Page 47 of Devious
“Why are we here at a gala?” Roselyn asks as a waitress offers her champagne, and she waves her off.
“To donate money to kids who are homeless,” I answer, guiding her to the dance floor.
“Oh. I had no idea you would help the homeless.”
“Making sure kids eat is my priority. I know how it feels to go without food.”
“Oh.”
A few more people greet us, including the senator of the state and his wife. We talk about what we need to do to better the city. Despite having illegal businesses, I have several others that are completely clean in case I die or go to prison. So, Roselyn and my future heirs are protected. I never got into trouble with the law, but you never know how life will turn out. I try to keep a low profile because being in the spotlight draws too much attention.
Emma comes up to us, and Roselyn stares her down but doesn’t say anything to her. She eyes us with her nose turned up, and I’m assuming she’s pissed off because I’m not returning any of her phone calls or texts. I made it clear that I wasn’t going to fuck her, and I meant it. When Roselyn was locked up in her room, Emma tried to fuck me, and I declined, telling her I won’t be using her anymore. She thinks because she’s thefamiglia’swhore that she has some kind of power, but we use her as a fluff in case our wives are not around to fulfill our needs. Even if Roselyn wasn’t around, I wouldn’t cheat on her.
I rest my hand on Roselyn’s lower back, pulling her close to me. I lean down, press a kiss to the side of her temple, and she glances up at me with her eyebrows knitted together. We haven’t spoken much about our relationship since I fucked her.
Emma holds out her hand to Roselyn, and Roselyn stares at it, then glances back at her.
A smug smile tugs at the corners of Emma’s mouth. “I’m Emma. Devious’s mistress.”
Roselyn glares at me, then back at Emma. She tries to slide from my grip, but I hold on to her hip harder.
“We haven’t slept together since I met Roselyn,” I shoot back, and I don’t miss the pain on Roselyn’s face. She stares at me as if she doesn’t know what to believe. “You’re fired. For now, you’ll work as a whore to my top client,” I tell Emma.
“You can’t do that!” she screams, and a few people stop and look our way.
“Work as a whore or die. You know the rules.” I smirk. “You should have thought about that before you lied on my dick.”
I guide Roselyn through the sea of people, and we have a conversation with the other dons of thefamiglia, but tension builds within Roselyn. She only gives me one-word answers and avoids eye contact with me. So I yank her from the crowd and pull her to a corner, resting my arm on the wall, leaning toward her.
“What’s on your mind, nymph?”
She bites her lip before answering. “Who are you sleeping with behind my back? You don’t have to lie to me, you know.”
Why is she hurt if I’m sleeping with someone else?
“Why do you care if I’m fucking someone else? You hate me, don’t you?”
Her mouth twitches. “No, I don’t, but… you told me you wouldn’t.”
I want to see how jealous she is, so I say, “I’m fucking someone else,” I lie.
Hurt registers on her face as she folds her arms across her chest.
I know exactly what to say to get a rise out of her.
“I never stepped out on you. I said it to see how you’d respond.”
“You and your fucking mind games,” she sneers. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why haven’t you fucked around on me?”
I never will put anyone through what I went through with Shelby, but I don’t tell her any of that. Instead, I say, “Because I took a fucking vow. That’s why.”
“I don’t know why you would be faithful to me. Because if I had the opportunity to cheat on you, I would,” she snaps. “You’re a piece of rock no one wants.”
She’s swimming in dangerous waters with her words. She doesn’t know Shelby cheated on me. Her eyes flash, but when she sees the look on my face, she schools her features.
