Chapter 27
CHAPTER 27
LUCIAN
I f I thought the moan she made earlier had me questioning my decisions, it was nothing compared to listening to the sounds she made while enjoying each bite.
“God, this is so good.”
I clutched my bottle of beer tighter, focusing on the cool drop of liquid between my fingers rather than the thoughts of tossing the food aside and ravaging her on the kitchen island.
“This is the only place I’ve found that’s anywhere near my mom’s cooking, and she claimed it was the closest she’d had to her mom’s cooking in Puerto Rico,” she explained, stabbing another fried plantain from the container. She hadn’t even finished her main dish, but it was the fourth piece of dessert she snuck between bites of her dinner.
“Well, thank you for introducing it to me. We’ll have to order it again because this chicken and rice is amazing, and I’m going to need to work my way through the menu to try it all. I’ve never had authentic Puerto Rican food, but you’ve made me a convert.”
“Then you’re in luck because I’ve been known to cook a dish or two. Also, my dad’s cook is Puerto Rican, and she always sends me extras. I might be convinced to share…maybe.”
She said everything around a mouthful of food that she pushed aside to her cheek and smiled. It probably should have looked unattractive and turned me off, yet that was the furthest thing from what was happening.
She’d come down in the same shirt but switched to a pair of sweatpants that hung loosely around the plump curve of her ass. Between the casual outfit, talking with her mouth full, and her slouched posture on the barstool, I was forced to readjust myself to hide my growing erection. All of it blended into a more relaxed version of Aspen I didn’t know existed.
A version far different than the put-together woman who mostly ate salads with delicate bites at the office.
A version I imagined many people didn’t get to see.
But I did.
And that fact inflated my chest with warmth.
I liked that she appeared comfortable enough to release the tight grip she held on herself, always in control of how she appeared to others.
Part of me wondered if this was another controlled version that she’d crafted for me, but after the past couple of months together and how she ceded control more and more easily each time we were together, I had to believe that this wasn’t a curated act—this was her. The real her.
And it was sexy as hell.
“It’s a good thing I can be very convincing.”
She cocked her head and pursed her lips. “Can you?” she asked playfully, going for another plantain.
I stabbed my fork into it before she could and enjoyed her dropped jaw as I slowly brought the bite to my smirking lips. “I think we both know I can, but I’m happy to remind you.”
My pulse thundered through my veins to my cock when her eyes turned heavy, and her tongue slid across her lips. When her teeth dug into the plump flesh, I was ready to snap. I was ready to give into my earlier desire and force her to her knees. I parted my lips for the command when the shrill ringing of her phone slashed through the tension.
She blinked, and the heat from our sexual banter slid away. It vanished completely when she looked to her phone. Her brow furrowed and jaw clenched.
I followed her gaze to find Dad flashing on the screen before she hit ignore. “If you need to talk to your father, then don’t let our dinner stop you.”
She sighed and pushed the device further down the counter behind her, as if she couldn’t see it, then she wouldn’t have to think about it. “Thank you, but I’ve actually been dodging his calls all week. So, me ignoring it has nothing to do with timing and everything to do with avoiding talking to him all together.”
I hummed in thought, watching her stuff another bite of food in her mouth but with much less joy. “Why is that?” I finally asked.
Her eyes raised with a look that questioned if I was an idiot. “Because talking to him will eventually lead to questions that will then lead to trying to explain…” She faded off and gestured to us and our surroundings. “This.”
“I can imagine that would be difficult considering you’ve managed to avoid discussing anything about this with me too.” I couldn’t lay the blame completely at her feet. Between being out of town for work and her own stubbornness, I’d allowed her to avoid discussing more details beyond what we covered the first morning after she agreed to be my wife.
My wife.
Something predatorial unfurled from the dark corner of my mind and basked in the title. I jolted at the sensation I hadn’t felt since I’d married Daria—a sensation I thought I’d buried after she’d killed it. My pulse thundered a frantic beat, and I rushed to shove it back where it came from.
With a deep breath, I locked down all emotions to be safe and decided it was time to stop letting Aspen control the conversation. Despite our relaxing evening and shift to playful banter, I needed to remember that Aspen begrudgingly agreed and to keep my guard up.
“Mainly because every time I think about this situation, I’m met with dumbfounded, deafening silence, followed by a mind-numbing explosion of reasons why marrying you is insane.”
Her words pierced my chest and yanked my brows together. “You don’t think your father would be happy to hear you’re marrying a successful businessman who understands your passion for work?” I asked, hating how sullen the question sounded, hinting to a hurt that I should be unable to feel no matter what she said.
Her brows rose to her hairline and again she leveled me with a look that questioned if my brain worked at all. The scoff tinged with hilarity continued to add salt in the wound that I didn’t know existed.
“I highly doubt my father is going to blindly accept me marrying you. Especially after hearing us bicker over the past few months. Add in that I’m not one to make rash decisions in my life, and he’s going to see right through me. He’ll push and push and push until he figures out the real reason why I’m agreeing to this marriage. And who knows what he’ll do with that information.”
Anxiety slid through the unhealed lesion she’d uncovered and bloomed throughout my chest. Her explanation fueled its growth until my lungs ached under the pressure.
Would her father figure out she agreed to enter a loveless marriage and step in to find a way for Aspen to abandon our agreement and still get the majority of the company? Would he lean away from the astute businessman I’d originally met and become the protective father? Would he take one look at his princess and do anything he could to ensure she received the fairytale marriage she wanted?
The doubt twisted through my stomach and pulled more familiar emotions from the shadows I ignored. It latched on to my past and reminded me that people you trust could stab you in the back because they wanted something. Something they didn’t deserve and would go about getting it any way they could, even though you were the one who busted your ass for it.
Maybe Aspen would talk to her father and realize all she had to do was bat her lashes and ask Daddy to please give her what she wanted. Maybe he’d give in and snatch the opportune project I’d worked months for from me. Maybe she’d add some tears and ask him to find a way to change the contract and cut me out altogether. Leaving me with nothing but a broken promise to my godfather.
A knot coiled around my throat. I struggled to swallow. I?—
I cut off all thoughts and centered myself in the moment. I forced myself to swallow and suck down a deep breath, pushing out the tension.
Clearing my mind, I dismissed the useless doubts, leaving room to think clearly. In that space, I realized just how far I’d let my walls drop around Aspen since she arrived and made room for more than a few emotions to escape.
I hadn’t had a woman live with me since Daria and watching Aspen sit so casually in the kitchen like it was home made me aware of a weak spot I didn’t know I had. But she’d shined a light on it in a big way, whether she meant to or not. It was time I took back control and stopped giving into curiosity spurred on by some dead fantasy I didn’t want anymore.
A warning sounded from the back of my mind, whispering the reminder that I’d wanted her to feel comfortable, that I wanted to create a relationship with her beyond being at each other’s throats so we could settle into a simple marriage of respect.
But I was done with anything that came from that corner of my mind. I ignored the warning and slid into the arrogant businessman, who made sure to get what he wanted.
“And what do you think he’d do if he found out?” I asked coldly. “Do you think if Daddy found out his princess was marrying for anything other than love, that he would step in and save you from marrying the old monster just so you could get your way?”
Aspen recoiled as if I’d hit her. “I don’t need saving, and I would never expect anything given to me that I haven’t worked for myself.”
She paused, her gaze assessing and coming to a conclusion that relaxed the pinch between her brows and curved her lips. I braced myself, catching the rebellious glint sparking behind the golden depths that warned of retaliation to my comment.
“However…” She dragged the word out like a taunt, her smile turning more challenging. “Maybe that’s all I need to do; go to my dad, and he will see how much I’m willing to sacrifice to ensure that our company remains in control of the family. Maybe he’ll realize how much it means to me, and I won’t need to waste five years of my life with you. Maybe he’ll realize the error of his ways and change the contract into what it should have been from the very beginning.”
Her words hit their mark, fueling the doubt and igniting my anger, sending us back to the angry animosity of when we first met. As if the last couple hours of easy camaraderie never existed. As if we never reached a level of trust between a Dominant and a submissive. As if we didn’t know what each other sounded like when they came.
All of it vanished, leaving us back at each other’s throats.
“By all means. Go run to Daddy and ask him to save the day,” I said with a casual shrug. “However, not that I’m sure you care beyond getting what you want, but it would most likely create a hell of a debacle for your father. One that might even stretch into his retirement and make him sacrifice those leisure years he’s worked so hard for. But who cares as long as you get what you want, right?”
Her jaw hardened. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means exactly what it sounds like, princess . That you’ve probably made it this far without caring what your father wants, so why start now?”
“Of course I care about what my father wants, you asshole. I’ve always cared,” she snapped. “And frankly, I’m sick and tired of your incorrect, asinine assumptions.”
“Good.” I gave her a wide smile while keeping the threat in my gaze. “Then you’ll have no problem ensuring that when we inform your father of our marriage, it’s only because we can’t imagine living our lives without each other. You’ll have no problem making him believe that our marriage is everything it’s supposed to be so thoroughly that he won’t bother digging for information that could lead to him finding out about our behind-the-scenes negotiations.”
“Or what?” she asked softly, still holding her head high.
I leaned in, my smile slipping to match my eyes. “Or, if you do ask Daddy to change the contract, then I would be forced to make certain that he can’t. If he still tries, then I will happily take him to court, and ensure that I receive what is mine despite his efforts. Even if it takes me years. Even if it takes up every day, every hour, every second of that poor man’s retirement.”
Her jaw dropped, releasing a huff of disbelief. She shook her head while her eyes bounced between mine, looking at me like she’d never seen me before. The look tugged against my chest, stirring whispers of regret and worries about going too far. But I shoved it aside, unwilling to go back and allow her any openings to renege on our deal, leaving me with nothing.
“Wow. You really are an asshole willing to fuck over whoever necessary to win.”
“And you’re not?”
She didn’t answer immediately, and I watched her mind work as if running through a list of names that she might be willing to screw over to win. In the end, she raised her chin, appearing resolute and self-righteous.
“Obviously, I’m not willing to do whatever it takes to get what I want. Otherwise, I would’ve done exactly as you accused me of and gone straight to my father to inform him of your offer, giving him the chance to enact the morality clause of the contract even if it is a thin argument. But, like you said, that would take time—even more with you fighting him—and I don’t want him to sacrifice any more than he already has for me. Especially when I can handle it myself.”
“Good. Then we’re in agreement.” I leaned back, my smile returning. “When it comes time to tell Daddy about our engagement, we will be the adoring couple who can’t wait to share their nuptials with each other.”
She pushed her food aside with a mock gag. “All of a sudden, I’ve lost my appetite and I’m ready to go to bed.” With one last glare, she got up and headed for the stairs.
Just before she disappeared, I called out, “So, I guess this means we won’t be carpooling to work together, sweetheart?”
Without stopping, she held up her middle finger until I couldn’t see her anymore.
Part of me hoped the comment would drag her back down. Or incite a snarky rebuttal that would soften the jagged edges of our argument.
Not that it mattered because, unlike Aspen, I was willing to do whatever it took to get what I wanted. After being knocked down to rock bottom, I always made sure to come out on top without hesitation.
However, all the other times I did what needed to be done to win hadn’t left a sinking weight in my stomach that grew heavier each time I remembered the hurt disbelief marring Aspen’s face.