Page 48 of My Solemn Vow

I’m blaming the wetness in my panties on the way he fucked me. It’d be a lie. But I’m crediting the sex we’ve already had for the pull he has on my body. I lower my eyelids, unable to look away but giving him the respect of not looking at him.

“Now.” He dials back the intensity, and I can practically feel the change in the air as the dark, deadly side of Valor gives way. “I thought we’d go out, get some food —”

“Four cheeseburgers and a stack of wings.” I parrot back what he said earlier despite having been scolded for being bold.

“That and whatever you want to eat.” He pulls my hair gently, and I look up at him in response. There’s that sultry smile. “We’ll get to know each other and together come up with a plan of what the fuck we’re doing while being married.”

“Okay.”

It goes against my norm to let a man take control. But different, letting the experience happen, isn’t wrong. It’s survival.

Valor unthreads his fingers from my hair and gently runs them through the long strands, never getting them caught up or tugging too hard on a tangle.

I expected a driver and car waiting for us out front, but Valor fished keys out of his pocket and unlocked a black SUV parked in the hotel’s underground garage.

Like a gentleman, he opens my door for me and helps me up and inside before closing the door.

A glance over my shoulder tells me this must be his personal vehicle. A car kit featuring children’s essentials sits on the back seat, and a little trash can on the floor has a cereal bar wrapper in it.

Valor climbs in and notices me eyeing the back seat. “She’s a good kid but turns into a feral little beast if you don’t feed herregularly, and God help me, she went through that phase where they only eat like four things.”

“Then a giant growth spurt?” I offer, trying to keep him in this good mood.

“Yes, thankfully she still likes dresses because finding pants and shorts to fit her long legs is a nightmare.” Valor starts the SUV, and the radio lights up to a satellite kids’ station. He’s quick to turn the sound off and moves the vehicle into gear. “Do you eat cheeseburgers and wings? Or would something else be better?”

“Depends. Does your favorite cheeseburger and wings place serve beer and mixed drinks?” I don’t care if that makes me sound like a bad influence on his child. This day has been stressful enough that I deserve a drink.

“It wouldn’t be my favorite place if they didn’t.” Valor sighs and settles into his seat. “After dealing with your uncle, I believe we both deserve a couple of cold ones.”

“A-fuckin’-men.”

I feel safe with Valor behind the wheel. He’s not aggressive or erratic like Berto nor does he sit hunched over the steering wheel, gripping it like his life depends on it, driving like he’s afraid of the gas pedal, like Gregorio.

But perhaps most notable is that no one has tried to get ahold of him. I can tell his phone is in the vehicle because it automatically connected to the screen, but no message notifications or calls come through.

Is it because of the respect people have for him or something else that no one is contacting him? Maybe they expected us to still be fucking?

24

VALOR

AND A STACK OF WINGS

Antonella and I aren’t completely uncomfortable and awkward together. But the drive from the hotel to the restaurant is more silent than I’d like.

We’re back and forth with random, meaningless nonsense as Midwesterners do — the weather, the changing colors of the leaves, and how neither of us cares for sports. But we can’t find a groove. Instead, we’re stuck somewhere between overly familiar and perfect strangers, which is exactly what we are. We’ve fucked, but unlike a one-night stand that I can send on her way, Antonella is mine.Mine.

My wolf thumps his tail in agreement.

I refuse to be miserable for the rest of my life. I’m not living with awkward trips out into public. I’ve got to fix this. Figure out how to make this a working relationship. If I can negotiate with a massive language barrier in place, crack some of the top mercenaries in the business, I can certainly handle Antonella D’Medici.

When we reach the bar and grill, I back the SUV into a space so we’re facing the door. I ask mostly politely, “Wait for me?”

Antonella nods, and I climb out and walk around to her doorwhile casually glancing at our surroundings. We’re deep in the middle of Cavanagh pack territory, and the chances of anyone bringing any sort of trouble here are slim, but odds are never zero. Being aware of your surroundings is free.

I open her door and offer her my hand. Antonella takes it, and once she’s clear of the closing car door, I drop her hand and walk backward away from her.

I try for playful rather than intimidating as I explain myself. “I was thinking we could make this like a date.”