Violent Ends
She didn’t like the spike of jealousy that rushed through her at the thought of him being here with anyone else. “Do you bring other women here?”
“No. You’re the first and only woman I’ve brought here. This is my place, Emma.”
“Does that make me special?”
“Yes.”
She didn’t know what to think about that, so she grabbed the menu. Opening it up, she scanned through the list of foods and they all looked amazing, comforting, warm. She didn’t know which one to pick.
“I’ve tried everything on this list. If you’re getting garlic bread, we’ll both eat some.”
“Why?”
“When I kiss you at the end of the night, you’ll know why.”
“You want to kiss me?” she asked. Her face started to heat up, and she couldn’t believe she asked that.
“Shouldn’t every single date end with a kiss?”
That she didn’t know the answer to either. The men she’d dated looked like they wanted to drop her into the nearest well rather than kiss her.
“I guess.”
“Don’t look so afraid. If you don’t want to kiss me at the end, it’s fine.”
“It’s not that. I’m just … ugh, I’m not good at this.”
“Relax, Emma. This is not some kind of test I want you to pass. I just want you to have some fun. Now, pick what you want.”
He signaled the waiter over. Pushing her hair off her shoulders, she ordered the chicken parmesan with extra garlic bread, and held off dessert.
She loved something sweet, but usually she went with a coffee with lots of cream and sugar.
“So, how was your day?” she asked.
“Busy.”
“I just realized you can’t really talk about your day.”
“I can. It’s kind of tedious though. A lot of driving around, stopping off at places to show the Dentons are indeed in charge and no one can take that away from us.”
“Do you have a lot of people trying to overthrow you?”
“We’re the kings of this kingdom, and like all people, they want the power to rule.”
“Do you abuse your power? I know my dad did a lot. He had people fearing him to do stuff they would never do.”
“I’d say we don’t abuse power.”
“Crap, that was insulting, wasn’t it? I’m sorry. I don’t have a great filter from my brain to my mouth. I promise though, I do have a brain. I just don’t use it.”
He chuckled. “It’s more than fine.”
“You could say I’m not used to this.”
“Talking?”
“Yes. Spending time with a man. The dates I’ve been on haven’t gone great, and now, I don’t know. I guess I’m nervous. I wasn’t allowed to date. I was going to be just another pawn in my dad’s life. I was only to be seen and not heard and above all things to always look my best.”
He took her hand, and she was thankful for the connection. “I don’t want you to be afraid when you’re with me. I get it. Your life has taken a complete one-eighty, and you’re trying to figure out what to do.”
“It’s so much more than that. I never wanted this life. I once asked my mom how to get out. How to escape. She told me death was my only chance. This is such a morbid conversation.”
“It’s fine. I have a feeling I’m going to have to spank you for you to realize you can tell me anything.”
“You really don’t think about getting away from it all?”
“Being a Denton, it wasn’t exactly granted to me to be part of any other life, Emma. This is it, but I want to be clear as well. I love this life. I love being a king here.”
“You love hurting people?”
“I love doing my job. I won’t let it affect my life, and it doesn’t stop me from sleeping. I have taken a lot of lives, but I don’t care.”
“I don’t know if we should continue on this date.”
“I would never hurt you. You need to know that. I will never lie to you, and I will be open and honest with you.”
She tilted her head to the side, watching him. “You’re speaking the truth now?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like my brother?”
“Gabriel is an asshole, but he’s now my half-brother. It makes him family, and family will stick together no matter what.”
“You didn’t tell my other brothers about my wish to leave.”
“Why would I tell them?”
“To make them stop me? I don’t know.” She wasn’t good at this dating thing.
“How about we push our lives to one side and try and get through this meal just being Emma and Gideon?” He kissed her hand. “Don’t worry. Don’t stress about anything.”
There were times that Gideon seemed rather … mechanical. As if he was just going through the motions. Then there would be sparks of life that made her realize there was a lot more to this man.
“Okay. We can enjoy this meal.” Whatever happened, she couldn’t fall for him. Gideon being a Denton meant his real woman was out there somewhere. He wouldn’t ever belong to her. She had to remember that a Denton was someone else’s. She’d seen the men with their women, and even though she knew deep down in her core that she’d never find a man who’d treat her like that, part of her hoped someone would at least love her just as fiercely.