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Anger was making it difficult to think clearly. At one time I never would have given his words a second thought. I never would have doubted my wife’s loyalty.
But maybe he was right.
Maybe I’d been coasting for a few years. Being apart wasn’t easy. Neither of us was the cheating kind, even though we both had ample opportunity. But that didn’t mean this man wouldn’t be able to turn her head. Hell, he’d turned mine, and I was straight.
As angry as he was making me, though, I couldn’t help but admire the way he moved and the cruel tilt to his lips.
“How am I supposed to compete with you when I can’t be there all the time?”
“How am I supposed to compete with you when you’ve already known her for what? Eighteen years? And you’re married to her. You have every advantage over me, and if you can’t think of how to use those advantages, you’re not the businessman I’ve heard people admiring.” He picked at some invisible lint on his pants. “There’s something else we need to discuss while I’m here.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. What now?”
“Why are you trying to act like you’re not happy to see me?”
I sputtered. “Because I’m not! Why would I be?”
“We both know you’re lying.”
“Bullshit. I don’t even know how you got in.”
“People go out of their way to be helpful if you’re pleasant and pretty.”
“For you, maybe. That’s not how the world works for other people.”
The prick gave an arrogant shrug. “I only know what it’s like being me. I’m sorry if life hasn’t been quite so easy for you.” His tone held a bitter edge, as though his hadn’t been easy either.
We stared at each other across the distance. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for in my face, but I was trying my damnedest to hide it.
“Does she kneel for you, too?” I couldn’t help but ask, twisting the knife of jealousy deeper in my own gut.
He flicked his fingers. “No. The way things are between you isn’t how things are between her and I.”
“And how exactly are things between the two of you?” A wave of guilty lust hit me. I tried to keep my breathing normal, wondering how far this perversion of mine went. Hearing the details from her had been hot, even though it had torn me up inside. Now I wanted to hear it from him.
“For me she is…” His pause was dramatic, but his expression and the distraction in his eyes told a different story. “She’s a remarkable woman.” He moved closer, as though wanting to confide their secrets and not wanting anyone to overhear.
“She doesn’t crawl for you—beg for you? She doesn’t dote on you and make you feel like you’re the most important man alive?” I needed to hear him say it, whatever it was. I needed to know how things were between them when I wasn’t there.
“It’s like we’re talking about two completely different people. The woman I’m with is in control. She’s sweet and kind, yes, but she’s in charge.I am helpless, putty in her hands. Is that the expression? Those words feel inadequate. I’m completely liquid for her—dissolved by her, hardened in whatever fashion most suits her.” His smile was reflective, tender.
Was he really falling in love with her? I’d thought his threat was a game he was playing, but maybe he really did want her for himself. I wanted to threaten him—to tell him never to go near her again, but I was the one who’d opened this door. Maybe it was a door I couldn’t close again.
“We have completely different relationships with her.”
I didn’t like hearing the word ‘relationship’ on his lips. They didn’t have a relationship. They’d fucked—that was all.
“My relationship with you is completely different, too, though, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“She doesn’t kneel for me, but you do.”
“What?” I stilled the shiver that threatened to run through my body.
“I saw the way you were watching us.”
“I’m sure you did. That’s how phones work.”
