4. Tori
TORI
Though it was a cold, overcast November day in Chicago, as far as I was concerned, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and everything was on the upside.
We’d worked our tails off, taken field trips all over town to snap photos of signs, subway maps, informational displays, and place markers, and the paper we’d all taken turns writing examined the way language was used to communicate with the public via these signs.
With midterm exams looming ever closer, it was a huge relief to know I had this class practically in the bag.
Professor Angstrom, for all her enthusiastic and brilliant lecturing, was not known to grade gently.
“We kicked its ass!” I yelled. With a whoop of triumph, I spun away from the grade sheet posted on the bulletin board outside our lecture hall.
It took all of my self-control not to rip the paper off the board and kiss it—or run back inside the classroom to kiss our professor—but instead I threw my arms around Diane and Gavin, pulling them in for a group hug.
“Angstrom gave us an A!” I crowed. “You guys really came through for me. I owe you.”
It felt like a huge victory—despite the fight with my father and the awful situation at home with my monstrous husband and our cold relationship, I’d managed to double down on my studies and lean on my school friends so I could keep up with my program.
It was so much easier to focus on schoolwork than it was to think about Stefan and everything going on with KZM.
“Angstrom didn’t “give” us anything—we earned that A. We make a great team.” Diane laughed in her gentle way, readjusting the hemp backpack that I’d knocked off her shoulder. “And you definitely don’t owe us anything. We all contributed equally.”
“I disagree about the owing,” Gavin said warmly, looking straight at me. “I think we’ve earned ourselves a celebration. You do owe us that.”
If he was holding a grudge for the almost-kiss that I’d rejected on our not-date at Navy Pier, he kept it well hidden.
If anything, he’d been treating me with even more kindness lately.
When we studied with our group, he was always checking in to make sure I had everything I needed, occasionally asking how things were going with my father or if Stefan’s late nights at work had eased up at all (in both cases I had no news to report).
I’d never had such an abundance of highlighters, study snacks, or sympathetic ears in my life. Gavin was actually kind of perfect.
Just not perfect for me.
“You’re coming out tonight, right?” he asked after we had gotten out of our last class later that evening. “Diane said Audrey is in, too. And Lila’s bringing Tucker, so we’ll have a little friendly testosterone to balance us out at the bar.” He shot me that winning, dimpled grin.
“I don’t know,” I said, still debating.
I knew it was stupid, but part of me wanted to be at home tonight waiting for Stefan, so I could tell him about my A.
I’d mentioned the project in passing, since it had required me to ask for help using the printer in his home office, and I had stressed that it was a huge part of my grade.
I couldn’t help wanting to brag, hoping he’d maybe say he was proud of me.
I still wanted to believe that the man who had attended the program’s first semester mixer with me, who’d played the perfect, supportive spouse in front of the dean and my favorite professor and all my classmates, was still in there somewhere.
That it hadn’t all been an act. That some of it was real.
But I knew I was setting myself up for disappointment.
“Come on,” Gavin urged. “You’ve been hitting the books nonstop lately. Which, don’t get me wrong, is awesome. I’m incredibly impressed with you. Totally in awe.”
There he went, making me blush again. “Everybody studies,” I deflected.
Gavin squeezed my shoulder, sending warmth through me. “Not like you do, Tori. But my point is, you need a break. You’ve earned it. Panem et circenses, remember?”
Bread and circuses—the Latin phrase he’d taught me on our not-date. And he was right. I needed food and entertainment to be happy, to live a full life. I’d been hibernating for weeks.
“Are you saying there’s food involved?” I asked.
“Absolutely there will be food,” Gavin said. “I’ll pick you up around eight.”
“Oh, no,” I said. “Thank you. But I can take a car. Really. It’d be better if…well. I prefer to do my own thing.”
I didn’t want to tell him that I was afraid Stefan might see me leaving with Gavin, might get the wrong impression. Even though making my husband jealous might be a smart move, all things considered, I didn’t want to add to our marital struggles right now.
“Is this just your way of bailing out?” Gavin teased. “I can tell you’re still waffling.”
I thought about it for a moment, weighing my options.
I could go home, eat alone and hide in my room until Stefan came home, ultimately tossing and turning until I fell asleep alone…
or I could go out and have fun, celebrate my academic victories with a group of friends who genuinely liked spending time with me, including one very handsome man who would probably kiss me the second I gave him the go ahead. Not that I would.
But I could. If I wanted to.
“I need to go home and shower and change,” I told Gavin. “But I’ll be there. Text me the address where you guys are gonna be and I’ll meet up with you.”
“Promise?” he asked.
I grinned. “Promise. I can’t wait.”
I was still smiling when I got home, but that smile dropped when I got to my room and found a complete outfit laid out on my bed.
And not just an everyday outfit or something that had been pulled from my closet. No, everything on my bed was brand new, obviously expensive, and very, very classy.
I saw an elegant Chanel evening bag, black with a gold clasp, and a matching pair of heels beside it.
There were several velvet jewelry boxes, containing a diamond cuff bracelet that almost looked like a piece of lace with all its intricate filigree work, two more delicate gold bangles to match, and an opera-length pearl necklace. And then there was the dress.
There was no denying it was absolutely gorgeous.
It was a black Gucci gown, perfect for the late fall season with its bracelet-length, longer sleeves and floor-length hem.
The fabric was sleek, with a hint of sheen, the waistline ruched and the back open.
Besides the daring back and a subtle, thigh-high slit up the skirt—that could expose either none or most of my left leg, depending on how I was standing—the dress was fairly modest. That perfect combination of sexy and respectable.
I couldn’t help touching the fabric gently, not sure why this outfit was on my bed.
Then I heard footsteps behind me.
Stefan hadn’t just come home before to set all this out for me—he was still here.
I whirled to face him.
Annoyingly, and unsurprisingly, my heart started pounding at the sight of him.
He was dressed in one of my favorite suits of his, a black Armani with a satin collar that fit him impeccably.
His dark hair was combed, but a stray lock had already fallen over his forehead, giving him a devil-may-care appearance that made my pulse leap and my core go hot and liquid.
I told myself that it wasn’t my fault for reacting this way. He was an attractive man. My body, therefore, was attracted to him. That didn’t mean anything had changed between us.
“You’re home,” he said, his tone expressionless.
His cool tone and minimal words were typical at this point, but his deep voice still made goosebumps rise on my skin.
It was impossible to forget all the things he had ever said to me in that voice—all the flirting, the teasing, the sexy words he’d groaned into my ear when he fucked me.
The intense sexual commands he had enjoyed issuing. Commands I had enjoyed following.
Before we’d stopped touching each other. Before I’d learned the truth about him.
“What’s this for?” I asked, gesturing toward the bed.
“That’s what you’ll be wearing tonight,” he said. “We’re leaving in less than an hour. You’ll need to wear your hair up, and minimal makeup. No lipstick.”
I blinked at him.
“Wherever you seem to think we’re going, I can’t,” I said flatly. “I have plans.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You do have plans. With me. We’re going to a fundraiser.”
“What? I never agreed to this,” I sputtered.
“Don’t act like a child,” he said. “This event has been on your calendar for months.”
“What is this fundraiser even for?” I asked. Maybe I could go with Stefan to make a brief appearance and then just sneak out early to meet my friends, as I’d intended.
“It’s a very important, highly publicized event that raises money to fight human trafficking all over the world. KZM is a huge supporter.”
My mouth dropped open. “Is this your idea of a joke?” If so, it was a sick one.
The look on his face told me he was dead serious. “All our executives attend every year.”
“Well then you can attend yourself,” I told him, folding my arms. “I’m not going.”
He didn’t even blink. “It’s not up for discussion. You will get dressed, fix your hair and makeup, and be ready to walk out the door in—” he checked his watch, “—forty minutes.”
“Seriously?” I felt hysterical, caught between a sob and a laugh. “You think I’d actually attend a fundraiser for sex trafficking with someone who runs an illegal prostitution ring?”
Saying the words out loud to Stefan felt good, defiant and strong—but that lasted all of two seconds before he advanced on me, his green eyes cold and intimidating. I shrank back.
“You will do as I say. You will wear exactly what I tell you to wear, and attend any and all events that I schedule for you,” he commanded. “My father is watching us, so put on a good performance tonight and pretend you’re on the right team. You have no other choice.”
Even though I could feel my knees shaking, I forced myself to meet his gaze.
I knew he’d already won. I hated it, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
And when it came to what Konstantin Zoric was capable of, I knew better than to cross the man.
As much as I hated this whole situation, I did believe that Stefan truly was trying to keep me safe—and alive.
I just felt so defeated. It had been hard enough to come to terms with who my husband was when I was dealing with it in private.
When I could focus on school and friends and pretend that this all wasn’t happening, that I hadn’t been betrayed by my family.
Both of my families. But now I had to go out in public with Stefan.
With his family. To a sham of a fundraiser like this.
It felt like they were rubbing it in my face, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
“Never forget who you are,” he warned, standing so close I could feel his body heat.
It was completely different from how I felt when Gavin was next to me. My friend was warm, comforting, but…right now I could feel Stefan’s anger, his passion, his intensity. It scared me, but it also turned me on. I wish it were different, or that the men in my life were reversed.
“You are my wife,” he reminded me. “You will do your duty. You will fulfill your responsibilities. And you will obey. That is the bargain we made.”
It was. But it was a bargain I never would have agreed to if I had known the truth.
“Forty minutes. No lipstick.”
With that he left the room, slamming the door behind him. I sank down on the bed, my knees no longer able to hold me. Warring emotions flooded through me. Anger, frustration, desire. And desire, both emotional and sexual, that never seemed to stop burning deep inside me.
What would I have done if Stefan had kissed me? Would I have kissed him back?
I didn’t know. I didn’t know myself around him anymore.
I looked at the dress I was expected to wear, running my hands over the silky fabric. Next to the dress was a bag I hadn’t noticed before, from an expensive lingerie shop. He had even chosen what was I supposed to wear underneath the dress. Typical of his controlling nature.
Opening the bag, I found a gorgeous pair of underwear, a web of delicate lace and satin that would be invisible underneath the dress. There was also a backless, adhesive bra with ribbon laces down the middle. It looked like a set of angel’s wings. I had never seen anything like it.
I rubbed the fine lace of the panties, the satin like water against my fingertips. Stefan had picked these out specifically for me. I tried in vain to banish my sexy thoughts.
Even though I was furious at my husband, I was smart enough to accept that this was a role I would have to play.
I texted Gavin to say I couldn’t make it due to a scheduling conflict, promising a raincheck soon, and began getting ready.
This was my life right now. I had to play the part until I could figure out an alternative.
The clock was ticking. I undressed, pulling on my robe before quickly doing my hair (in a demure twist, as commanded) and makeup, keeping it as subtle as possible.
Then I put on the lingerie. The bra felt like nothing at all, the lace giving my cleavage an unexpected lift, and the panties were just as weightless—and undeniably sexy.
I couldn’t help wondering if Stefan would be thinking about the lingerie he’d bought me, hugging me under my dress all night.
And I couldn’t help wishing that at the end of the evening, he’d be the one taking it off.