Wife (Betrothed 1)

He kicked the door shut behind him and dug his hand into my hair, making me go weak at his touch. He pressed me against the wall and stripped off his jacket.

My hands moved underneath his shirt and touched the warm skin that was heated from his muscles. My fingertips drifted up and felt his hard chest, felt the body I could picture with my eyes closed. This man released endorphins into my brain, gave me such a high that I couldn’t quit even if I wanted to. I needed this man to find someone new and forget about me. That way, I would be forced to move on.

He ended the kiss and subtly licked his lips. “You taste like wine.”

“You are what you eat, right?” My hands grabbed the bottom of his shirt and slowly peeled it over his body.

He pushed my hands away. “I want to talk.”

I pouted my lips and sighed. “Ugh…I hate talking.”

“I’ve noticed.” His arms hugged my lower back and placed our foreheads together, holding me in the entryway like he didn’t want to talk either. He obviously didn’t want to screw either. Otherwise, he would be carrying me down the hallway right now. It seemed like he just wanted to hold me, just feel our beating hearts next to each other.

I was drunk, so any affection was nice. There was nowhere in the world I felt more at ease than when I was in his arms. His kiss made me forget reality, made me forget about all the bullshit in my life.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” I whispered. “Do I not look fine?”

He glanced at the coffee table and noticed the empty bottle sitting next to the remote. “No.”

My hands slid down his chest, and I gently pushed him away. “I don’t want to talk about it. So, if you want to have sex, that’s fine. But if not…then you can just leave.” I grabbed the bottle and flipped it over to get any extra drops at the bottom—but it was dry. “Actually, you can take me to pick up another—”

He snatched the bottle out of my hand, along with the glass, and carried it to the sink.

“Wow…I didn’t realize drug dealers were so boring.”

When he walked back to me, he wore a cold expression on his face, not finding my drunk act very cute. He stopped in front of me, so handsome that I forgot my train of thought. “Baby, be real with me.”

“Baby…?”

“Yes.” His hand slid into my hair, but he didn’t kiss me. He cradled my cheek with his palm, his thumb gently caressing my skin. “Now, talk to me.”

“About what?” I whispered. “That my family’s legacy is a lie? That everything I believed was just a dream? That one day I’ll inherit a corrupt business infested with rats…including you?”

His eyes contracted slightly as he digested that insult.

“The whole reason I went to university was to do this…and now I can’t. My father wasn’t evil, but he wasn’t good either…though I didn’t realize how dark he was. I didn’t realize my mother has been aware of this since the beginning. I didn’t realize this was my life. Even the man I’m sleeping with is a top-tier criminal. It’s all around me, and I never noticed…because I didn’t want to notice.” I lowered my gaze and felt the emotion strike me in the gut.

“The world isn’t black-and-white. Not all criminals are evil, and not all law-abiding citizens are good. There’s so much gray area there. You’ve been living in that shade for a long time, so you understand exactly what I mean. Your family may be laundering money and facilitating criminal meetings and the drug trade, but that doesn’t make them bad people.”

“Wow…that’s rich.”

His eyes narrowed. “I’m the biggest drug dealer in this part of the world. I get shit done by rewarding those loyal to me and torturing those who aren’t. Cross me, and I’ll push you out of a goddamn window. Test me, and I’ll make you shit your pants. But I stay in my lane and mind my own business. I don’t touch innocent people. I don’t touch the police. Your family is the same way. The other guys who grow through that hotel have the same agenda. We live in the underworld and don’t touch anyone outside of it.”

“And none of these men rape and traffic women? You think I’m stupid? I know that’s the biggest business out there—”

“I don’t do business with those kinds of men. I don’t do business with men who do business with those kinds of men.” He held my gaze, seeming genuine all the way down to his core. “I kill those kinds of men. Selling drugs or some other product is one thing. But selling a human being is disgusting—especially kids.”

His speech shouldn’t soften me, but it did. He couldn’t be that evil if he actually meant that.