Tori
Chapter 19
Iwanted to punch a wall.
If I knew how to do anything after spending a lifetime with a politician for a father, it was how to pretend that everything was fine even when it wasn’t. So despite my altercation with Luka, my objectification by Stefan, and my persistent uneasiness around Konstantin, I’d spent the rest of the evening silently fuming behind polite engagement and a cheerful smile. Michelle would have been proud.
For their part, Stefan and Luka managed to finish dinner without looking at each other or saying anything directly to the other. If Konstantin or Emzee noticed, they said nothing. Everyone acted as if everything was fine and normal. At one point in the evening, Emzee had pulled me aside to help her find a bottle opener in the kitchen (as if I’d know, anyway) and she’d quietly apologized for how her father and brothers were behaving.
“They’re always like this,” she said with a sigh. “It’s always work, work, work. As if the world revolves around the agency.”
“Sounds familiar,” I said with a smile, trying to make light of it as I rifled through utensil drawers.
“Well, if it ever gets to be too much, just call me,” Emzee said. “I’ll come kidnap you and we’ll go have a night out on the town, or do the River Walk. Maybe get our nails done.”
This time my smile was genuine. “I’d love that. Really.”
I handed her the opener.
Her face lit up. “Ooh, and have you been to the Logan Theatre?”
“Is that in Logan Square?” I asked. “They play all the indie movies and foreign films, right?”
Emzee nodded. “It looks like nothing from the outside, but on the inside it’s totally wall-to-wall Art Deco. It’sto die for. Like going back in time. And they have a full bar!”
“That sounds amazing,” I said. “Guess I’ll have to break out my fake ID.”
“Gah, I keep forgetting you’re underage!” she said, squeezing my arm. “We’ll both get Shirley Temples, then.”
We exchanged cell numbers and she had promised to reach out soon.
Back at the table, I finally gave in and drank a glass of the wine Emzee had offered me, just to try and relax. I hated the way Stefan was treating me, like we were back to square one, but I didn’t know what to do about it. I wanted the man who had finger fucked me in the closet, not the man who was treating me like an object, or the man who acted distant and unyielding about the terms of our marriage, who was so on-edge about work all the time that he barely acknowledged me.
I was angry at myself, too. I knew the kind of man he was, yet I kept setting myself up for disappointment. And I was in denial about where our relationship might be able to go.
Finally his family left, and we were alone. Stefan didn’t even look at me, just undid his tie, unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and grabbed a last drink before heading into the bedroom. I followed him. I wasn’t going to let him ignore me. Not tonight. Not after what had happened in the closet and then later, with Luka.
I was so angry I was practically shaking like the ice cubes in Stefan’s whiskey glass.
“You know I have to say, for someone who’s so obsessed with the fact that I’m a virgin, you’re pretty fucking prudish yourself,” I said. The wine had made me bold.
I wanted to push him to the edge. Wanted to make him break so I could get past his walls, the way that he had made me break into a million pieces in the closet.
He ignored me, but I could see his shoulders tense. It was working.
“In fact, I bet you couldn’t close the deal if you tried,” I went on. “If I waited for you, I’d still have my hymen intact for my fiftieth birthday. But maybe that’s what you want. The big man’s gotta have all the control, right? Are you a big man, Stefan? Keeping me locked up tight like jewels in a safe so nobody can ever touch me?”
He turned to face me, anger in his eyes. Good. I wanted him angry. I wanted him pissed.
“Maybe I should call Luka up,” I taunted, knowing it would drive him over the top. “Because if you’re not going to do anything about my virgin status, I know for a fact that he will.”
Suddenly, Stefan was in front of me, grabbing my upper arms with a vice grip.
“While you’re married to me, your body is mine. Nobody else touches you. Do you understand?”
He was breathing hard, his eyes intense.
It was incredibly hot.
