Benito looked ready to strangle me, and I was ready for it. I might have even wanted it.
* * *
If there wasone thing I learned about my husband, it was he did not like his mother. In turn, it meant I loved having Gabriela around. If only to piss him off.
“How’s the couch treating you?” I sipped the tea I made. Benito had nothing but bullshit sweet stuff in the house. There hadn’t been any decent tea to speak of.
“Get the fuck out of my bed.”
“What are you afraid of?” I asked. My head tilted as I studied him. “Think I’ll tie you down and fuck you?”
Benito groaned as he wiped his rough-looking hand down his face. I knew what his hands felt like, and fuck if I didn’t want to feel them all over me.
Maybe I should be the one afraid of him sharing the bed with me.If the kiss we had two days ago was anything to go by, it was best we touched as little as possible.
“It’s too early in the morning.”
Benito rolled his shoulders back, his chest bare and dusted with black hair. My fingers twitched around my mug.
“It’s never too early in the morning, darling.” I reached down for his wrist. He slapped my hand away. I couldn’t contain the laugh that broke free. “We both know you can hit harder than that.” I grabbed his wrist without asking and turned so I could check the time. A smile curved my lips up. “Oh, it’s almost time.”
“What the fuck did you do?” Benito asked.
“Nothing.” I batted my lashes and let his hand drop. “You have five minutes to get your shit up from the couch and back into the bedroom.”
“Why?”
“Time is ticking by, Benito.” I turned away from him, smiling into my mug as I took another sip. Chaos and tea, was there a better way to start the day?
“Harlow.” Benito grabbed my shoulder and whirled me around.
Hot tea spilled over my hands, burning my fingers. I swallowed back the hiss of pain and instead focused on my husband.
“You’re still not ready?”
“Answer me, you little shit. You fuck this up, and I break—”
The door opened. Tony looked sheepishly at us as he let in Benito’s mother. Gabriela waltzed inside, looking like a million dollars. Her hair was down in loose curls. tThe dress she wore was form-fitting with a string of pearls around her neck. Her heels were impossibly tall, making her already long legs stand out even more.
“You didn’t,” Benito groaned through clenched teeth.
“I did.” His hand tightened on my shoulder. Pain echoed from his grasp. “Keep hurting me, and you’re going to embarrass me in front of my mother-in-law,” I whispered.
Benito’s dark brown eyes roamed over my body before they dropped to my crotch, and I swore my cock jumped. I wasn’t hard, but if he kept staring, I would be.
“My eyes are up here.” I snapped in front of his face.
Benito’s head snapped up, and he fixed me with a glare.Fuck, he is so hot when he’s angry.
“Oh, did I interrupt something?” Gabriela smiled and placed a hand to her chest. “You know, Benito is a lot like his father. He couldn’t stand to be away from me either.” She sighed. “Until he wasn’t.” Her smile dropped instantly. “Careful, Harlow. Vitales have wandering eyes.”
I kept a smile on my face, but my stomach twisted with the thought of Benito seeking out someone else. Sure, our marriage was a farce, and there was absolutely nothing between us besides hatred, but there was no way Benito was going to go find someone else.
“Mom,” Benito said.
Her smile came right back. “What? You’re going to say I’m wrong?” She rolled her eyes. “If it hadn’t been for that whore batting her baby blues at my husband, we would still be together.” Gabriela tucked some of her hair behind her ears. “He still loves me. She did her best to try and steal him, but he always came back. In the end, I’m the one still around, and she’s six feet un—”
“Mom,” Benito cut in more sharply.