“I didn’t—”
“You did!” she screamed. “You put my father in prison knowing what it would do to me.”
I sat up, ripped the covers from my waist, and stood on the other side of the bed facing her. “I knew I would hurt you, but I never meant to lose you. I searched for you, and after some time, when I couldn’t find you, I figured your father hid you so that never would, and then I accepted that you’d be better off.”
“Except I wasn’t. Should I blame you for that like you blamed my father?”
“Being with me wouldn’t have been any better.”
“I know. Look how your mom turned out,” she answered with a curled lip.
“Careful,” I warned. My voice had gone deep, demanding submission. As always, Mian wasn’t willing to give it so easily. We ended up in a staring contest that I broke. I decided I’d rather continue this argument without my dick out.
“Victor said he was the one to show my dad the video. That day, I heard my father speaking to someone just before he left. It all makes sense now.” She paced the floor of my bedroom as I slipped into gym shorts. “It had to have been Victor. I was trying to ask him about the party, but he was so angry. He raised his voice when I asked questions. He never raised his voice to me. He told me he had a job, and a few hours later, he told me he was leaving Illinois. Not us. Him.” I could hear the hurt and frustration she felt three years ago.
“He wouldn’t have wanted you anywhere near him if I found him, and I did find him.”
Her eyes widened. “What happened?”
“I fucked up. He came back to Chicago to meet with Victor. I trailed him after the meeting, but he spotted me and pulled his gun. A cop noticed him before we could kill each other.”
“I can’t believe you were going to kill him after what you did.” She looked at me as if she had only just realized I was a bad man.
I shrugged feigning casualness. “It needed to be done, Sprite. I didn’t know if he’d talk.”
“You mean prove his innocence?”
“Yeah.” I held her gaze. She needed to know how ruthless I truly was. My family prospered by taking what we didn’t deserve, and her father had been at the head of it all until the tables were turned.
She shook her head, and a single tear slipped down her cheek. “We can never be, Angel. There’s too much bad history between us.”
Was I mistaken or did she mourn the truth?
I wanted her father dead for causing my father’s death and my mother’s destruction, and now both my parents are dead. Theo was the only thing left to fuel my vendetta, but looking at her, I realized I had every reason to give it up.
“Come here.”
“No.”
I sighed. “One day, this cat and mouse game will get old,” I lied. It would never get old. I’d always chase her, and she knew it too.
“It’s not a game. You scare me, Angel.”
I crossed the room until I towered over her and then slowly ran a finger over her naked hip. “My wife doesn’t have to be afraid of me.”
“But I’m not your wife. Our fathers were fools.”
“They’re far from it, Sprite. They knew exactly what they were doing when they forged our marriage. They used us for their interests, and now we’re husband and wife.” I wrapped my hand around her nape and pulled her body into mine. “Till death do us part.”
Her green eyes blazed with irritation. “You should sleep with one eye open, husband. We wouldn’t want to part sooner than later.”
“I should heed that seeing as you’ve tried to kill me once before.”
“It would be wise.” I felt myself harden at the possibility of her murdering me in my sleep and chuckled. Her scowl deepened as my cock pressed against her bare stomach. She tried to pull away, but I swiftly wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
“You don’t need to run away from what’s yours.” I took her hand and slid it under the waistband of my gym shorts. Her small hand closed around my cock, and with her head tilted, keeping our eyes connected, she petted my beast with small strokes. I couldn’t resist taking advantage and pressed my lips against hers. Her lips moved with mine, but she was still holding back. “Let me have that sweet tongue, baby.”
“If I do, you’ll fuck me.”
“I’ll fuck you harder if you don’t.” She couldn’t hold back her reaction. Her body trembled in my arms, and I tasted her moan. “You want to sin with me, don’t you, wife?”
Her answer was to grip my cock tighter in her palm. I backed her up to the nearest wall and lifted her. “Then again… it’s not a sin for a man to fuck his wife.”