Her eyes linger on my mouth, and I smile. She's as affected by me as I am her. “You promise you'll do everything in your power to protect us?”
“I promise.”
“Fine, but I won't be sharing a bedroom with you. I will not have sex with you either.” She thinks.
I raise my eyebrow. “What? You think I'll have you fuckin' other men?”
She rolls her eyes and folds her arms around herself. “I didn't say that, but if I can't, then nor can you. Sleep with others, I mean.” I smirk and tip my head in agreement.
Marriage is a sacred thing. That's how I was raised. If I do this thing with Marnie, there will be no other women. That's how I know this thing between us will end in us falling into bed. I'm not a man who can go without sex for long, and there's no way I won't be having sex with my wife.
“You're absolutely right, Marnie. From this day forward there will be no other women but you.”
“Good.” She nods, and I see the relief in her eyes. Oh, she'll be in my bed before the weeks out all right. “But I will not be giving up work.”
“You will,” I tell her while adjusting my tie.
“No, I will not! I agree to give up working at the restaurant, but not the pet store. One: I like working there with the animals, and two: I want to earn my own money, Draven.”
“You'll have your own money, Marnie. I'll be giving you a credit card...” She's shaking her head like crazy. “Marnie...”
“No. I just want a little freedom. I know my life is never going to be the same if we do this. Especially because of who you are, but I don't want to be a prisoner. I don't want to be suffocated by you and your organization to the point...” Her words trail off, and she breathes deeply while looking at the ceiling.
She was going to say; To the point, I want to die. It hits me in the gut hard because that's exactly how my mother felt being married to my father. I won't have Marnie turning into that woman – a woman beat down and imprisoned by the husband she hates. Dammit! I'm doing this all wrong. Forcing her will only make her hate me in the end.
“Please, Draven?” Begging. That shit usually turns me on, right now, it's turning my stomach. Marnie doesn't deserve to be unhappy, and it's not like she's asking me for much. I can give her this one small thing. I can allow her to continue working at the pet store if that's what she wants.
“Fine, but part-time. I won't have you working 9-5; it's too stressful in your condition.” I take her hip in one hand, her cheek in the other, pulling her closer. She looks at me with shining eyes. How the hell am I meant to stop myself from falling for her when I can already feel the ice around my heart thawing?
“Marnie, I don't want to take over your life, nor tell you what you can and cannot do. I mean only to keep you safe, you and the baby. I want this pregnancy to go smoothly for you, and I am going to make sure you will want for nothing. Okay?”
“Okay,” She rolls her eyes with a smile on her face. “If it makes you happy, I'll ask for shorter hours, and I'll move in. However, I meant what I said about separate bedrooms. I'm not ready for anything more, Draven.”
“That's fine.” For now. “I'll show you to your room as soon as you've eaten.”
“I'd rather go back to Brooke's. Just for tonight. She needs to know what's going on, and Hawk will still be up wondering where I am.”
I pull her toward me and kiss her forehead. “Okay,”
I may have agreed to take her back to her sister's tonight, but I tell her that I'll be by at 11: AM to collect her. Marnie has got the day off tomorrow so she'll have time to pack up her stuff and tell her sister what's going on.
I drop her off outside Brooke's place and watch as she walks inside, smiling and waving at me before closing the door. Yes, by the end of the week she'll be mine in every way. I just hope I can last that long.
Chapter Five
Marnie
Please, don't do this, Marnie.” I sigh while folding another shirt and putting it in my suitcase. “You don't need to do this. You can stay here for as long as you need.”
“Brooke,” I turn to face her. I know she's worried about me, and maybe I'm naïve where the Don is concerned, but I'm trying to do right by my baby. “Everything will be fine. You don't need to worry about me.”
“How can I not? You've agreed to move in with my boss! A damn Mafia Don!”
“I slept with him, and now I'm having his baby. I want that baby to know its father, and Draven wants to take care of us...” I scrub my hands over my tired face.
I am exhausted from all the worry this past month. Not only money worries, but Paul and Draven. Everything is becoming too much, and last night was the craziest night I've ever had. Draven pushed on me that I'll be moving in with him, marrying him and that I have to give up work because I won't need to go anymore.
I will not be told what to do even if he did have a point about the baby, and him wanting to take care of us. I agreed to live with him because it's the right thing to do for my child. That and I know I'll be safe there. Paul wouldn't dare come near Draven's place or me while I'm with him. I need that peace of mind. I need to feel safe. I need to be relaxed so my baby can thrive. I won't risk losing it.
I came to a compromise with Draven over the job thing. I'll give up the restaurant job but not the pet store. Although I will cut back on my hours and work part-time, I also told him that I wouldn't be sharing a room with him, nor would I be sleeping with him.
Although he still demanded that I don't sleep with any other man. He had a damn cheek to demand such a thing from me, but I guessed he meant while I'm pregnant with his baby. It won't be a problem. I may be horny as hell lately, but I'm not the kind of girl who would lay down with just anybody, and never while I'm carrying another man's baby. Of course, I told Draven that meant he couldn't sleep with anyone else either. I threw it out there as a joke – kind of – I had no idea he'd actually agree to it!
Regardless of that fact, he wanted me to move in then and there. I asked him to bring me back to Brooke's just for the night. I needed to prepare myself for what I'd say to my sister. Everyone was asleep when I got home, and I spent the next hour packing up what little amount of stuff I have, and then I spent the next hour cleaning up my room. I would never leave the place a mess. I then showered and slept until just after nine this morning.
I'm still tired, but I dragged myself off to the laundry room to find the last of my things. I wanted to pack before I found Brooke and explained things, but she found me. I explained everything to her, but she's not taking this well at all.
Brooke strokes my arm gent
ly. “I know you want what's best for your baby, and I'm proud of you for doing everything in your power to make sure he or she has two parents and a safe home life. However, I know Draven, Marnie, and he isn't the kind of man who will bring you roses on your birthday. He's a killer, Marnie.”
“And what is Hawk, exactly?”
She blinks, taken aback by the sharpness of my tone. I don't want to hurt her, but what she just said was like the pot calling the kettle black.
“Yes, Hawk has killed, Marnie, but he's never done the things Draven has. Hawk has only ever protected his family. Draven is a very dangerous man. All of those stories people speak of regarding Draven and the things he's done...”
“They're just stories, Brooke. I'm not saying he's a saint, nor am I saying he hasn't done the things people accuse him of, but have you never thought most of it is made up to scare people? The man I know is not the man I've heard about.”
“But you don't know him, Marnie, not really.”
I clutch my stomach and sigh. I don't know how I'm supposed to get through to Brooke. I understand her fears, of course, I do, but I have to do this. I don't know why, but it feels right.
“I'm not trying to hurt you, or put doubts in your head, Draven is my friend as much as he's my boss. I just don't want you to get hurt. You just got away from one violent bastard, and I don't want you to fall in with another one. Draven is forcing you to do this when you don't have to, Marnie.”
Don't judge a man on what he had to do, judge him only by what he wanted to do. Draven's words echo in my mind, and I smile to myself.
I smile and hug my sister. Brooke means the world to me, she's always there when I need her, and right now, all she's doing is trying to protect me. I love her so much for it, but I want to do this. “Thank you for being here for me, I really do appreciate it, but Draven wants to take care of us. I know this might seem like he's bullying me into something I don't want to do, but it's not as bad as you may think. I don't hate the man; he won't hit me or cheat on me. He'll love our baby, and that's why I'm doing this, for my baby. He or she deserves the father we never had. The father your children have.”