AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A small smile lifts the corners of my lips, because for someone like him, he truly believes that.
“Not mine, and there are a lot like mine.”
“We’ll do better.”
It’s as if a sledgehammer hits my head.
“What?”
“We’ll have children.”
“Never.”
“Two or three, I’m still debating.”
“Are you deaf?”
“One each year, so they are close in age.”
I shake him off, and he grips my waist and lifts me, so I end up straddling his lap. With my palms resting on his carved chest and his fingertips dancing along my back, he kisses me like I agreed to have his kids, and now, we’re just sealing the deal.
“Cato . . .”
He twists me on the inside, as if I’m puzzle pieces that fit his picture perfectly.
“I want this with you. I am patient. We have years to plan for kids.”
Forget the sledgehammer, his words are like water torture, making me insane. I breathe though my nose, afraid I might combust. When I’m calm enough, I narrow my eyes. “I’d rather let a venomous snake bite me than give you children.”
He stands up and plops me on my ass, cocking his head in the other direction.
“Let’s go. I have work to do.” His icy voice sends a shiver down my spine.
I follow him, my heart turning to lead. We say our goodbyes to his family and it’s a relief to drop the pretense once we’re in the car. Back in the private garage, Cato greets the guards with a jerky nod, and I offer a small murmur. The elevator ride is deathly silent. Inside the penthouse, he shuts himself in his home office.
In his absence, my heart squeezes in my chest.
I walk toward my little studio. It’s the only place I can breathe, when my mind focuses on something other than Cato and my situation. I turn on the lights and come to a complete stop. What happened here? It looks like a professional craft studio. My hand flies to my mouth. How? Why? A field of spring flowers bloom all over my chest.
I touch every sleek cupboard, gear, and every expensive material from leather to silver to gold, crystals, pearls, beads. I don’t understand.
His shoes thump on the polished floor in the hallway. I fly through the door, a thank you on the tip of my tongue, when my blood freezes in my veins. I take a step back and point at what he carries—a snake. A large one. My mouth opens and shuts, fear muting me.
I shriek, pulse pounding, and my vision blurs.
Cato strides toward me, and I shake off my momentary freeze-up, running upstairs, only to realize in my panic I ran into the bedroom. Stupid, I am so, so stupid. How can he do something that sweet, and now turn all psycho on me?
He places the brown and golden snake on the floor, and I jump on the bed. My heart rate spikes, fear suffocating me like that snake will do if it catches me. I will either die of suffocation or of venom. Meanwhile, he leans on the doorframe while the snake slides down the floor in the bed’s direction with its split tongue flickering. A loud scream rips from my throat.
“Please,” I say, and everything turns black.
Chapter 20
She passed out. I test her pulse and crouch down to Slith, patting him. He’s not even half as dangerous as she is to my sanity. I place the snake in the bed because this is one lesson she has to learn, and then shake her awake. My knuckles caress her cheek. Chiara blinks at me, confused, and then her face draws in realization, remembering. She scoots upright and comes face to face with Slith. She climbs in my lap like a baby monkey and holds me tightly. I wrap my arms around her, providing the shield she wants. Her words pulverized my heart, but her clinging to me undoes me. Lesson, my ass. When she’s like this, I would rather kill myself than see her in agony.
“Please, take it away.” Her voice breaks.
I cup her face. “I thought you’d rather want this then my babies.”
