Wife (Betrothed 1)

He rested it on the table.

She grabbed his wrist, felt around for a few seconds, and then studied the lines in his palm. “Would you like to know your future?”

“Why else would I be here?”

She continued to ignore his rough attitude, and her only response was to give him a cold look with her brown eyes. “The future is a scary thing. Knowing what will befall you is considered a curse more than a blessing.”

“I’m not asking how I’m going to die. I was expecting a fortune cookie-type of thing.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Then maybe you should have eaten Chinese for lunch. This is a true reading. I’ve had many people return to me in anger because this conversation ruined their lives.”

“Right…”

I lingered in the corner, listening to their conversation as I observed the contents of the small tent. It was warm inside because there was no airflow, and it was a hot summer night. But everything she had as decoration was so thick and heavy. The rugs on the floor retained the heat of the room, and the fabric of the tent itself was so thick, none of the outside light could penetrate the material.

The gypsy looked into his palm once more. “Alright. You will be a rich man. Very rich.”

His shoulders stiffened immediately. “Good to know.”

“You will have more money than you could ever spend in one lifetime.”

“Even better…”

“But you will be alone. And you will lose many people you love on the way. One woman will love you for you, not your money or your power, but you’ll lose her. And once she’s gone…she’s gone. Your life will be filled with regret, mistakes that can never be undone.”

Damn.

Damien kept his cool. “Well…at least I’ll be rich.” He rose from the seat and clapped me on the shoulder. “Good luck, buddy.”

I didn’t care about learning my fortune, even if it was a bunch of bullshit. But I dropped into the chair anyway. My knees were planted far apart, and my hands rested in my lap because I wasn’t eager for a strange woman to touch me.

The gypsy didn’t look at Damien when she addressed him. “Leave us.”

“What?” Damien asked. “He heard my fortune. He doesn’t care if I hear his.”

“Leave us,” she repeated, with more tension.

Instead of challenging her, Damien stepped out of the tent and swore under his breath.

When it was just the two of us, it became quiet, the tension slowly rising as our eyes remained locked. The sounds of the surrounding crowd were still audible, but it was muffled by the thick tent that insulated us.

With just her expression, she showed far more interest in me than she had with Damien. Then she took the bowl with the money away.

I watched her movements then raised an eyebrow. “You will not read my fortune?”

“Yes. But I won’t take your money.”

That was the first time I’d ever heard a gypsy say that. “I don’t know if I should be concerned or flattered.”

“Very concerned. It’s not often someone steps inside my tent and disrupts all the energy in the room. Your presence is profound, scary. Your future terrifies me.”

This was one hell of an act. “If you think you’re going to pick my pockets, not gonna happen.” I had eyes in the back of my fucking head. If someone tried to stick their hand down my pants, they’d get a punch to the jaw.

She shuffled the cards then dispersed them onto the table. “I don’t want your money. It’s tainted.”

“Tainted how?”

“Because of the way you earned it. It’s blood money.”

My eyes narrowed because she wasn’t wrong.

She moved the cards around until she was only left with three. She examined each one. “Fire. Demon. Death.”

I glanced at the cards then looked at her once more. “You picked those cards.”

“No. They picked me.” She grabbed my wrist and started to touch my skin. She examined my palm, a concentrated expression on her face. “All your ambitions will come true. Your blood money will make you rich, but you’ll hide in plain sight. You’ll pretend to be someone else, and you’ll fool most.”

I had no idea how she knew about my money—and that concerned me.

“But your life will be a very sad story. Are you sure you want to hear it?”

If I were smart, I would just walk away now. Whether I believed her or not, she was getting inside my head.

When I didn’t answer, she continued. “You’ll commit unforgivable crimes. You’ll kill men when only the Lord should decide who lives and dies. You’ll grant life to those who don’t deserve it and take life from others who’ve earned it. As punishment, you’ll only love one woman your entire life…but she’ll never love you.”

I couldn’t picture myself loving any woman, no matter how beautiful, how sexy she was between the sheets. With my riches and power, I intended to enjoy every aspect of life, enjoy every woman that would have me.