Page 43 of Better Daddy
“Yes, Mommy. Your date awaits.” He holds out his elbow. “Let’s go make baby daddy jealous.”
A smile slips free before I can catch it. “I’m not trying to make anyone jealous.”
Julius chuckles. “Right, and I’m not attracted to Pedro Pascal.”
“Oh, he is hot, but I don’t know. Chris Evans might be hotter. No—Ugh. I can’t decide,” I whine.
Julius winks at me. “Why choose, baby, why choose?”
“Because she’s my wife,” Sully growls, as if Julius was speaking to him. He wraps an arm around my waist and presses a kiss to my cheek. “There is no choice.”
And dammit, my panties are wet, and now I know precisely how I wanted tonight to go.
Chapter 16
Sully
“What are you doing here?” The words may escape my wife in a hiss, but the way her body arches against me tells me the annoyance is an act.
I won’t call her on it. My plan tonight is to thaw the ice lingering between us, not add fuel to her anger.
“I forgot to give you this.” I slip my hand into my pocket, brushing my fingers against the sharp edges of the gemstones. As I pull the necklace out, I ensure the thick string of diamonds and emeralds rests on my palm so she can get a good look at it. So Will, the prat, can get a good look too.
Sloane’s breath catches as she stares at the jewelry. “Sully…I…” She shakes her head slowly and runs a finger along the line of jewels. “It’s stunning, but…” She looks up at me, her eyes full of questions.
“Just because you’re not here with me, sweetheart, doesn’t mean I don’t still want you to feel like a queen.”
Her eyes flash and her throat bobs. I’ve memorized all of my wife’s looks. Everything fromyou’re in deep shitetoI’m having the time of my life. And right now, her expression tells me that my simple words touched her in a way nothing I’ve said inmonths has been able to.
“May I?” The words are rough, full of uncertainty.
With her teeth pressed into her bottom lip, she spins.
Carefully, I shift her hair over her shoulder, and as I drag my fingers along the silky skin, she shudders. For a heartbeat, I freeze, taking in the way she feels. Warm and soft. She’s always had such flawless pale skin. For years, it’s tempted me to mark it. To leave behind proof that she’s mine. Even though she’s not at the moment, I can’t help but rub a slow circle against her spine with my thumb.
What I wouldn’t give to pull Sloane into a dark corner and drag her zipper down her spine. Drop the dress to the floor so she’s naked in front of me. Because I know by the way her breath has picked up and her shoulders have tightened that if I did, I’d find her wet and wanting.
Will clears his throat, breaking through the tension.
“Sully,” Sloane whispers. Although her tone is laced with a longing I wish she would unleash, there’s an underlying question there too.
She probably wants to know what the fuck I’m doing. Especially in front of Will. Herdate.
He doesn’t deserve the title. Not after he let her out of his sight like he did. Sloane and I have attended dozens of events together over the years, and the only time she wasn’t within arm’s reach was when she excused herself to the bathroom.
Tonight, I’ll be forced to watch Will fail to treat her even half as well as she deserves.
Though I suppose if I’d treated her as well as I should have, she wouldn’t be on a date with someone else right now.
Bloody hell, I’d been such a wanker.
Gritting my teeth, I focus on getting the rope of emeralds and diamonds secured around her neck. Once the clasp is fastened, I reluctantly step back.
Turning, she fingers the jewels, her eyes wide and her expression open. “Thank you.”
Quickly, that look disappears, and she eyes her assistant, then Will.
As much as I hate it, that’s my cue. I refuse to make this hard for her. I won’t make a scene. I won’t demand she come with me. I want to. In my mind, I’ve already tossed her over my shoulder and stormed out. But she’s her own person. She makes the choices. And if we’re going to repair our relationship, she needs to choose me.
