Page 27 of Desire and Revenge

“That’s what I keep telling him,” an unfamiliar husky voice purrs, and I turn to face the woman who has joined our party of four.

Her hair is platinum blonde and falls down to her waist in straight lines. Her face is tastefully made up, and she’s wearing a bright red lipstick. The woman is stunning, a head turner, and her voluptuous curves displayed in the coffee brown bandage dress make me look like a small boy at her side.

My eyes immediately land on where her red, manicured fingers have wrapped around Sebastian’s arm. I narrow my eyes at the casual, possessive display.

“You must be Sofia, the wife.” Her words drip with derision as she glances over at me.

“Yes, the wife,” I echo. “And you are?”

Sebastian immediately speaks up. “If you’ll all excuse me, I have some important business to attend to with my associate.”

“Associate?” I raise a brow.

Cold, blue eyes land on me, an effective warning that makes me snap my mouth shut. I watch them walk away, his palm pressed to the small of her back.

“Give him an heir,” Danya hisses, “or you’ll have to compete with the bastards.”

With that, the two women turn and disappear into the crowd, leaving me feeling cold and sick to my stomach. I immediately snatch a glass of wine off a passing waiter and toss it back,feeling it bubble down into my system. I grab another and move deeper into the shadowy corner.

“If you’re trying to get drunk, those champagne glasses aren’t going to do anything for you fast enough,” a deep voice rumbles in my ear.

I still even as all the hairs on the back of my neck stand on ends. “Who says I’m trying to get drunk?”

He moves away from my back and comes to stand at my side, my shoulder pressed into his side. “I’d be disappointed if you’re not.”

“How presumptuous of you to assume I act solely to meet your expectations.”

“That’s quite a roundabout way of saying, ‘Leave me the hell alone’.”

“I’ll leave the flowery language to you,” I shrug, then turn my head to look at his side profile. His strong jaw is covered with a light hint of beard, and he’s changed into dark brown wool pants and a white short-sleeve shirt. Casual, sexy. I swallow and turn away quickly.

“Why are you hiding here?”

“I’m not hiding,” I lie.

“You’re lying.”

“I don’t care what you think, Nero,” I scoff. Another lie, but then again, who’s counting. “I don’t care what anybody thinks.”

From the side of my eye, I see him look down at me, expression impassive. “What do you care about?”

“My marriage. My husband.” It’s the truth, but not the complete truth.

“He doesn’t seem to share the sentiment.” There’s amusement in his voice, and I follow his gaze to where the platinum blonde is pressed against Sebastian, one hand cupping his jaw as she laughs at whatever he’s saying.

My other hand that isn’t holding the champagne flute curls into a fist at my side. “Our marriage is none of your business. And she’s his work associate.”

Even to me, the words sound like the sort of lie you would tell a kid in kindergarten. What sort of associate can she possibly be? They don’t look like they’re talking about business at all.

“Hmm,” he hums. “Of course she is.” And then he turns and walks away. It’s only when he’s gone that I remember that I was supposed to ask him about the cat.

CHAPTER 9

Sofia

“Ithink the staff has misplaced your luggage,” I whisper to Sebastian later when we sit down for dinner in a tasteful dining room of the resort. “I didn’t see your things when I went up there.”

He looks at me. “It’s not a mistake. We won’t be sharing a room.”

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