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“Um…no, I haven’t,” he said, looking shifty as hell. He poured himself a second glass of wine and refreshed my still half-full one. “It doesn’t bother me.” He didn’t look me in the eye when he said it. Yeah, not only did it not bother him, he secretly loved it.
“You’re not self-conscious about it at the gym?”
He shrugged. “I told the guys from work I got it done for you.”
“With the initials LL?”
“Love Lasts.” He snorted. “I told them it was on our wedding invitations.”
I almost cackled but cut it off, considering where we were. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“I mean—it could have been on our invitations if our wedding had consisted of more than a priest, and your irate parents.”
“Forced to marry a girl, then forcibly claimed by our mutual stalker boyfriend. You’ve had a rough life, Valor Davenport.” I took another bite offideuà.
“Yes, forced to marry the gorgeous nymph I’ve been obsessed with since I was too young to shave. That was a miserable turn of events,” he said dryly. “I’ve rued the day ever since.”
“I’ll make you rue this day if you’re not careful, mister.”
“That’s ‘Sir’ to you, little girl.” His eyes narrowed, and I squirmed in my seat.
“Mmm. Am I in trouble?”
“We’ve been so busy mauling each other than we still haven’t looked at your Book of Transgressions. You’ve racked up several in the past few months.” His smile was devilish.
I put down my fork. The butterflies in my stomach didn’t want more food when they could have him again, instead.
“Now I need to decide if we’re going to work through your punishments over the next few days, or if we should get them all out of the way tonight.”
“Tonight?” I squeaked. “On a full belly? That’s cruel and unusual punishment. I’d need a nap first, at the very least.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have mouthed off on a full belly.”
I squeezed my thighs together. “Sorry, Sir.”
“Oh, I’ll make you sorry, all right.”
Fuck—was it hot in here?
He gestured to the waiter and asked for our check.
The jittery feeling in my blood prompted me to take another sip of wine. Damn—how could this man still make me feel like this, so many years into our marriage? I’d grown accustomed to being apart, but that didn’t mean I liked it. At all. If it wasn’t for the rest of the cast and crew counting on me for their jobs, I might have quit the show after six months because I missed him so fucking much. I loved my work, but I loved my husband more.
Valor was on his feet almost before the payment for our meal had gone through. He handed me up from my chair, his gaze and smile hinting at the sadism that lurked beneath his wholesome, all-American-boy facade.
He’d have me begging for mercy in a few minutes.
I couldn’t fucking wait.
Chapter Thirteen: Loïc
How have I become so obsessed?
What is the point of my life if they will never love me?
Loïc Leduc, Journal 15
Chill rain soaked me, plastering my hair and clothes to me like cling wrap. Inside the restaurant, they were warm and dry, chatting and laughing together.
