“That is sweet music to my ears, darling,” Michael said. His British accent was back. I nodded toward him. He’dalready told me he’d been given the memo about this being my honeymoon. Everyone was under strict instructions to keep me away from my office.
I didn’t like being out of the loop but I had no choice-I hadto trust Ivan and Victor to take care of business while I was away. I should have put up more of a fight but I enjoyed the idea of being alone with my wife.
When Ivan told me I was to marry her, I’d been pissed off. She was too young and I’d not wanted awife. Charlotte had grown on me.
My wife turned to the chef and her smile was sweet. “It’s so good. Ive took me to so many restaurants in the city-Italian, French, Spanish, Mexican, there might have been an English one as well-but none of them match your food.”
“That is because I am the best.”
“And he is not modest,” Ive said. “Have there been any calls?””No business. Just pleasure. Now, I made a beautiful praline tart. I know it’s your favorite. I wanted to make sure your first meal on your honeymoon was the best.” He pressed his fingers to his lips and kissed the air.
I looked toward Charlotte. “He means you. He doesn’t give a fuck about me.”
This made Charlotte laugh. “It’s been the best.”
“Excellent.” He picked up the dishes and left for the kitchen with the promise of dessert.
“You’re sure you didn’t mind coming here for our honeymoon?”
“No, this is the house Ichose for myself,” I said, winking at her. I did so, just to see her smile. “Why did you pick here? You could have gone anywhere. Ivan would have seen to it that you got what your heart desired.”
“Thisisyour home. It’sourhome.”
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Michael interrupted the moment to bring us his dessert and it looked amazing. There was a small dollop of whipped cream on the side. I waited for Charlotte to take a bite, as did Michael. Her eyes closed and she moaned as she did so.
My chef clapped his hands and disappeared once again. He’d be plottingour breakfast for tomorrow.
I finally took a bite of the dessert, making sure to get enough pastry, hazelnut chocolate and whipped cream, and it was so good. My mouth watered. Our dessert was gone within minutes.
Taking Charlotte’s hand, I pulled her to her feet. “How about we go and have some fun?”
All I wanted to do was fuck her. I wanted to spread her open and explore every single inch of her body, but I couldn’t do that, not until I knew she wasn’t sore anymore.
“I’d like that.”
Remembering a few months ago when Ivan came to visit, I took Charlotte to the game room. The power was already on, and I took Charlotte over to the air hockey table.
Charlotte groaned. “I don’t know how to play.”
I never came into the game room. I’d built the place for the off chance that I might have a child one day. It was a long shot because to have a child, I had to trust a woman. Charlotte was my woman and I knew there was now a chance she might be pregnant. All it took was the one time.
She’s distracted by staring at the table and I take the few seconds to look at her, to imagine her full and ripe with my child. The thought of children in the past terrified me. I didn’t want to be a father. I don’t know how to be anything else other than a fucking monster. For fun, I lock enemies up, take my time to torture them, and make them pray for death long before I grant it. Ivan and Victor wouldn’t be dealing with Hank until I got back, but he would be on minimum food. We didn’t want to starve him to death before we got our information.
She lifted her head and smiled at me. “Are you okay”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” I’m tempted to call it a day, and tell her that I have to head back to the city, but then I’d have to deal with Ivan, and he can be a giant pain in the ass. I was a grown-ass man, I could make my own decision, but Ivan was a bigger pain. He got what he wanted, and a honeymoon wasn’t a bad idea. I just couldn’t fuck my wife anymore, or if I did, I’d have to wear condoms. The smile fell from my lips.
“If you don’t want to play?”
“It’s fine,” I said.”When was your last cycle?”
“My what?”
“Your period, your menstrual cycle?”
Her cheeks went bright red. Sheopened and closed her mouth, and then looked toward the ground. “Last week.”
I made a note toremember when her next one was.
The moment was lost, I knew that, and I had a feeling Charlotte did as well. I was determined to enjoy the game room though. I’d never share it with a son or daughter and still didn’t know if I would have children.
I couldn’t help but think about my own father. The beatings I got when I failed a reading and writing test. He’d been so angry that he had a stupid son. I hadn’t thoughtof this shit in so long. In fact, I never thought of it. It meant nothing to me. I don’t even know why I told Charlotte. She didn’t need to know about my past.
Charlotte started to play, and at first, my heart wasn’t in it. I wanted a drink, but I stayedfocused, and slowly, with her laughter and time, I was able to draw myself back. I didn’t know when it happened, but I started to have fun. Charlotte scored twice in my zone, but she was no match for me. She wasn’t a sore loser. Each time I got the puck into her goal, she’d laugh. Whenever I pushed it in her direction, she would let out a scream and try to fight it off, and sometimes her mistakes meant my puck got into her goal.
She was a breath of fresh air. I didn’t even know I needed this.
After I’d scored for the twentieth time, she stood, massaging her elbow.
“Time for us to move on, what would you like to play?”
“How about pool? Can I just practice shooting the balls in? No game, just attempting to aim. Could you show me?” she asked.