Page 70 of Vow

Haven laughed in that spun way of hers when Andino yanked her away from the wall, bent her over the sink, and ripped her panties down her thighs.

“Open up and show me what’s mine.”

His dark demand was punctuated by his hand slapping against her inner thighs. She was quick to open for him—lost in a long sigh as he fitted himself between her thighs from behind, and thrust in.

One flex, that’s all it took.

He was home again.

He found heaven again.

Her name was Haven.

How was he supposed to just … let this go?

• • •

“Do you talk at all?” Andino asked.

Ginevra Calabrese glanced up from the unappealing salad that had been placed in front of her by a server at the restaurant. Not one of Andino’s restaurants—the place belonged to Kev. Had it been his, that shit she was supposed to eat wouldn’t be on the menu. At least, not as a single item. Who the fuck wanted to eat rabbit food with no real substance to help it go down?

“I do,” Ginevra said softly, frowning. “I’m sorry.”

Andino cocked his head to the side, surprised at her response. “Why?”

The young woman didn’t seem to know how to respond, or rather … what she was supposed to say to begin with. Andino, on the other hand, didn’t know how he was supposed to deal with a woman like this at all.

Not that he wanted to.

“Why, what?” she asked.

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

Ginevra used the fork to drag through the salad. “For not being … whatever you would like, I guess. That’s what I was told to be today—whatever you would like. And with everyone else, that usually means staying quiet and out of sight, if possible. I can’t exactly be out of your sight when I have to sit right in front of you at the table, so being quiet seemed like the way to go. Sorry if that’s not what you want.”

Andino’s anger flared as his gaze drifted from Ginevra to the men sitting a few tables away. He asked for this dinner simply because he wanted her to be comfortable with him even if the last thing he intended to do was marry the woman because he needed for her to trust him. It was her brothers, however, that demanded they be there to supervise. Thankfully, he managed to get them to do that from afar.

He truly hated those pieces of shit.

Really.

“I neither want, nor need, for you to be a piece of art beside me. Pretty, but inanimate,” he explained, shrugging when she glanced up at him. “If that’s what they expect, then that’s another story. When they are around, you can behave however they deem appropriate as to not cause yourself trouble. With me, you can be whatever you feel like in the moment.”

“Right now,” she told him, “I would prefer to be anywhere else.”

Andino smirked. “I do appreciate a woman who isn’t a liar, but for the sake of appearances, let’s at least play nice.”

“I don’t want to marry you, Andino. I don’t want to be here, and I certainly don’t want to pretend to give a damn about anything you want to talk about right now. So, if it’s okay with you, I would much prefer to sit here and occasionally nod when you talk so that you might think I give a shit. But really, we’ll both know I don’t.”

Well, then.

Damn.

Good on her for being honest. Andino appreciated that, and honestly, that was the kind of fire he wanted to see from a woman like Ginevra in the position that she was. It spoke to good things for her.

“Oh, good. Then, we’re on the same page.”

Confusion flickered across Ginevra’s face, but she opted to stay quiet. That was, frankly, the better choice for her. Andino chose not to point that out right now. It wouldn’t help his case, or his plans at the end of the day.