“I don’t tolerate traitors, Cristina. I hope you won’t become one.”
The way he says the word traitors and the way he’s looking at me make me shiver.
“If you think me a traitor, will you deal with me like you do your men?” My belly quivers, my courage fading.
He narrows his eyes to search my face. He’s not angry, though. He’s curious. And something else. Something I can’t quite put my finger on. Hurt, maybe?
Don’t be stupid.
“You’re my wife. I’ll deal with you differently if I have to. But I hope I won’t have to.”
It’s strange when he talks about me being his wife. It doesn’t fit. I’m his wife because he needs me to be. Period. If Lucas is telling me the truth. If my uncle is. Even if Lucas would lie out of hatred for Damian, why would my uncle?
“Now do you want to tell me about the poison Lucas spewed into your ear? Because I’m guessing that’s the cause for your little show in there.”
He lays his big hand on the flat of my belly and nudges me backward. When I reach the wall, he leans in close. He eyes the expanse of exposed skin and my mouth goes dry. I’m hyper aware of him being so close. Hyper aware of his body. His strength. His heat.
“And as far as that goes,” he starts, licking his lips and returning his eyes to mine. “I did like it. I liked you waving your little ass at me. I’m happy to bend you over and fuck you raw anytime you like. And like I said in there, I will fuck your asshole too. Just make sure I don’t do it as punishment, or you will know pain.”
I swallow so hard it’s audible.
He exhales a short, sharp breath, then steps back, looks around the room, and pulls a chair forward that had been placed against the wall.
“Sit.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.” This time, he doesn’t wait for me to move. He puts me into the chair roughly. When he releases me, I stay there.
He’s bigger and stronger than I am. There’s no way I will beat him physically and I won’t waste my energy trying.
“Now tell me what you did with my brother.”
“Didn’t the men you had following me already tell you?”
“Unfortunately, they couldn’t see into your uncle’s apartment.”
“How can two brothers hate each other so much?”
“Betrayal is betrayal, blood or not. Talk. And just to be clear, you get one chance to tell me the truth. If I even think I smell a lie, you will lose the few privileges you have gained.”
“Like being allowed out of my room, you mean? Only to be followed and spied on by your goons?”
He braces his hands on the arms of the chair and leans his face toward mine. “Talk.”
“I wanted to see my uncle, so Lucas brought me to him. I didn’t think you’d allow me to go, after all.”
“No, you’re right. And there’s a reason for it. It was nice of my brother to play taxi driver for you. He’s a nice guy, though. It’s what he’s known for.”
“Funny, he said the same thing about you.”
“Did you call him to meet you? Remember, I can check your phone, but I’d rather we learn to trust each other.”
“Trust each other? Are you serious?”
“Did you call him to meet you?”
“Yes.”
“How did you get his number?”
“He gave it to me yesterday. When he barged out of your study after your argument. He told me when I was ready to hear some truth, I should call him. Given how things went with you and me the night before, I figured I’d take him up on his offer.”
He grits his teeth and some stupid part of my brain tries to remind me how he apologized for that.
“Don’t keep me in suspense. What did you want to see your uncle about?”
“Liam said he’d been drinking, and I wanted to see for myself how bad it’s become. I thought if I talked to him—”
“Bullshit. You just lost your phone.”
“No!”
He sits on the edge of the bed and folds his arms across his chest. “Start again.”
“I want that phone. It’s my only way to talk to Liam.”
“And I told you not to lie to me. Start. Again. And remember there’s more I can take away.”
“Why do you even care? My uncle is just a pawn.”
“Whose pawn?”
“Yours. Lucas’s.”
“Well, you at least got that right. Your uncle is unimportant. Just a pawn, like