Page 20 of Risky Vows

Ouch. Of course, Anthony reports to me, but most of the day, I'm too busy to ask him about my wife's whereabouts. I trust him to let him know if he sees something suspicious. "I'd rather hear it from you."

"Well, now I wonder if I should start attending a stretch class or something, given, hmmm, well, you."

I smile. Maybe she's smartly trying to get the heat off her agenda by flattering me. Either way, it's working. I don't usually care for flattery, but since she’s never complimented me, I'll take it. "I thought stretching you was what I just did."

A shade of red spreads over her face. "Oh. That's what you did. Yes, that makes sense."

"And here you thought I didn’t take things slow." The message is clear—her ass will be mine. Soon. But until she can fully take me, I’ll manipulate her hole and get her used to it.

She turns to the side, propping herself on her elbow. When she's this close, I can see the flicker of excitement in her eyes and a cheeky smile that lights up a part of her I don't have. "Wow. I guess I learned a lesson. It's been a while since I last had sex, and I never did any of that stuff before."

I turn to my side, giving her my full attention. "How long?"

"Oh, like a couple of years. Being a sheltered mafia princess and all isn't conducive to dates." She makes an invisible circular pattern on the sheet. "How about you?"

"Saturday."

"Saturday," she repeats, her eyes wide. "As in the day we married?"

"Beforewe got married. I was saying goodbye to someone." I genuinely mean it. Daphne has texted me a few times, and Iblocked her. I thought she'd take it like a champ, but that wasn’t the case. I don't intend to see her again.

Amara shifts to a sitting position, pulling her sheets up with her. "Goodbye? Maybe I should’ve said goodbye to Anthony like that when he was done for the day. If that's how people say goodbye in your world, I want to try it too."

I detect a trace of challenge in her voice. "Not funny," I say curtly.

"No, it's not funny at all. Couldn't you have had your farewell fuck the day before? It's weird to think the day we got married, I was getting my hair done and a facial, and you were getting… a different type of facial."

"Relax. Look, I'm honest. You asked, I answered," I say like it's no big deal. We weren't together then. Besides, this has always been a straightforward deal. Why is she making a fuss?

"So you want a medal for being honest?"

I run my fingers down my face. "I want to end this conversation."

"I think we just started it. If you're being so nonchalant about having fucked a woman hours before we got married, why can't we call this sham marriage what it is? It's arranged anyway. So let's go out with other people. You probably already have. Just don't make a fool out of me."

The idea of her with anyone else but me boils my blood. "If you go out with anyone, he dies," I say evenly, and mean every fucking word. "And possibly you too."

She rolls her eyes, unamused. "But the rules don't apply to you. How refreshing."

"I'm not going out with anyone."

"How can I be sure?"

"Ask me. You asked, and I told you the truth," I say, and her expression softens a notch. "When I ask you simple questions, you change the subject. You're the one who hides things."

She parts her lips. "What?"

"Yes. What are you hiding from me?"

"You told me you fucked a woman before we got married. The same night you fucked me when you made it clear we had to, like you hadn’t had sex in a month or something. And now you're making this discussion about me. Bad move."

I erase the distance between us. I'm still fully naked, and she's wrapped in the sheet, holding it together. How can I change the subject? She's resolute in talking about what I can't change. Maybe I shouldn't have admitted that I slept with Daphne on our wedding day, but I didn't think it was a big deal. "Amara, be reasonable."

She motions to move, but I wrap my fingers around her wrist, pulling her to me.

"Get your hands off me," she says and punches my abdomen. Her closed wrist doesn't hurt, but it distracts me, and she slips from my hold.

"What the fuck?"

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