Page 29 of The Chosen Heir

“What the hell’s happened to you? Last night you were on your way to a business meeting at The Lounge, and this morning, I find Nina, of all people, in your bed. I can count on one hand the number of times you’ve brought a woman back here. And you were plastered each and every one of those times, but you don’t look worse for wear to me.” He looked me up and down critically. “Then you lock the door on me because you don’t want me to see her naked. Fuck, Alex, we’ve shared multiple women. Multiple times. In the same bed.”

I waved him away. “This is nothing like that. Nothing,” I insisted.

If anything, it was the opposite of sowing my wild oats. Everything I felt for Nina was soaked in the scent of hearth and home. Family and children. Fuck, what am I saying? I’d barely spent time with the girl, but I couldn’t help it. I knew her as part of my family, and those were the things she dragged out of my soul. As a man who followed my gut as much as my intellect, my instinct screamed that she was mine for the long haul.

“Of all the women in the city, you had to go for her. Tasa will carve out your balls with a butter knife and stuff them down your throat for breakfast.”

“Nice image, Tatum. Real nice.”

“I’m being real, not nice. And you are in definite need of a reality check,” he retorted as he flipped on the tap and filled the ibric with water. Reaching for the canister of ground coffee, he measured out the grounds with brusque, impatient movements. He thrust the coffee canister away and grabbed the sugar bowl, from which he distractedly dumped in a few spoons of sugar. I grimaced. Fuck, I hated it when he made the coffee too sweet.

“Tasa’s gone, so how exactly is she going to butt into my private life?”

“And you called her ‘your woman for now,’” my friend observed as he vigorously stirred the ingredients in the ibric. “I don’t know which is worse. That you’ve fucked Nina, that you called her your woman, or that you called her your woman for now. Are you losing your mind right now? Is that what’s happening? Should I call doc like when there’s a gunshot wound that needs stitching? ’Cause you’re acting like your brain is bleeding out.”

“Thanks for your vote of confidence,” I grated out between clenched teeth.

Rolling his eyes, he gave me a hard stare before turning his focus back to the stove.

Stirring again, he tried pleading with me, “I get it. She’s beautiful. She’s sweet. She’s pure.” At that last point, he shot me a knowing glance. He was already thinking that I took her virginity. He didn’t want to acknowledge it out loud because that would imply marriage, and he didn’t want to go there. Unbeknownst to him, I’d embrace marriage. Not only was it high time, but I wanted to lock Nina down. I wanted to spend every day with her. I damn well needed her in my bed every night. And I was too possessive not to put a ring on her finger.

Unfortunately, this clusterfuck with Nelu had to play itself out. Frustration clawed at my chest yet again. It was becoming a common occurrence. What the hell was happening to me? Since when did I feel stifled by being sef?

Since Nina.

“I really get it,” he went on, “but you need to think with your brain, not your dick.”

“Have I ever thought with my dick?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a first time for everything,” he rejoined with a snort. “You have Nina in your bed, and that’s not something I ever expected to see. This is a sensitive time, Alex. We need to focus on settling this situation, which is shifting by the day. Hell, by the hour.”

“I’m completely focused on my work, Tatum. It’s Sunday, for Christ’s sake. I can take a few hours off.”

The only reason Tatum pulled his scowl off me was to pay attention to the foam building as the coffee brewed. Being a perfectionist, he couldn’t miss that moment of opportunity. If he took his eyes off it, he’d be pissed for fucking up the coffee.

“I’ve been completely honest with her,” I explained. “I told her what I could and could not do.”

He glanced up for a second. “What is that exactly, Alex? Do you even know?”

“Not completely,” I admitted. “One thing I do know is that I’m moving her in here for her protection, and I’m locking my front door because I don’t want you barging in on us. I need to make certain she’s safe, at least while we’re searching for Tasa and resolving the marriage contract with Nelu. I can’t get distracted by worrying about her. That would take away my focus, and if Nelu truly wants me as a son-in-law, I’ll need my wits intact.”

“It makes sense for her to stay here, but are you sure that’ll make her any less of a distraction? Although,” he pondered, “you will be getting off, so the upside is that it’ll leave you more relaxed. You’re always more focused after a good fuck.”

I growled at him. “It’s not only about sex, Tatum. She does something for me. Her calm presence soothes me, and I’m wound up as fuck with everything that’s going on.”

Taking the coffeepot off the stove top, he poured the foam out and returned it for another fifteen seconds to build up again. He gestured for me to get the cups for Turkish coffee. I placed them on the counter just as he pulled the ibric off the stove. Then he poured the coffee, grounds and all.

Bringing the cup to my lips, I sipped the bittersweet beverage.

“Too sweet,” he grunted.

“Yup,” I confirmed. I knew it would be, with the amount of sugar he’d inadvertently added.

“Shit,” he said and whisked my cup out of my hand. “I’ll make another.”

Oh, hell no.

I grabbed it back. “Like hell, you will. You’re not throwing it out.” Tatum could be a control freak on his own time. I needed him out of my apartment before Nina woke up and found him here.

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