Secret

by Penelope Sky

  Balto didn’t argue with me, perfectly understanding my reasoning. “I’m sorry.”

  Knowing exactly how it would end made it less painful, because I already anticipated it. But for Catalina…it would be sudden, horrifying, and completely unexpected. Or maybe we would be together for a long time, a secret relationship that would last years since she didn’t need a husband until she turned thirty. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about it for a long time. “I’m sorry about everything that happened. I understand if you don’t like her now.”

  “Don’t like her?” Balto asked, his deep voice filled with surprise. “Why would I not like her?”

  I tapped my finger against my cheek. “Because she turned your face into a pinata.”

  He glared at me.

  “We didn’t like what was happening at the time,” Cassini said. “But we can’t blame her for making the wrong assumption since you didn’t give her all the facts. And the fact that she cared so much…tears down her face…did make me like her. Because she obviously adores you, Heath.”

  Balto rubbed his cheek. “And I like any woman who can throw a punch like that. Impressive.”

  “Yeah…” I smiled slightly. “She’s feisty.”

  “She chased me down on the street and handed my ass to me in less than a minute. Sounds like the perfect woman, if you ask me.” My brother was a no-nonsense kind of man, so he respected people who were the same way. Instead of being annoyed or intimidated by a woman who spoke her mind and put her fist where her mouth was, he found it endearing, which was obvious, considering Cassini was the same way. I’d never forget the time she hit me in the face with a fucking lamp.

  I chuckled. “Man, I wish I could have seen that.”

  “It wasn’t funny—at the time,” Cassini said. “I don’t appreciate someone striking my husband.”

  “Baby, I’m fine,” Balto said quickly. “And I’ve had worse.” He turned back to me. “The four of us could have dinner and break the ice.”

  “You want to go on a double date with me?” I asked incredulously.

  “Why not?” Balto asked. “This woman is obviously special to you. And you dragged me to the goddamn ballet. At least at dinner, I can eat and drink. I can grab my wife’s ass too.”

  Cassini smacked his shoulder playfully.

  Balto grinned slightly, like he liked it when she hit him.

  I liked it when Catalina hit me too. “I’ll talk to her about it when I see her.” It would be an interesting conversation, to say the least. After our explosive argument over those dirty pictures, our relationship had taken a brief, steep nosedive. “I’m not sure what she’ll say about dinner.”

  “Don’t give her a choice,” Balto said. “You think Cassini gets a choice in anything?”

  She smacked him again then got off his lap. “I get a choice in serving you dinner.” She headed back into the kitchen. “Looks like it’ll just be me and Heath. Enjoy your scotch.”

  I let myself into her apartment.

  She stood at the kitchen counter, her back to me. Without turning around to see my face, she addressed me. “Hey, babe. Just finishing dinner.” She wore her sexy little shorts and a tank top, skipping the bra and letting her tits relax. Her ass cheeks hung out slightly because the bottoms were so short.

  Babe. It was a title I’d never been called before, and it fit me like a tailored suit. I liked listening to it come from her lips, especially since she only did it once in a while, when she really felt the affection inside her heart. Every time she said it, she meant it, and that was sexy. “What are we having?”

  “Spaghetti.” She sautéed the beef in the pan while the noodles boiled in the pot.

  I came up behind her, my arms wrapping around her petite frame, covering her entire torso because our sizes were so vastly different. I pulled her into me slightly, my face moving into her neck so I could kiss her, placing my lips against that delicious skin.

  She immediately froze when I kissed her, holding the spatula over the pan without stirring the food.

  I pushed the strap off her shoulder so my kiss could migrate down, move across the rest of her tanned skin, tasting olives on my tongue. My mouth widened and kissed her harder, my dick pressing into her back because I held her close. My fingers gripped the thin fabric of her shirt, stretching out the fibers with my aggressive clenches. I kissed her shoulder like it was her mouth, sucking, licking, biting.

  She abandoned the food entirely, closing her eyes as she felt me devour her.

  My hands roamed all over her body, squeezing her tits through the shirt before moving across her stomach. My lips slid back to her neck, and I nibbled on her lobe before I let my warm breath enter directly into her ear so she could hear my pants. I gave her a final squeeze before I let her go. I stepped over to the cabinets and grabbed the plates along with the silverware. I knew she liked wine with dinner, so I grabbed a new bottle and uncorked it.

  It took her a few seconds to snap out of her haze, to stir the meat before it began to burn. But there was a red tint to her cheeks like her mind immediately went to the gutter, like food was the last thing she wanted to eat.

  I leaned against the counter and stared at her.

  She stirred the meat again before she looked at me. She held the look for a few seconds before she continued what she was doing.

  “So, you met my brother.”

  She dropped the spatula onto the pan, her relaxed body now tightening in distress. She quickly grabbed it before it became too hot to touch. The food seemed to be done, so she turned off the burner and wouldn’t look at me.

  I waited for a response.

  She opened a cabinet and grabbed a strainer before setting it in the sink. Then she grabbed the pot and dropped the water and noodles into the metal strainer, steam rising and filling the kitchen, floating past her face and toward the ceiling. Her arms shook the bowl, letting the water drip out.

  “I asked you a question.”

  She finished straining the noodles before dumping everything back into the pot. Then she carried it back to the stove. “You didn’t ask me anything.”

  I smiled slightly at her comeback.

  She spooned the meat onto the noodles then added the sauce, stirring everything together before she added a splash of oregano and garlic. Then she sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top. When she had nothing else to do, she sighed. “Look, I didn’t know you had a twin.” She finally turned and faced me, unable to hide the fear in her eyes. She was actually afraid of my reaction. “You guys are the same weight, the same build, and he had a skull ring. You can’t blame me for making the assumption. And…I’m sorry that I punched him. I apologized to him—twice.” It was the first time she was unsure of herself, showing her embarrassment. “It doesn’t mean I don’t trust you, okay? It just—”

  “Baby, I’m not mad at you.” I couldn’t stop the smile from entering my lips. “But I do enjoy watching you squirm.”

  Her eyes flashed with her usual fire.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because…I’m embarrassed.” She scooped the meal onto the plates, averting her gaze so she wouldn’t have to look at me. “I guess I didn’t want to deal with this conversation until I absolutely had to.”

  I knew that feeling too well.

  “How does his face look?”

  “Like a busted pinata.”

  “God…” She carried the plates to the table and sank into her chair, covering her face with both hands.

  I took the seat beside her and grabbed her wrist, gently pulling it away from her face. “Come on, you’re too beautiful to hide your face.”

  She dropped her other hand and sighed. “They hate me, don’t they?”

  “No. Actually, the contrary.” I grabbed my fork and started to eat.

  She turned to me, visibly surprised. “They don’t?”

  I shook my head as I chewed. “My brother is not your typical guy. He was impressed by your punch.”

  “What?” she
asked incredulously.

  “And his wife understood after the fact. I told them I didn’t tell you I had a twin.”

  “Why didn’t you?” she asked.

  I shrugged. “Didn’t think you’d bump into him on the street.”

  She grabbed her fork and started to eat.

  I watched her face as I ate, loving the way she struggled with her humiliation, the way she wore her heart on her sleeve, tears in her eyes. “They told me you were devastated when you thought I was married.”

  She spun her fork around and collected a portion of the noodles. “So?”

  “That you were completely and utterly devastated.”

  “Who wouldn’t be?”

  “A woman who doesn’t care. But you clearly do.”

  She continued to spin her fork even though all the noodles were securely wrapped around the utensil.

  My hand moved to her wrist, my fingers giving her a light squeeze.

  She sighed in defiance.

  “Baby, look at me.”

  She refused.

  Maybe she wasn’t just humiliated about what she did to my brother. Maybe she was humiliated by the way she felt about me, the way she allowed me to pierce her heart and every other inch of her body.

  She finally turned to me, the shame still in her eyes.

  I interlocked our fingers and continued to stare at her, to look into those gorgeous green eyes and see her thoughts written with bright ink. “I’d be just as devastated…”

  I sat on the couch in my living room and watched the game while she sat on the other end of the couch, reading a book. Summer had faded quicker than normal, fall coming quick and sudden, so she wore my t-shirt and my sweatpants, the fire in the hearth burning to keep her warm.

  I was pretty much naked and totally fine.

  She grabbed her phone and checked the time before she sighed. “I should get going.” She closed the book and left it on the coffee table. Her things had been gradually left at my house, extra clothes, her books, some heels. They were left in random places, on my nightstand, in my drawer, in my closet, etc.

  I pulled my gaze away from the game. “Why?” It was getting late in the evening, and I knew she didn’t have a performance on a Wednesday night. I tried not to demand explanations from her because she never did it to me, but this time, I couldn’t help it.

  She rose from the couch. “I have a dinner to go to.”

  “Dinner?” I asked, wondering if it was a girls’ night.

  “Yeah.” She placed her hands on her hips. “The entire ballet is going to this charity dinner at the Tuscan Rose. So, I need to head home and get ready.” As if she hadn’t said anything worth discussing, she walked down the hallway to the bedroom.

  I watched her go, the muscles in my arms tightening in annoyance. It only took me a few seconds before I followed her, telling myself to tone down my anger before I even spoke. I stepped into the bedroom and watched her return her essentials to her bag. “You better be fucking joking.” My attempt to control my anger was unsuccessful—extremely. But I was a candid man who spoke his mind, especially to the woman who had prime real estate in my bed.

  She stilled at my words, her eyes widening at my outburst. “What?”

  “Don’t what me,” I snapped. “You have an event to go to, and you didn’t think to ask me.”

  She shoved her heels inside and sighed. “It’s black tie. You don’t wear stuff like that—”

  “But I have the ability to buy it.”

  “Well, there’s no time now—”

  “Because you purposely waited until the last minute.”

  She stopped packing and stared at me.

  “Why don’t you want me to come with you?”

  She shed her clothes and put on the jeans and shirt she’d left out. “It’s not really your thing. This is a fancy event. You don’t know how to act or talk to people.”

  My eyes narrowed. “You think I’m stupid?”

  “That’s not what I said—”

  “It’s what you’re implying. And trust me, I can handle a few pretentious assholes in suits. You should see the other shit I handle on a nightly basis.”

  She left my clothes on the bed and shouldered her bag. “Heath—”

  “Baby.” I came farther into the room, my eyes burning into her face. “I’m your man. You don’t go to shit alone when you have a man. How would you feel if I went somewhere and pretended I didn’t have a woman at home?”

  “I don’t pretend you don’t exist, Heath. I just thought—”

  “Stop thinking on my behalf. I don’t need a woman to speak for me, to make my decisions. This is a relationship, whether you fucking like it or not, and you will treat me with the respect I command.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and slightly tilted her chin down.

  “What? Are you ashamed of me?”

  “No.” The answer burst from her lips immediately, like it was an instinct.

  “Then what the fuck?”

  “I just…” She looked away as she ran her fingers through her hair. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in a relationship before, and this wasn’t even supposed to be a relationship, and now I’m having to do things I’ve never done before. I’ve never brought a man to anything before.”

  “How is it any different from us together at the bar?”

  “Because those are just my friends. This is with other people I work with, other people in society. A lot of people know my brother, and they might mention this to him.”

  “So?” I asked. “You aren’t scared to tell him off, so if he sticks his nose in your business, tell him to fuck off.”

  She sighed quietly.

  “If you really don’t want me there, then fine.” I turned away, swallowing my pride and dropping the conversation. I wasn’t going to beg her to take me, to make her do something she didn’t want to do. I had too much self-respect for that shit.

  “Heath.”

  I kept walking.

  She came after me and grabbed me by the arm. “Wait.”

  I only turned around because I wanted to, because whenever she touched me, I turned into a fucking pussy. I looked down at her, my eyes still full of rage.

  “I’m sorry.” Her hands grabbed onto my arms, her chin tilted up so she could look into my gaze. “It’s not that I don’t want you there. It’s not that I’m ashamed of you. It’s not that I’m trying to hide you. I guess I like my independence, and I have to learn to let that go…because I’m not alone anymore. I have you.”

  I stared into her eyes and saw her sincerity.

  “I’m just not used to being two people…instead of one.”

  When we met, she told me all these things, that she didn’t want to settle down for many years. This was supposed to be a fling, one which probably should have burned out by now, but it turned into something neither one of us expected. “Then ask me to come with you.”

  She smiled slightly once I forgave her. “Come with me.”

  The brightness in her eyes allowed me to believe her, allowed me to let it go. “Don’t let it happen again.” I would give her a pass on this, but she better learn from her mistake, better not pull this stunt again.

  “I won’t.”

  I cupped her face and leaned down to kiss her. “Alright.” I released her and walked back into the bedroom.

  She followed behind me. “It’s black tie, so what are you going to do?”

  I pulled on a shirt and grabbed my jeans from the closet. “Go to Balto’s.”

  She cocked an eyebrow, not following my thought process.

  “We’re the same size—so his suit will fit me.”

  “Does he even own a suit?”

  “One.” I came back to her and pulled on my shoes. “The one he wore on his wedding day.”

  Catalina was stunning.

  She wore a backless dress, falling so deep down her backside that the top of her ass was nearly visible. Her hair was pinned around her head, wrapping all th
e way until her long strands fell down a single shoulder. With dark makeup on her eyes and sparkly jewelry, she looked unbelievable.

  Thank fucking god she didn’t come alone.

  My arm was around her waist as we walked inside, collecting the flutes of champagne offered to us.

  This suit was stuffy, the tie like a rope around my neck. My temperature always ran hot, so I felt twenty degrees hotter than usual. I’d picked up a fifty-thousand-euro watch on the way home just to wear for the evening, even though I never wore jewelry except the ring on my hand. I felt ridiculous in the outfit, like a goddamn clown.

  But Catalina couldn’t stop looking at me—like she liked it. It was the same look she gave me when we were in bed together, that she couldn’t believe just how sexy I was, that she couldn’t handle my cut physique, that she couldn’t believe I was real.

  So that made it worthwhile.

  Her friends stared at me too—a lot.

  She introduced me to a few people, and she was initially surprised at how well I could handle myself, shake hands with strangers and make small talk, even make people laugh. The longer the night went on, the more impressed she became.

  When we had a minute alone together, she turned to me, her eyes almost level with mine because of the sky-high heels on her feet, adding at least five inches of height to her petite size. “You look really good in that suit…” She looked me up and down as she drank from her glass, smearing her red lipstick against the edge.

  I knew she was used to seeing powerful men dressed that way, like her brother and Hades. I took the compliment without issuing a comeback. “Not as good as you do in that dress.” If this event weren’t important to her, I would take her into a bathroom and fuck her in a stall.

  She smiled slightly, her eyes playful.

  “I can’t wait to see how that suit looks on my bedroom floor.”

  I cocked my head slightly, enjoying the way she objectified me. My arm circled her waist, and my hand pressed into her bare back, my fingers digging into the muscles surrounding her spine. I pulled her into me and kissed her, the kiss a little inappropriate for the setting, but she didn’t pull away.