by Penelope Sky
I sat on the patio in my sweatpants and finished work before bed. The doors were open, so I heard Sofia walk inside after she finished dinner with her mother. There was no way to miss me when she walked inside, so she chose to ignore me.
She was lucky she didn’t have to witness my dark side.
I closed my tablet and brought it inside along with my glass of scotch.
She was already dressed for bed, wearing one of my t-shirts with her panties underneath. She pulled her hair over one shoulder, naturally sexy without even trying.
I was angry with her for being angry with me, but that didn’t stop me from getting hard. Just hours ago, my favorite courtesan was on her knees and ready to suck my dick, but there was no blood between my legs. The sight of my wife in my t-shirt giving me the cold shoulder made me so hard it actually hurt.
Man, I had it bad.
She closed the drawer and turned toward the bed, choosing to pretend I wasn’t standing there.
My patience evaporated, and I grabbed her by the arm.
She twisted out of it so fast, like she’d been expecting it.
But she was no match for me. I pinned both of her arms behind her back then forced her to bend over at the edge of the bed. My hand gripped the back of her neck and held her in place, the shirt riding up her stomach and revealing her perky ass in her panties.
She tried to fight me. “Asshole, let me—”
“Knock this shit off. Now.” I kept her in place with no exertion because she was weak in comparison to my strength. “Treat me that way, and I’ll treat you this way. Be pissed at me all you want, but don’t fucking ignore me. You will show me respect every goddamn day. Understand?”
She tried to buck me off. “Fuck you.”
I kept her down. “I had a meeting tonight, and my associates bought me my favorite whore.”
She stopped trying to evade my hold.
“I used to pay a lot of money for her, fuck her in this very bedroom for an entire weekend. She would have done anything I asked, and you would have had no idea where my dick had been all night. But I turned down the offer and came home to you. I’m committed to this for better or worse. You need to start behaving the same way.” I let her go and turned away, my cock still pressing against my shorts because I got off on restraining her. I was tempted to fuck her like that, keeping her under my clutches as she fought my hold.
I grabbed the bottle of scotch and poured another glass. My back was to her as I let the liquid slide down my throat and straight into my gut. It was potent because I had an empty stomach. I was tempted to leave the house again and head to a bar. Or better yet, I should get on a plane and fly to Morocco now.
I felt her palms flatten against my back, her touch slight and gentle.
I was about to take another drink, but I put the glass down instead.
Her hands glided up my back to my shoulders, massaging me lightly, touching me with remorse.
I closed my eyes and enjoyed her touch, slipping under her spell for the millionth time.
She grabbed my bicep and forced me to turn around.
I moved with the pull, wanting to forget about this fight and get naked as quickly as possible. Her immature behavior would have made me indifferent to her if she were someone else. I wouldn’t put up with this shit. I still shouldn’t put up with this shit. But there I was…fucking weak.
She looked up at me, her green eyes glazed and her lips slightly parted. Her palms started at my stomach and slowly slid toward my chest as she stepped in a little closer. Her face moved to my chest as if she was going to rest her forehead there, but instead, she kissed the skin over my heart.
I fought to keep my arms by my sides, refusing to allow myself to forgive her so quickly.
She lifted her gaze to meet mine again. “I’m sorry…”
My cock twitched in my boxers, wanting to slide between her lips as she whispered those words. I wanted to lie flat on her tongue and feel it move as she apologized again…and again.
“I just thought you were being harsh to your best friend.”
“My issues with Damien are none of your business. Stay out of it.”
“I’m your wife…your issues are my business.”
I always got off on the way she said her title, the way she called herself my wife. “But you don’t have the right to tell me how to feel about it. I spoke to Damien when I was ready. It had to be on my terms.”
Her fingers continued to caress my chest. “Is that true? What you said…?”
“Would I lie to you?” My fingers ached to slide into her hair and brush it from her face, to pull her in for a deep kiss. But I had to keep my arms by my sides, keep up this pissed façade so she would remain apologetic. I never knew remorse could be so sexy. I pushed the front of my pants down so my cock could emerge, hard as steel. “Would I be this hard if I’d already fucked someone else all night?”
“I don’t know. You fuck me all night and never have a problem.”
“That’s because I love…” I shut my mouth and stopped myself from making a dire mistake. “Because I love fucking you more than anyone else.” I pushed my pants and boxers farther until they slid to my ankles.
She kept her gaze on me and didn’t glance at my dick. She also didn’t seem to anticipate what I was really going to say before I saved myself. Her arms circled my neck, and she rose on her tiptoes so she could kiss me.
My arms couldn’t stay back for another moment, so I wrapped them around her waist and pulled her close, my lips burning at her touch. My hands slid under her shirt, and I pushed her thong over her ass, my cock thinking about that slick pussy.
I pulled the shirt over her head and revealed her round tits and flat stomach before I backed her toward the bed, stepping out of my bottoms in the process. Her panties got left behind too.
When the backs of her knees hit the bed, she prepared to lie down so I could get on top of her.
I had other plans.
I spun her around and forced her into the position she’d been in before, her face against the sheets and her ass in the air. Her pussy was visible to me, along with that little asshole I had yet to fuck. My hand gripped the back of her neck and applied the pressure while my other hand pinned her wrists together at the small of her back. “You’re going to show me how sorry you are.”
I had to head to the airport, but Sofia was smothered into my side, her arm draped across my waist while her lips rested against my chest. Her hair stretched over my arm, the scent of her shampoo ingrained in my skin.
I wanted to stay there and watch her wake up.
But I had shit to take care of.
As gently as I could, I pulled my body from underneath hers and placed her on the pillow. I slipped from under the sheets and made it to the edge of the bed. My phone lit up with another message. I’d been getting them all morning.
When I got to my feet, she stirred. “What time is it?” She pulled the sheets farther over her shoulder and closed her eyes.
“Early.”
“Then why are you getting out of bed?”
“I’ve got to catch my flight.” I pulled on clean underwear and grabbed a t-shirt from the closet.
“Flight?” She sat up in bed and let the sheets fall. “Where are you going? When were you going to tell me?”
“Last night, but I never got around to it.” I pulled on my jeans then grabbed my leather jacket.
She got out of bed, wide awake now that she knew I was leaving. “Where are you going?”
“Marrakech.”
“And what’s there?”
I kept my answer vague. “Business. I’ll be back tomorrow.” I pulled on my shoes then slipped my watch onto my wrist.
Standing there naked, she looked devastated by the news. “So, I’ll be alone tonight?”
“My men will keep you safe.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about. It’s just… I’ve never slept here alone.” She grabbed the shirt she’d been wearing the ni
ght before from the floor and pulled it on.
“You can handle it.” I grabbed my bag next.
She walked up to me. “Are you doing anything dangerous?”
“No. I’ll be home tomorrow—I promise.”
Her eyes scanned back and forth as she studied my gaze. “I’m sorry I said I didn’t want you to come home… I didn’t mean that.”
“I know.” How could she fuck me like a maniac but not love me? How could she be so upset about my departure but feel nothing? “Just don’t say shit like that again. Because you never know if it’ll ever be the last thing you say to me.”
Her eyes softened further, like my words were bullets to her heart. “I don’t want you to go.”
I’d just gotten dressed, but now I wanted to strip everything off and climb back into bed with her. I wanted to get hot and sweaty with my wife and forget about the rest of the world. Listening to her beg me was such a turn-on. Watching her turn vulnerable for me, become clingy, was the sexiest thing in the world. “I have to.”
“Alright. Could you call me before you go to bed?”
She was making it harder and harder for me to leave. “Yes.”
She moved into me and slid her hands up my chest, the longing obvious in the emotion in her eyes. She’d been pissed at me yesterday, but now she didn’t want to let me go. She rested her forehead against my chest and stood there, her hands resting at my stomach.
My hand slid into her hair, and I pulled her close to me, my chin resting on her forehead. I held her against me for a few minutes, ignoring my looming tardiness. It was my own plane so I could get there whenever I wanted, but I wanted to be in Marrakech before nightfall. Though nothing could pull me from here, not when I had her so close to me.
She didn’t want to let me go…and neither did I.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I have to go.”
She slowly pulled her hands off me. “Alright…be safe.”
“Always.” My hand cupped her cheek, and I looked into her beautiful face, missing her before I was even gone. My thumb swiped across her bottom lip, and I inhaled a deep breath as I treasured this moment, felt grateful she was mine and not someone else’s. “I’ll miss you.” It was a pathetic thing to say, pussy shit for someone like me. But I said it anyway…and I meant it.
Her eyes lit up, and a smile spread across her lips. “I’ll miss you too.”
It’d been ten years since I’d visited the bazaar. It was a massive place, and Damien and I had been wandering the alleyways and admiring the handmade pots and rugs as we killed time that night before the brothel opened at dusk. I didn’t have a clear idea where that purple tent was located, so I kept walking in the hope I would stumble across it.
I bumped into various characters, gypsies who tried to pick my pockets and prostitutes who wanted a paycheck for the night. There were defanged cobras and magicians swallowing lit swords along the way.
Everyone knew I was lost.
I kept looking, knowing I would find it eventually if it was still here.
I turned to the right and headed down a new alleyway lined with gold pots. That was when I spotted it, a purple tent tucked nearly out of sight. It was a suspicious position for a business because it wasn’t clearly visible. It seemed like it only wanted to be visited by people who already knew it was there.
I opened the flap and stepped inside.
It was exactly as I remembered it. Gold pots were on the ground with turquoise jewels, it smelled like scented oils, and there was a round table with a single chair. A purple tablecloth was over the surface, along with the cards the gypsy had read a decade ago.
This was the place.
But where was the woman?
I took a seat in the chair and waited. I was prepared to sit there all night if I had to. This was a stupid idea with close to nothing odds, but I had to try. Otherwise, I’d lose my mind.
Half an hour later, the flap opened and a woman stepped inside. Adorned with various jewels around her neck and a shawl around her head, she looked like the woman I’d visited ten years ago, but I couldn’t actually remember what she looked like. This might be her…or just someone dressed in the same way.
She halted as she stared at me, her eyes taking their time roaming over every feature of my face. They drifted down and looked over my appearance, from my leather jacket to my black shoes. When her examination was done, she glided to the chair across from me and took a seat. “Only one fortune per person. That’s the rule.”
My eyebrows rose in surprise. “You remember me.”
“I remember your presence. Very tainted…very disturbed.” She grabbed the cards on the table and shuffled them until they were placed to the side. A low burning candle was in the center, the wax starting to drip onto the tablecloth. The musky air smelled like paprika and candles. “But I can only read your future once. Unless I can provide you direction, I’m useless to you.” Her hands came together on the table with resignation.
“I’m not here for a fortune reading. The first one was bad enough.”
Her eyes slowly filled with sympathy, as if she knew exactly what I’d been through. “Knowing the future is both a blessing and a curse. You accept terrible things easier when you know they are coming…but they are also all you ever think about until they happen.”
Definitely. “I need to know if it can be reversed.”
One eyebrow cocked to the ceiling of the tent. “The future has already happened. Now it’s the past. I hope you aren’t dumb enough to think the past can be changed.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then be clear, Hades.”
Goose bumps sprinkled up my arms, and the air suddenly felt thicker than it had a moment ago. There was an energy I couldn’t identify. This woman seemed like more than just a card -reader, a full-on sorceress instead. “How do you know my name?”
“I can read you.”
Even if Damien had said my name ten years ago and she caught it, there was no way she could still remember it. That meant she had to be telling the truth. “I’m married to the woman I love, and just as you said, she won’t love me back. It’s not prejudice or betrayal that causes her indifference. She just…doesn’t.”
She nodded slightly.
“You said I was being punished for the things I’ve done—”
“And the things you would do.”
“Yes. I thought your reading was bullshit at the time, but now that everything you predicted has come to pass…I know it’s real.”
She nodded again.
“Help me change it.”
“Hades, I already said the past can’t be changed.”
“But you said I was being punished for the crimes I’ve committed. If I were to be forgiven for those crimes, would that break this curse?”
Her eyes narrowed as she stared at me.
“I love my wife more than anything in this world…and it kills me that she feels nothing for me. It’s the kind of torture I wouldn’t give my greatest enemy. I can’t live like this forever. There has to be something I can do.” I bared my soul to this complete stranger, desperate to get what I wanted. Normally, I would just throw cash at my problems and make them go away…but not this.
“Well…there are two options. But neither one is good.”
“Alright…”
“The first one is unpredictable. We could try it and hope for the best, but I can’t promise you it’ll work.”
“Let’s just try.”
“Hold on. You don’t even know what you’re agreeing to.”
“Then tell me.” I was impatient, wanting this eternal night to end for good.
“There are two ways to approach your problem. The first one is, we could make you stop loving her. Make you forget about her. With your newfound freedom, you could divorce her and get back to the life you had before.”
I didn’t anticipate that being a solution.
“I can’t promise it’ll work, but it does have a chance.
This is the easier option for you. The second one is…near to impossible to achieve. I suggest we do the first one and not even bother with the second.”
I didn’t come in here with the intention of forgetting Sofia. If I could stop these feelings, it would solve all of my problems. My heart would cease to ache for her, and all the torture would be over. She could leave, and I wouldn’t give a damn about her anymore. It was exactly what I wanted…right? “Will the other option achieve the same thing?”
“The opposite. You could break the curse, and there’s a chance she’ll love you on her own. But like I said, it is much more complicated and I don’t recommend it. We could do the first one right now and you could be on your way.”
Now I was at a crossroads, and I had to decide what I wanted. To go back to my blissful life of whores, money, and drugs without a care in the world…or I could have the most intense relationship of my life with a woman who felt the same way. Loving her was a pain in the ass, but living a life without that seemed…bleak. Sofia brought so much happiness into my life. I didn’t want to lose that; I just didn’t want to be tortured anymore. “The second one.”
She gave me a disappointed look. “You want to continue this torture?”
I nodded. “I don’t want to stop loving her. That’s never been the problem.” That was the dumber choice. I knew it was an error in judgment, a decision made with my heart and not my brain.
She grabbed her cards and started to lay them out again. “That leaves option two…” She spread them out, lit a different essence, and then stared at the surface of the table.
“Which is?”
“We need to identify your gravest crime…and you have to make it right.” She flipped a few cards over and moved them around, as if she were trying to solve a puzzle.
“I can save you some time.”
She lifted her gaze.
“I killed my father.”
She didn’t blink, like she already knew what I’d done.
“There’s no way to rectify something like that.” I shot him in the head and watched the light leave his eyes before he fell to the ground. My actions were heroic to some, but they were sickening to me. My brother gave me a look I’d never forget, and I knew he would kill me if we ever crossed paths again. I destroyed our family…and even I couldn’t forgive myself.