Vidal! (Snakes Henchmen MC 6)

Brooke looks at me with tears in her eyes. “You really believe he's that man?”

I smile. “Yes, I really believe Draven is that man.”

She rolls her eyes and smiles. “Fine, but if he hurts you...” I laugh loudly and hug her again.

Brooke makes breakfast for us, and we talk while we eat. She's happy to listen to my plans for the nursery I want to prepare for the baby while she feeds Gabe. He squeals and claps his hands each time he looks at me, and I laugh and kiss his head. I'll miss spending my mornings with him. He brightens my day.

Brooke and I talk about the wedding, which she isn't too keen on. She even tries for half an hour to talk me out of it, telling me that living with Draven is good enough and that we don't need to be married to raise a child together.

She thinks I'm insane when I tell her that I want to marry Draven. After I thought about what Draven said last night, I realized marrying him wouldn't be so bad. We may never fall in love, but there will be some kind of love between us. We'll be joined by a bond, the bond that links us together, our baby, and I will do whatever it takes for my child to have the happy, stable life it deserves.

On the ride over to Brooke's last night, Draven promised me that he would never hurt me. I told him that if he does want to sleep with someone, to just tell me so that I don't have to find out from one of his whore's. Not that it would bother me, him sleeping with someone else, looking the fool in front of my friends would. Draven told me, with a laugh, I might add, that he will never need anyone else, and I can fight him all I want, but one day soon, I'll want him as much as he wants me. I didn't know whether to believe him or not, but it made my pussy throb like crazy!

Brooke tells me that as long as I know what I'm doing, and as long as I'm happy, then she'll not stand in my way. Not that she could stop me doing what I wanted to do, but it's nice to know that she cares so much about me.

Draven arrives at Brooke's at 10.53: AM, seven minutes early. Brooke then sets about making Draven swear on his niece's life that he'll take care of me, that he wouldn't stop us seeing each other, and that if I needed her, he'd call her right away.

That's when he hands me a brand new cell phone, top of the range, and tells Brooke that her number is already programmed in. I'm pissed off, but I don't say anything, and I hope that my face doesn't give that anger away. I told Draven that I didn't want to be a kept woman!

I hug my sister hard and thank her for everything she's done for me, and then we leave.

As soon as we get back to Draven's, he shows me how the alarm systems work. He doesn't want me to come home and set one off without knowing how to disable them. Then he shows me how to open doors, turn on lights, etc., just with my voice or the click of my fingers. It amazes me.

Tony takes my belongings to my new room. I smile and thank him. Draven then takes me to his study and copies my thumb and forefinger print into his computer system before scanning my eyeball. It all seems so spy like to me, but Draven tells me that now I'll be able to open the doors to the house with my fingerprint or eyeball with ease, along with my voice, of course. It boggles my mind, but I nod like I understand, even though I don't.

Panels on walls. Touch doors that slide open when you press your finger to the panel next to it. Lights that turn on by the clap of your hand or the sound of your voice etcetera. Yeah, the whole house is like that, digital and computerized. It's all crazy!

Once we've gotten the tour of the house and how to work everything out of the way, Draven shows me to my room. It's such a beautiful room. The bed is huge! I've never seen a bed that big in my whole life, but then, I grew up on a farm with five siblings and just three bedrooms. Everything was small and cramped. Here, everything is so big and open.

The covers on my bed are softest cream silk I've ever felt in my life. The canopy above matches and the mattress is comfortable yet firm enough to support my back. There are white lamps either side of the bed on small cabinets, a dresser to the left that looks like Egyptians of old carved it. Beneath the window is a cushioned seat that runs from one end to the other — a pretty light lilac color with cushions everywhere. I'll enjoy sitting there reading. I love to read. I devour books like wine.

There's a beautiful light wooden rocking chair in the corner of the room, there, ready for when I'm nursing my baby, so Draven told me. That was so thoughtful of him. God, the carpet is so beautiful, cream and soft, and thick, but I'm not sure it's necessary for the Tennessee heat.

Once I've unpacked, Draven spends more time showing me around the rest of the house, basement, attic, even the yard. It's so beautiful, everything about the place is beautiful. It's modern and bright. I thought a Mob Boss would have a home fit for a film star, not royalty, but hey, I like it.

I'm allowed in every room but Draven's office. Not that I'm bothered about that. I know what kind of man he is and what he must get up to, what he must hide in that room. I know it's ignorant, but I figure, what I don't know about won't hurt me. All I want to think about right now is the baby growing inside of me.

Draven makes dinner for us later in the evening, but I didn't even know he could cook! The pasta salad he prepared to go with the lasagna is just delicious, the whole meal is, and the conversation is easy. I offer to do dishes, but Draven laughs and tells me that's what a dishwasher is for. I wouldn't know as I've never had one. I thanked him for a lovely evening and retired to my room.

I take a nice, long, hot bubble bath, and I just lie here relaxing with my hands on my stomach and a smile on my face.

Yes, I think I'm going to like it here.

* * *

To say this first week with Draven had been hard would be a lie, it's been, dare I say, nice? Well, it has been nice. He's nothing like I thought he would be. Okay, I've seen him with his men, the powerful man in charge that he is, but at home, he's... kind, funny, attentive. I don't deserve such kindness, and to be honest, it's kind of odd to me. I've never had anyone treat me the way Draven does.

I've quickly gotten used to being allowed to do whatever I want, well, within reason. Paul never let me do anything without his permission. Draven laughs to himself whenever I ask him if I could go somewhere. He told me, 'Marnie. You are not my prisoner, sweetheart. Go where you want. All I ask is that you allow Stefano to drive you, and Tom to stand guard over you. You know the man I am, and you know I have to keep you safe, no matter what.' I agreed because I want to please him, and it's not like it's terrible having someone drive me around, or having a bodyguard. Although, sometimes I wish I could drive myself around like I used to.

Brooke and Maria, Draven's little sister, have made a joke once or twice today about how I must think myself some royalty being driven around the way I am.

Of course, now I'm crying like an idiot. Over a silly comment or two? Yeah, I'm hormonal.

“I'm sorry,” I tell them while wiping my eyes on the tissue I just fished out of my pocket. “Didn't mean to start blubbering.”

“It's okay, sis, we both know what it's like.”

Yeah, they do, both of them are pregnant as well. Brooke will have her baby first, Maria second, then me. All three babies will be born within a couple of months of each other. It's exciting and scary all at the same time.

“I know.” I smile as Brooke takes my hand and squeezes it.

“How are the wedding plans coming along?” Maria takes a sip of her lemonade through the straw inside the glass filled with ice and lemon slices.

The wedding. Draven said I could have anything my heart desires for this wedding, but the truth is, I don't want a big wedding, I just want something small and intimate. Draven is having none of it. He told me that being the man he is, it's expected of him to have a huge wedding. So many important people to invite, to impress.

Shouldn't it be about us?

But then I have to tell myself that this isn't about us. There's no love there; we're marrying for the sake of the baby, nothing more.

Over the past few days, I've seen a weddin

g planner, a dressmaker, a caterer, a florist, and... God, I've lost count!

I'm beyond tired. I don't sleep well at all. I wake every night in cold sweats from the nightmares that plague me. Then all I can think about is the fact we're organizing a wedding that I'm not sure will happen any time soon.

How can it when I still haven't been given my divorce?

I don't even know how to find Paul because he's not around. Where the hell he could be, I don't know. It's not like he doesn't disappear for weeks on end, he always did when I lived with him anyway.

He's probably shacked up with some busty slut, filling her holes like every other whore he's been with.

Not that I care what he does, but I want to be free.

If I'm completely honest with myself, I'm scared that Draven has done something that will mean I'll never find Paul. If that were the case, however, surely Draven would have found a way to make sure I was either divorced or widowed in a way the police could have notified me? I don't even know anymore; everything is getting on top of me, and I can't cope.

“They're coming.” I smile slightly and sip my iced tea. I have nothing else to say on the matter. I know there's a lot to do, but that's why Draven hired people, to do everything for us. Yeah, I'm not even getting much say in this ridiculous wedding!