I Kissed a Mysterious Billionaire in a Dive Bar for a $500 Bet—Then His Armed Bodyguards Called Him ""Boss"

I jerked my chin away from his touch, breathing hard. ""I'm a waitress, Mr. Moretti. I live in a drafty two-bedroom apartment above an auto body shop. I clip coupons. I don't belong in whatever dark, twisted world you run.""

""You belong wherever I decide you belong,"" Adrian replied smoothly, not offended by my defiance. If anything, the flare of fight in my eyes seemed to please him. He stood up straight, smoothing the lapels of his jacket, and walked back behind his desk. He opened a thin leather folder and pulled out a single sheet of paper.

""Mara Bellamy. Age twenty-eight. Dropped out of community college after your parents died in an interstate pileup three years ago. You took full legal custody of your younger brother, Leo. You work sixty hours a week between Sullivan’s Tavern and a commercial laundry facility downtown."" He looked up, his gaze razor-sharp. ""You owe fourteen thousand dollars in back medical expenses for Leo's orthopedic surgeries. Your landlord, a lovely gentleman named Henderson, threatened to throw your belongings onto the curb this coming Monday morning.""

Ice flooded my veins. ""You had me investigated? In less than an hour?""

""I had my people run your background before my car even reached the highway,"" he said simply. ""In my line of work, information is the difference between breathing and bleeding.""

""Why do you care about my life?"" I demanded, anger finally overriding my self-preservation instincts. ""Are you getting some kind of sick amusement out of dangling my misery in front of me?""

Adrian didn't flinch. He slid the paper across the desk toward me, accompanied by an elegant gold fountain pen. ""I have a problem, Mara. And curiously enough, you might be the solution.""

I stared at the blank document. ""What problem could the most feared crime boss in the city possibly have that involves a broke, overweight waitress?""

Adrian’s jaw clenched slightly, his gray eyes darkening. ""First of all, stop insulting yourself in my presence. It irritates me. You are soft where a woman should be soft, and you have more spine than any man sitting on my executive board.""

The bluntness of his statement hit me like a physical blow. My cheeks flushed crimson, the heat creeping all the way down my neck. Nobody had ever spoken about my body with that kind of unapologetic reverence. It sounded dangerous, foreign, and intoxicatingly real.

""My problem,"" Adrian continued, his voice returning to business-like detachment, ""is political. The old syndicate families—the Commission that oversees port distribution and legitimate real estate across the tri-state area—view me as unstable. They believe a man without roots, without a family, is prone to reckless violence. To finalize our merger with the Castiglione shipping empire next month, the Council requires me to present a fiancée. A woman who cannot be bought by my rivals, someone outside our bloodlines, someone grounded.""

I blinked, processing his words, before letting out a dry, hysterical laugh. ""You want me... to pretend to be your fiancée?""

""I don't pretend, Mara. It would be a legally binding arrangement for twelve months,"" Adrian stated calmly. ""You will move into this estate. You will accompany me to high-profile dinners, charity galas, and council meetings. You will stand by my side and play the role of the woman who captured my attention.""

""And if I say no?""

Adrian leaned forward, resting his forearms on the desk. ""If you say no, my driver will take you back to your apartment. You will scrape together rent on Monday, watch your brother’s health deteriorate, and spend the next ten years serving cheap whiskey to men who talk down to you.""

He paused, letting the bitter reality settle in my throat before striking with the velvet hammer.

""Or you say yes. In exchange, Leo will be transferred tomorrow morning to the best private rehabilitation clinic in the state, all expenses paid by a trust in his name. Your debts will vanish tonight. A personal monthly allowance of twenty-five thousand dollars will be wired directly to an account only you control. And when the year is over, you walk away with a five-million-dollar tax-free settlement.""

My vision blurred. Five million dollars. The best doctors for Leo. Freedom from the soul-crushing weight of poverty that had been suffocating me since my parents' funeral.

""What's the catch?"" I whispered, my voice trembling. ""What happens to the women who fail you?""

""The only rule is absolute loyalty,"" Adrian said, his gaze locking onto mine with hypnotic intensity. ""You do not speak to my enemies. You do not lie to my face. And you never, under any circumstances, take off the ring I give you.""

He pulled a small velvet box from his drawer, flipped it open, and revealed an enormous, flawless emerald-cut diamond ring flanked by platinum bands. It sparkled under the chandelier with cold, blinding fire.

""Do we have an agreement, Miss Bellamy?""