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“A lot more discreet. And I want to travel with you.”
“No.”
“Not all the time, but if you go somewhere interesting.” I think about something Mia said during one of her rants that has stuck with me. “I don’t want to feel like a shut-in.”
He almost scoffs, “You can go anywhere, do anything you want, I certainly don’t care.”
“I can’t though. Not really. Not as a Delgado. Not with multiple guards and a whole entourage.”
“Hm.” Is all he gives me. It’s not a no, though. The idea of traveling is exciting but I’m really after travelingwithhim, figuring him out, being by his side, cold as it is. It won’t warm up if we’re always separated.
I lift my chin, ready to go in for the kill. “Heirs are a part of arranged marriages,”
“I’m not sleeping with you. Shit, pleasetell me your insane family doesn’t still expect to see bloody wedding sheets on the wedding night.”
“Of course not.”
“Are you a virgin, Eleanna?” He asks it with a hint of shock. His face looks disgusted under his cool veneer. He really does hate the way we live. Who we are. WhoIam. Or at least his idea of me. He doesn’t even know me yet. I respond quickly.
“I’m twenty-three, what do you think?” I say quickly. I’ve avoided actually lying to him, but it’s a manipulation all the same. Which he just asked that I not do. Still, what choice is he leaving me here? I’m not admitting my inexperience. I am about to go on, but he snipes back.
“I think you probably have a young bodyguard boyfriend tucked away somewhere and that’s fine. Because this,” he gestures between us, “is not happening.”
“But as you know, as part of the deal, my family will expect children.”
“The ink on your college diploma has barely dried so they can calm the hell right on down about that.” He grumbles. “Plus, they care about the Delgado bloodline, not mine.”
My mouth falls open. “You mean you want me to have…someone else’s children?”
“Don’t look at me with those doe eyes. You don’t want what I have to offer in that regard, believe me. I’m a mean, cold son of a bitch and I am not changing. So, we’ll cross that bridge when we have to, which will be years and years from now. Just make sure you’re discreet as well and don’t miss your birth control. Anything else?”
I shake my head. Our dinner is brought out and Mark digs in.
“I read you’re adopted—“
“No.” He cuts me off with his mouth full. He glares at me as he swallows. “What did I say? We’re not chatting about our childhoods. You’re not my therapist. Not my pal. You want to know me? This is it. No hobbies, no secret fears or hopes. I work. Really fucking hard.”
“And you never wanted someone to help, a teammate?”
“No. I work alone. I have minions for when I need them. I do not need a partner. This is my game and I play it 24/7. The end.”
I take a breath. “And how do you win?”
“Huh?”
“The game, how do you win?”
“No one ever wins, Eleanna. The goal is to keep playing.” He sounds exhausted. Broken even. We eat in silence. It’s not the companionable kind. It’s tense and awkward, but every time I start to speak, he glares at me. When he gets out his phone, I snap.
“Absolutely not. The suffocating broody silence? Fine. But you’re not going to be so rude as to communicate with other people in front of me.”
“Don’t you have a Pinterest board you want to scroll through?”
My turn to almost scoff. “Mark, I don’t even have a phone.”
“Kill me now.” He mutters under his breath as he tucks his phone away. “Let’s just get out of here,partner.”
We leave abruptly so our car is not at the curb when we exit the front doors. The restaurant is in the middle of an up-and-coming part of town filled with trendy spots, so the sidewalk is crowded with people. Our entourage of guards closes in tighter, though not so close as to be obvious.
