Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
She kissed me back with the same desire, wanting more now from her husband than she did when I was just her love. Her diamond ring was on her left hand where it always stayed. I never took mine off either. “You missed me or what?” she said against my mouth.
I pressed my erection against her stomach. “You can’t tell?”
She chuckled. “Oh yes, I can tell.”
“Mom?”
I broke apart from her right away, embarrassed Luca had caught us in the act.
His voice came from the front of the car, so he probably hadn’t caught the details of our embrace. “Did you get me those candies I like?” He came around the bumper, seemingly oblivious to what was just happening.
I grabbed two of the grocery bags and pretended nothing had transpired in the first place.
“Depends,” she said. “Is your homework done?”
Luca dropped his head in sadness. “Mom!”
“Finish your homework, and I’ll give them to you. But I also got you another treat.” She ran her fingers through his hair. “Because I know you’ve been working so hard to bring up your math grade, and I’m proud of you for not giving up.”
Luca lifted his head again. “What is it?”
“You’ll have to wait and see. Show me your homework when you’re finished.”
“Alright!” Luca ran back into the house.
I turned back to Mia. “You’re so good with him.”
“He’s a sweetheart, so it’s pretty easy.”
“I think he’s a sweetheart because you’re a sweetheart.” I gave her a quick kiss on the mouth then walked away.
I was in my office when Luca came inside. “Dad?”
“Hmm?” I looked up from the schematic I was examining, the dimensions of the new car we were sending to the factories.
Luca stood in the doorway. “Mom says dinner is ready.”
I’d gotten used to hearing him call me dad, but it still filled my heart with warmth every time he said it. I’d grown to love that little boy like he’d always been mine, like that other asshole had never existed in the first place. Sometimes I felt bad for the guy…because he missed out on the most amazing kid in the world. “I’ll be right down, little man.”
“Alright.” Luca shut the door and left, running down the hallway to the stairs.
I turned back to my paperwork to make my final notes.
Then my phone began to ring.
It was the last name I expected to see on the screen, the very last person in the world I was thinking about. I pictured his blue eyes, stern features, and the Russian accent that emerged from that harsh mouth before he even spoke.
Egor.
Frozen to the spot, I didn’t know what to do.
It kept ringing.
Why would he call me after all this time? Mia had been mine for over a year now. Was he still thinking about her? Did he spot her in town somewhere? Or did he want to discuss something else entirely?
I wanted to ignore the call, but I would be haunted by curiosity. I’d rather face him and know what he wanted than wonder if my family was in trouble. I cleared my throat and took the call. “Long time, no speak.” I kept it casual, like I still had nothing to hide from this man.
“Too long.”
I waited in silence over the phone, waiting to see what he wanted without giving myself away. I had to be casual, indifferent. After all, I had nothing to hide…at least, that was how we’d left it.
When I didn’t speak again, he did. “I wanted to catch up, Carter. How have you been?”
The strangeness of the conversation told me my worst fear had come true. There was no other explanation for his random call. When we spoke before, he always got straight to the point because he was a busy man. “Busy. You?”
He chuckled. “Yes, I know you’ve been busy, Carter. You’ve been busy being a father and a husband.”
Fuck.
I didn’t say a single word because there was nothing I could say to help myself. It would only make it worse.
“Luca is a cute boy.”
My hand immediately tightened into a fist at the mention of my son, the boy who was off-limits.
“Doing pretty well in school…except math. Doesn’t take after you, I guess.”
My pulse was so loud in my temples, I couldn’t hear my own breathing. My eyes moved to the window, as if I expected twenty pairs of headlights to break down the gate at the front of my property.
“And your wife…exquisite as always. I would know…since I’ve fucked her so many times.”
I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw, furious and heartbroken by the comment. I didn’t care that Mia had been with other men—but I cared that she’d been fucked by another man against her will. I should have killed Egor when he least expected me. I should have put him in the ground so this conversation wouldn’t be happening now.