Wife (Betrothed 1)

I focused on the key part of that sentence…you’re the only man I want.

“I’ve wanted the family business since I was young, and now being told I’ll never be good enough is insulting. It doesn’t matter how good I am. I’ll never be worthy.”

“That’s not true.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“You can run that hotel all on your own. You just need the world to know that a very powerful man will make heads roll if they cross you. It’s like a personal security system, a bodyguard. You’re taking it the wrong way.”

She brought her glass to her lips to take a drink. “If I ever get that hotel, I want to disband all of those criminal arrangements and run it the right way.”

That wouldn’t be wise, but since it was so far into the future, I didn’t bother arguing with it. “I’m sure your mother is a lot to handle, but at the end of the day, she’s just looking out for you. She’s in your corner.”

She drank her wine again.

“Why was your father a bad man?”

“They’re both bad—my mother and father.”

“And why is that?”

“For one, my mother has so little faith in herself that she signs her soul over to whatever man will take her. Her lack of independence is troubling. She stands in his shadow and never allows herself to shine. And my father…” Her eyes glazed over as she considered what she was about to say.

I stayed patient, needing that answer like I needed air.

“He was good to me. I always knew he loved me. But in my younger years, he used to beat my mother…pretty badly.”

In a single moment, the clouds parted and the horizon became so clear.

“It went on for a long time until she somehow convinced him to stop. But I still remember the way he punched her to the floor and kicked her ribs in. They thought I never knew about it since it’s a big house…but I knew.”

She didn’t need to explain much else. Now I understood her perfectly. She didn’t trust men—especially not me. Her whole life, she’d witnessed loveless marriages, artificial commitments, and being caged. Her mother was a slave to her husband, repeatedly marrying for protection but getting hurt in the process. Sofia had no faith in the institution…and she certainly had no faith in love.

As punishment for your crimes, you will only love one woman…but she’ll never love you back.

I pushed away the thought. “I’m sorry.”

She swirled her wine before she took a drink. Her lipstick smeared on the glass, leaving an imprint of her plump lips.

“But not all men are like that. Not all relationships are like that.”

“I used to think the same thing. But now that I know the truth about the hotel…about the people I’ve known my entire life, I realize it is true. There’s no escaping it. This is hell…and we’re all living in the underworld.”

I woke up the following morning with a beautiful woman all over me. Her face was pressed into the crook of my neck, and her arm was hooked around my waist. One leg was tucked between mine, and her hair was all over the place.

I remained still because I wanted to stay like this forever.

Her smell washed over me, rosy perfume and sex. Her hair was soft to my fingertips even though it was dry from the hairspray. Her curls had come loose from rolling around last night.

I woke up with morning wood, but seeing her snuggled into my side only made me harder.

Her bed wasn’t nearly as comfortable as mine, but I’d rather be there with her than alone at home—or worse, with someone else. I could pay a woman to fuck me exactly how I wanted, but it wasn’t as good as what we had. When I fucked Sofia, I gave everything I had, my heart, soul, and body. I didn’t hold anything back, letting all the pieces of me mix in with her. Every time she hurt me, I only wanted to try harder, to fix her broken outlook on the world.

But now I feared she could never be fixed. Her pessimistic perspective was solidified in her bones like cement. She craved freedom more than commitment, wanted the ability to stay or leave whenever she wanted. The last thing she wanted was a man, because they were a liability, not an asset.

This was the best it would ever get.

She opened her eyes minutes later, stretching her legs and taking a deep breath as the morning washed over her. Her arm hugged my waist a little tighter, and she pressed a kiss to my chest, her lipstick gone because I’d kissed it away last night.

She was gorgeous first thing in the morning.

She sat up then straddled my hips, her eyes still heavy with sleep. She pointed my dick to her tight entrance than slowly sank down, gradually stretching her body apart with my intrusion. She moaned once he was completely in, and she started to grind.