My brother stared down at his paperwork, signed it in irritation, and then lifted his gaze to look at me again. “I just wish there were something we could do. I refuse to let you live your life like this. You deserve a husband you love, someone who makes you happy, someone I actually respect. Lucian is my brother-in-law, but he’s no family to me. It doesn’t matter how nice and polite he is to Dirk and me. I can’t stand the guy, and I never will.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at my plate. “There’s nothing we can do, Case…”
“We could kill him,” he whispered. “Make it look like an accident.”
“We would never be able to pull that off. Even if we could, I promised I would be cooperative. I promised I wouldn’t fight. I promised I would submit. I’m a woman of my word. And Cardellos always keep their word.”
Case tilted his head down and ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s my job to take care of you. I feel like I’m not doing my job.”
“But it’s not your job, Case. It’s my job.”
“That’s not how Father would see it.”
“Well, he’s not here. And this was my decision. I have to live with it.”
He raised his head again then grabbed his pencil. “You want me to forgive you, but I don’t think I can. You want me to pretend everything is okay, but it’s not. What are we going to do when he decides he wants a family? My nieces and nephews will be the product of that asshole—”
“And you will love them the same, Case.”
He slumped his shoulders as he sat in the chair. “You deserve better, Cassini. My sister deserves better.”
I knew his anger came from love, because this man loved me very much. He didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, but he did have emotions bubbling underneath the surface. All he wanted was to protect me. But this was something he couldn’t protect me from. “It is what it is, Case. I made this decision—and I’ll live with it.”
4
Cassini
Lucian went out of town a lot for work, so I was left unattended most of the time. He had security all over the property, so I was always protected, but I was free to come and go whenever I wanted. In the beginning of our marriage, he kept me on a tight leash, but once he realized I would honor my word, he slackened his hold.
My thoughts returned to the beautiful man who gave me the best kiss of my life.
I wanted to finish that kiss, wanted to let the kiss grow into something lustful, passionate, and beautiful. I just wanted one night, amazing sex with a man I would never see again.
I probably wouldn’t get caught.
Lucian didn’t really keep tabs on me. He hardly called me when he was away. He never kept his affairs a secret from me. He didn’t come right out and list all the women he fucked while he was away, but he didn’t make any effort to hide them at all.
I could probably pull it off—one time.
My lustful nature got the best of me, and I put on a backless black dress with matching heels then drove to the bar where I’d first met him. I didn’t expect him to be there; that would be too much of a coincidence. But that would be a great place to meet him if he was available.
If he wasn’t already balls deep in someone else for the night.
A man that gorgeous could get any woman he wanted—and at any time.
Maybe he’d already forgotten me by now.
He must have a lot of other offers. All I had was my asshole husband.
I sat at the bar, pulled out the business card he’d left me, and then asked the bartender to use the phone.
I was really going to do this.
I was going to have an affair.
I typed in the number and listened to the phone ring. I didn’t want to call him from my cell phone just in case Lucian had someone monitoring my texts and phone calls. If I suddenly started calling a random number, late at night, it might raise some red flags.
He answered, his deep voice rough like sandpaper but also smooth like whiskey. “Balto.”
That was his name—Balto. The second I heard it, I thought it suited him perfectly. It was deep, to the point, and unique. Maybe it was the way he said it, but the name was sexy too. “Cassini.” I decided to play a game with him—a dangerous game.
He was quiet for a long time, as if he expected me to say something else. “I knew you would call. But I didn’t think it would take so long.” His surroundings were quiet, like he was somewhere private, and his sexy voice cut through all the random conversations going on around me.