His Wild Attraction: A Billionaire Romance Novel (Wild Billionaire Romance Book 4)

Chapter Fifteen Ellie

“So, how’s married life?”

I looked up from the dough I’d been kneading and met three pairs of curious and amused eyes.

Thanksgiving was one week away, and Sofia had invited everyone over to test out some recipes for the holiday festivities.

She was hosting. And we were all invited.

“Um, good,” I replied.

Honestly, it was good. Andres was like the perfect man.

He was attentive. Yet he gave me space. He was wonderful with Sammy. And at night, he loved me with a fervor I’d never experienced.

But I felt something lacking between us.

It was stupid.

I was being stupid.

I mean, we weren’t a love match. But there was something about his demeanor that made me wish we were.

Christ, I was losing it.

I couldn’t help it. Maybe it was all the romance books I read.

“Just good?” Meredith teased.

“It’s fine. I mean, you guys know why we married?—”

“Don’t even try it. I’ve seen the looks he gives you,” Destiny said, pursing her lips.

“Don’t forget salt,” I told her, watching as she added water and flour to her mixture.

“Right. Salt.”

The women all checked their measurements and added salt to their dough.

“Have you heard from your ex?” Meredith asked, and I nodded.

“Andres is handling most of it, but we have a meeting with the lawyers soon,” I said, dreading the confrontation.

Someone sent an anonymous print of the announcement for Gary’s wedding to his ex-secretary to St. Elizabeth’s, and it was forwarded to my new address.

I was surprised, but really, I felt nothing at all when I looked at the black-and-white image of him and his new wife.

Well, almost nothing. I felt pity for the woman, and I could only hope she didn’t suffer what he’d put me through.

“Oh wow, you must be nervous,” Sofia said, biting her bottom lip.

“A little bit,” I lied.

I was a lot nervous.

“We’re here for you, you know,” Meredith said, bumping my shoulder, and I nodded.

“I know you are. Thanks.”

It was true. These women had been there for me since day one. I didn’t really have experience with girlfriends, but I valued them.

“I mean that. I appreciate you all. You’ve been so wonderful to me and Sammy. And I mean, of course, I’m including Andres with that. He’s done so much for us, and I really have no idea why, or how to repay him,” I said, knowing I was rambling.

“Uh, I have some ideas on how you can repay him, and they all involve a little bowchickawowow, and maybe spending a little time on your knees,” Destiny said, raising her hand and swinging her hips in time with her bad singing.

The other ladies snorted and giggled and me, well, I blushed.

“Oh, I see you need no help in that department. Right on, girlfriend,” she added with a nod.

“Can I tell you guys something? Or rather, can I ask you something personal?”

“You want tips on giving your husband a killer blow job? Cause I got tips,” Destiny said.

“You only suck on the tip? I thought you were a deep throat kinda gal,” Sofia replied.

“Oh my God, shut up,” Destiny said, and I snorted.

“NO. I don’t need tips. Well, not yet. Anyway, I mean, I don’t know,” I mumbled, knowing if I didn’t say it fast, I ever would.

“Oh my God, spit it out,” Destiny said.

“You don’t swallow?” again from Sofia.

We were all giggling after that.

“Shut up, you guys,” Meredith said, rolling her eyes in exasperation before facing me. “Come on, you can trust us. What is it, Ellie?” she asked.

“It’s, um, well, when we go to bed at night, Andres is like the perfect gentleman?—”

“Wait, you mean you guys haven’t had sex?” Sofia asked, mouth gaping.

“What? No! I mean, yes, we have sex. Every night. But it’s me who starts it,” I confessed, and my cheeks were burning with embarrassment.

“What do you mean? Like, is he not into it?” Meredith asked carefully.

“No, I mean, he seems very into it once we get going, but like, I’m the one who initiates it. He doesn’t touch me unless I make the first move, and I wondered, does that mean there’s something wrong? Like, with me, or shit, I don’t know. I sound pathetic,” I murmured, closing my eyes.

“Hold on. First, stop that,” Sofia ordered in her best mom voice, and my eyes flicked to her. “There is nothing wrong with you. Nothing at all. And fuck whoever made you feel like that. Second, if little Andres is waking up for playtime, then it doesn’t matter who touches who first. Clearly, the man wants you, too.”

“Little Andres? Somehow, I doubt that,” Destiny said, and everyone started chuckling again.

“True. I mean the guys are all big, bulky men and I know Adrik is definitely not little. So, how big we talking?” Sofia asked, waggling her eyebrows.

“You are such a horn dog, Sof,” Destiny teased.

“I am not. It’s research for the current book I’m writing,” she replied with faux haughtiness.

I snorted.

“Okay. First, there is nothing little about little Andres,” I admitted.

“Eeek! I knew it!” Sofia shouted.

The way she said it made me giggle like an idiot.

“Well, now that we solved that mystery, Ellie, let me tell you that man wants you. I mean, Marat said Andres has been more than a little distracted at work for weeks now. Also, ever since you moved in, your husband leaves work promptly at six every night,” she announced.

“Why is that strange? Six is the usual time to leave work, isn’t it?” I asked.

All three women shook their heads and rolled their eyes like I was the class dunce or something.

“Girl, do you not know a thing about your husband? He used to stay till ten every night. Serious overachiever. Adrik used to wonder if he was trying to take over the company.”

“True, Marat said the same thing. But now that they know they’re cousins?—”

“Wait. What?” I asked, interrupting.

“Andres. His birth father was Adrik and Marat’s father’s brother. He told them the day of the wedding. Sorry, I thought you knew,” Destiny said, frowning.

“Oh, right. Um, yeah. Excuse me. I’m just going to check on Sammy,” I muttered, wiping my hands free of dough on the dish towel I had sitting on my shoulder.

I was embarrassed.

I’d gotten caught not knowing something about Andres that he seemingly told a shitload of people on our wedding day.

But not me. Not his wife.

It would have been fine if he’d agreed to a fake relationship.

One just for show.

But he was the one who said he wanted this to be real. He was the one who practically demanded it.

But could a marriage be real if the couple never talked?

I didn’t think it was possible for me to ever want to open up to anyone. But Andres was slowly burrowing past my walls and shields with his steady hands, his sweet attention, his unending patience, and his constancy.

But it wasn’t enough. Suddenly, I wanted more from him. And the thought terrified me.

“Hey, whatcha building?” I asked Sammy as I stepped into the playroom where he was building a tower out of soft foam blocks around a giggling Michaela.

The room was cheerful, painted in bright colors with an entire wall of books and toys. There were bean bags and soft plush sofas and chairs.

A cushiony rug depicting gigantic cartoon cats sat in the center of the room.

It was lined with stuffed animals in every color and size, and a pile of foam blocks the children were busy playing with.

“Hello, Mommy. I’m making a tower,” Sammy replied, and nodded sagely at his creation.

“Very nice,” I told him, then turned my head to the nanny. “Has he been behaving?”

“Of course, Sammy is the best boy. Would you mind, ma’am? I must use the restroom,” Nanny Rosa said.

I nodded my head at the older woman, and she rushed inside the connected restroom. Lucy was content in her bouncy chair, and Michaela and Sammy were getting along just fine.

This place was incredible. Every time I visited one of their homes, I was stunned by the warmth and charm I found within their walls.

Sofia and Adrik had been together the longest, but the man himself was rather intimidating. I hardly spoke to him, but I knew he loved his wife and daughter. Marat was just as crazy about Destiny and their baby, Lucy. But I couldn’t say I spoke to the almost-too-handsome man more than a polite greeting when I saw him.

Josef was perhaps the friendliest to me, but that might be because I was friendliest with his wife. Meredith, of course, knew me better than the others. She’d seen me at my worst. When I’d been black and blue and torn up on the inside.

Gary’s violent outbursts were never warranted. I knew that. I knew I never deserved them. Why I’d stayed as long as I did was anyone’s guess.

It was something my therapist and I had talked about for hours on end.

The last time he hit me, I got away. And that was all that mattered.

The second Gary had tried to direct his violence towards Sammy, I left.

I needed to acknowledge what I did, what I accomplished, and through months of therapy, I finally learned to accept my decisions and to be content with the knowledge I’d gotten my son away from that mess.

It was still a work in progress.

Iwas still a work in progress.

Just like most people.

But I would never knowingly endanger my child. Yes, I was nervous about Tuesday’s meeting with my ex’s lawyers.

But Andres said he had it handled, and I believed him.

What was currently occupying all the available space in my brain was something I shouldn’t even care about.

We aren’t a love match.

Maybe if I kept repeating that, it wouldn’t bother me that Andres was keeping secrets.

Why wouldn’t he tell me about Adrik and Marat? That they were his cousins?

I didn’t know. But I was going to ask.

Old me, cowed me, would never have questioned my husband.

Hell.

I never cared one way or another about what Gary did. The man was more dictator than husband.

But I cared with Andres.

I didn’t want to be kept in the dark or lied to. Even if only by omission.

Fuck that.

I wasn’t old Ellie anymore.

No more boring pastels and pleasant expressions. No more “sure, whatever you like”to what someone asked of me.

I was learning to be strong again. To trust myself. And if that meant confronting my new husband with this, then I would.

Andres wasn’t Gary.

He wouldn’t hurt me.

I knew that as surely as I knew the sky was blue.

I trusted him.

I just had to talk to him, and everything would be okay.

I hope.