Page 17 of Bound Bride
Despite that, it is expected of me and forms the basis of our deal.
People will see me as stronger with a wife, and even more so with a child. In this life, a baby will somehow strengthen people's belief that my power and influence aren't going anywhere.
Unfortunately, a child is not on the cards, so a wife will have to be enough.
I change into cotton sweatpants and clean myself up, but as I'm walking toward the bed, something catches in my chest like the knick of a blade.
Lianna.
My late wife was so different from Rose, but that doesn't mean Rose is exempt from the same fate.
The bliss from Rose fades from my heart and is replaced by a familiar ache that I've come to find normal, but the change is enough for me to contact Ethan as I climb into bed and have him double security at the estate.
I'm not taking any chances this time.
Sleep comes faster than it has in months with Rose by my side, and I wake early next morning to her curled up against my side with her face pressed into my ribs.
Weak sun filters in through the curtains and a streak caresses her sleeping face with such gentleness that I'm almost jealous.
I want to touch her like that.
Just as the urge rises, a buzz from my phone distracts me. I reach for it instead.
Then, my heart sinks as a message from Ethan flashes up on the screen.
[Ethan]Code Red. Italians are pissed and two cookhouses are ablaze. Your call.
5
ROSE
Kon leaves without a word and for the first time inmonths, I'm alone.
There's no Mathew breathing down my neck, none of the Vasiliev brothers around, no family and now, no husband.
It's just me in this vast, comfortable bed without a single shadow lingering in my periphery.
It's… weird.
Tension lingers in my chest amid uncertainty that as soon as I move, this illusion will break, so for a while I just sit there and gaze around the room.
The bed is up on a small platform next to large windows that look exceptionally thick, given how the gardens outside appear slightly warped.
Beyond the bed are the walk-in closets filled with clothes, my unpacked suitcases, and a small lounge area, where an open door gives me a glimpse of the powder-blue ensuite.
All in all, very beautiful.
I shift under the sheets and wince as a throbbing ache flares between my legs, and memories from last night flood through me.
Konstantin was like an animal, but a very gentle animal.
There'd been a moment where I was certain he was going to turn me down, but then he fucked me like he hadn't come in years and it was insane.
Two orgasms inside me should be enough. I hope it is.
The sooner this hell is over, the better.
Yet, as I lie there gazing up at the ceiling, a strange sense of hesitation floods my chest.
