“We’ve bugged him.” I’ve done the same, and nothing the Titans have said is news.
“I know all their financials inside and out. I can cripple them, and we can turn this shit around on them, but if they’re arrested, they will talk.” This is the last fucking thing I need before I leavefor my honeymoon, even though it’s not the fucking honeymoon I want.
“They need to be dealt with permanently.” Stone is a man who loves nothing more than to beat people to death.
“Why aren’t you dressed?” I slam the bedroom door, but the woman lying on top of a pile of clothes doesn’t flinch. She takes a bite of a disgusting candy bar, and Finch growls. “We need to leave. I figure I can take you to Chicago, and you can be there for your mother this week.”
“Oh, wow. A honeymoon filled with doctors’ appointments. Every girl’s dream.” She takes the remote and turns up the television's volume. I take it from her and turn it off.
“I’ve had a rough morning, and I don’t need this shit. Do I need to burn that ugly ass dress? You look like an old maid.”
“And you look like a man who buys a wife.”
She jumps out of bed and runs to the bathroom. She slams and locks the door before I can get to her.
Finch looks from me to the door.
“Women, right, Finch?” I rub behind her ears. “You’re the only non-problematic female I’ve ever known.”
Chapter 34
Cori
“I’ve thought about it, and I think your strategy is wrong.” I turn on the shower to ensure that my nosy husband can’t hear my conversation with Selene. “I think your goal is good. Drive him crazy, but how you’re going about it won’t work.”
“Why not? I’m making him as miserable as he’s making me.”
“You fucked him last night after I told you not to. He’s not that miserable.” My body starts to wake up at the thought of last night and this morning. After we had breakfast, he took a call and left, promising to be back in a couple of hours.
My demand to know where he was going was met with deaf ears.
“What the fuck do you suggest I do, Selene?” I snap. “Kill him?”
“Um, no. I’m not trying to visit your ass in prison. Listen. You are attracted to him, right?”
“Unfortunately.” This would be a lot easier if he were ugly.
Your ass wouldn’t have been caught dead following him if he were ugly.
“For this to work, you need to be attracted to him. Stop fighting him and stop being stubborn. I think he has real feelings for you.”
“Selene, this isn’t one of your romance novels. No man with feelings goes to a girl’s father to offer a bribe for her hand in marriage. In all the mob movies Mr. Rose made us watch, the head mob guy always had a wife and family. It makes them more relatable and normal. That’s what this is. And I didn’t tell you this before, but his dumb ass is trying to buy a motel chain, and the old owners wouldn’t sell to him unless he had a wife.”
“Maybe that’s part of it, but he caught feelings. I can see it. I’m sure everyone else can see it, too. You should have seen his mother looking at the two of you. He told her something, but like I said, stop fighting him. Go on this honeymoon and act like you’re a happily married newlywed.”
“You want me to fuck him?” Not exactly a hardship. Even though I’m packing all of the ugly housedresses that I stole from my mom’s closet.
“No. Make love to him. Be playful. Touch him. Kiss him. Play the part. Put down the armor and be a loving, dutiful wife. He’s going to fall hard, and when he does, you can tell him it was all a sham, and you feel nothing for him. Hopefully, by then, your mom’s surgery would have been successful. He’ll be heartbroken, which is what his dumb-ass deserves.”
Everyone thinks Selene is an airhead, but out of the three of us, she’s the most thoughtful and diabolical. I would have kept being difficult, but she’s right. Her plan is much better.
The man might have no scruples, but other than the kidnapping, he’s never mistreated me. Last night, he held me in his arms after our lovemaking. He’s extremely loving and kind with his mom and sister. He’s even good with that monster dog hehas. It won’t be hard to have him eating out of the palm of my hand.
“You diabolical bitch. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
He was gone when I went back to the bedroom in nothing but my towel. After putting on a pair of tight black pants and a shirt with a deep neckline, I go in search of him.
He’s in the kitchen pulling food out of a large brown paper bag. His eyes light up in appreciation when he sees me. I take my time, slowly walking through the large kitchen, doing my best to be a temptress.
