by Nikki Ash
Gently, I grip her neck and run my thumb along her throbbing vein. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather stay here instead?”
She clutches my wrist at her throat. “I’m sure. I’m excited to do this. But I’m already tired, so maybe we can cut out early.”
“Deal, wife. And then you’re mine.”
“I already am.”
I watch Talia like a hawk as she moves about the room as though she was born to do this. Eyes follow her everywhere and they all smile for her. Irritation burns inside me each time I see her mother and stepfather, but they’re wise enough to avoid me. They’re proud of her and that makes me happy for her. Doesn’t mean I have to fucking socialize with them, though.
Aris comes to stand beside me and follows my stare, simply sipping from his tumbler of amber liquid without saying much else. After a few moments, he points at them, still holding his glass. It sloshes slightly.
“It’s her fault, you know,” he says, his words sharp and furious.
“Talia?”
He turns and offers me a cruel smile. “So quick to blame your wife and you don’t even know what I’m talking about.”
I grit my teeth. “Out with whatever the hell you’re going to say, asshole.”
“Not your wife.” A laugh escapes him. “Her mother.” He turns back to look at them and scowls. “Our mother would still be—”
“Oh, honey,” Selene coos. “There you are.” She bounds over to Aris, her big boobs nearly bouncing out of her dress in the process. “Been looking everywhere for you.” Her gaze follows his, which is still locked on Talia, and she huffs. “That’s an awfully daring dress to wear in public.”
Before I can snap at her, Aris shuts her down by snagging her wrist and pulling her to him. “That mouth always gets you in trouble. Keep it up and I’m going to find something to keep it quiet.”
Rather than being intimidated, she giggles and presses her tits against him as she kisses him. When they get a little too into it, I step away from them on a hunt for Talia. A waitress walks by with a tray filled with plates of dessert—pomegranate themed—and I grab one from her. I take a small bite and lift my brows in surprise. It’s delicious.
Talia’s eyes catch mine as her mother speaks to her. She pales at my looming presence. I don’t miss the slight wobble of her feet, and the breathy way she asks for them to excuse her. Then, she makes her way over to me, forcing a smile.
“I know this is awkward,” she breathes, sounding tired and overwhelmed. “But thank you for letting them come. It means the world to me.”
I give her a simple nod and then grab her elbow to lead her over to an abandoned table. Once she’s seated, I set the plate down and give her thigh a squeeze.
“You did a wonderful job. I’m impressed, but not surprised,” I say, smiling at her.
Her smile falters and her face seems to pale more. She blinks as though she’s slightly dizzy. Now that I think about it, while everyone else was eating, she made her rounds instead. When she looks down at her lap, I pick up the fork and stab at a piece of the dessert.
“You haven’t eaten a thing tonight,” I tell her, offering her a bite.
She lifts her gaze and eyes the food warily before darting her attention to her mother nearby. “I’m fine,” she utters with a frown, not taking the bite, but instead waving it off.
“You’re nervous and overwhelmed, which is to be expected,” I placate as I set the fork back down on the plate. “The next restaurant opening in November will go off even smoother.”
“That’ll be tricky with school and all,” she mutters, reaching for an untouched glass of water in front of her. “I enrolled for a full load. But I’m pretty sure I can make it all work.”
Opening this restaurant took up all her damn time.
But school too?
There’s no fucking way.
“Make the new restaurant your focus. We both know school was just something to pass the time for you. You have this now.” I wave in the air as if to back up my words. “Now eat this. You’re about to pass out.”
She eyes the forkful of pomegranate dessert like it’s poison. “Something to pass the time? You’re being a dick, Kostas.”
I grit my teeth, darting my gaze around to see if anyone heard her. Luckily, everyone is focused on chatting and eating dessert.
“Eat the fucking food,” I grit out.
Her cheeks bloom red with the first flush of color all night. “No,” she says stubbornly.
“You’re hungry. Eat.”
“I loved doing this restaurant, but I want to finish school. Something you said I could do,” she bites out. “I’ll figure out a way to manage both.” She swats away the fork and it’s really starting to piss me off.
I pin her with a hard glare. “Eat the pomegranate, Persephone.”
“I said I don’t want any, Hades.” Her nostrils flare and she swallows hard.
Fury rises up inside of me like fire from the depths of Hell. Is this how the fabled god felt when the one he loved refused to eat the pomegranate that would keep her bound to him for eternity?
Obstinate women.
“Fine,” I snap, setting the fork down with a hard clank. “Be that way.”
She flinches at my tone. “I’m not being any way, Kostas.” She rises quickly from her chair, swaying slightly. “I need fresh air.”
“You’re not going,” I lash out.
“Outside or to school?” she challenges, tears welling in her pretty eyes.
I’m an asshole.
“School,” I growl. “You have the restaurants, and you have me.”
A tear races down her cheek as her blue eyes flash with betrayal at my words. I never said I wasn’t a liar. School is a waste of fucking time and energy. She’s a Demetriou now and doesn’t need it.
“Then I’m going outside, boss,” she sneers, her red bottom lip wobbling.
“Get your air and dry your tears.” I clench my teeth before pinning her with a hard glare. “And then come back to eat your fucking pomegranate dessert.”
We both know the meaning behind my words.
You eat it. You stay.
That’s the end of our motherfucking story.
Five long minutes pass before my blood runs icy cold.
Fuck this.
Fuck her attitude, too.
I stalk out of the restaurant and into the pouring rain. It’s cold and immediately saturates through my tux. In the dark, I scan the buildings and trees, searching for her.
Nowhere.
“Looking for your wife?” Aris asks, pressed against the wall, just under the awning of the building. “She went that way. Said she was running away from the monsters.” He snorts at his joke. “Something could happen to a woman all alone…”
I’d love nothing more than to punch his fucking face in, but his words cause my anxiety to spike. I rush out into the direction he pointed along a path that leads between some villas. My dress shoes splatter in puddles on the stone in my quest to find her. As minutes pass without finding her, I’m getting more and more pissed.
It’s like she forgets who she married sometimes.
I’m a monster.
She’s called me this many times. It’s not my fucking fault she has a hard time remembering it. I hear sobbing nearby, ratcheting up my nerves.
“Talia,” I call out. “Come here.”
“No,” she barks out.
I see a flash of white in the darkness and chase after it. A squeal erupts from her as she tries to outrun me, which is futile. I’ll always catch her. I’ll always find her.
She darts through some bushes into the backyard of someone’s villa. I push through the shrubs and catch her running around their small pool. I charge after her, nearly making it to her, when she slides out of the yard on the other side. Once outside of the yard, she runs up some stone steps, but she’s losing steam. I’m nearly to her when she slips and lands hard on her knee. A choked sob rattles from her, cutting me to the bone. W
ithout a word, I scoop her soaked and trembling body into my arms. She’s lost the fight.
My fight still burns inside me.
I storm back to our villa. She whimpers when I push inside and then slam the door shut with my foot. My chest heaves with fury. I just want to strip her down, fuck her senseless, and remind her who she belongs to. I’ve barely set her on her feet when she takes off running again. This time, she makes it into the closet where she starts angrily ripping off her jewelry.
“Calm the fuck down,” I roar, stomping in after her.
Her blond hair is darker now that it’s wet and plastered to her head. Black makeup runs down her cheeks and she’s red-faced from crying. Lips that were once red are now looking kind of blue from the cold rain.
“Take that dress off,” I command.
She needs a hot shower and a good dicking to calm her down.
“F-Fuck you,” she chatters out.
I pounce on her and twist her around, bending her over the island in the closet. She screams when I unzip her dress. Forcefully, I rip the offending material off her body and it falls heavily to her feet. Her body trembles from the cold and adrenaline. I rip off her panties next and then her shoes, the entire time with her fighting me. When I’ve had enough, I yank her wrists back and gather them with one hand.
“Stop flipping the fuck out,” I demand.
She squirms and wriggles to no avail. I press my hard dick against the crack of her ass, letting her feel through my slacks what she does to me even when she’s pissing me the fuck off.
“I hate you,” she sobs.
“No, you don’t, goddammit.”
I unbuckle my slacks and send them to the floor before kicking out of them. My boxers get shoved down my thighs and then I grip my dick before pressing into her soft, warm, and inviting body. We both hiss as I slide into her.
“I’ll always be your little captive,” she whimpers.
“Damn right,” I growl, slamming into her.
“You’re a liar,” she accuses. “You lied right to my face to get your way.”
I punish her hard with a thrust of my hips that makes her scream. “You said it yourself. I’m a monster.”
She doesn’t say anything else. Simply cries. I reach around to touch her clit. At first she flinches, but then she starts to moan when I work her into a frenzy. As soon as she reaches climax, she screams out my name, whether she wanted to or not. A sense of male pride surges through me. I groan out her name too before coming deep inside her. Her body relaxes against the island. I pull her to her feet and then turn her around.
Hopeless. Sad. Broken.
Fuck.
Maybe I’m not a monster when it comes to her.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt out, cradling her cold cheeks in my palms. “I’m fucking sorry, okay.”
She falls against my chest and I hug her tight. “I’m sorry too.”
“You can go to school,” I assure her. “I’m just a possessive asshole, is all.” I kiss the top of her head. “Please don’t ever run away from me again.”
Her head tilts up and she kisses my lips. “I promise. Although running from you is kind of hot.”
“Says the woman with blue lips and chattering teeth.” I pull away and frown when I see blood from her skinned knee. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up and warmed up and fed.”
I don’t let her walk to the bathroom, but instead scoop her into my arms. Her fingers push back my wet hair from my forehead as she studies me intently.
“I just didn’t want that sweet dessert,” she whispers, her bottom lip wobbling. “I wanted the pomegranate. I want you.”
Relief floods inside me at the double meaning in her words.
She may have run, but she wants to stay.
“I know,” I assure her. “I know.”
Settled by my response, she smiles. I spend the rest of the night taking care of everything I fucked up.
Lucky for me, Talia’s quick to forgive. She’s sweet like that.
The make-up sex is even sweeter.
Talia
Books. Check. Schedule. Check. Pens. Check. Notebooks. Check. I triple check I have everything I need for my first day of classes. I’m taking Theatre, Creative Writing, Art History, and Modern Greek Literature. I already know Theatre will be my favorite with Modern Greek Lit coming in second. I’ve read over the syllabi the professors have sent and I’m as prepared as I can be for my first day.
“Talia, I have a meeting at nine. Let’s go,” Kostas calls from the other room.
I roll my eyes as I gather my stuff and head out to meet him. He’s been cranky ever since he realized I was set on finishing my degree, but at least he’s now accepting it. That crazy man seriously thought he was going to keep me locked up here and I would be okay with it.
When I step into the living room, I find two beefed up men, both dressed to the nines in suits, with buzzed cuts, standing next to Kostas. Both share a similar scowl.
“Hello,” I say, greeting them. I wasn’t aware we had company. When neither of them says anything back, my gaze goes straight to Kostas.
“This is Michael.” He points to the man on the left. “And this is Tadd.” He points to the one on the right. “They’ll be escorting you whenever you leave the property, including to school.” Kostas raises a single brow, daring me to argue, but I’m not stupid. He’s looking for any excuse to forbid me from going, and I’m not about to give him one. “They’ll remain with you at all times. Anywhere you go, they go.”
“Including the bathroom?” I joke, not able to help myself.
Kostas’s jaw clenches. I guess he’s not in a joking mood. “Talia, if you don’t want to take this seriously, I can tie your ass to the bed to keep you at home and call it a day.”
My eyes dart over to Michael and Tadd. Neither of them even cracks a smile or flinches. Are they even human?
“I was only kidding,” I defend.
Kostas steps toward me. “Your safety is not a joking matter,” he says matter-of-factly. “I have a lot of enemies, zoí mou.” He fondles a strand of hair that’s fallen out of my ponytail. “Men who would do anything to get their hands on what’s mine.” His fingers travel down the side of my neck, and my body goes limp at his touch. “To use you as a bargaining chip. To torture you for the things I’ve done to them.”
A chill runs down my spine, remembering when I thought I was going to be kidnapped. It turned out it was Niles’s doing, but at the time, I was terrified. My face must show how I’m feeling because Kostas gives me a knowing look. “Every time you step foot off the property, you are in danger. These men are trained to keep you safe. They know your schedule and will escort you to every class, every day. Understand?”
“Yes.” I glance over at the men, who are still standing in place as if they aren’t even really here.
“Very well,” Kostas says. “I’ll see you at home tonight. We’ll go to dinner so you can tell me all about your day.”
I find myself sighing in relief. He may not be happy about it, but he really is going to let me go.
“Have a good day,” I tell him. Standing on my tiptoes, I give him a chaste kiss, unsure if he’s okay with kissing me in front of my new bodyguards. Kostas must not care because he turns my quick kiss into something deeper, devouring me as if it’s the last time he’ll see me. For a split second, I consider skipping my first day of classes and spending the day in bed with him. But then he pulls away.
“Behave,” he warns.
In the town car, I sit in the back, while Michael drives and Tadd sits shotgun. Neither of them says a word as we drive out of the resort and toward the city.
“Can you please stop for coffee?” I request when I notice we’re going to be passing by my favorite coffee shop. Michael nods once. Since I’m not allowed to go anywhere alone, they both accompany me into the coffee shop. I offer to buy them something, but they shake their heads. Their loss. The coffee and pastries here are to die for.
When
the barista calls my name, I grab my coffee and croissant, thanking her. I take a sip, but it tastes off, bitter, causing my stomach to churn.
“Everything okay?” Tadd asks.
“Yeah, I think the coffee is bad.” I try another sip, but when the smell hits my nose, I gag, almost throwing up.
“Excuse me,” I say to the barista, “I ordered an espresso, but I don’t think it’s good.” I hand her back the cup. She apologizes and remakes it. Not wanting to be late, I take the new drink with me to the car, but when I try to drink it, it tastes and smells just as bad as the last one.
What a shame…I really liked that coffee shop. Maybe my school will have a coffee shop on campus. Otherwise, I’m going to need to get up early, so I can go to the restaurant at the hotel.
Not wanting to risk getting sick on my first day of school, I forget the coffee and just eat the croissant while I mess around on my phone, checking social media. A few of my friends in Italy have started classes and have posted about upcoming performances. I no longer have Alex as a friend, but he’s tagged in a few posts.
A picture of my mom at a charity function from last night pops up on my feed, and the feeling of loneliness overtakes me. My friends and family are all in another country going about their lives, while I’m over here. Sure, the restaurant kept me busy this summer, but I need something more. Something for me. Kostas doesn’t understand that because when we got married, his life pretty much stayed the same. My life, on the other hand, completely changed, and going to school means holding onto that last piece of myself I haven’t handed over to my husband.
Feeling overly emotional, I put my phone away.
We arrive at school, and Tadd opens my door for me. When I get to the first building, I pull out my map to see where my Theatre class is located, but Michael grunts out, “This way,” and nods toward the first hallway.
“You know where all my classes are located?” I ask, confused.
“It’s our job, ma’am,” Tadd says. Of course. Kostas said they knew my schedule. He probably made them scour the campus and map out where and when each of my classes are.