“I came to see my husband. Is that such a bad thing? I mean, we are married after all. Shouldn’t I be with you instead of someone else?”
A darkness crosses his face. He doesn’t like that I’ve ‘been’ with other men. It’s hilarious that he thinks so. If I can avoid telling Enzo that I’m a virgin, the better. Let me have some power over him.
“Well, I do like that you’re not out partying and getting drunk.” He turns to the bartender. “Don’t give her anything.”
I roll my eyes. So dramatic my husband is. I nod at the pretty blonde he had been talking to. “Who’s this?”
“One of my dancers. Crystal.”
“Crystal?” I stop the urge to scoff. Of course she’d have a name like Crystal. But this isn’t her fault that I’m married to Enzo and angry and confused and excited all at one. I shouldn’t take it out on her. “Nice to meet you.”
She offers me a small, tentative smile. “You too. It’s nice to finally meet Enzo’s wife.”
“So you know he’s married?”
“Yes?” she says, her smile wavering.
“And yet, you were still flirting with him?” I turn to Enzo. “You were clearly flirting with her.”
Enzo strolls over to my side, using his height to his advantage to tower over me. “Does that bother you? Are you jealous?”
Now I scoff. “Jealous? No. I don’t like you.”
“Then why do you look so upset?”
“Because you’re my husband. Show a little respect towards me.”
“I wasn’t flirting with Crystal. We were just talking. I talk with all of my dancers. I never get involved with them. Too messy.”
My beating heart calms down. “You’ve never slept with any of them?”
“In the past, I used to. But then I stopped when things got messy and I had to fire my old dancers. Now I never fuck any of the new ones.”
“And Crystal is a new one?”
Enzo smirks. Damn it. I shouldn’t let him see how bothered I am. “She is. I’ve never fucked her.”
I can’t help but flush a little and I hate that Enzo can see it. “You don’t have to use that word choice.”
“Why? Is it making you uncomfortable? For someone who has fucked men of her own, you sure do seem embarrassed.” He slides in even closer to me and I feel like I can barely breathe. All I remember is his lips on mine and how electric it made me feel. How I want that again.
“I’m never embarrassed. And just because I’ve been with men in the past, doesn’t mean I have to like every word you use. Doesn’t mean I can’t feel emotion.”
“Sure. Well, I have work to attend to. So you should go back home.”
“Work? Because when I came in here, you were just talking with Crystal. You weren’t working.”
“I was on a break. And I like being nice to my staff. Makes them more loyal.”
“Fine. But I’m not leaving.”
“Fine,” he clips back. “But I have work to do.”
“Then I’m just going to sit down over there. You should be happy. This way you can keep an eye on me.” I hobble over to one of the couches against the wall, trying to keep my head up and ignore the pitying looks people throw my way because of my crutches. It’s just until the end of the week, I remind myself. Then I can go back to being my normal badass self.
Enzo sighs before he heads back to the bar. I can’t hear what Crystal says to him but I can see her put her hand on his arm, almost like she’s checking to make surehe’sok, when he’s the big bad scary mafia man and I’m the innocent woman who had to marry him.
A man enters the club. Looking dashing in his clearly expensive suit, this man is sex on a stick. He’s just as handsome as Enzo is. Maybe even more so.