Page 14 of Kneeling for Daddy
He shrugs. “Details, wife. Details.”
“Stop calling me that,” I grumble, curling into the corner of the couch and pulling a throw blanket around my bare feet.
I thought marrying Ani should have been the hard part. Standing in front of a judge I owned, repeating vows I didn’t mean, figuratively sliding a ring on the finger of a woman who wanted me dead with every glare she threw across the room. That was business. Nothing personal about it.
But living with her? It’s been less than thirty minutes, and I already know she’s going to test every ounce of my patience.
She curls up on the corner of the couch—my corner of the couch—pulling a throw blanket around her like she’s claiming territory inmyhome. I stop, crossing my arms over my chest, and watch her for a moment. Ani tilts her chin up, eyes flashing with all the disdain in the world when she catches me staring at her. “Did you not get enough of a look in the bedroom?” she asks sweetly, her voice sugar-laced poison.
“Cute.” I exhale a humorless laugh. “We need to talk.”
“Are you breaking up with me already?” She pouts and adjusts her weight to get more comfortable on the couch.
Fighting the urge to take the bait, I bite my tongue. I drop into the armchair across from her, and the silence stretches between us for a second. We glare at each other, like two predators locked in a cage, deciding who is going to strike first. I lean forward and brace my forearms on my knees. “I’m going to make this very clear.” My voice is low and even. “There are rules now. You live here. You are my wife, and whether you like this arrangement or not, youwillrespect that.”
Ani’s lips part, and she gasps in mock surprise, her hand flying to her chest like I have just given her shocking news. “I’m your wife? I had no idea. Thank you for clarifying.” Her sarcasm is sharp and polished. I’ve dealt with killers—men who would literally slit my throat for a handful of dollars—and none of them have ever rattled me like this pretty little Armenian.
“Rule number one: you will address me with respect. Both in this house and out of it. That bratty mouth of yours might have flown with your brother, but I won’t tolerate it.”
She purses her lips for a moment, then spits, “Respect? Is that what you call barking orders at me like I’m some little house pet?”
“Rule number two,” I continue, unbothered by her outburst. “We share a room. While, there is a guest suite, it is forguests, which you are not. You will not have your own bed. You will sleep beside me.”
Ani throws off the blanket, swinging her legs to the floor. She is small but fierce as she closes the few feet between us. “You have lost your damn mind if you think I am going to willingly crawl into bed with you.”
I shake my head. “It’s not a request, Ani.”
“You arrogant son of a—” She cuts herself off and huffs, crossing her arms over her chest as she paces before the couch.
“Rule number three: stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours. I don’t need you making trouble, and you have no place in my family’s business.”
She glares at me with a look that could cut through steel. “Oh, how generous of you. I get to play the obedient little wife while you go out and do whatever it is mafia kings do in the dark. Should I clap when you come home, too? Roll over and beg?”
The corner of my mouth ticks up when the thought of her begging from her hands and knees before me quickly flashes through my thoughts. “If you’d like.”
Her mouth gapes, and her cheeks flush with anger… and maybe a hint of intrigue.
“Rule number four: youwillbe a good girl for me.”
A sharp and uncontrolled laugh bursts from between her lips. She mockingly presses a hand to her chest. “I’m sorry… Did you just say ‘be a good girl’? What am I? Some puppy you can train with a few commands and pat on the head when I obey?”
Pushing my hands against my knees, I slowly rise from my seat. The room shrinks between us as I cross it, every step deliberate. She doesn’t so much as flinch—Ani doesn’t have it in her to back down from this fight—but I see the pulse hammering at her throat when I stop inches away.
“If that’s what it takes,” I dust my hand along her jaw and tip her face up toward mine, “then yes. You will learn… eventually.”
Her chest rises sharply, and her pouty pink lips part. I’m so focused on them, I don’t see her hand arcing through the airand landing firmly across my face. My head jerks a fraction to the side, and my cheek burns as the sound echoes through the otherwise quiet penthouse.
The fury flames hot in me, as warm as the searing handprint across my face. Nobody lays their hands on me.Nobody. And yet beneath it—threaded through the anger like a fuse—is something darker. Something that makes my blood thrum with unwanted hunger. Slowly, I turn back to her. She’s breathing hard, and her eyes are wide. “That,” I grouse, my voice rough with the effort it takes to maintain control, “is not a game you want to play with me, little pet.”
She stiffens, holding her chin high and refusing to back down even as her lower lip trembles with fear of my retaliation. “Or what?” she pushes out, barely above a whisper.
I dip my head and lean closer, close enough to feel her breath against my lips. My jaw tightens as I fight the urge to put my hands on her. “Or I’ll teach you exactly what happens when you challenge me,” I promise. Her pupils dilate, and a shiver runs through her, despite her best efforts to stay rigid. “You’ll learn, Ani,” I remind her, my voice calm again as I find my resolve. “One way or another. You’ll learn how to live as mine.”
Her eyes narrow. “I’ll burn this place to the ground before I submit to you.” Ani spins on her heel, storming away from me toward the bedroom. I should let her go. Leave her to slam the door and swear at me from the other side of it, but I follow behind her, listening to her mutter Armenian curses under her breath. Even though I don’t understand them all, every step she takes makes me want to grab a fistful of her platinum-blonde hair and drag her back to me.
She reaches the bedroom door, shoves it open, and stomps inside. A second later, she slams it hard enough behind her that I barely catch it before it hits my face. “Get out,” she snaps, whirling to face me.
“This ismyroom,” I remind her calmly, leaning against the doorframe like I’ve got all the time in the world.
