When she left, Sofia spoke. “I’m glad Helena is still here.”
“I’ll never let her go.”
“I guess it’s something for me to look forward to…”
Among other things.
She placed a few pieces of bruschetta on her plate before she took a small bite, the bread crunching under her small teeth. She washed it down with a sip of wine.
Hypnotized, I stared at the beautiful woman across from me, feeling the desperation roar inside my chest. I’d never been infatuated with a woman like this, so obsessed that I could barely think straight. I’d been with beautiful women all around the world, but none of them compared to Sofia Romano. Her perfect skin, her full lips, that dark hair…I wanted all of it. I’d wanted her since the moment I saw her, and I never stopped.
When she grew uncomfortable by my stare, she looked away. “Thank you for what you did today. I wish I could handle it all on my own, but you definitely made my life a lot easier.”
“I’ll fix all your problems. That’s my job.”
“But I wish it weren’t your job…” Her eyes filled with self-loathing, like she’d lost self-respect because she couldn’t control those assholes.
“It’s not you, Sofia. It’s just the way men are.”
“If only that weren’t true…”
“It doesn’t matter now. They’ll be easy to work with from now on.”
“Couldn’t I just get rid of them?” she asked. “I hate having to answer to someone. I want to do what I want without needing approval.”
“Since they invested in the company, you could only accomplish that by buying them out.”
“Okay…could I do that?”
“Yes. But it’d cost you a lot of money.”
Her gaze drifted away as she considered it. “I hope someday I can make that happen. I could run that place entirely on my own and cut ties with all the weasels my family has associated with.”
That was unwise. Those relationships had been built over decades. It’d be stupid to mess with the structure, to provoke the underworld. “The hotel has been successful for several decades. I wouldn’t change anything if you want it to remain successful.”
She took another bite of her bruschetta. She seemed a lot calmer around me, probably because I’d done her a huge favor without her even having to ask me. I’d proven my worth to her, and now she realized how useful I could be.
I could be really useful in the bedroom too…which she already knew. “Is your mother going to give you away?” I couldn’t wait to see her in her wedding dress, to see how beautiful she was as she glided toward me. I wanted the world to be envious of me, to watch the most stunning woman in the world agree to be my wife.
“Yes.” Her eyes moved back to mine. “So…most of my stuff is already here.”
“Helena hung up your clothes.”
She glanced through the open doors even though the closet wasn’t visible. “Will I be getting my own room?”
Silence was my answer.
“You expect me to sleep in here every night?”
“I expect you to do other things here every night.”
She shifted her gaze away once more. “I think I need my own space…at least sometimes.”
“No. We’re husband and wife. We sleep together.”
“What happened to compromise?”
“Your compromises push us apart. Give me a constructive compromise, and I’ll consider it.” She wanted to keep her last name. She wanted to sleep in different rooms. “I know you’ll never love me, but I command your loyalty, commitment, and friendship. I need to trust you the way I trust Damien. You need to feel the same way about me. So, let me be your husband. Stop trying to half-ass this.”
“I’m not. It’s just a big change and—”
“Get over it.” My coldness froze the summer air around us. “On Saturday night, you will be my wife. You will behave like my wife. You will come to our home, and you will fuck me like my wife.”
She didn’t appreciate what I said, but she didn’t argue with me either. “This is exactly what I didn’t want…to be owned by someone.”
“That’s too bad. I own you. But trust me, you’re going to like it.” My goal had been to get between her legs tonight. Instead, I was pissing her off and pushing her away. I’d always been a dick, but right now wasn’t the best time to behave that way.
She turned her view to the city, which had become darker with every passing minute. Soon, only the nighttime would surround us.
Helena set dinner in front of us before she walked away.
Sofia hardly looked at her food. “You said you would tell me about yourself.”
I took a long drink of my wine. “What do you want to know?”
“You’ve never told me about your family.”
“Not much to tell.”
She picked up her fork and took a few bites, but I suspected she was just doing it to be polite. Our conversation made her sick, made her angry at me, but also forced her to respect me at the same time. A woman like her wouldn’t want to marry a gentleman. She needed a monster. “Are your parents still alive?”
Even after all these years, it was still difficult for me to talk about. I’d be honest with her because this would be the deepest relationship I would ever have with anyone. She would be my wife, be closer to me than even Damien was. “My mother is. My father is gone.”
“I’m sorry about your father,” she said. “It’s rough…”
“Yeah.” I felt sick to my stomach just thinking about it. My breathing increased, and I could feel my pulse in my neck.
“Are you close with your mother?”
“No.” My fingers rested against my bottom lip as I looked across the city, admiring the lights from the church.
“May I ask why?”
“Because she doesn’t remember me.”
Sofia stiffened in her chair, her eyes slowly showing understanding. “I’m sorry.”
“She’s in a home in town. I stopped visiting her because it felt pointless.”
“Jesus…” She set down her fork. “That’s terrible, Hades.”
“Hades isn’t my real name.” Confessions spilled out of my mouth without restraint. “But I’d rather not say what my real name is.”
“Why?”
“That’s not who I am anymore.”
She left it alone. “Well…if you ever change your mind, I’d like to know.”
I probably wouldn’t.
“How old were you when your father passed away?”
“Twenty-six.”
“At least you had a long time with him. Were you close?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Oh…” Dinner was abandoned because our conversation took hold of everything. “I can tell this makes you really uncomfortable, so we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. You can share as much or as little with me as you want. It doesn’t change my decision to marry you.”
“It might.”
Her green eyes showed fear because she took me seriously.