“Didn’t you sleep with her before you got married?”
“No. She wanted to wait. So we did.”
“Really? That was so gentlemanly of you.”
He shook his head. “Not really. But I was much younger. Way too young, in fact, barely twenty. It’s only been, what...almost ten years ago, but as I said, I was a completely different person back then.”
“Not that different.”
“Well, I was trying to fulfill the dreams and desires for a family who subsequently turned their backs on me when my ex-wife filed for divorce. Apparently, I embarrassed them with the public debacle of our permanent separation, even though she instigated it all.”
He rubbed his wrist, brushing his fingers over the tattoo there. “In fact, this second tattoo on my wrist was to remind me of how I felt the day the papers were final, and I was free of her. Even losing half my net wealth had been worth it to rid myself of that crazy bitch.”
Lilianna felt guilty asking him about something that so obviously made him unhappy. “I’m sorry I asked. I can see it upsets you, and rightly so.”
Dylan turned to her, pressed a kiss to her lips, and moved his body over her gently as the kiss became more aggressive. She settled in ready to be pleased. His cock rested solidly against her hip and one hand brushed from her shoulder to her naked breast. He thumbed her nipple and ended the kiss, leaving his hand in place.
Lilianna put her palms against his bicep muscles, smoothed her fingertips along his shoulders to his muscular back, and then pressed him closer. He flattened his body onto hers at her urging. She loved the feel of his firm, well-developed nakedness pressed to her body. Loved it.
He soon smiled as he pulled back to stare in her eyes. “See? You’re completely different.”
“Why?”
“She never would have let me do that.”
“What? Kiss?”
“No. Slide my naked, repulsive body over hers while in bed together.”
Lilianna ran her hand from his chest to around his neck. “Well, I like it when you slide your deliciously naked body over mine.”
“I like it, too.”
Her brows narrowed. “So why the bumblebee tattoo? Aren’t they the ones who gather nectar and make honey? Why not a hornet, wasp, or yellow jacket, if she was so vile?”
“One might expect a hornet, wasp, or yellow jacket to sting whether or not provoked. A bumblebee looks sweet and innocent, but still has a stinger that can hurt like a motherfucker if lodged in the right place. Like my wallet.”
“I see. But you’re willing to add another bumblebee—”
“One with boobs.”
She laughed out loud. “One with boobs, if you found the right woman.”
Half a shrug came next. His expression was pensive, like he was about to tell her bad news. In a low tone, he added, “And if she signed a prenup.”
Lilianna nodded. “I understand that. Losing half your money was probably very difficult.”
“It really wasn’t the money. The truth is, those funds were part of an inheritance I’d received at the age of eighteen. I went on to make ten times the amount I lost after my divorce, but it was the principle. She didn’t deserve any of it. After an exceedingly lavish—and by that I mean obscenely expensive—wedding, we ended up only being married for less than six months.”
“Oh my,” she whispered. He had been financially abused by his ex.
“She got half of everything. Ironically, half wasn’t even enough for her. She wanted it all, citing physical abuse and lots of made-up personal trauma as the reason for our split, which was complete bullshit. I just wanted to have sex more than twice a year, without being treated like I’d violated her afterward.”
“Well, if you ask me, that’s not right. And if it helps, you’re the best I’ve ever had. If I ever meet her I’ll tell her she’s an idiot for giving you up. Then, I’ll lick your face and trot you off to a closet to fuck you raw and make you sweaty right in front of her, okay?”
He smiled. “You’re funny. I like you.”
“I can’t believe the judge allowed her to get away with it.”
“I wish you’d been the judge in my case.”