Monster A Dark Arranged Marriage Romance - Vanessa Waltz Page 0,45
I held it close, studying the tiny, pointed nails on the hand. “The price tag is for the design, not the materials, and everything you make is fucking cool.”
I gave it to her.
Evie’s cheeks bloomed like a sunset on snow. “Have you ever bought someone jewelry?”
“Another woman, you mean?” I smiled, catching on to her. “I’d pick up something whenever I was done with a girl. To soften the blow. Always the same heart-shaped necklace with diamonds.”
She looked pained. “Oh, Tony.”
“What? Isn’t that better than ghosting?”
“Heart-shaped jewelry is an insult. That definitely wouldn’t work on me.”
“If I wanted you hurting for me, I’d get you a pretty rock. An emerald. A yellow diamond.” I slipped it from my jacket. “Maybe…an opal.”
My palm opened around dark, jagged glass, the surface sparkling with swaths of green, red, orange, and blue. Evie ripped it from my hands and let out a strangled gasp.
“When did you get this?”
I shrugged.
Evie dashed to the bench. Shaking, she fitting the scope to her eye and peered at the gem.
“This is the largest uncut black opal I’ve ever seen. Do you have any idea…do you have any freaking clue how much this is worth?”
“It’s expensive? I’ve used it as a paperweight for years.”
“Funny guy,” she choked, not sounding amused. “Where did you get it?”
“I bought it a long time ago. It was a stupid, impulsive thing.” I did it while high, but we’ll leave that out of the story. “It’s collected dust in a safe ever since. I figured you’d like it.”
I didn’t give a damn about rocks. What made them valuable to me was that she loved them.
Evie fisted the gemstone. “What do you want in return?”
“Make something beautiful with it.”
Doubt flickered in her gaze. “What else?”
“Make sure you tag me on social media.”
“Stop kidding around. This is worth millions.”
“When have I not been generous with you?”
Evie seemed to cycle through a myriad of emotions—indignation, shock, awe, denial. “You thought this would be the easiest way into my pants?”
I clenched my mouth tighter.
This was my fault. I was an asshole who only showed up to get off, so she assumed I was here to collect.
“That’s right. I’m here to get my dick greased and it’s been a month since I fulfilled my obligation to you.”
Evie took a step forward, her voice rising. “You mean humiliating me in front of strangers?”
“Filling you with my cum.”
Intensity flared through her stare. Evie’s lips pressed together in a wavering smile. She hesitated, shaking her head, and then her fingers flew down her blouse, unbuttoning. Her cleavage flashed through, blinding me with arousal.
My cock swelled.
“What are you doing?”
Evie gave me a quizzical look, the white light from the giant windows framing her innocence with a beauty that stuck in my chest. She peeled the plaid shirt from her smooth shoulders. My thoughts stalled when it fell off her slim body.
My heartbeat pulsed wildly.
She reached behind, struggling with the bra clasp. I strode closer and undid it. My palms moistened as they stroked her naked back. Stunned, I held her as she fumbled with her belt. I wasn’t here for that but when she offered herself so freely…how could I resist?
My lips parted. The words Evie, don’t froze in my lungs.
I didn’t want her to stop.
But I had to. “Evie, I—”
“Fuck me,” she said, making my mouth water. “But don’t expect me to ever love you.”
“I don’t care about love.”
“I know.”
The lie crumbled like ashes, the desolation in her voice stinging me with regret. I almost told her the truth—that I admired her above everyone and I had no intention of divorcing her.
Then she unzipped her pants.
My hands were on her ass, helping her push the jeans down before I stopped myself. Drunk on her scent, the softness of her skin, I stepped back.
“Evie, you don’t—we don’t have to do this.”
She either ignored me or flat out wasn’t listening. She shimmied from her panties, revealing her freshly shaved pussy and the rest of her gorgeous body.
My dick throbbed so hard it hurt, and the frustration rushed to my jaw. I wasn’t blind to my attraction to her. Giving her a million-dollar rock was the sort of desperation I’d mocked in other men, but it was a gift. I expected nothing. I just wanted her to shine as brilliantly as the gems she obsessed over.
Evie glared as ferociously as she could while naked. “Get it over with so we can go back to ignoring each other.”