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Chapter 16
Kasen~
I was tired.
Like really fucking tired.
Between sleeping in a chair last night, the conversation with Ryan, the showdown with Nero, and the moving, I felt beat. Now, while I didn’thave court tomorrow, I did have it beginning Tuesday, and court always made for a long week. Surprisingly, it wasn’t actual court that drained me. In fact, being inside a courtroom felt like the best kind of high for me. I was in my element when I was arguing a case. I was at my best when I was showcasing my legal talents.
Court didn’t scare me.
It was actually my clients that drained me, though I didn’t hold it against them. When your freedom was on the line, your emotions had no rhyme or reason. The fearof going to prison was a real thing, especially when you hadn’t been raised on the streets. So, it could be exhausting to present a court case at the same time that you had to soothe another person’s feelings of fear.
At any rate, I was ready for bed. I still had to move my boxes into my office in the morning, and that meant getting up at five, though it wouldn’t be the first time. The problem was that I couldn’t see myself getting much sleep tonight, no matter how tired I was. I didn’t want to be here, and I sure as hell didn’t want to sleep next to Nero. I was used to having the bed to myself, and living alone, I’d never had to worry about disrupting someone else in the household with my unpredictable routine.
I also didn’t know what to expect. Common sense told me that Nero would expect me to have sex with him at some point, but I prayed that it wouldn’t be tonight. I was seriously tired, and even if I weren’t, I didn’t know Nero Sartori. While I’d had my fair share of fun in my life, I hadn’t ever had sex with a guy that I hated. I was pretty sure that I hadn’t even hadanyangry sex in my life.
Now, while the showerstall was a state-of-the-art paradise, I had still taken a shower in a bathroom that wasn’t mine. It had felt like showering in a hotel room, though nice, it still didn’t feel likehome. Granted, I no longer had a home, so I was just going to have to suck it up, but still.
There was also the fact that I hadn’t eaten since grabbing a breakfast sandwich after leaving the office this morning. The day had gotten away from me, what with Nero controlling the rest of it, and I refused to eat at his table. I worked enough hours to eat on the go, so in all actuality, this was the only room that I needed to know anything about; I couldn’t care less about the rest of the house. Now, while that might make me sound like a stubborn brat, my entire life had been upended yesterday, so I felt like I had the right to have a childish tantrum or two.
Walking out of the bathroom, wrapped in my robe, I stepped into the bedroom to see Nero standing out on the balcony because, yes, his bedroom had a goddamn balcony. Of course, when you lived in a guarded mansion, a luxurious balcony probably came standard, not like the small sitting balcony that I’d had at my condo. I’d bet my career that this house probably had every luxury under the sun built right in, and why wouldn’t it? What good was money if you didn’t use it to make your life easier? Nero was also still dressed in a suit, giving me the hope that he planned on sleeping elsewhere.
Now, normally, I slept in a t-shirt and panties, but if Nerodid end up planning on sleeping next to me tonight, then that wasn’t going to work. It wasn’t that I pegged him for a rapist or anything unsavory like that, so much as I just didn’t know or like the man. I had no desire to get comfortable around him.
So, with that in mind, I walked over to the dresser to pull out a pair of pajama pants that I usually just wore around the house during the weekends. Yeah, it mighttake a little getting used to, but it wasn’t like I was counting on a good night’s sleep anyways.
As soon as Nero heard me moving about, he walked back into the bedroom, shutting the balcony doors behind him. It was unfair that someone so wicked looked so good. Granted, all of this was unfair, so Nero’s looks were probably the least of my worries.
“Did you find everything to your satisfaction?”
“It was a shower,” I remarked drolly. “It wasn’t a stay at the Sheraton.”
“That attitude of yours has to be exhausting,il mio cuore,”he replied, a bit of a smirk in his voice.
“All you have to do is leave me alone, and then you’ll be spared my exhausting attitude,” I fired back, shutting the dresser drawer.
As I headed back towards the restroom to change, Nero’s voice called out to me.“Which side of the bed do you prefer to sleep in,il mio cuore?”I turned to look back at him. “After all, I wouldn’t want mybrideto feel uncomfortable on her first night in her new home.”
“Then I guess you’ll be sleeping in another room if that’s a real concern for you,” I retorted.
He arched a brow. “Do you really believe that I’m going to sleep elsewhere?”
I took in a steady breath before saying, “I want to be very clearabout something, Mr. Sartori.” I could see the tick in his jaw, his patience being tested by my ‘exhausting attitude’ again. “I have no desire to sleep with you. However, I’m also pragmatic enough to realize that you’re going to want children one day. So, if you’re really concerned about mycomfortwhile I live here, you’ll go on entertaining yourself with the blonde from last night until you’re ready for children.” His jaw ticked again. “If not, then condoms would be nice until you’re ready for kids, because I really don’t have the time or desire to visit the free clinic every other week to get tested for STDs.”
“Well, unfortunately for you, Idoexpect you to fulfill your marital obligations,” he replied, and his voice sounded hard and unyielding.
“Lucky me,” I deadpanned right before walking back into the bathroom, slamming the door because I didn’t know what else to do. I’d never had to sleep with someone that I didn’t want to, and I could feel my chest burning with the idea.
Five minutes later, I was walking back into the bedroom, and Nero’s suit jacket and tie were gone. He was undressing, his fingers effortlessly unbuttoning his white shirt, and I didn’t need to witness him taking it off to know that he had a great body underneath.
So, turning away from him, I pulled back the covers from the bed, not caring which side was which. Again, I was used to having an entire bed to myself, so either side was going to be uncomfortable for me. Plus, if Nero was intent on having sex with me, he could just shove it in from behind, then leave me the hell alone afterwards.
However, things got weirdwhen he didn’t get into bed beside me. Instead, he walked over to my side, then squatted down in front of me, his hands finding their way to the outside of my thighs. His chocolate-color gaze had me pinned in place, and I could see why people listened when he spoke. He’d also done me the courtesy of not removing his shirt completely.
“While I don’t expect you to believeme because it’s obvious that you’ve already made up your mind about my character, I slept alone last night,” he said, but I’d be stupid to believe him. “Of course, that was after I spent all night looking for you.”
“What are you expecting me to say to that?”
