Page 43 of Darkest Desire

“I’m not miserable. Just frustrated.”

“Has she let you fuck her yet?”

I take a large gulp of my wine. “No. She’s holding out. I respect it. We just got married not even a week ago. This is all new for her. And, I suspect she’s a virgin.”

“Ah. Even better.”

“Except she keeps telling me she isn’t.”

“So is she or isn’t she?” he asks.

“I think she’s putting on a front for me. Trying to seem braver than she really is. It’s amusing and entertaining. I’ll give her that.”

“Your wife is beautiful, Nico. If you don’t take her, someone else will soon.”

“But not you, right?”

Adrien laughs like what I just said was funny. It’s not funny to me. “We’re business partners. I’m not going to fuck that up by going after your girl. I can appreciate her beauty and leave it at that.”

“Good. Because I would hate to kill you, Adrien.”

“Trust me. If I went to war over a girl, it would be one I would want to marry and so far, I have never met a woman I wanted to marry.”

I raise my wine glass. “To marriage.”

Adrien clinks his glass with mine. “May your wife not give you blue balls the rest of your life.”

God, I hope not.

Returning home, I find Sasha in the library, looking through the stack of books.

“They’re all in Italian,” she says once she sees me.

“Well, we are in Italy.”

“I can’t read Italian. I’m not allowed a phone. I can’t use your laptop. You don’t have any TVs in the house. I have no way to entertain myself when you’re away.”

“Ah, so you’re bored without me? I’m touched.”

She gives me a flat look. “At least when you’re here, you make things less boring. You’re treating me like a prisoner in this house.”

“Well if you stopped running, I wouldn’t have to.”

“Did I run today? While you were out?”

“No,” I admit, slowly approaching her. She stands her ground. God, I love that about her.

“Exactly. Give me some entertainment. Please. I need something. If you don’t want me to leave, then give me a laptop. A way I can watch movies or something. Just… anything.”

“You could start by learning Italian.”

She huffs. “So, is that your way of saying we’re going to be living in Rome from now on? Are we ever going back to New York?”

“Why? Hoping to sneak off to see your sisters?”

She averts her gaze, turning to the bookshelf and pretending to look at them.

“Exactly,” I say, walking up behind her. She stiffens but she doesn’t move away. “We won’t stay in Rome forever. But for now, I’m enjoying it. So we’re staying. Which is why I’ll give you a book on Italian. That way you don’t have to feel so left out. How does that sound? Compromise?”