“That’s a two-way street.”
“I know.” Even if our marriage was just a business relationship, I felt odd sleeping with someone besides my husband. It still felt like a crime.
“And if I’m not fucking anyone else, I better be fucking you.” He stepped closer to me, looking at me with those aggressive eyes. He crowded my space with his presence, exerting himself before he even owned me.
I’d been with other men since Hades and I went our separate ways. The sex was never as good as it was with him. It lacked the passion and the fire; it lacked that all-consuming chaos. It was just sex, dull from the condom. I did my best to forget about the best sex of my life because my hatred for him made me stubborn, but now it came back to me, exploding in the form of dirty images in my brain.
He lingered in front of me, as if he was waiting for my agreement. “Do you understand me?”
I gave a slight nod.
He walked past me in preparation to leave. “Plan the wedding. Just tell me when to show up.”
I turned to watch him walk away. “I’m not sleeping with you until I say I do.”
He looked back at me. “And you expect me to keep my dick in my pants until then?”
“No…” He didn’t owe me anything until we tied the knot.
“Good.” He started to walk away again.
“Hades.”
He turned back to me, looking more annoyed.
“My mother needs to live with us.”
His hands slid into his pockets. “She never mentioned that.”
“She’s too proud to ask. I know she doesn’t want to be alone…”
“And that’s my problem?” he asked, being a smartass.
“I’d be really grateful to you if you did this for me…and I’d show it.” I didn’t want my mother to live in this big house all alone. She didn’t have many friends, and all her hobbies took place indoors. She wouldn’t get married again, so I was her only companion. Besides, she could watch the kids while I worked all day.
His eyes softened slightly. “I’m holding you to that.”
2
Hades
Damien and I rented out the strip club for a private show, watching the girls dance around the stage in skimpy thongs and tops that barely covered their nipples. Articles of clothing slowly fell to the floor, revealing more beautiful skin for us to gawk at.
He slipped a big bill into the thong of the woman who’d just given him a lap dance.
I drank from my glass of scotch.
The music boomed overhead, so Damien raised his voice to talk to me. “I’m ready for the whorehouse. How about you? Or should we hit a bar and do this the old-fashioned way? You know, alcohol and romance?” He slapped the woman’s ass as she walked away.
Sofia agreed to marry me. I was a betrothed man, committed to a woman for the rest of my life. When I told her I wouldn’t keep my dick in my pants, it was an empty threat. I just hoped that would change her mind about sleeping with me. “I’m gonna call it a night.”
“What? It’s eleven.”
“Yeah…I’m just not feeling it.”
Damien looked at the dozens of girls dancing in front of us then turned back to me—like I was fucking crazy. “Then you’re gay. You’ve got to be.”
I smacked him upside the head then left my chair.
He came after me and followed me into the parking lot. “What’s the problem? You’ve been weird all week.”
I hadn’t told him the news yet, knowing he would shit a brick. I walked to my car then leaned against the door. “I’ve got something to tell you. It’s not easy for me to say…”
“Alright…you’re scaring me.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stood in front of me.
“Sofia’s mother came to my office last week and asked me to marry her daughter. I said yes.”
It took him some time to absorb that information, to get it inside his brain and understand what it truly meant. His face slowly slackened when the revelation hit him. “Okay…I’m officially freaked out now.”
“I’ve just come to accept it.”
“Why did you say yes?”
I bowed my head, not wanting to answer.
“Hades. You asked her to marry you, and she said no. Why be with a woman who obviously doesn’t give a shit about you? Why subject yourself to this torture? You know how long it took you to get over her last time.”
“I know…”
“Then what the fuck are you doing?”
“If I don’t marry her, someone else will.”
“Which is a good thing.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want anyone else to have her. Even if she doesn’t love me, she’ll still be mine. And maybe someday…that will change.”
“According to the gypsy, it never will.”
It seemed like he believed in it after all. “A guy can dream, right?”
He shook his head. “Don’t do this.”