Início / Romance / MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE / Capítulo 181 - Capítulo 190

Todos os capítulos de MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE: Capítulo 181 - Capítulo 190

440 Capítulos

Chapter 181

Arni was a man who prided himself on his self-control. It was that control that ensured he would never repeat his father’s folly in allowing his desire for an unworthy and avaricious woman to rule and humiliate him. Arni could give in to his physical desires, but he must always be the one in control, not the other way around.No woman had ever been allowed to intrude into his thoughts when he did not want her to, and yet now here he was, wasting his valuable mental energy thinking about a woman he despised. The mere fact that she was there in his thoughts, occupying space that rightly belonged to far more important matters, angered him far more than the unsatisfied ache of the desire she had left him with.Why was he bothering to think about her? She’d probably thought she was being extremely clever, that by offering and then withdrawing she would get far more from him than if she had simply gone to bed with him there and then, but Arni did not allow anyone to manipulate him to their o

Chapter 182

She might have been royal, but he might have been a highly qualified interior designer, who had trained with one of the most respected international firms, and whose own work was very highly thought of. She had very high standards and took pride in the excellence of her work, she reminded herself stoutly. She was a professional interior designer, yes. But she was also the daughter of a woman who had sold her body to men for money to feed her drug habit. Where did that place her on the scale of what was and what was not acceptable? Did she really need to ask herself that question? Of course she didn’t. The burn of the shame she had known growing up because of her mother was still as raw now as it had been then.It hadn’t just been her great-aunt who had rammed home to her the message that her mother’s lifestyle made Orla unacceptable and unwanted in more respectable people’s social circles.After her mother had died and her great-aunt had taken her in, Orla had had to change schools. I

Chapter 183

The slate-grey gaze flicked over her and rested expressionlessly on her face. He must have recognized her even if he wasn’t showing it.Karan stepped forward to shake the other man’s hand, saying to him jovially, "Arni." I’ve brought you Orla, just as I promised. She’s desperate for you to give her this contract so that she can show you what she can do. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed by what she can offer.’Orla squirmed inwardly over Karan's unfortunate choice of words and all that might be read into them by a cynical, sexually experienced man who had every reason to believe he already knew what she had to offer."I can’t stay," Karan was continuing. I’ve got a meeting I have to attend, so I’m going to have to leave you to discuss things without me. However, as I’ve already told you, I’ve seen Orla’s work, and she has my personal recommendation and endorsement.’He had gone before she could stop him and tell him that she had changed her mind. That she wouldn’t want this contrac

Chapter 184

His voice was as cool as steel and just as deadly. Orla could feel it piercing her pride, taking a shimmering bead of its life force as though it were a trophy. Now that he had savored his pleasure in wounding her, no doubt he would close in for the kill and tell her that he wasn’t going to give her the contract.She lifted her chin and told him proudly, 'I don't see the point in prolonging this conversation, since it's obvious that you don't have any intention of commissioning me to work for you as an interior designer.'Arni acknowledged that he certainly didn’t want to do so now that he knew who she was. But there was the delicate matter of losing face—both for Karan and, in a roundabout way, for Arni himself.Karan might be a very junior partner in their current venture, but he would be within his rights to question why Arni had rejected Orla after allowing the negotiations to get this far. Karan would be personally insulted, and while Arni was too rich and too powerful to worry a

Chapter 185

After university, Orla moved to London and found a job working for an upmarket interior design company at a very junior level.Through Dayita and Nakul, she’d been familiar with the ethnically diverse Brick Lane area of the city, and she had quickly fallen in love with the creative intensity it had to offer, putting what she’d learned from it into her own work and adapting it to her own personal style.Soon, word had begun to get around that she had a sympathetic understanding of Indian taste, and rich Indians had started to ask specifically if she could be part of the team working on their interiors.With the encouragement of her boss, Orla had eventually struck out on her own, finding for herself a niche market that was fresh and vibrant and matched her own feelings about design and style.She’d met Karan through Nakul, and had let him sweet-talk her into doing some room schemes for the rundown properties he was doing up as buy-to-let. Karan had done well, and an uncle in India had

Chapter 186

‘Thank you, but I have visited building sites before.’It wasn’t entirely true, but she wasn’t going to have him think she was totally incapable.She paused, and then said steadily, "I can be ready to meet you in the hotel foyer very quickly. It won’t take me long to get changed.’Arni’s mouth thinned. Was she daring to hint that she believed he had come to her room because he had some personal interest in her? After all that he had said to her yesterday, Was this yet another of her teasing games, designed to excite male interest? If so, she was going to learn that he was not easily excited, and when it came to playing games, he always played to win...He answered, "Any man who believes a woman when she tells him that is a fool." "You’ve got five minutes." And then, before Orla could object, he had settled himself in a chair and, having reached for the TV remote, was checking the stock market reports.It took Orla precisely four minutes to get changed—behind her locked bathroom door—i

Chapter 187

Well, of course he would, seeing as the Maharaja was his brother. He himself was every bit the royal prince, all arrogance and aristocratic pride. No doubt he was used to having his way whenever he wanted it and however he wanted it, with women as well as in business. Well, he wasn’t going to have his way with her!"I can’t remember, Your Royal Highness," Orla lied again, not wanting to get Karan into trouble. Normally, she would have admired both the Maharaja and Arni's stance, but on this occasion, she was all too aware of how difficult it would be to put as much distance as possible between Arni and herself.The look he was giving her was openly contemptuous as well as grimly angry.It is not necessary for you to address me in such a manner. Since I have chosen not to play a role that requires me to use my title, I see no reason why I should be addressed by it.’He had surprised her—but why should that bother her? She wasn’t afraid of him, was she? She wasn’t afraid that somehow sh

Chapter 188

And a very sexy man. An unnervingly charismatic and sensually disturbing man. Surely it wasn’t possible for the space inside the vehicle to have become smaller, so that she was forced to be more aware of his physical presence as a man? It was the fault of the bright sunlight that she had to turn her head to avoid its glare, and was thus obliged to look at the way his hands held the steering wheel—as knowledgeably and masterfully as he had held her last night.How had her thoughts managed to slip sideways into that forbidden place she knew she must not go? Orla wondered angrily. It was almost as though her own body was working against her in some way, trying to undermine her.So what if he was sexy and charismatic and... and sensually disturbing? He was also cruel and unkind and arrogant, incapable of judging her fairly, and she would be a complete fool to let herself be caught in any kind of sexual attraction to him. But wasn’t it true that she was already acutely aware of him as a ma

Chapter 189

All he was doing was steadying her. She knew that. But to her body, his hold was dangerously reminiscent of the way he had held her when he had kissed her, and she had to fight down its instinctive urge to close the gap between them. If he kissed her right now, he'd taste of salt, heat, and male hormones.It must be the shock of her unwanted sexual response to him that was responsible for the feeling that somehow time had slowed down, and with it the beat of her own heart, as though both of them were caught up in some kind of mystical spell, Orla thought dizzily. She could see where the shadow was just beginning to darken the line of Arni’s jaw, and she had an overwhelming longing to reach out and touch it with her fingertips, and then to trace the curve of his mouth. The sensuality of the contrast between them would, she knew, be burned into her touch in a way that would make her ache to feel that contrast against her own flesh. It would be so easy to do, so very easy.He knew what s

Chapter 190

How was it possible for her to feel so hot and so cold at the same time, with her stomach churning with shocked fear and her head dizzy with even more shocked excitement?"Nothing to say? Perhaps, then, the lovers you’ve experienced in the past weren’t as satisfying as they might have been?’What was going on? How had the conversation managed to go from a businesslike discussion of Arni’s requirements to this? However it had happened, it certainly wasn’t kindly intended, Orla suspected.She took a deep breath and told him calmly, "I don’t think that this kind of conversation is appropriate, given our business relationship."She was doing it again. Arni could feel the heat of mingled anger and arousal beating up inside his body, threatening his self-control. He had no idea what it was about this woman that pushed against the boundaries of that control and threatened it so dramatically and with such speed, but he couldn’t deny any more that there was something about her that did. It act

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