Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 126818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
I’d stared at her impatiently for the duration of her speech, then sent her back to where she came from.
However much I disliked both my sisters-in-law, they seemed completely unaware of what went on in my marriage, and that was good news. It meant that Persephone had kept her mouth shut. Sure, Hunter, Sam, and Devon were privy to the truth—I uttered it aloud in front of them that poker night—but they were my allies.
My wife hopped from Hunter’s desk, sticking the red lollipop back into her mouth.
“All right, hubs. Make it quick.”
I led her to my office, then continued into the private en suite, where the walls weren’t glass, and no one could see us.
I closed the door behind us, then fixed her with a look.
“What are you doing here?”
“Having lunch with friends.” She popped the sucker out of her mouth. The scent of watermelon filled the air, making my dick stir. “Having a good day, hubs?”
“Not particularly.”
“Yeah, I saw in the local news about the demonstration.” She scrunched her little nose, which I sincerely hoped my future kids were going to inherit. “That billboard up there isn’t your best angle, either.”
I stared at her, not sure why I called her in here. I had nothing to say to her. Yet the need to monopolize her time burned in me. I was the one who deserved her attention.
I got her out of trouble.
I paid for her newly indulgent lifestyle.
I was the one she should be spending time with.
You don’t want any of these things, you moron.
“What you’re doing in the Arctic is…” She put a hand to her chest.
“Terrible?” I finished for her with a smirk.
“Monstrous.”
“Cry me a river.”
“You’ll probably find a way to pollute it, too.”
“A bit of loyalty wouldn’t kill you, Flower Girl. I’m your husband. Although that’s not saying much, considering you divorced the previous one without his consent.” I leaned over the granite wall, crossing my legs at the ankles.
Her eyes widened.
“Are you kidding me? You’re comparing my divorcing my runaway husband to what you’re doing?” The same blaze of fire I saw when we negotiated our terms returned to her eyes, making my semi a full-blown erection. “You’re ruining our planet for financial gain. The Earth is not your wasteland. Not to mention, you’re driving entire animal groups into extinction. The polar bears and the penguins come to mind.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” I said robotically. A well-rehearsed reply to the same thing I’d heard over and over again.
“No, you’re not.”
“You’re right. I’m not sorry at all. You can’t run your car on adorable.”
“But I can run it on batteries, thanks to Elon Musk,” she dished back, her tone sweet.
“I know women are fond of battery-operated devices, but they’re never as good as the real thing.”
She choked on her lollipop. I wondered if she had an oral fixation. First the cigar, and now this. It was hard to concentrate when her pink lips were always wrapped around something. Especially when it wasn’t my cock.
I could have told her the truth. That the Arctic wasn’t a long-term plan. That I had a greener environmental plan to put my hands on natural gas. A futuristic, twenty-second century invention that was in the works. But I didn’t much mind to be known as the man who was responsible for ruining the world.
“Why are you really here, Persephone?” I pushed off the wall, advancing in her direction, not stopping until we were flush against one another. While emotions were a liability, getting my wife pregnant was a calling.
The faster we could get it done, the sooner we could cease communication.
Her delicate throat bobbed with a swallow. She was plastered to the wall, cornered like an animal. She licked her lips, her blue eyes dropping to my mouth.
“Lunch.” She stuck to her version. “Why else would I be here?”
I put my arm over her head, crowding her, meeting her eyes. I had a few good inches on her, even with her new heels.
“I think you’re here because you owe me something.”
“I’m giving you everything I signed on for. I live in the apartment you’ve designated for me. I’m available to you. I don’t remember you picking up the phone and asking to consummate our marriage.” She arched an eyebrow.
She had delicate eyebrows. Another thing I wouldn’t mind my children getting from her.
In fact, I’d be glad if they took everything from her.
Everything but that bleeding heart.
And that showed you exactly how highly I thought of myself.
“I don’t beg,” I drawled.
“No one asked you to. But if you want to get into my bed, you’ll need to make the required arrangements. It’s not too much to ask.”
She made sense, and that worried me because usually, I was the pragmatic person in the conversation. Any conversation.
“You’re here now,” I noted.
I wasn’t in the mood for sex, but I supposed I had to get it over with at some point.