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24
I had to wait for Hugo to finish his talk with Gino in the elevator, but finally, he followed, doing everything in his power not to look at me. I didn’t know if I really pissed him off with the fake argument or if he was acting like that because Gino was so close.
He didn’t say a word until we were behind my bedroom door.
“What is this about, Catherinelle?”
“Whoa, are you really mad at me?”
“You’re pushing it with all the touching and sitting next to me. I thought we talked about games, but you keep acting like a damn child!”
He snapped, raising his voice at the end of the sentence, and I stepped back, disarmed by his attitude. This was supposed to be a beautiful moment, a stolen minute to enjoy on our first Christmas together, and he was ruining it with his behavior.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Hugo? I’m trying to do something nice here.”
“But things can’t always be how you want them, Catherinelle. Damn it!” He was frustrated, pacing around with one hand on the back of his head, trying to shake of the tension. He did that whenever he was cross with me and was trying to control his reaction. Safe to say, he needed a new method. “It’s bad enough that I have to walk with a hard on every fucking day. That I…my mind is filled with your image, your smell, your moans. I just had to eat at the same table with your mother trying to block out all the ways I wanted to eat you instead. Didn’t you hear Gino giving that damn speech, talking about how I’m loyal to him? I’m miserable enough, Cat, without you toying with me.”
Wow, I did not see that coming. This was the longest chain of words I’d ever heard coming from Hugo since…ever. He must have been boiling inside if he felt the need to rant, but I wasn’t about to be the punching bag for something we were both into.
“Help me understand, Mustafa. You’re mad at me because you’re horny, and you want me.” He just ground some noises through his teeth. “And I make you miserable by trying to get close to you.”
This got his attention. He turned to me, exhaled, and his shoulders slumped.
“No, baby girl, that’s not…” Looked like the Monster finally calmed the fuck down. His foul mood was getting really exhausting. I wanted my sweet Hugo, the one that came out when it was just us. “If we make a mistake, and Gino finds out about us, it won’t be pretty. We talked about this.”
“Hugo, you’re blowing this thing out of proportion.”
“Cat, you’ll be fine. You’re his sister; you’re seventeen; you’re…you’re a princess. This is my fault for being born in filth. A bastard has no place next to royalty. I shouldn’t be here, baby girl. I know it, and Gino knows it too. I made a vow to him, and I’m disgusted with myself for breaking it.”
My eyes narrowed at him. I wanted him to make a vow to me…someday. A vow to cherish in sickness and in health, but we’d never get there if he kept choosing my brother over me. It was painful to see him ripped in half like this, but I was hurt too. My man seemed more in love with my brother, God damn it!
“No one cares where you came from, Hugo. Will Gino have an opinion about the age difference? Maybe. Probably. He will be pissed because he’s my big brother, and he wants to protect me, but this has nothing to do with Gino. This is about us. I don’t need protection from you, baby. He’ll understand, eventually. When we tell him…”
“Pardon?”
He cut me off, and I looked at him, confused.
“When we tell Gino about us.”
“That will never happen.”
I felt like someone threw a bucket of cold water in my face and then slapped me. Out of instinct, I put my hands in front of me defensively. Were we really having this conversation?
“What the hell are you saying?”
“This,” he wiggled his finger between us, “will be the secret we’ll take with us to the afterlife, Catherinelle. Gino can’t ever find out.”
My mouth opened, then closed again. How was I supposed to respond to that load of crap?
My instincts overpowered my brain, and I took the three steps separating us and slammed my fist into his stomach. His abdomen was rock hard, and it probably hurt me more than it hurt him. The bones in my hand cracked at the contact, but I didn’t stop. I hit him again, this time with my other hand.
“Catherinelle, stop. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“Shut up. How can you talk to me like that?”
“Like what?”
Ugh, this infuriating man. I’d put up with his temper and stubbornness every fucking time, but I needed a damn break.
