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I shut my door then came around, reaching his side. “She told me about her relationship with my brother…which wasn’t what it seemed. Basically, most of it was a lie. She was never his girlfriend…just his prisoner.”
We entered the house, and Bones immediately took off his shirt once we were inside. “His prisoner, huh?”
“Basically. He paid a lot of money for her at the Underground so he was entitled to her virginity…and her freedom. He never meant for them to be anything more, but it just happened. He slowly began to change until he fell in love with her the way she fell in love with him.”
“Are you really surprised?” He stepped into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of scotch. “I told you the men in your family aren’t saints. They’re definitely sinners.” He poured himself a glass but didn’t offer me one. “And I say that in a nonjudgmental way.” He smiled with his eyes before he took a drink.
Bones had been right all along. All the men in my family weren’t what they seemed. They had tainted pasts, memories they weren’t proud of. My brother’s actions were excused because he loved Sapphire now. But why didn’t that exception apply to me?
“Does your father know about this?” He pushed the glass across the counter toward me.
I stopped on the other side of the counter, looking at the glass but not taking it. “Yes.”
Bones didn’t seem surprised. He gripped the edge of the counter with both hands, his muscled frame hard from working long hours. His arms were a little thicker from lifting all day, and his thighs bulged a little more. “Your father doesn’t care what Conway did. And that upsets you.”
I nodded. “Since Conway is a man, it’s perfectly fine. But with me…it’s unforgivable. It’s a double standard, and it pisses me off. I would have confronted him about it, but since our last conversation ended so well, I didn’t want to make him angry. He seems to be leaning toward accepting you, and I don’t want to screw that up.” I grabbed the class and took a drink, letting the burn blaze a trail down my throat and into my gut. It wasn’t smooth the way wine was, with a refreshing taste of citrus and oak. It was just liquor, stripped down to its basic form. I pushed the glass back toward him.
Bones stared at me for a long time, more interested in my expression than the booze sitting in front of him. He cocked his head slightly, his intense gaze piercing. The man never smiled, and he had a special way of looking at me that made me feel so small. He was doing it now, staring at me like he could see right through me. “You’re right, it is a double standard. But double standards exist for a reason. You’re held to a higher level because you deserve better. I’m not happy about this situation either, but your father is right to be upset. I wouldn’t have understood his thoughts six months ago, but now that I love a woman, I get it. You’re the queen of my heart, and if some man treated you the way I treated you…” He turned his gaze away, his jaw clenching in anger. “I’d kill him. We fell in love, but that doesn’t justify the way I treated you. Your father only wants the best for you. This situation is frustrating, but you can’t get mad at him for that. You’re very lucky you have a father who cares so much. Not every person is so fortunate.”
My anger slowly faded away, and I stared at this man with a new set of eyes. Not once did he try to turn me against my family so he could keep me. He always put my self-interests first, knowing how much my father meant to me. He really loved me, and I hoped my parents would understand that someday. He sided with my father even when no one could hear him do it. He was pragmatic even when it didn’t serve his best interests. “That’s sweet of you to say.”
“I’m not trying to be sweet. Just honest. I want your parents to accept me, but I understand why they may not be able to do it. And if that’s the case, I’ll walk away. I want to keep you, but I can’t be treated like shit every day for the rest of my life. I need to be in an environment where I’m accepted for the man I am, not criticized every other minute. And you deserve to be with a man your family can welcome with open arms. Hopefully, that’s how this ends…when we both get what want.”
“That is how it’s going to end,” I whispered. “My parents have made it this far. This wouldn’t have happened if they weren’t really trying. And if they keep trying, they’ll finally see you the way I do. I know they will.”
