happening right under my nose. I knew Lucian was a terrible criminal with little value for human life, and if I thought about it too deeply, it only terrified me. He didn’t care about killing innocent people, and eventually, someone would want to kill him. I’d be one of the first people to get a bullet in the back of the head.
At least this hell would be over.
“I’ve never been to Turkey.” I couldn’t shut him down right away, and I couldn’t lie and say I was sick either. If Maria told him I was out every night while I claimed to have a cold, that would be a red flag. I had to play games.
“It’s beautiful. You would like it.”
“I already live in Italy—and there’s no place more beautiful.”
“No. But it’s comparable.”
“And what will I do while you work?”
He took a few bites of his food, his hair as oily as ever. I hated running my fingers through it because they became sticky. It wasn’t sexy at all, not like Balto’s short hair. He didn’t do anything to it, and his carelessness only made him sexier. He was gorgeous without doing a single thing to enhance his appearance. Lucian finished chewing before he answered. “Lie by the pool. Read. Nothing that you don’t do here.”
“Then why don’t I just stay here?”
“Because you can’t keep my bed warm at night if you’re here.”
I masked my disappointment with a very insincere smile. He had prostitutes to entertain him while he was away, and if he preferred me to them, then I was in deeper trouble. I looked forward to the weekends he was away because it seemed like I had my old life back, that I could spend time with my brothers and explore the city without my husband looking over my shoulder. And I could watch porn on my laptop every night and pretend he didn’t exist at all. “True. But I can also distract you all day while you’re working. And when a man brings his wife…it’s not exactly a power statement.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He set down his fork.
“You bring your wife to dinners and events. But when it comes to work…that’s work. You show off your personal life, and it becomes a liability. If anyone wants to be your enemy, they’ll know I mean something to you. I’ll be the first causality.”
“Beautiful.” His eyes fell in sadness. “I would never let anything happen to you.”
“You never know. They could wait until you’re on your next business trip and then make their move. You’ll be too far away.”
“My men will take care of you.”
I shrugged. “I just think it’s easier if I’m not in the picture. I don’t want anyone to think I’m a way to get to you. If you really want me to come, I’ll be there. But if someone were to capture me and torture me…I don’t think I’d be strong enough to keep my mouth shut. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but those are the things I worry about.” I pulled out every excuse from my ass, anything that would let me stay in Florence while he was away. There was only one place I wanted to be while he was gone—in Balto’s bed. I wanted that heavy, sweaty man on top of me all night long. I didn’t want the condom to separate us. I wanted to feel his come inside me. Anytime Lucian released, I pictured Balto instead. It made me crave the real thing.
Balto bought my bullshit. “Alright. But the two of us will have to take a trip soon. Maybe in the fall when the tourists return home.”
“Yes, that would be nice.” No, that would be terrible. Just spending the day with him in Siena was too much. Now I feared he wasn’t screwing whores on these business trips anymore. He seemed horny the second he came home, like he couldn’t fuck me quick enough because his dick had been dry for too long.
“How about Mykonos?”
I’d never been to Greece. “That sounds lovely.”
“We’ll take my yacht and stay there for a while.”
“Quite a vacation.”
He smiled whenever he thought I was impressed by him. “I’ll plan it out.”
“Sounds good.”
He turned back to his breakfast then scrolled through emails on his phone.
I took a bite of the pancake, finally getting a carb into my system. But the taste was bitter because of my situation with Lucian. My husband actually liked me, actually wanted me. And this was entirely Balto’s fault.
If only I