Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 101 - Chapitre 110

“What’s the worst that can happen?” he asked sarcastically. He let his arms hang on the armrests, his cigar burning smoke to the ceiling. “I’ll tell you what’s the worst that can happen. She persuades you to marry her. She persuades you to sign over half the business to her. Then she kills you in your sleep, and ta-da, half the company is hers.”It was so ridiculous that I wanted to roll my eyes. “That’s never going to happen, Bates.”“She’s manipulated you this far.”“She’s never manipulated me to do anything. I’ve told you that.”He shook his head. “From the second you met her, you’ve been different. You don’t fuck other women, and now you’re living with her—in the same room.”“That’s not manipulation, Bates. That’s a man finding a woman. Simple as that.”He shook his head again, the disappointment in his eyes shining like two beacons. “She got pregnant on purpose.”I didn’t believe that. “Even if she did, that’s my problem, not yours.”He took another deep puff. “This is ridiculous

“No. But I don’t understand why you need to go anywhere.”“Well, I don’t have a specific place in mind. But if I’m going to be here indefinitely, I thought I should have a car. I might have errands to run. Maybe I want to take the baby to visit Landon. Maybe I want to get you a birthday gift. When is your birthday, anyway?”Like I would ever tell her. “You won’t be driving anywhere by yourself. If there’s anywhere you wish to go, my men will drive you.”“You don’t think that’s excessive?”“You were the one who accused me of not being able to protect our child. So, no, I don’t think it’s excessive.” I didn’t want to be an asshole when I just got her back last week, but it was impossible for me not to be when she questioned me like this. I was used to barking orders and men following those orders obediently. “I’m not inhibiting you from going anywhere you want to go. But having my men escort you there in an appropriate vehicle with appropriate protection makes more sense. You don’t need

I recognized the building because I’d seen him walk into it several times. When I had been gleaning as much information as possible, I’d followed him to various locations to determine his schedule. It was interesting to actually walk inside when I’d only stared at the front doors.The second Cato was in the building, everyone waited on him hand and foot. The secretaries all greeted him with a smile and over-the-top enthusiasm, and the other employees inside the bank went out of their way to say hello and compliment his tie or his watch.We moved to the top floor, which seemed to be a restricted area just for Cato. It was two enormous offices along with two assistants. Cato checked in with one of them, received his messages, and then introduced me. “Shelly, this is Siena.” Then he headed to his office.Siena? That was it? I didn’t consider myself to be his girlfriend or his wife, but I felt like I was more than just my first name. I followed behind him and entered his office. “That’s i

He chuckled. “That’s how you have to be to survive in this world.”“Not survive. Triumph.”He nodded in agreement.“I thought you were an asshole to me, but now I realize you can be much worse.”He chuckled quietly. “Much worse.”I stared at the side of his face for a while and wondered what he was thinking. I remembered how thick he felt inside me when I said those words. I felt how hard he came inside me when I whispered my feelings. He’d obviously enjoyed what I’d said even though he didn’t reciprocate.When I looked back on everything he had done for me, I refused to believe he didn’t feel the same way. He rescued my father from an oil drum and buried him where he belonged. He protected me against his brother’s fists. And then he came to France and asked me to come home…because he missed me. He slept with me every night now, had been faithful to me during those two months we were apart. Would a man do that if he weren’t in love? No, I didn’t think so.I knew Cato loved me.But may

1CatoWeeks passed, and we didn’t discuss what happened in Florence. Maybe she was waiting for me to say it, to whisper those words to her when she least expected it. That wasn’t going to happen, so I was glad we didn’t have to talk about it again.I didn’t enjoy hurting her.But I wouldn’t say it just to make her happy.We were both asleep in the middle of the night when she became restless, kicking her feet and whimpering in her sleep. Then she jolted upright and rested her hand on her stomach. “God, do you ever stop kicking?”My heavy eyes opened to take in her frame in the darkness. She held herself up with one arm while the other gently stroked her stomach. She breathed hard through the kicks, tensing up in a way she never had before.I sat up and placed my hand over her stomach, but I didn’t feel any kicking. “Baby, I don’t feel anything.”“Well, I feel pain…”All the sleepiness left my eyes, and I shifted into action. I got out of bed and pulled on the first pair of jeans I co