Page 4 of The Marriage Demand

Winnie got up early and made her way into her beauty room, hoping Elias would leave by the time she was ready to have breakfast.

She didn’t feel like doing her makeup or hair.

The moment she got back to their apartment, she had cried until she fell asleep.

When he arrived at their place, it was after three in the morning.

It had woken her up, and she had to wonder if he had been with that blonde woman.

Jealousy was an ugly feeling. She didn’t like it.

For a good hour before she fell asleep, she kept telling herself her feelings were wrong, that they were bad.

She had to stop feeling this way, because she was Elias’s wife, and he didn’t even have to marry her, but he did.

It didn’t stop the ugly feeling of wanting to be more.

She wanted to be his wife in full, but she thought he was cheating on her. But was it really cheating if they didn’t have a proper marriage?

She waited until after nine when she knew he would be long gone, before leaving her beauty room.

She was dressed in linen shorts and a white tank top.

Seeing as she was trying to pass the time, she curled her hair and did some makeup, but not too much.

She already felt like she was close to tears.

Emerging from her room, she made her way toward the kitchen, only to find Elias sitting at the dining room table.

A single cup of coffee sat on the table.

His newspaper was gone, and he looked … distracted.

She couldn’t quite read him, so she didn’t know what was going on in his mind.

“Elias,”

she said.

“I thought you would be working.”

“I know, which is why you waited until now to come out of your beauty room.”

He got to his feet and moved closer, perching on the edge of the table.

“What’s going on?”

“What?”

“Why did you leave the club last night?”

She felt her cheeks heat, and she hoped the foundation she used hid her blush.

“I … uh, I wasn’t feeling well.”

She couldn’t stand his scrutiny, and she made her way into the kitchen in the hope of distracting herself.

There was no way she was going to admit she was jealous. That she had lost count of the number of times she thought about having sex with her husband, only to see he had plenty of women that could give him what he wanted. She was never going to match up to that beautiful blonde. Wife or not, that was all she was—a name.

“You’re lying,”

Elias said, and much to her surprise, he followed her into the kitchen.

As she turned to face him, he closed the distance between them. Furthermore, he put his hands either side of the counter, locking her between his hard body and the counter. Unless she pushed against him, there was nowhere for her to go. She was at his mercy.

What should she say? Should she surprise him? She felt her heart start to race as she looked up at him.

“What are you doing?”

she asked.

“Tell me what happened. Did someone stop you at the club? Did someone scare you?”

She frowned.

“What? No.”

“Then tell me, otherwise I am going back there to see what you’re lying about.”

Technically, she was lying, but only to save her own feelings. What if he looked over the security footage and saw her watching him? No, there was no way she could let that happen.

“Did you enjoy your date with the blonde?”

she asked, hating the words the moment they spilled from her lips.

Jealousy was a horrible feeling. It was even worse voicing it out aloud. She hated feeling like this.

“Blonde?”

“Yeah, the blonde that was waiting for you, who was very familiar. If you wanted to spend time with your girlfriend, you didn’t have to take me along to humiliate me.”

She gritted her teeth.

Winnie tried to be strong, but she felt so fucking useless. She had no right to be angry at him, but she couldn’t help it. He was with other women, and this feeling wasn’t going away. He started to laugh, which made it worse.

She clenched her hands into fists. She was not going to punch him, although it would feel good. Elias didn’t deserve her punches.

“You think that is funny?”

she asked.

With every sound of his laughter, it tore her heart out. This was not fun. She wanted to burst into tears.

“Trish is not my girlfriend.”

“Trish? That’s her name. She looked a little too comfortable not to be.”

“Trish is one of the whores I employ. She loves cock and loves making money from riding cock, but I am not fucking Trish.”

He didn’t back away. He didn’t give her any space.

“Is that what you think?”

he asked.

“That I’ve got a line of women at my beck and call?”

“Don’t you?”

“No. I could. All it would take is a snap of my fingers, and there would be a line of women waiting to service me, Winnie, but I don’t.”

“Do you expect me to believe that?”

she asked.

She was so hopeful that he was telling the truth. Elias had never lied to her, at least not that she was aware of. Did he really have no one?

He leaned in close so his lips were against her ear. The closeness shouldn’t affect her, but she found herself wanting to sink against him.

“Why would I have other women, Winnie, when I have you waiting for me?” he asked.

This made her pull back, and she opened her eyes to look at him.

“But … you and I … it’s in name only.”

“For now. But tell me, Winnie, are you curious to know what it would be like between you and me?”

he asked. He didn’t pull away.

“Is that why you’re jealous? Would you like to be my wife in more than name?”

Every part of Winnie was screaming to run, to hide. This man was a wolf, he was a monster, and she didn’t have any clue what kind of game he was playing. She was no master. She was a child in comparison. Only, that jealousy hadn’t felt nice. She hated it. Lying to him was not the answer.

“Yes,”

she said, surprising both of them.

Even more so, she didn’t know how she felt so bold, but she reached up and cupped his face. Elias didn’t move, nor did he move his hands from the counter.

Cupping his face, she stared into his eyes, and then kissed him. She had no idea what she was doing, she followed her intuition. His lips were firm, yet soft, and as she kissed him, the hands that had been trapping her in place wrapped around her.

His touch sent a shockwave of pleasure rushing through her, and she didn’t want him to stop. Their kiss deepened, the first real kiss they had shared.

In pulling her close, she felt the hard ridge of his cock pressing against her stomach, and she let out a little moan, which he swallowed down, kissing her harder. She whimpered, not wanting him to stop.

And then, like a bucket of cold water, his cell phone went off, and that brought their kiss, and the possibility of finally consummating their marriage, to a close.

****

Elias was pissed off.

He had finally kissed his wife. Not the pathetic fucking pecks on the cheek or head he had been giving her, but a real kiss. Admittedly, after she initiated it, but he was taking full advantage. He’d been trying to figure out a way of getting her out of her clothes and into his bed, when his stupid fucking cell phone went off.

It was his informant cop. Another girl had been found, but this one was at the nightclub where he had been last night. Now, he was pissed off. Bozo had done this on purpose. The piece-of-shit pimp seemed to have a few more cards up his sleeve than Elias anticipated, and it was starting to grate on his nerves. It was time to end Bozo, especially as the cops conducted their investigation.

He followed them into the security room and watched the security tape while they checked for signs of the dead female. Elias took the opportunity to see the jealousy on his wife’s face when she caught Trish talking to him. He knew he shouldn’t be happy about seeing her jealousy, but it made life a lot more interesting.

There were moments he thought his wife was attracted to him. He had vowed to keep her safe, which meant keeping his distance.

The police reports, social services, and medical records only said so much. At no point was she ever put on birth control pills. There was no sign of rape or abuse in any other report, other than physical. No sexual. There were no complaints of sexual abuse from foster parents, but he also knew some people didn’t tell. He had no way of knowing if Winnie was a virgin.

After several hours, the police deemed that the body had been dumped. Bozo had known where the cameras were. She was dumped in a place away from the cameras. Someone in his bar was not loyal to him.

The moment the cops were gone and his staff had been questioned, Elias called his computer guy and asked him to look into suspicious activity of his employees. Romeo, his computer guy, took less than five minutes to find the leak.

Stepping out of his office, he tried to find Bruce, only there was no sign of him. According to one of the waitresses, the moment the cops left, he took off. It would seem Bruce had a little gambling and drug problem. He had debts up to his eyeballs.

He took several of his men, climbed into the car, and drove all the way to Bruce’s apartment. The place he lived was a shit show, with diapers in the stairwell, and he was pretty sure human excrement painted along the walls. Used condoms and trash littered the ground, and the stench was overwhelming. Elias ignored it all, and then found Bruce in the throes of packing.

He stepped into the man’s apartment, and the stench was even worse. It was a small place, with a bed, sink, toilet, kitchen all in one unit, and the bed didn’t have any sheets on it. There were a lot of stains, though, and Elias was pretty sure he saw something wriggling. The paint was peeling off the walls, and black mold was also apparent.

He was shocked that this piece of shit had been able to work for him, but appearances could be deceiving. The man sunk to his knees, clasped his hands together, and began to beg.

“Please, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what I was doing. All he said was I had to move the cameras and that is all I did. They were going to take my legs.”

He started to sob.

“Please, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Elias listened to the sobs and pleads, and they echoed off the walls. He didn’t give a fuck about all the excuses. His one rule was to be loyal to him, and this man had failed. There would only be one outcome.

Thirty minutes later, Elias stepped out of the apartment building and looked up into the sunshine bearing down. It was turning into a hot, unbearable summer, as sweat trickled down the base of his back.

The cleaning crew had already arrived to take care of the mess he made. There was no reason to prolong the man’s suffering. Death had been easy, and in a way a kindness he didn’t deserve.

Once he finished giving the instructions, he climbed into the back of his car and just sat for a second. There was a lot he could do. Places he could be, to deal with Bozo. In this latest act, as far as he was concerned, Bozo had initiated war, and he was more than happy with that. The little fucker wanted to play, then he was happy to play.

However, he couldn’t stop thinking about Winnie. He checked his cell phone and knew she was still at their place. Elias made a quick decision and headed back to his apartment.

At least Trish had been good for two things. One, getting a location on Bozo, but he had no doubt it was useless information now, and making his wife jealous. That look on Winnie’s face was going to stay with him for quite some time.

Arriving back at his apartment, he entered and found Winnie on her knees, and much to his shock, with a duster in her hand. She spun toward him, and she looked so cute. Her hair was split between two ponytails. She still wore the shorts and tank top.

“You’re back early,” she said.

Elias removed his jacket, wriggling open his tie.

“Come here,” he said.

She opened her mouth, closed it, and then got to her feet. She still held the duster in her hand. He took it off her, and threw it across the room. Winnie didn’t have a chance to complain, as he cupped her face, pressed her against the nearest wall, and took possession of her lips, silencing her. She didn’t fight him, nor did she stand still. She kissed him back, and he pressed his cock against her stomach.

He heard her soft, subtle moan, and he wanted her, craved her in a way he couldn’t even think about. Never had he been so hungry for a woman, but then he remembered that tiny little detail. Pulling away, he looked at her swollen lips and then into her eyes. Round pools of deep brown. They were a slightly lighter brown than his.

“Are you a virgin?”

he asked. He didn’t want to bring up any dark memories, but the next hour would depend on her answer.

She nodded her head. It was a simple jerk of the head. That meant he was going to have some fun with his wife and get her to enjoy what was about to happen.

Winnie let out a gasp as he picked her up in his arms and carried her across the apartment. He didn’t go to her room, but instead took her to his, where he intended her to stay. The moment they crossed this line and he fucked her, she would be his in every sense of the word, and there was no backing out. Winnie belonged to him.

Dropping her to the bed, he leaned over her, staring into her eyes.

“I’m going to fuck you, Winnie. I’m going to make you my wife in every sense of the word. If you are not ready for what is about to happen, then I suggest you speak up. You tell me now.”

He expected her to refuse, to look a little scared, but she didn’t move. There was a fierceness to his wife he had never seen, and looking at her now, she was fucking stunning. Elias didn’t know how a monster like him had gotten so fucking lucky.