All Chapters of Playing Pretend With The Mafia Hockey Star : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

58 Chapters

031: TEMPORARY

YARA Across the table, Selene was watching me like a hawk She took a slow, deliberate sip of her wine, her expression entirely unbothered by the sudden shift in the room's atmosphere."Kieran sounds tense," Selene remarked, setting her glass down. "He always did have a terrible temper when it came to his assets. I suppose he doesn't like his new toy being out of her cage without his permission."I shoved my phone back into my tote bag, using the physical movement to ground my spinning thoughts. "I'm not his toy, Selene. And I don't need his permission to have dinner.""Is that what you tell yourself?" Selene chuckled, leaning back into the cushion. "You are playing a very dangerous game, Yara. You sit here acting like you're his equal, but you're just a shield. A temporary distraction to keep the media from looking too closely at what the Volkov family is doing behind the scenes."I forced myself to take a deep, calm breath. I couldn't let her see how much her words were gettin

032: FIRST SMEX??

KIERAN POV "You don't think?," I growled, my hands clenching into tight fists on my lap, the split skin across my knuckles throbbing.."You don't think at all, do you, You get a little taste of confidence, and suddenly you think you're untouchable. You think a mafia heiress invites you out for a polite little chat out of the goodness of her heart?” "I'm not at fault here, Kieran," Yara fired back, her voice shaking but her blue eyes flashing with that stubborn defiance I was starting to hate because of how much it turned me on. She didn't shrink away from me. Instead, she leaned closer... "I didn't ask Selene to pick me up. She was waiting on the sidewalk. What was I supposed to do? Run away and look terrified? Show her that we truly have something to hide?" "You should have called me immediately," I said, leaning into her space until she was pressed against the door. The scent of her—something sweet and soft that didn't belong in my world—hit me full force, complicating the a

033: BLOODY LIAR!

YARA POV I sank down onto the carpet, my back pressed against the door, as i let the first sob rip through me. I pressed both hands over my mouth to muffle the sound, terrified that the noise would carry down the hallway to the kitchen where Kieran was sitting, cold and unbothered… Barely few hours ago, he had held me against the wall like I was the only thing keeping him anchored to the earth. His mouth desperate and hungry, filling me with a heat that made me forget the danger, the contract… the blood on his hands..even Jeriah. I had let myself believe, even for a split second, that the raw emotion in his eyes was real. I had let myself feel safe in the arms of a monster. And then now… “Last night was a mistake… Sleeping with you just makes the arrangement complicated, and I don’t have time for complications.” His words replayed in my head, each repetition driving a fresh spike of humiliation into my chest. He hadn’t just pushed me away, he had destroyed whatever fragile

034: JERIAH!

YARA POV Alaric stared at the screen, his jaw dropping slightly as he read the clause again with the new context. "Holy shit. She's right. If we sign this, the Donovans get direct access to our transit manifests, and if they leak our schedule or cargo details, we can’t sue them." Dominic let out a low whistle, looking at me with a mixture of respect and amusement. "Well, well. Our little law student just saved us a multi million dollar headache. And… possibly a massive security breach." I straightened up, smoothing down the front of my blouse. "It's a classic corporate bait and switch. The Donovans are smart, but his lawyers use the same templates for all their shell companies. I recognize the formatting from some of the donor linked files at my firm." For the first time since I entered the room, I let my gaze drift to Kieran. He was staring at me, his eyes dark and unreadable. His jaw was clenched so tightly a muscle strove in his cheek. There was a sudden, volatile intensi

035: YOU DID WHAT?!!

YARAThe chill from the alley crept through my coat, but it was nothing compared to the ice that flooded my veins as I stared at the man standing in front of me."Jeriah?" I breathed, the name tasting like poison in my mouth.He pulled the scarf further down, his hazel eyes darting anxiously over my shoulder toward the busy area. "Yara, please. Just listen to me, we need to talk.""There is nothing for us to talk about," I said, my voice hardening as I tried to walk away from him. "Get out of my way."He reached out, his gloved hand catching my arm. His grip wasn't violent, but it was desperate, pleading. The touch made my skin crawl, reminding me of every single word he had spat at me, every cruel word designed to tear down what was left of my dignity."I made a mistake, Yara," Jeriah said, his voice dropping into that familiar, soft register he used to use when we were broke, living on ramen and cheap dreams. "The engagement with Talia, it isn't what you think. It's business. I

036: GILDED CAGE

YARA POVMy ears were ringing. The sheer, unadulterated audacity of the man standing in front of me felt like a physical blow to my chest."what?" I whispered, my voice trembling with a rage so hot it burned the back of my throat.Kieran didn't even blink. He stood there, unyielding, looking down at me with those cold, dead blue eyes as if he had simply cleared a minor conflict instead of completely controlling my professional life."I secured your time," he said flatly. "You're welcome.""You secured my…" I choked on the word, a bitter, hysterical laugh bubbling up in my throat. I took a step closer to him, entirely ignoring the warning bells screaming in my head to keep my distance. I didn't care that Dominic and Alaric were watching us. "You had no right, Kieran! No right at all! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?""I kept you from having to make an excuse," he replied, his voice smooth, devoid of any guilt. "You’re going to the Hamptons. It’s settled.""It is not settl

037: SHARING THE SAME BED

YARA POVI kept my head down, my fingers clutching the strap of my bag as we walked towards the private jet waiting. The morning air was biting, a crisp breeze sweeping off the runway that made me shiver under my sweater.Behind us, Dominic and Alaric were talking in low, serious tones, their usual lighthearted banter completely absent. They had spent the last hours checking security and tracking social media, trying to find any vulnerability before we took off.Kieran walked slightly ahead of me. He didn’t look back, but his presence was a heavy, suffocating weight…his long strides forcing me to quicken my pace just to keep up.When we boarded, the interior of the jet was luxurious, all cream leather and polished dark wood…I took a seat by the window, staring out at the New York skyline as the engines roared to life. Kieran sat directly across from me. He immediately pulled out his tablet tapping something on it, "Don't look so miserable, Yara" Alaric said, sliding into the

038: LOOKING GORGEOUS FOR DINNER

YARA POV I sat on the edge of the bed, my fingers digging into the white linens. Kieran’s words still echoed in my head. 'To them we are dating. That means we share a room'. Every part of this setup felt like an elaborate trap designed to strip away the remaining pieces of my independence. He had already stolen 6 months of my life , manipulated my boss, and forced me onto this 5 days forsaken charity weekend. Now, I was expected to play the part of his doting girlfriend while sharing a bed with him. A sharp knock at the doors broke my train of thought. I stood up, pulling my sweater tighter around myself, and walked over to open them. Standing in the hallway were three women dressed in tailored black uniforms. They were pushing two massive, heavy rolling racks loaded with designer garment bags, followed by several large shoe boxes and velvet jewelry cases. "Miss Quinn?" the woman at the front asked, offering a polite, practiced smile. "I'm Lena. Mr Volkov requested that we

039: YARA IS DROWNING!!

YARA The rest of the dinner passed in a blur of clinking silverware and superficial conversations that made my stomach knot. Mikhail Volkov didn’t speak to me again, but his presence at the head of the table remained a heavy, oppressive weight. Every time I glanced up, I could feel Talia’s venomous glare from across the table, while Jeriah kept his eyes glued strictly to his plate, looking like a man awaiting a execution. When Mikhail finally stood up, signaling the end of the meal, a collective, invisible sigh of relief seemed to pass through the room. "The reception is moving to the grand ballroom and the terrace," Kieran murmured, his hand settling on my lower back the moment I stood up. The heat of his palm burned straight through the thin silk of my dress. "Stay close…the sponsors will want to introduce themselves." "Are we going to keep up this charade all night?!" I whispered, leaning slightly toward him so the departing guests wouldn't overhear. "My face already hu

040: KIERAN TO THE RESCUE ♡

KIERAN POV The moment Yara walked away, my eyes followed her. I was surrounded by four different franchise board executives spewing useless figures about next season's TV rights, but I couldn't process a word they were saying. My focus was pinned to the back of that midnight blue dress, watching her disappear past the marble pillars. "Kieran, are you listening?" Arthur Greene, the senior team director, cleared his throat, tapping his glass with a thick ringed finger. "We were discussing the sponsorship allocation for the European tour. Your father mentioned…" "Excuse me," I cut him off, not bothering to soften the bluntness in my tone. "I need to check on my partner." I turned on my heel before Greene could open his mouth to object. Dominic stepped into my path, holding a fresh glass of bourbon, his eyes darting toward the hallway where Yara had vanished. "She went toward the pool," Dominic muttered, lowering his voice so the surrounding guests wouldn't catch on. "I saw

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