Page 114 of Scandalous Contract
I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly. Praying for patience and maybe a little divine intervention.
Opening my eyes, I said, “You shouldn’t toss that word around so easily.”
“I’m not. I’m serious. I’m not a casual dater, Stefanie. I don’t date. At all.”
“Yeah, right.” I rolled my eyes before staring at the red dot. “You may not date, but you fuck. Everyone has needs.”
“Yes, I’ve had sexual relationships based on mutual desires. But they weren’t serious. And we didn’t date.”
Jealousy tugged at my heart. I stamped it down. I had no right to be envious of those women.
“I’ve had similar relationships and...” I started, trying to prove that sex didn’t equal love.
“You may not want to continue that sentence, unless you want me to murder every man who’s seen you naked.”
I was left with my mouth open.
“I’m a jealous man, Stefanie. I don’t want to hear about theboysyou’ve been with. That’s in the past.”
“You just told me about thegirlsyou’ve been with.”
“Youbrought them up. If you want, I’ll have one of my female cousins kill all the women who’ve seen me naked.”
If I wanted them dead, I’d do it myself.
I cleared my throat. “Why are we discussing murder like it’s a hobby or something?”
“It’s not a hobby. But you know who I am. You know my last name. You know I’m not... innocent. I have a dark side that will never hurt you or India. I swear.”
And I have a dark side that India can never find out about, which is why I can’t risk letting you in.
“Julian,” I sighed. “This entire conversation is getting us nowhere. You don’t love me and...”
“Stefanie Adams, I do love you. And I’m sure you’ve figured out that I’ve loved you for a while now. I won’t give up on us.”
“There is no us.”
“There has been anusfor a while now. You’re just too afraid to admit it.”
My lips parted to argue, but nothing came out. Because damn it, he was right.
“Tell me you don’t want me.”
“If I do, will you let this go?” I whispered.
“No, I’ll work harder.”
I shook my head. “You’re being difficult.”
“And you’re denying us a chance at happiness. I can make you happy. I know I can.”
You already do, and that was the scary part. How much happier would I be if we were truly together? I wanted that type of happiness. But I knew it wouldn’t last long. And it would hurt like hell when I lost it.
I was trying to save us both the heartache and headache. It was clear that he wasn’t going to give up. So, I had to be the strong one.
“How do I turn this thing off?” I asked, steeling my emotions against him.
“You can’t turn it off on your end,” he told me.
