Page 17 of A Wife’s Duty

Boone continued to touch her—reaching out, stroking her hair back behind her ear, putting his hand on her shoulder.

She loved his little touches. They set her on fire.

She didn’t want him to stop. The touches and brief smiles were the only good part about this dinner—the way he touched her thigh, squeezed the flesh.

This was worth it. She only wished that when dinner was over and they were back in the privacy of one of his apartments, he would continue to touch her.

Was that normal? Wanting him to touch her? Loving the feel of him?

Should she be wanting her husband in this way?

****

“T hank you,” Lucia said , as Boone handed her the drive-thru burger.

Tonight, he did have every intention of eating the dinner provided by her parents.

However, when the plates came through made up the way they were, he had his suspicions.

He noticed how her father kept watching the two of them, almost waiting for them to fall asleep or start dying.

He had a feeling something had been put in their food, which is why he squeezed her thigh.

Just like he knew their drinks had been tampered with. Lucia’s drink had stunk way too strong of alcohol, and he had no interest in falling for any of the man’s tricks.

“You thought I wasn’t going to feed you?”

“No, I didn’t think that, but ... I was hungry.”

He chuckled. Unwrapping his own burger, he took a large bite. The truth was, the food had looked delicious, and it was tempting, but trusting the man—not happening.

All tonight had done was confirm his suspicions of how deep Valdez was in the shitstorm he’d been creating.

He’d watched Leandro, thinking he had gotten away with blowing up his car.

There was already a trap set for that little shit.

As for the other brothers, and the rest of the family, their time would come. He had a great deal of patience.

“This tastes so good,” Lucia said. “You know, I was never allowed a burger back home.”

“You weren’t?”

“No. First of all, we were not allowed fast food. That is why we had a chef. They cooked everything for us. Second, it was fattening, and in case you didn’t see, my plate was pretty much empty.

” She wrinkled her nose. “I was not allowed to eat with my father. He got angry when he saw me eat.” She shrugged.

“You know, sometimes he would make me wait until everyone had eaten, so my food was cold before he would let me eat.”

This was not helping Boone. It pissed him off.

“Enjoy.”

Lucia took a bite of her burger. “I will. Can you believe we got through that?”

“Yes.”

“My dad looked like he wanted to kill me with the way I was dressed.”

He’d felt how tense she was, but now she was laughing.

“And they served me alcohol. I mean, that is crazy. We’re not allowed to drink, like at all.”

“You’ve never had a drink?” he asked.

“No, never.”

He shook his head, turned the car over and put it in gear, heading toward one of the nightclubs that was now closed. It didn’t take him long, parking his car and climbing out. Lucia was already getting out of the passenger side.

His men had followed him, and he nodded to them, that everything was okay. Taking her hand, he walked toward his nightclub, pulled out his key, and let them in, with all the security locks. Once inside, he turned on the light for the bar, along with the dance floor.

“Wow,” Lucia said.

“What?” he asked.

“It’s so quiet.”

“It’s late, and we don’t open past eleven on a Sunday. At least, this bar doesn’t.”

He grabbed one of the bottles of scotch from behind the bar, grabbed two glasses, and poured them both a generous amount.

“What are you doing?” Lucia asked.

“Simple. You have never had a drink, and I think it is only fair that I let you ... live a little.”

She giggled. “That’s crazy. Are you really encouraging me to have a drink?”

“I’m encouraging you to have a good time, when there is no one else around to judge you. There’s just me, and you know I am going to take care of you.”

“Okay, then, here goes.” She picked up the glass, tilted it against her lips, and took a swig. The moment she swallowed, she gasped and scrunched up her face. “That is horrible.”

He laughed and knocked back his drink.

She wrinkled her nose, but that didn’t stop her from finishing the drink. “Why do people drink that?”

“Because it helps for a little while to take away your troubles. It is only a short fix, but it is deadly. Do you want another?”

Her nose was scrunched up, but she did take another one. He watched as she stepped away from the bar and walked toward the dance floor.

“Tell me what you’re thinking about right now?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Stupid stuff, I guess. You know when you brought me to one of your nightclubs last time?”

He nodded.

“I watched some of the women on the dance floor, just ... dancing.” She held her hands out, and spun just once. “They were free to do that. I wonder if they even realized how free they were.”

“No one is truly free, Lucia.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re all trapped by something or other. Money, bills, jobs, responsibilities. No one is free and clear.”

“But they are free to come and go as they please. They can choose to date who they want. They’re not told who they are going to marry, or what they have to do. They are not starved against their will, or forced to marry someone they do not know.”

She looked so sad. He watched her, seeing this a little differently. The life he offered Lucia was a freedom she had never known before, but it was still a life she had to have with him. Her family would just pull her back and use her until there was nothing left.

He moved toward the main wall, opened the lock, and turned the lights on to the dance floor, along with the music.

“Dance,” Boone said.

He grabbed their drinks and moved toward the dance floor, handing her a drink as he did so.

“Huh?”

“No one is here now. Be free. Dance like you have no care in the world. Drink, and enjoy yourself. You’ve got tonight, Lucia. No one is going to stop you from living your life and being who you want to be.”

She looked at him with hope. Taking the drink from him, she knocked it back, coughing as she swallowed. She did not look elegant at all, but so adorable. So ... hopeful.

Boone finished his drink and watched her. Lucia closed her eyes, threw her hands in the air, and danced. It was slow at first, kind of jerky, like she was afraid of getting caught.

He moved back to the bar and put their glasses down. As the minutes ticked by, she started to feel the flow of the music and he saw the way it took over, and she stopped waiting for the sting of disapproval.

In the jeans and the shirt, she looked like fire. Her body was made for loving. He felt a stirring in his groin, a need he’d been trying to extinguish. Boone was attracted to his wife, and had been since before he had seen her. She was different.

Her eyes, although clouded by the life she had led, were not filled with hatred and darkness. There was still lightness within her gaze. She didn’t hate. She loved.

Stepping away from the bar, he couldn’t watch anymore. He moved toward her and took hold of her hand, twirling her toward him, making her eyes open as she looked at him.

He placed one hand at her hip, and the other he slid down to grasp over her ass, drawing her close. The song had changed. It was no longer an upbeat number, but was heavy, sensual, and designed for sex. He took the lead, showing her what she could do, what her body could do.

Lucia didn’t pull away. She followed his lead, and it was like they had been doing this for many years, not just a few months. He knew if she took the chance with him, he would be able to set her aflame and have her like fire in his arms.

“I like this,” she said.

“You do?”

He saw her eyes. The two drinks she’d consumed were affecting her.

“Yeah, I do. You know, I like being with you,” Lucia said. “You make me feel special.”

The drink was loosening her tongue.

“You are special, Lucia.”

She shook her head. “Not according to my parents. I’m a waste of space. Their words, not mine.” She let out a giggle. “Tonight was so funny. They looked so angry seeing my jeans and my hair. You’re stronger than them, aren’t you?”

He didn’t say anything as she kept talking.

“Of course you are stronger.” She blew out a raspberry. “You have to be stronger, because otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten married.”

“I think you have had a lot to drink,” he said.

“Two glasses.” She held up three fingers.

“Is a lot of alcohol for someone who has never drank before,” he said.

She wrinkled her nose. “But it was fun. I got to drink and I get to dance. I love being married to you, Boone. Do you like being married to me?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then why don’t you use me?” Lucia asked.

“Use you?”

“Yeah, like a real husband uses his wife, and then goes and gets a mistress and treats her better. Isn’t that what men do? Women are useful to provide an heir, isn’t that what you want?” She rested her head against his shoulder. “I don’t want to be that way.”

“What way?”

“Where I’m afraid that you want to have sex with me.

Where you go to someone else who gives you real pleasure.

” She sighed. “That’s what my dad does. Mom has the kids, and other women get the nicer side of dad, or I assume they do.

I don’t want to be married like that. I want what they have in the movies and in books, where they’re still together and loving each other years later.

Where they’re not cheating and having sex with other people. Do you want that?”

Boone held onto her.

“I don’t even know what you want,” Lucia said. “This is a game to you, and I am just a pawn in your moving chess game.” She sighed and he felt her body getting heavy.

Picking her up in his arms, he left the dance floor and carried his wife up to the office. He didn’t expect her to react this way, otherwise he would have had her first drinking experience at the apartment.

Laying her down on the sofa, she was already passed out.

“You’re not just a pawn, Lucia. You’re my queen.”