Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Bolton let the conversation die, but the tension was very much alive.
We parked in the underground garage then entered our villa, the light low because only a few lamps were lit. I hung my jacket on the coatrack and slipped off my heels by the door.
Bolton didn’t have a jacket, so he immediately took a seat in the living room.
I moved to the stairs so I could go to our bedroom and get ready for bed.
“Astrid.”
I froze on the first step.
His back was to me. “Sit with me.” He didn’t raise his voice, but there was a hint of a threat there.
I took a breath before I walked into the living room, moving behind the back of one of the couches before I came around and took a seat. I was on a different couch from him, our bodies perpendicular to each other. I crossed my ankles and sat with bumps on my arms.
His stare burned into the side of my face.
I didn’t want to look at him.
“Astrid.”
I obeyed his command and met his gaze. He was a handsome man who could get any woman he wanted. But he was lean and toned, an athletic build like a soccer player, and Theo was…like a bull. Muscle on top of muscle, with dark ink over the burning hot skin, with that dark hair like midnight. The men couldn’t be more different, and now I couldn’t stop comparing them. Theo was taller, quieter, and even his…package was bigger. The difference in size was substantial enough that I noticed it every time Bolton and I were together, even though I hadn’t actually slept with Theo. Having him in my mouth was enough.
His eyes burned into mine, treating me like an enemy he was about to interrogate. “You were the one pressuring me to have a family. Now you’ve changed your mind?”
“I haven’t changed my mind—”
“So, you want to do this.”
“I-I just need some time—”
“So, you don’t want to do this?” he pressed.
“Just because I don’t want to do it right this second doesn’t mean I don’t want to do it at all.”
He hadn’t blinked once since the interrogation started. “Then what changed?”
“Having a kid is a big responsibility.”
“You’ve been hounding me for six months about this.”
“I’m just not sure if having a baby when you’re still in your line of work is a good idea.”
His eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “We talked about this. I’m not leaving my job, Astrid.”
“Okay, then I need more time to think about it.”
“Nothing will happen to either of you, I promise.”
“You can’t make that kind of promise.”
“I’ve got a lot of enemies, but no one has ever knocked on your front door, baby.” His voice rose slightly. “I’ve seen the way your eyes glaze over when I speak. I feel the distance in your touch. You spent more time with the hors d’oeuvres than you did with us. Something is wrong, and you must think me a fool not to notice.”
My eyes flicked away as I felt the weight on my shoulders. The air was suddenly too thick to breathe, like it was humid and mixed with smoke. He had me cornered, and there was no escape with this man.
“You said you were fine with it, Astrid.”
I still wouldn’t look at him.
“Those are your words.”
“I’m aware of what I said.”
“But you clearly aren’t,” he said. “I can see that.”
A part of me wanted to burst and tell him it killed me inside, that I’d been broken ever since the moment he’d admitted his desire for other women. It was a hit to my confidence, an axe to my heart. I could make it all stop right now if I asked for it to stop, but if I did…that meant I would never see Theo again. That meant his dark eyes would never pierce my flesh. He would never kiss me like I was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. Those big hands would never squeeze my hips again, never squeeze my tits. Now, everything was complicated because I was invested in a man who wasn’t my husband. To get what I wanted from Bolton, I would have to let Theo go…and I just couldn’t do that.
It made me feel like shit, but then I remembered none of this was my fault.
It was his fault. “It’s been hard to adjust to the change, I admit that. But I’m okay with it.” I looked at him as I said it because I needed my sincerity to come through. Weeks ago, I’d just wanted my marriage back. I was ready to walk away from Theo…until Bolton walked in with lipstick on his neck. That was the catalyst for all the events that led to this moment, made me desire a man more than I’d ever desired anyone, including the man beside me. “But I do think it’s strange to try for a family when we’ve just started this arrangement.”