Chapter 10 #4
My neck shifted slightly, and a tic slipped from my mouth.
“Staple my soul to cardstock—save the sketches.”
“Because it looked important,” he answered simply once my tic passed. “And you don’t want something like that ending up in the wrong hands.”
“T-True,” I murmured. “Thank you again.”
“Naji,” he said, leaning forward. “Again, I never expected none of this shit to happen, but it did. So now we gotta deal with it. Which brings me to what we talked about yesterday. Do you have an answer for me?”
I cocked my head to the side.
“Is this… really how you want to propose? O-On the patio? In joggers? Smoking a blunt?”
“Naji…”
My shoulder gave a sudden shimmy, and I blurted, “Romance is dead. Blunt bouquet. Jogger vows.”
If Imanio smirked, it faded quickly.
I sighed slowly and hesitated.
“Okay. I’ll… I’ll m-marry you,” I finally agreed, the words scraping its way out like it they didn’t belong in my mouth.
Imanio raised an eyebrow. “You sure ?”
“As sure as someone can be about marrying their... their kidnapper,” I stuttered, crossing my arms tight over my chest. “Super romantic.”
“Stop calling me your kidnapper,” he replied, eyeing me like I’d just insulted his character—the same character that had, in fact, kidnapped me.
“It’s… it’s facts, though.”
“You could at least make it sound less illegal,” he grumbled.
“Do you have a better word?”
Imanio stared for a beat, his expression unmoving.
“Unconventional husband .”
I almost laughed— almost .
Yeah… with an extra name, unstable moods, and a kill count you probably lost track of. I wanted to add.
“Well, b-before we do this, we need some rules,” I stated, squaring my shoulders. My voice wasn’t loud, but it was firm.
That was the part where I needed to feel like I had some say in my life.
Imanio reclined in his chair slightly, arms draped over the armrests like a king listening to a plea. His face didn’t show much, but his eyes narrowed just a moment—intrigued, maybe even a little impressed.
“I’m listening.”
His tone was cool, but not dismissive. It was the kind of tone that made me feel like whatever came next better be good—like he wasn’t the type to entertain nonsense, but he’d entertain me —for now.
"First, n-no touching. We’re not doing any of that lovie-dovie married couple stuff… ever."
Another tic erupted.
“Smells like a lavender goddess. C-Can’t relate to dirty depression diva anymore.”
Imanio gave a slow nod. "Okay."
But the way he said it? It wasn’t agreement; it was clearance—more like I hear you… but that’s just what you’re saying right now.
"Second, I still want to keep my own room… with a lock… a real one. And you don’t get a key.”
A quick tic followed—my nose twitched, and I whispered, “Booby trap bedroom. Brick to the kneecap.”
Imanio chuckled—not mocking, just entertained.
“Alright. Done. Next.”
The tone wasn’t aggressive, but it carried that unspoken “Mm-hmm. Go on and finish lying if you want.”
“ H-How long will we have to stay married? Surely t-this is just something temporary… until you can trust me, right?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows?” he answered casually, but there was an edge to it— a dangerous kind of calm. “You might find that you love it here. The space. The quiet. You might stop counting the days and start building a life.”
I stared at him, mouth open.
“Y-You really think I’m gonna just settle into this like some t-twisted fairytale? Like… I’m gonna wake up one day, ha-happy to be your little hostage housewife?”
He hunched his shoulders with that same maddening calm in his eyes.
“I’ve seen stranger things happen. Comfort has a way of rewiring people.”
“Comfort?” I scoffed. “Y-You call this comfort?”
“I call it controlled peace… Better than the chaos you left behind.”
I flinched at that. “Blow the confetti; it’s a felony fairy tale! Damn it!”
I slapped my thigh with the flat of my palm, breathing hard. My body twitched again, that time with a frustrated snort I didn’t mean to make, like my nerves were trying to beat my voice to the punchline.
“Y-You don’t know what I left behind!” I finally said.
“I don’t,” he admitted. “But I will … eventually.”
There was a pause.
“So… so that’s it?” I asked. “You’re just gonna keep me married to you indefinitely until I magically earn your trust?”
“No. You’re gonna stay married to me until you show me you’re not a threat to me or what I’ve built, and until I know you can stand beside me without running, flipping, or destroying everything around you out of fear.”
“And when you do trust me, then what?” I countered.
“If I’m feeling generous, maybe I’ll ask you if you want to stay,” he replied, no hint of humor in his tone.
I gasped lightly.
The truth was… I didn’t know what scared me more—the idea that he might keep me forever, or the idea that I might one day not want to leave .
“Any more requests?” he asked.
“P-Plenty! No lying… at all! Not even the s-small stuff. I… I don’t want to be left in the dark. Shady secrets, sneaky snakes. Mm-mm.”
Imanio raised a hand slightly. “No secrets. I hear you.”
“Next,” I continued, shifting in my seat, “I need to know what’s going on. Not… not everything, just what involves me. No s-surprise trips. No unannounced guests. No last-minute ‘get in the car’ chaos. O-Okay?”
“Okay. You’ll be in the loop.”
My fingers tapped the edge of the chair. “Don’t try to fix me.”
That made his brow tighten a bit.
“I’m not... broken.” My voice didn’t rise, but my tic did. “Glitchy, not gone. Don’t reboot me.”
His gaze softened.
“Got it.” He nodded.
I cleared my throat and prepared myself for the final answer.
“Last question.”
I paused—that one sat heavy.
“Are you… going to be sleeping with anyone else while we’re married?”
Imanio didn’t answer right away. His jaw tightened, like the question bothered him more than he expected—or maybe it just pissed him off.
Hard to tell with him.
Then he leaned back a little and rolled his shoulders like he was shaking off whatever patience he’d been holding onto.
“If you don’t want me touching you,” he said slowly, voice low and sharp, “I’m gonna keep fuckin’ whoever I want.
You setting boundaries and wanting doors locked like this is some halfway house for healing.
But let’s be clear, Naji. At the end of the day, I’m still a man…
with needs… sexual needs. And if this marriage ain’t gon’ be real to you, it’s not gon’ be real to me. ”
Imanio gave me a lazy smirk. His eyes dragged over me like they knew exactly what lived between my thighs—and what it looked like desperate.
“I’ll have no choice but to give them this,” he added, tone thick with mock amusement.
“My white father might call it a cock , but I’m loyal to my mama’s roots, so let’s keep it a buck—it’s a dick .
Nine and a half inches of fuck-your-rules , ruined sleep, silent cries into the mattress, calling-my-name-in-her-sleep madness, back-arched flashbacks and prayers she ain’t never said before type of dick. ”
My breath hitched, and I squirmed under his gaze. I could feel the heat rising in my chest, neck… everywhere. I was hot in places that had no business being warm.
If his mouth has this much power, what the hell can that dick do?
“She’ll be screaming my name, damn near crying while I hit that arch just right,” he continued.
“Stroking deep. Slow. I’ll be hitting angles like I’m a NASCAR driver.
She won’t know if I’m rearranging her guts or her personality .
And the best part? She’ll want it. She’ll beg for it… because she won’t tell me no .”
Oh God.
Suddenly, I was picturing it; not just him standing there with that deep voice and that permanent scowl, but behind me , above me, and inside me.
That kind of pressure. That kind of stretch. That kind of trouble. Whew.
“But hey,” he said without emotion, “if it ain’t you, it’ll be someone else. Either way, needs get fed.”
My shoulder jerked hard, and my head tilted before my mouth launched without permission.
“Cheater cheater… bed heater!” I shouted, voice high and panicked.
Imanio smirked.“ That sounded like jealousy to me.”
“N-Not!” I lied, way too fast, eyes wide. “Which br-brings me to say… n-no falling in love!”
My voice cracked on the last word, and I hated how real it sounded.
Another tic fired off.
“Abort mission! Love bomb! Abort!”
I swallowed, steadied myself, and added more quietly, “Please. Ju-Just keep your heart, and I’ll keep mine.” My tone was shaky but firm — like a door held closed by a single lock on rusted hinges.
Imanio leaned back, took a slow pull from his blunt, and let the smoke trail up into the air. His eyes stayed fixed on the water in the pool, like it had more of his attention than I ever did.
“I think that’s one thing we can definitely agree on. Love don’t live here, Naji. Never has—for any female that ain’t family. And hell, I barely show it to some of them.”
Imanio paused just long enough to ash his blunt, flicking the ember off like the conversation was nothing.
“So trust me… that rule?” He finally turned his head and looked at me. His eyes were steady, serious—sincere even. “Easiest one to keep.”
And that look? It didn’t come with warmth; it came with finality. Like whatever flicker of softness I might’ve imagined in him earlier had just been snuffed out for good.
Something in my chest shifted. I didn’t let it show, but the words hit harder than I expected. I should’ve been relieved. That was the deal, right?
No mess, no feelings, no strings; just safety and strategy.
A tic snuck out, quick—“Cold heart, tight locks. Don’t melt. Don’t melt.”
I stared down at my tea like it might offer comfort, answers, or just something to ground me.
I shouldn’t have expected anything; not from a man who took me and could switch emotions on and off like a hallway light.
But still... hearing it out loud— “Love don’t live here.” It sounded like he didn’t care at all. And maybe that’s what stung. It’s not that I wanted him to fall for me… not so soon anyway. Just that… maybe part of me hoped I’d mattered a little more than a transaction.
I took another sip of tea.
Imanio didn’t say anything else. He just smoked slow and watched the sky like we hadn’t just drawn a line in the sand between us.
Maybe it was better that way.
Maybe.