“Because of what? Saying this is arranged?”
“You can add that to the long list of shit you did wrong today.”
“Are you still mad about Quinton?” I smiled as I dropped his colleague’s name.
“I’ll forever be mad about that,ragazza.”
“Bastian, it was a topless beach.” I rolled my eyes. “Let’s not forget you letting Elizabeth hang on your arm.”
“Jealous now, are we?”
“No apologies for that?” The hitch in my voice let some of my hurt show through and he stared at me long enough to probably see it.
“You don’t get it, do you, Morina?” He shook his head, and he swore in Italian. “I shouldn’t be apologizing for a woman flirting with me. I should be apologizing that you even care enough to be jealous about it. I wanted to keep this arrangement clean and I dirtied it.”
“What’s dirty about this? The fact that you feel something for me? The fact that you can actually show me that feeling?”
His finger traced a metal wire. “You go with every gut instinct and emotion, love. I can’t do that.”
I shrugged. “You can with me.”
Like a whip, his gaze flew to mine. We stood in silence only a gate between us. “You sure about thatragazza? Today, I wanted to rip a man’s eyes out for looking at you without your top on.”
“Oh, I’m sure.” I lifted my eyebrows. “Maybe I should have had them look longer.”
“Do you not understand that I’m your husband? That they stared at what’s mine for far too long?” Ah, so this was a respect thing to him.
He wasn’t really jealous. He didn’t really care.
I don’t know why that hurt so bad. Maybe because I’d seen how another woman looked so much better on his arm than I did.
“We aren’t actually married.” I threw out in pain. “A real husband of mine wouldn’t have let another girl hang on his arm.”
He searched my face and then put his forehead on the metal wires before whispering, “I hurt you.”
I nodded once and went with honesty. “You did.”
He winced at my omission like I'd physically wounded him. “You mentioned separating and I reacted poorly. It’s not an excuse. For that, I’m sorry, Morina. I see now I don’t want your pain, not when it looks that devastating in your eyes.”
His words broke away the anger around my heart. Even in his frustration with me, the man still found a way to show he cared about me. He hated my plants, yet he watered them. He didn’t believe in the salt lamp but he turned it on. He hadn’t left even when I was the one person annoying him through the day.
I might only have a few months left with him, but it made me want all of him even for that short amount of time.
I sighed and kissed his forehead before I teased him. “It’s okay,daddy.”
His gaze narrowed as he looked at me, a small smirk on his lips. “Want to go home,ragazza?”
“Of course. Open the gate.” I pointed to the lock.
His lips rolled between his teeth before he said, “Show me you know who your husband is and I’ll let you out.”
“How am I supposed to do that, Bastian?” I stomped my foot.
“Since I apologized, I think you need to also.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes, Morina. Get on your knees like a good wife.” His voice held menace and I wondered if I’d ever been turned on like this before, because my nerve endings went from zero to 100, the shock of it like lightning, fast and electric.