Epilogue
A few months later
The carpeted floor muffles the sound of my footsteps as I traverse the long hallway toward the dark-brown door at the very end.
The dim light from the two ornate wall sconces on either side of the doorframe illuminates the undulating woodgrain and the white silk sash tied in a perfect bow around the handle.
For just a brief moment, I take the time to appreciate the soft fabric, letting my lips curve up as I pull it off the knob. Sometimes, our wrong choices lead us to the right place. After tying the blindfold over my eyes, I knock and reach for the handle, pushing the door open.
An abundant floral scent tickles my nostrils as soon as I step into the room.
My instructions to Maggie have been followed—one thousand red roses, imported directly from the Netherlands, have been arranged in the finest crystal vases and left throughout this space.
I’m likely in for a serious scolding later.
My wife doesn’t like needless death, and that extends to cut flowers.
Unfortunately for these roses, I have no problem with killing anything for her.
“Where are you, Little Iris?”
There’s no reply.
I tilt my head to the side, listening. Waiting.
“Well?” I call again.
Nothing.
Why isn’t she answering?
The silence is absolute. I can’t hear a sound beyond my own breathing. I’m immersed in darkness with my eyes covered, and the stillness around me feels crushing.
Blinded.
Deafened.
Just as my life was before her.
At her lack of response, the slight panic in me begins to swell, even though, in the back of my mind, I know this is just a game—that she’s playing the role of the silent guest tonight.
I reach for the damn blindfold to remove it.
But then, I hear it. The faintest sound of bare feet.
Getting near. And my heart slows down. As if aligning its rhythm to her approaching steps.
Even without physical contact, I feel her when she comes to stand in front of me.
Finally, a light touch lands on my hand. Delicate fingers wrap around mine, urging them away from the blindfold.
“Ah, I forgot. That’s against the rules. I’m sorry.”
Her quiet chuckle reaches my straining ears.
“I’m not as good as you are at getting around when I can’t see. What if I fall flat on my face?”
I feel her palm on my cheek, her fingers tracing the line of my chin and then slipping lower.
She drags her nails down my neck, over the collar of my shirt, along my sternum, then pauses a few inches under the knot of my tie.
Another nearly soundless chuckle escapes her before she grabs my tie and lightly tugs on it.
“Alright.” I take a step forward and wait.
Another tug.
Shaking my head, I put one foot in front of the other, following her wordless command.
“So, my silent lady… What would you like me to talk about tonight?” I ask as I let her lead me across the room.
Although I seriously doubt there’ll be much talking.
The moment I felt her hand on me, my cock was instantly hard.
There’s only so much a desperate man can take.
Based on her barely audible giggles, however, my wife seems to be having a great time, so I’ll try to control my insatiable hunger a bit longer before devouring her.
“Let me see… I had another amusing meeting with the Russians this morning. It ended abruptly when the pakhan tried to strangle his deranged brother, not even twenty minutes after we began. I’m not sure I got the full gist of it, but there was something about an M1 Abrams tank being discovered inside Belov’s garage. ”
I reach out and slowly stroke the soft skin of her forearm as we walk. I’m guessing we should be halfway to the bed by now.
“Later, I had a video call with Ajello. An important chat we should have had a month ago about our joint venture in Manhattan, but we couldn’t seem to get our schedules to align.
We were just about to agree to some terms when the connection was lost. I got a text from him shortly after with apologies—a rarity for the New York Don—and a request to reschedule.
Apparently, his cat chewed through an internet uplink cable in their server room and knocked out the connectivity for the entire building. ”
My wife halts mid-step. “Is the cat okay?”
I smile. “The cat is fine, Little Iris.”
“Phew. Go on.”
My tie is tugged again, and we resume walking.
“Just before I left to come here, I met with my COO and a rep from a nature conservancy group about some concerns they have with our new project. Nothing amusing happened at that meeting, though.”
She stops again. We must be near the bed now, because both her hands slide up my chest, and she starts undoing my tie.
“What have you done this time, Adriano?” Her fingers move on to unbuttoning my shirt. “Destroyed another company? Fired a bunch more people for no reason other than profit?”
“Not today.” I fist my hands, hoping it will be enough to stop myself from reaching for her.
I promised I’d play her game tonight, and I will always keep my promises to Iris.
I also pride myself on my willpower. However, that willpower is practically nonexistent when it comes to my wife.
A single touch from her is enough to send all my reason and self-control out the window.
“Then what?” she insists. “What were the concerns about today? What are you planning to destroy?”
“A patch of forest. But it’s a small area, I swear. The conservationists are up in arms because of some local bird species, and the guy went on and on about preserving their habitat. Really, it was a headache-inducing hour of him trying to change my mind.”
“Did he? Change your mind?”
“I’m not going to abandon the project we’ve already received permits to build because of a few fucking birds.”
“Let the birds be, Adriano,” she whispers. “You can afford to buy another piece of land.”
Damn. I should have kept my mouth shut. “That property is worth over three million, baby.”
“That’s…a lot.” Her delicate touch brushes my bottom lip while she pulls on the loose ends of my tie to lower my head. “You know I wouldn’t love you any less if you say no. And I don’t want to butt into your business. But, maybe…maybe you could make an exception this time?”
“Mm-hmm… A lot of requests for exceptions seem to be popping up recently. Eleven this month alone.”
“Please?” she whispers against my lips.
Damn it.
I wrap my arm around my wife’s waist and slam my mouth to hers.
“That’s the last exception I’m making, Little Iris,” I growl the blatant lie.
Then, I pull the blindfold off my face and bend my wife over the edge of the bed.