Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 156392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 782(@200wpm)___ 626(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 782(@200wpm)___ 626(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
“Says who?”
“The fact that you’re my wife.”
“This marriage is only temporary until I find the love of my life.” She stands up in her full naked glory and hikes her hand on her hip. “Now, run me a bath.”
I have to remind myself that I can’t snap her fucking neck.
And that she’s provoking me on purpose. Her fake sweet smile and honeyed tone give her away.
She’s just fishing for a reaction she won’t get.
I head to the bathroom again and then turn on the faucet to tepid. I add her salts, bath milk, and a dozen other products. I’m checking the temperature when she steps in, leans her head against the pillow, and closes her eyes.
“Anything else, Your Highness?” I ask in a mocking tone.
“A bit hotter would be nice.” She wiggles her toes in the water and releases a long sigh. “More bath milk. The whole bottle, actually.”
I contemplate pouring the thing over her head, but I get distracted by the ethereal view of her pebbled pink nipples peeking through the white surface, slowly being submerged by the water.
“Is that all?” I ask once I’m done.
“Yep, all good. You can join me now.”
“I will not join you.”
She peels her eyes open. “Why not?”
“I don’t like baths.”
“You liked it just fine yesterday when you gave me one.”
“I only did so because I thought you were asleep.”
“And you can’t do it now?” The pain in her voice would move any other man.
She has the ability to turn anyone with a cock into a puppy at her feet.
Lucky for her, I have the capacity to resist her charms when need be.
“No,” I say point-blank.
Her lips tremble and moisture turns her eyes a glittering blue. “You’re such a bastard. I really hate you.”
“Good. It’s dangerous to love me. But you already know that.”
I turn around and leave. As I close the door, a bottle of shower gel crashes against it.
The next morning, I wake up refreshed after I finally got some rest.
Hungry, too, after fasting for about twenty-four hours.
I don’t remember my life before I swore off food, so, in a sense, my stomach is used to surviving on my stash of protein bars or just waiting until I get home. Whenever I’m on a business trip, Sam cans her food so I won’t have to go on an extended fasting journey.
I stroll into the kitchen and pause when I take a quick inventory of the table. Strawberry cake, freshly baked croissants, scones, jam, and clotted cream. The menu is definitely different from my usual granola or scrambled eggs.
Needless to say, I’m a creature of habit. It comes as a form of control. I don’t appreciate any miniature changes in my life.
This is why marrying Ava is no different than inviting a disaster under my roof.
“What’s the meaning of this?” I ask Sam, who’s busy wiping clean some utensils.
“I thought you could use a change.”
“Do you even know me? I don’t like change.”
“Very British of you.” She pauses. “Why don’t you try it? You might like it.”
“Are you serious? You’re well aware of my disregard for sweet things.”
“Very contradictive, considering you married the sweetest girl.”
I pause. Sam continues wiping away as if she didn’t just drop a bomb.
“Did you just call Ava sweet?”
“She is. Not my fault you’re too blind to see it.”
“Who are you and what have you done to the emotionless Sam I’ve known my entire life?”
“I’m not emotionless. I’m selective. Like you. Now, sit down and eat. And before you ask, I made nothing else and will not be making anything else.”
I narrow my eyes, but since I’m hungry, I do sit down and prepare a scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam.
It tastes different, and I think it’s a bit burned, but I chase away that thought. Sam would never burn anything.
“Did she take her medication last night?” I ask after I finish two scones and a croissant in record time.
“For the second time, yes. Is there a reason why you didn’t check on her yourself?”
“She was mad at me.”
“A pattern, apparently.”
“Apparently.”
The real reason is that I needed to put some distance between us. Ava has always spun around my orbit, even when she thought she’d quit me. I’m the addiction that streams in her blood whether she likes it or not, so I can’t give her any fucking ideas.
She’s my responsibility, my wife, and my property. I meant it when I said I could give her anything but love.
And if she keeps demanding that, she’ll be the only one who gets hurt.
Her mind can’t afford to be hurt.
“How do you like the food?” Sam asks as I swallow a portion of the cake.
“Aside from being sickeningly sweet, it’s acceptable.”
“Then you better show proper gratitude.”
“I pay you as gratitude, Sam.”
She shakes her head. “Follow me.”
Repressing my perplexity, I go with the short woman to the adjoining sitting area.