the smoothest skin, like olive oil had been drizzled all over her.
I noted her light breaths and the gentle way her chest expanded in her sleep. She was out cold, and I wasn’t going to wake her up. If her husband discovered she was missing because she was out all night, I didn’t give a damn.
I hoped he found out.
My eyes moved down to the enormous rock on her left hand. The diamond was so large, it was obnoxious. It didn’t represent love or commitment. He just wanted to be vain, to show off his beautiful wife and the things he could afford to buy her. A truly wealthy man didn’t care about flashing his wealth. If he were actually rich, he didn’t need to prove it.
When she explained her marriage, it only infuriated me. She sacrificed herself for some punk-ass little bitch. I couldn’t even call him a man because there was nothing manly about him. He was just a boy who liked to play with his dick too much. Nothing irritated me more than seeing a stunning woman with some loser guy. They needed to open their eyes and search a little harder before falling for the first loser who gave them some attention. When I first met Cassini, I thought she’d be different. She was so confident and suave that she seemed in control of her own destiny. But she was a slave—a willing slave.
The asshole inside me wanted to give her shit for her stupidity. I wanted to tell her she was an idiot and it was ridiculous to honor the promise when there was no point anymore. But when she turned her back to me and shut me out, I knew I was standing on the threshold of loss. If I said the wrong thing, she would walk out and never call me again.
I wanted her to call me again.
It was wrong for me to judge her when I didn’t know all the facts, and it wasn’t like I hadn’t made mistakes either. I’d never let someone play me for a fool quite like that, but I hadn’t lived the most honorable life.
It would be hypocritical to insult her.
But I was still pissed because she deserved better.
But I also admired her for keeping her word—even under the terrible circumstances. Perhaps she came from a good family that prided their reputation. She did seem to carry herself with confidence, like she had a reason to stand so tall and so straight.
I continued to watch her sleep, enjoying the way her hair fell perfectly on the pillow. This woman looked naturally beautiful in every pose she made. Even when she rolled over and closed her eyes to sleep, she looked ready for a picture. With those full lips, that sexy freckle in the corner of her mouth, and that olive skin, she was the most desirable woman on the planet.
Bedding a married woman was always nice because she didn’t get attached. She wanted the affair to be a secret so her husband would never find out. Sometimes they had families, and the last thing they wanted was for them to fall apart. But it annoyed me that someone else owned her, that she never took off that ridiculous wedding ring.
Her eyes opened, and she took a deep breath, like she was waking up to a beautiful morning. That serenity disappeared quickly when she remembered where she was.
“You only dozed off for thirty minutes.”
She immediately relaxed.
“But you’re welcome to sleep here—if you’d like.” I didn’t extend that invitation often. I was a hit-it-and-quit-it kind of guy. Sometimes I let a woman sleep over when she passed out and couldn’t move, but that was just because I didn’t want to carry her to the truck and drive her home.
“I can’t stay.”
“Where does your husband think you are now?”
“I don’t know. He’s out of town.” She ran her fingers through her hair in the sexiest way—without even trying.
“Then you can stay.”
“He’s got guards everywhere. If I’m out too late too often, they’ll get suspicious. And the maid keeps an eye on me.”
If this guy had guards everywhere, he wasn’t just wealthy. He had enemies—the way I had enemies. Maybe he was a player in my world. Maybe he was someone I dealt with on a regular basis. Or maybe he was one of my many enemies that I wanted to destroy.
“I should probably get going…” She turned to get out of bed.
I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. I