“What the fuck is this?” He holds the paper up, waving it in front of me. I thought he was going to be unhappy, but this is more. He’s angry.
I hold my hands up. “Now, Dominic—”
“Don’t Dominic me. You tricked me! You got me drunk last night so you could trap me.”
A small laugh escapes my mouth before I can stop it. “I did no such thing. I woke up this morning remembering as little as you do. I had just as much to drink last night.”
“Which is why I always tell you not to drink,” he snaps.
I drop into the chair next to him, the pain in my heart making my chest ache. “What do you want me to do? We could try and get a divorce? Or maybe an annulment?”
He stands, his tall frame towering over me. “You think this is funny?”
This isn’t the first time he’s freaked out like this. Eventually he’ll calm down, but it still makes me want to hide. He can get mean when he’s like this and I don’t like it. “No. I’m just not sure what else we can do.”
“You wanted this, didn’t you,” he accuses.
I look away, feeling the tears burn my eyes. “I won’t lie, Dominic. I was hoping you’d want to make me your wife, someday.”
“Do you even know how to be a wife?”
His sneer is hurtful but I answer quickly, “Not really, but I can try. I’m a quick learner.”
He paces the room, back and forth until he comes to a stop in front of the large plate window. He stares out at the skyline for a few moments and I’m afraid he’ll turn around and say he wants a divorce. “Fine,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “We’ll stay married—but if this is going to work, you need to learn how to be a good wife.”
My heart leaps. Dominic has been my world for so long. Things can only get better now that he’s mine and I am his. Maybe he’ll be less jealous. Less possessive.
I run up and wrap my arms around him. “I promise, I’ll be the best wife ever.”
He doesn’t kiss me like I expect. Instead, he unwraps my hands and drags me across the room, back toward the bed. “And you can start right now. I’m going to teach you how a wife should act in bed.”
The soft brush of a finger across my cheek brought everything back into focus. I hadn’t realized I’d been crying until Ashton wiped away my tears. He’d dragged his chair closer to mine while I’d been speaking and was now only inches from me, his legs splayed, cocooning me where I sat. “Don’t cry, Elena. That prick doesn’t deserve another tear from you.”
“I just want to make him happy.” My eyes closed, trying to block out the pain.
“That’s not what he wants. He wants a slave.”
“I tried to be everything he wanted me to be. Why isn’t that enough?” Holding back the sobs made my chest ache and so I gave in, letting them go. Ashton gently pulled me into his arms and held me while I cried.
Eventually the tears slowed, some semblance of control returning. Leaning away, I brushed furiously at my face. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“Don’t be sorry. I think you needed that.”
He cupped my face, using his thumbs to wipe away the remaining tears, and when our eyes connected, the frames of his glasses making the green of his irises even brighter, I was lost. My heart raced and my breath came in pants, my body reacting to the near perfection that was Ashton Hawes. His eyes slid closed and for one brief moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. My eyes fluttered shut and I waited, surprised and a little disappointed when I heard his groan and the sound of his chair pushing back.
I wasn’t beautiful enough for a man like Ashton. The fact that I even considered I might be was enough to bring me close to tears again.
“Stop, Elena. I can see your emotions in your eyes. Don’t think for one second you aren’t beautiful. You happen to be one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, some asshole with a superiority complex has skewed your view of yourself. Last night I promised not to take you to my bed unless you wanted to be there willingly, and I stand by that. I will not sit here and ravage you when you’re upset.”
He did say that last night, and while my body may be willing and waiting for a night with Ashton, my mind was at war with itself. Locked in a battle of right and wrong.
“You need to be ready if you want me, Elena, because I don’t make love—I fuck. But I can guarantee you that if you make the decision to climb into my bed, I’ll show you more pleasure than you’ve ever known.”
Heat raced up my cheeks and for the first time, I felt my panties wet with desire. Ashton pushed me to that point through his words alone. Silence was my only defense.
“Now before I can’t keep my promise to keep my hands to myself, let’s each get into something more comfortable and we’ll watch a movie.”
“Okay,” I said, practically running from the room.
I needed to get myself under control. Something about Ashton kept drawing me to him, despite my head screaming that it wasn’t right to betray Dominic. Yes, he’d given me permission, but I made vows and I’d meant them. Grabbing a new pair of yoga pants and a fitted T-shirt, I took deep calming breaths and resolved that I would watch the movie, but I needed to be prepared while I was down there.
CHAPTER 7
Ashton
Watching Elena leave the room hurt. Physically hurt. My dick was so hard it took every ounce of my self-control to keep my ass in the chair. It would blow my softly-softly approach if I chased after her and chained her to my bed, although, that didn’t stop my mind from wandering to how I could show her the way a real man treated a woman. With everything that was said, I was amazed at my ability to keep a cool head with her.
Fuck. I shouldn’t have asked her to keep that dress on. The second I looked up and saw her curves on display, clearly defined beneath the material, I’d wanted to clear my desk in one swipe and bend her over the top.
A cold shower—that’s what I needed to clear my head. With her history, I had to make sure she was ready for my bed because, like I told her, it wouldn’t be sweet. I didn’t do sweet. Hot and passionate I could give her. But I didn’t make love. Slow and sweet meant a connection. Most women wouldn’t be able to handle the realities of my life. So I kept myself disconnected, and it worked.
Thoughts of Elena stayed with me while I went to my room, taking my own advice and changing into something more comfortable. Flipping on the shower in my bathroom, I turned the knob all the way to cold—anything to get my cock back under control. I stepped under the spray and with the icy water clearing my brain, I was able to go over everything Elena had told me at dinner. If my desire to keep her close hadn’t overridden everything else, I probably would have climbed in my car and gone to beat the ever-loving fuck out of the prick.
He actually told her the only way he’d stay married to her was if she learned how to be a good wife. My hands clenched into fists at my sides as I resisted the temptation to take my frustration out on the tiles. How a man could treat their wife that way was beyond rational thought. And for her to agree . . .
He must have been slowly breaking down her protective barriers until he burrowed so deep under her skin, she had no idea he’d done it.