many.”

My mind fills with images of all the ways he would pleasure me.

I have no doubt that this man is extremely talented with his tongue, and his cock for that matter.

Fuck, I need to get laid.

“You need more coffee.” He snaps me out of my lust-induced daydream.

He takes my cup and gets to his feet, and I take the opportunity to admire his perfectly sculpted ass in those black slacks .