Wife (Betrothed 1)

“Yes, I am. I own this place.”

I picked up my menu, slightly blindsided by his admission. “Of course you do…”

The waiter returned with the uncorked bottle of wine and two glasses. Just when he turned to disappear, Hades spoke again. “Thank you, Hector.”

Hector turned back to him, clearly surprised by what he’d said. It took him a second to respond. “You’re welcome, sir.” He disappeared.

I couldn’t wipe off the smile on my face. “Wasn’t so hard, huh?”

He drank his wine as he watched me, not interested in the menu still lying on the table.

I made my selection then set it down. “Already know what you want?”

“I always know what I want.” He got the waiter’s attention again by simply raising his hand a few inches off the table.

Hector returned and took our order.

Once he was gone, we stared at each other. He hardly blinked as he looked at me, as he took in my features while the candle burned low between us. His brown eyes were a little lighter in the glow, and his sharp features seemed a little softer in a different atmosphere.

“I knew this was a bad idea…”

“We’ve been here five minutes.”

“Yeah. But I would much rather be naked with you right now.”

His eyes narrowed at my confession, and his body tightened noticeably. His body was all muscle, concealed under his perfect skin. Whenever his core contracted, everything else moved with it. His fingertips rested on the stem of his glass, his body perfectly still as he internalized what I’d said. “I can fuck you here if you’d like.”

“Right here on this table?” I asked incredulously.

“Like I said, I don’t give a shit what people think.”

Something told me he was being serious, even though the room was full of people. I drank my glass and entertained myself with his handsome features, thinking about how we would fuck once we got to the hotel. I was in the mood for something deep and slow, like the first night we were together and he pressed me deep into the mattress. I wanted to treasure the feeling of his dick inside me, feel that amazing stretch.

But I had to get through this first. It was a dinner I didn’t want to have, and I didn’t have any interest in getting to know him when I already knew exactly what he was. He was a rich playboy who went from woman to woman. I just happened to be the flavor of the week, but when he saw the next beautiful woman, he would forget all about me. His text messages would stop, and there would be no more invitations to the hotel room.

I was dreading that moment.

I’d found the best sex of my life, and I wasn’t willing to let it go so soon. Most guys I’d been with either didn’t know what they were doing or they cared more about getting off than getting you off. Hades did neither of those things…and he was fucking gorgeous. Why would I want to ruin that by getting to know him? What little I knew about him, I didn’t like, like when he dropped that pretty girl the instant he saw someone better. That was his entire life…moving from one chick to the next. He was a heartless asshole.

The less I knew, the better.

I swirled my wine and took another drink. “So…you’re almost thirty.” There wasn’t much for us to talk about, so I pulled at whatever I could find.

He nodded slightly.

“Are you dreading the big three-oh?”

“Why would I be?”

“Because your youth is officially gone.”

“Thirty isn’t that old. I’m just getting started.”

It wasn’t that old, but he was seven years ahead of me, and that felt like a lifetime. He had nearly a decade of experience more than I did. That was probably why he knew exactly how to fuck a woman.

Knew exactly how to fuck me.

“Do you ever think of settling down?” I asked, pressing personal questions to him the way he did to me.

He gave a simple answer. “No.”

“You don’t want kids?”

“I do—someday.”

“So, you do think about settling down?”

He shrugged. “Maybe when I meet the right woman, that’ll be an option. But for the last ten years, it hasn’t crossed my mind.”

I nodded slightly. “My mother thinks I need to get married soon. Find a respectable husband who will take care of me.” I rolled my eyes. “She thinks I should stay home all day and leave the business to the man.”

He didn’t tease me for the archaic viewpoint. “You have a wealthy family. It’s not unheard of for people to protect their bloodlines.”

“Please don’t tell me you agree with her.”

“I’m not exactly a romantic, so I don’t think arranged marriages are so bad. Most marriages end in divorce because people choose wrong. They have no idea what to look for in a partner, what kind of relationship will last for fifty years. They think with their emotions rather than logic, so they marry for all the wrong reasons. By finding a suitable partner that checks off all the boxes, you eliminate all of that.”