Spring was in full force, bringing a distinct warmth that melted the frost on all the sidewalks. But since I was inside most of the time, I sat in front of the fire while I worked on my laptop. My bedroom didn’t have a balcony, and I assumed Damien had put me in there for that very reason.
My phone rang on the cushion beside me, and I grabbed it with the assumption it was Damien or Sofia.
But it was Liam.
I’d been here for a week without seeing his name on my screen. I knew my time of peace was limited and this call was unavoidable. Instead of ignoring it, I accepted the call, knowing it would be worse if I brushed him off. I answered wordlessly, not sure what to say after our last conversation.
He didn’t raise his voice, but his tone was so menacing, so frightening. “You’re living with him now?”
So, he was watching me, deducing my whereabouts by stalking. “It’s not what you think—”
“I’m sure it’s exactly what I think, Anna.” His voice was frostbitten.
“What did you expect me to do? You threatened to take me…whatever that means.”
“I expected you to have more class than fucking Loverboy right away.”
“You mean the kind of class when you fucked someone else while we were married? Twice?” I was sick of him twisting the story, using my relationship with Damien to justify every bad decision he’d made. Fuck no, I wasn’t putting up with that shit. “I’m staying in a different guest room. Sometimes we share dinner together, but for the most part, I don’t see him.”
“You expect me to believe that when you’re a fucking liar?”
“We’re never getting back together, so why would I care about sparing your feelings?” I asked. “I’m telling you the truth because I have no reason to lie. I’m not going to jump into bed with someone else when I’m still hurt by what you did. That’s not fair to him.”
“So, it sounds like you care more about Loverboy’s feelings than mine.”
“He’s the one protecting me, so I guess so.”
“Protecting you?” he asked, his voice rising.
“Yes. From whatever you plan to do.”
“My plan is to get my wife back.”
“Well, I’m not your wife, and I don’t want to be with you. So, that sounds like a pretty scary threat.”
He was quiet as he breathed over the phone, his rage audible in the silence. “You think you’re safe in there?”
“Yes. Otherwise, you would have gotten to me by now.” I felt stupid provoking him like that, but I was tired of this torment. It made me understand that Damien had a valid point, that this wasn’t going to end until one of them was dead—and it shouldn’t be Damien…whose only crime was loving me.
He breathed heavily for a while longer. “I want to kill him first.”
“You’ll never have me if you kill him.”
“It’s pretty easy to force a woman to do whatever I want…”
“Then I’ll kill myself.”
Now he was dead silent.
“I would rather be dead than be forced. You kill Damien, then I’ll kill myself. That’s the deal.”
He clearly didn’t know what to say because he was quiet for so long.
Maybe I’d finally found a solution to this.
“I’m calling your bluff, Anna.”
Suicide had never crossed my mind, even in the darkest of times. I didn’t really mean it now; that was true. But if Damien was really dead on the floor and Liam was about to make me his prisoner, what would I have to live for? “It’s not a bluff, Liam. If you kill the man I love, then I have no reason to live.”
“And if he kills me, you’ll be just fine?”
“No. That’s why I asked him not to. Liam, you’ve had your chances with me, and you blew them both. If you love me, let me go. Let me be happy.”
He was silenced again, breathing quietly over the line.
I hoped I’d said the right thing to fix this, to manage this crisis.
But then he hung up.
Patricia knocked on my door before she opened it. “Miss Anna?”
“Hey, Patricia.” I turned around on the sofa to look at her standing by the door.
“I was going to bring up your lunch, but Miss Catalina is here having lunch with her father. Would you like to join them?”
“Uh…who’s Catalina?”
“Damien’s sister.”
“Oh…” He’d mentioned her before, but not by name. “Oh, I don’t want to intrude.”
“She asked me to extend the invitation. She’s very lovely.”
Having lunch with them was better than sitting here alone. “Sure. What’s his father’s name?”
“Richard.” She started to close the door. “I’ll let them know you’ll be joining.”
I entered the dining room, where cathedral-style windows took up the west side of the wall. Sunlight flooded the dining table, where tall white candles and various flower arrangements were placed across the surface. A young brunette sat there, thin and in a bright pink dress. She spoke quietly with her father, an older man who contained subtle hints of Damien’s handsomeness.
Now I felt nervous, felt my heart drop into my stomach, because I was meeting his family for the first time. “Thanks for inviting me to lunch.” I walked to the dining table and watched them both turn to look at me. “Ooh…everything looks good.” I glanced at the tea sandwiches and individual salads, full of juicy slices of tomatoes, thick pecans, and other delicious toppings.
Catalina halted her conversation with her father and turned to me, unintimidating despite her ridiculous beauty. Her pink dress had ruffles along the straps and down the back of the shoulders on each side. She wore thick mascara, smoky eye makeup, and painted lips. “So, you do exist?” She rose to her feet and greeted me with a hug that practically crushed me. “Damien doesn’t tell us anything.” She pulled away. “He didn’t tell us you were hot. He didn’t tell us you were cooped up in this castle like a princess. He mentioned you in passing this morning like it wasn’t a big deal. Jackass.” She rolled her eyes then patted me on the shoulder. “So sorry about that.”
I liked her already. “He mentioned you were a ballet dancer.”
“Yes. My feet are killing me as we speak.” She turned to her father. “Daddy, this is Anna.”
I came around the table so I could extend a hand. “Nice to meet you, sir. You look a lot like your son.”
He started to rise from his chair.
“Oh, don’t worry about standing…”
He gave me an affectionate smile then wrapped his arms around me to hug me. He patted me on the back despite his obvious frailty. Then he pulled away, his eyes much younger than the rest of his appearance. “You’re going to give me grandchildren. So, damn right, I’m gonna stand.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “Uh…”
Catalina patted me on the shoulder. “Don’t freak out. Daddy is just—”
“You’re the first woman of his I’ve ever seen,” his father continued. “And you’re living here…so let this old man have hope. I’ve told Damien so many times that he’s getting old and he needs to have children. It’s more important than money, drugs, and all that other shit he does.” He gripped the sides of the chair and slowly lowered himself back into the seated position. “And you’re beautiful, so that makes me more thrilled about it.”
Damien was the quiet type, but the rest of his family certainly wasn’t. I had no idea what Damien had said about me to his family, and I was still unsure. I moved around the table and took the seat across from his father, his sister at the head of the table.
Richard stabbed his fork into his salad. “I was older when I had my children, and that’s something I regret. I won’t have as much time with them as I wish I could.”
“Daddy, don’t talk like that.” Catalina patted his arm. “You’re still here.”
“But your mother isn’t,” he said after he chewed his bite. “And she could have had more time with you too if I weren’t so stubborn…”
“Mama is still here, Dad.” Catalina turned back to me. “Anyway, I’m sorry that we freaked you out. My father is just very candid—and I’m even more candid.”
“It’s okay,” I said with a chuckle. “It’s refreshing.”
“Because Damien looks like an old statue?” Catalina made a sour face, looking like an old woman with nothing left to do besides complain. “Like he’s constantly pissed about something?”
Her impression was dead-on, so I laughed. “He usually is pissed about something.”
“Oh, I know,” she said with a laugh. “Like, pull that stick out of your ass.”
Richard didn’t seem to care about the mocking at his son’s expense.
I would never have expected his family to be so easygoing, especially when Damien was subtly hostile all the time. I spread my napkin in my lap and placed a cucumber sandwich on my plate before I poured the dressing over my salad.
Catalina immediately spoke to me like a girlfriend, as if we’d known each other forever. “So, I went out with this guy the other night…” She told me the details about her date, what she ordered, and how she knew the guy, not caring if it made her father uncomfortable.
And it was as if that conversation with Liam had never happened.
I knew Damien was home because his footsteps were distinct down the hallway. He had a specific gait, moving like a man deep in youth, but with a purposeful stride that echoed his determination with every single step.
Then I heard his door open and close.
I closed my laptop, set it aside, and entered his bedroom. “Hey.” I shut the door behind me then searched for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Then he stepped out of his walk-in closet. He must have just shed his suit because he was in only his black boxers, the material hugging his powerful thighs. His physique was as chiseled as I remembered, so cut that every single muscle was outlined as if it were carved out of marble. Confident as always, he didn’t seem to care that I’d walked in on his semi-nakedness. He strolled over to his dresser and opened the top drawer so he could grab a clean pair of sweatpants.
Embarrassed, I wanted to look away and apologize…but I really didn’t. “Sorry…”
“Don’t be.” He pulled on his bottoms then walked toward me, his powerful shoulders tight with strength. The way he carried himself, the muscles all worked together to propel him, contracting and relaxing repeatedly because they were all so tense and powerful. “I’ve got nothing to hide.” His eyes shifted back and forth as he looked into mine, his thick arms resting by his sides. He waited for me to say something, probably noticing the blush of my cheeks and enjoying every second of my distress.
“I had lunch with your family today.”
“And how was that?” He turned away and headed to his living room. A fire was already going, and Patricia had a decanter of scotch waiting for him. He poured himself a glass and took a seat on the sofa, both of his hands together and cupping his drink.
I took a seat in the armchair, still uncomfortable with his near nakedness. His muscular chest and chiseled abs had always been objects of my affection when he was on top of me. I used to feel him everywhere, touching those strong muscles. He was lean and slender, like an athlete, and I liked that too. Liam had much fairer skin, but I preferred the olive complexion of Damien’s darker body. “Good. They’re really nice.”
“Nice?” He brought his glass to his lips and took a drink. “You must have met someone else, because my family isn’t nice.”
I knew he was teasing, so I rolled my eyes. “Your sister was really easy to talk to. She hugged me and talked to me like…she already knew me. She’s really interesting and outgoing…”
“Are we talking about the same person?”
“Oh, come on,” I said. “You know she’s lovely. And she’s beautiful.”
“That’s why she’s nice?” he asked incredulously.
“Of course not. But she’s really cool.”
He whispered under his breath. “My sister is cool?”
“And your dad is sweet.”
“I assume they made idiots out of themselves and me.”
I didn’t tell him about the grandchildren comment because he would probably get angry with his father. “Catalina is going to come over tomorrow for dinner. We’re gonna watch a movie and drink some wine.”
“You guys are friends now?”
“Yeah…is that okay?”
He shrugged. “I guess it’s fine.”
“It’s nice to have a friend…since I can’t leave the house.”
He stared into his glass, becoming lost in thought.
“What did you tell them about me?”
“That you’re staying with me for a while.”
“But that’s it?”
He looked up once more, his finger tapping against the glass. “I don’t discuss the details of my personal life with them.”
“Sure, but knowing some woman is living with you must sound odd.”
“They know what kind of business I run. I doubt they’re that perplexed.”
His father seemed to assume we were romantically involved, but I didn’t tell Damien that. “Anyway, I really liked them—and I’m not just saying that.”
He turned his attention on me, disregarding the drink in his hand and the flames in the hearth.
“I don’t have a family of my own, so it’s nice to be around one again.”
“My family isn’t as perfect as it seems. When my mother passed away, everything changed.”
“Yeah…that came up. You’re all broken, but you’re broken together. And I think that’s special.”
He drank his scotch until the glass was empty then set it on the table.
“I understand why you’re so protective of your father, and having him live here was probably the best idea. He seems to be really enamored of your sister.”
“As is everyone else.”
“Me included. And I suspect you are too.”
He stared at the fire instead of me. “Anything else interesting happen to you today?”
“Uh…Liam called.”
“Oh good,” he said sarcastically. “I was beginning to worry…”
“Nothing has changed. But I did threaten to kill myself if he hurt you.”
He turned back to me, but his gaze was darker than before. “I hope you didn’t mean that.”
“I’m not sure. If he really did kill you and then forced me…I think I would rather be dead.”
“There’s another solution besides suicide.”
“But that involves his death.”
His look suddenly turned cold. “You need to think about yourself, Annabella. Not him.”
We’d promised to love and protect each other for the rest of our lives. It was hard to snap out of that, even after what he did, even after the threats he made. “How was your day?”
He grabbed the decanter and refilled his glass.
“That bad?” I teased.
“I constantly have to look over my shoulder, Annabella.”
“Don’t you do that already?”
He narrowed his eyes on my face. “No. Because most men know it’s pointless to try to kill me.” He took a drink then set the glass on the table. “I had a bunch of shit to do with clients, and tonight, I have to take care of a few things.”
I never asked him for specifics. It seemed like the less I knew, the better. “Damien?”
His gaze focused on my face further.
I thought about asking if he would leave his line of work, because his occupation had been the reason he wouldn’t commit to me in the first place. But that seemed like a premature conversation when I didn’t really know what we were right now. “Never mind…”
He stared at me for a while before he rose and grabbed another glass out of the cabinet. “Want a drink?”
“I can’t drink scotch the way you do.”
He left the glass on the table and didn’t fill it. “That’s unfortunate. Now I have no one to drink with.”
“You always have Hades.”
He shook his head. “He’s given it up.”
“Really?” I asked blankly. “Hades? We’re talking about the same person?”
“It was a shock to me too. But yes.”
“Sofia doesn’t seem like a woman who cares about how much he drinks.”
“True. But then he went to the doctor and found out his liver is damaged and he has high blood pressure because of it.”
“Oh wow.”
“It’s just me now.”
“Have you been to the doctor lately?”
He shook his head and leaned back into the cushions of the couch, staring at the fire. “Men like me don’t go to the doctor.”
“Maybe you should.”
He grew quiet.
“Because maybe you’re in just as bad shape as he is…” I was starting to worry, to grow concerned over his health.
He slowly turned his head back to me, still intimidating me. “When you’re the woman in my bed, you get to worry about all that shit. But until you are, my health isn’t your concern.” He turned back to the fire.
I wasn’t sure if that was his way of pressuring me. “Are you implying someone else is currently in your bed?” I hadn’t seen him much, so I really had no idea. Women could come and go down the hallway, and I’d have no idea. These walls were thick. I never heard him in his bedroom, and I doubt he heard me in mine.
He leaned forward slightly, his arms resting on his thighs so his fingertips could touch. “Is that answer not obvious to you?”
The longer I held his gaze, the warmer my cheeks felt. I could feel the blood rise to the surface, innately aroused by the possessive way he stared at me. He’d told me he loved me and it floored me, but I’d never imagined a life with his fidelity, his commitment, even when he got nothing from me. It was the kind of loyalty I’d never received from Liam. The moment things weren’t picture-perfect, he lost sight of his values. “You just said I had no right to have an opinion about your health.”
“No. You don’t have the right to nag. Men put up with that because they’re getting laid. When I’m getting laid, you can give me shit all you want.” He stared at me for several heartbeats before he turned away.
Sex and intimacy had been the last things on my mind for the past few weeks, but now that I was alone with him, watching his hard chest while he was shirtless, I craved those things more. Jumping into bed with someone else would seem too soon after a serious relationship, but since I was in love with this man…it was different.
“No.” He kept his eyes on the fire. “I’m not seeing anyone else.”
I was relieved I wouldn’t have to see that supermodel ever again…with her double-zero waist and her legs for days. I was like most women, with a stomach and an ass.
“That seems pointless to me when there’s only one woman I want.” He grabbed the glass off the table and took another drink, as if he hadn’t just said something deeply romantic.
I wanted to sit right next to him on that couch, to have my legs lying across his, my fingers in his hair. That had been one of our favorite places to make love in the heart of winter. It was hard not to think of those memories…especially when I could recreate them whenever I wanted.