Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
She took a seat beside him and stared at the table of food in front of her. There were waffles, toast, an abundance of fruit, and at least three different kinds of cereal.
“I didn’t know what you like to eat in the morning, so I had my chef bring everything we have.”
She reached out and grabbed a glass of orange juice. “Thank you.”
Contrary to her parents complaining, she didn’t eat a lot in the morning. Most of the time she ate fruit with a few slices of toast. Sipping at the juice, she reached for a banana and peeled it.
She tried not to think about the man sitting next to her. He folded the paper he’d been reading and placed it to one side.
Maria didn’t know what to say or do. She’d never been much of a people person. The silence, though, was making her uncomfortable. “Thank you for the dress.”
“It looks stunning on you.”
Why did he have to lie?
Glancing in his direction, she noticed that he kept looking at her. She quickly averted her gaze, but then chanced another look, to find him watching her. Maria didn’t know if she had something on her face. She tucked some of her hair behind her face.
“You’re not used to being looked at, are you?”
“Have I done something wrong?” she asked.
“No.”
“I, er, I don’t know.” She felt her cheeks heating.
“A blush, now that is charming. My sweet, virginal, blushing wife.”
“I would understand if you didn’t want to stay married to me.”
“What makes you think I don’t want to stay married to you?” Draven asked.
“You could have any woman you want.” She saw the deep frown on his face, and didn’t know if she had crossed some kind of line.
Draven was a very sexy guy, even with his scary reputation. She had no doubt a lot of women would love to have a piece of him. Maria didn’t like the jealousy that swarmed around her at the thought of him being with anyone else. It wasn’t her place at all, and yet the feeling bothered her.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Why are you sorry?”
“You look angry with me.”
“No, I’m not angry with you. You don’t realize there is no out for you, do you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t get a say in what you do now. You’re my wife, Maria. If I decide to divorce you, that’s a death sentence. There is no other future for you, other than by my side.”
She had known that and she quickly bowed her head.
“Do you want to die?” he asked.
“No, I don’t want to die, I just don’t want to force a man to … you know, stay with me, if he doesn’t want to.” She nibbled her lip, hating the way he looked at her.
Draven shook his head. “If I didn’t want you, Maria, I wouldn’t have chosen you. I don’t do anything I don’t want.”
“You wanted me?”
“Is that so hard to believe?”
“Yes.” She cringed as she said the truth.
“I know your family fucked with you. I don’t know the ins and outs of it, and to be honest, I don’t give a fuck. They threatened my family, which made them my enemies. They’re dead now, so you need to stop believing the shit they said. It’s not true. Now, eat your food. We’ve got a restaurant to get to.”
“But, wouldn’t I need to eat there?” she asked.
“I’m about to show The Boss that you’re no longer a virgin, and you are my wife. If you think you’ll still have an appetite after that, then go ahead, wait until then to eat.”
She reached for another slice of toast and took a bite of it.
“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” he asked.
In that moment, Maria didn’t know if she liked Draven or not. He was an impossible man to understand.
****
Draven had never given a fuck about the bloody sheets tradition. He’d been present at several ceremonies, but had nothing to say about them. What was the point? It was a stupid, fucked-up, not-worth-his-time tradition. He didn’t care if a woman was a virgin or not.
To him, he saw it as an unfair trade. The men got to sleep around, get to know what they liked in the bedroom, while the women had no choice but to steer clear of men. Most of the women in their circles were kept away from men.
Even Maria had been kept away from men. He knew he shocked her with his responses, and she wasn’t quite sure how to deal with him. Again, he didn’t give a fuck. That wasn’t on him.
The Boss was more than pleased to see the bloody sheets. Draven knew there was a chance he’d have killed Maria if she’d not been a virgin. Actually, Draven wouldn’t have allowed that.
Even if Maria hadn’t been a virgin, Draven would have wanted to keep her. There was something about this young woman he couldn’t forget. She was under his skin, and he didn’t like that. He was also curious about her, which irritated him.