Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“Hello Ga…Stryker.” Her voice fell when she said it and I already regretted my asinine dictate. I hated hearing her call me that, but I couldn’t go back on my word so easily. She had a hard lesson to learn and she wasn’t going to learn it by me giving in to her at the first sign of her distress. After this was over we should never have anything even resembling this problem again.
“Good evening Nadia, I ordered you a glass of Fume blanc.”
“Thank you.” She gave me her first smile since the aborted one of the night before. I’m a bastard, I didn’t return it but instead turned my attention back to my phone where I’d been busy arranging my calendar for the coming week.
“We’re going to the ranch this weekend.”
She looked over at me with a questioning look. She loves the ranch in Texas, but it was hard for me to get away as often as she’d like. She enjoys being with the horses and taking long rides out in the pasture. She would probably go there every weekend if she could, but there was no way she was going without me. And since I couldn’t get away that often it had been some time since we’d got out there. I saw the question in her eyes but knew she wouldn’t ask, because she knew I wouldn’t answer.
There was a reason for my decision, yes I was mad as fuck at her but I also remember what had set her off in the first place. Someone had started a campaign against her, to drive a wedge between us. She didn’t know who it was but I had a pretty good idea even though she had no evidence. She’d kept the daily phone calls and threats from me for weeks before finally breaking down and telling me. Me being me I’d just brushed it off. I had nothing to prove and my woman should know me well enough to know that she was all the woman I needed. Apparently that wasn’t good enough for her, my lack of a reaction had spurred her to action. Only she’d chosen the wrong one. Instead of standing with me and thumbing her nose at whoever this was that was causing discord, she’d chosen to believe in bullshit and pulled a runner. On the one hand I have to push part of my anger aside to understand that she needs reassuring. She needs her man to prove to her that she’s his one and only. And then there’s my pride that says she has to pay for putting me through hell. I find myself in the tenuous position of having to comfort her and discipline her at the same time.
The sommelier came with her wine and a glass of sparkling water for me. I never drank when I was talking business, I found it less than professional and held very little respect for those who did. No wonder the economy was fucked. After a decade and a half of the infamous two-hour martini lunches it was a wonder the stupid fucks hadn’t beggared the country long before this.
“How’s your wine?”
“Its nice and crisp just the way I like. So the ranch?”
“Yes the ranch, I’ll try to leave early on Friday we’ll take the jet of course.”
“Should we invite your mom?”
“No babe I think we could do with some time alone, we need to talk.” She took a deep breath and I saw panic beat in the pulse in her throat. I wouldn’t set her mind at ease as to what the conversation was going to be about; let her sweat it out. I intend to get every ounce of the time she’d stolen from me out of her hide. Petty I know but then again you had to be there.
Jonas showed up ten minutes later, not only was he late but his date made the evening a nonstarter. Sabrina; what kind of game were these two playing now? I didn’t even know that they knew each other; then again I shouldn’t be surprised. They were so much alike after all. I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to proceed. Maybe I should give them a chance to start the ball rolling, but there was no doubt in my mind that they were up to something. What that something was I’d have to wait and see.
My hand on its own accord went to the back of Nadia’s chair as they took their seats across from us. My thumb ran soothingly up and down her spine as I took a sip of my water.
“Jonas.”
“Thanks for meeting me here Stryker, you know Sabrina of course.” The smarmy bastard had the nerve to grin at me. I didn’t have to look at my wife to know what was going on inside her; she’d tensed up at the first sight of the other woman. Not since the first night we’d met had I ever seen them in the same room together except maybe across the way at some event or other. But they didn’t have any kind of interaction as far as I knew. Now with this new shit in her head about me cheating on her I imagine being faced with the last woman I’d been seeing before her might be a bit uncomfortable. I had to wonder if this little ambush had something to do with whatever had been going on with my wife. If I found out that these two had anything to do with it I’ll bury them both.