I caught women in the restaurant looking at him. Sometimes, it angered me because he was clearly married. Other times, I couldn’t blame them for giving in to the temptation of his appearance. If I were one of those women, I’d probably be doing the exact same thing.
“Are you alright?” He asked the question without looking at me.
I was about to meet a man who forced women into slavery. I wasn’t looking forward to the acquaintance. But since this was important to Hades and he intended to get his brother out of the business, I stopped thinking about it. “Yes.”
“Because you seem uncomfortable. I would never let anything happen to you.”
“It’s not that…”
“Then what is it?”
“I’m just annoyed that every woman in here keeps staring at you.”
He slowly turned his head to me, an intense look in his eyes. He watched me like I was the only woman in that room, like none of them mattered. An arrogant smile slowly erupted on his face. “I didn’t even notice because I’m too busy staring at you.” His hand slid to my thigh under the table, and he leaned in to kiss me. It wasn’t just a simple peck on the lips. It was a deep kiss that should only happen behind closed doors, one that had a bit of tongue and lots of breath.
Instead of being jealous of them, they were jealous of me.
“Should I come back?”
I pulled away and looked at the man who sank into the chair across from me. With dark hair and deep brown eyes, he looked similar to Hades because they were clearly related. He was a bit taller, with a musculature that rivaled his brother’s. He gave me a quick smile before he picked up the menu.
Hades kept his hand on my thigh but turned his attention to his brother.
Ash continued to stare at his menu. “Red goes with steak and white goes with pasta…but what goes with scotch?”
“Anything goes with scotch,” Hades said.
Ash set down his menu. “You know what? Maybe we are related after all.” His elbows rested on the table, and he stared at me, ignoring his brother and turning all of his focus onto my face.
It was a bit creepy, but I refused to flinch under his stare. My husband was right beside me, so there was nothing this stranger could do to me anyway. Nothing to be afraid of. But I did feel repulsion toward him…because of the terrible things he did to earn money. I never liked the fact that Hades was a drug dealer, but at least he didn’t hurt innocent people.
The waitress came to the table and took our drink order, but not before giving Ash a bit of special attention. It was subtle, just a gentle bat of her eyes, but I noticed it. Ash was handsome like his brother, inheriting the same masculine good looks and potent testosterone. But he was nothing compared to my husband.
Ash continued his heavy stare, hardly blinking.
“You got a problem?” I blurted, finding his attention over the top. “If there’s something wrong with your eyes, you should get that checked out.”
Ash’s lips softened into a slight smile, and he glanced at his brother. “I like her already.”
“I’m not looking for your validation,” I said coolly.
“Ooh.” Now he grinned. “Beautiful and sassy… My brother has great taste.” He turned to Hades. “See, she and I could get along just fine. You should drop your last name and let her keep it. Or better yet, make her a widow.”
Hades was as calm as always. His breathing didn’t change, and neither did his rigidness. “Whether I’m dead or not, she’s out of your league.”
He grinned. “Good one, Hades.”
The waitress returned with the drinks, two glasses of scotch and one bottle of wine for me.
I wasn’t sure why Hades had wanted to bring me. My big mouth couldn’t stop insulting his brother. I was supposed to be charming and persuasive, not difficult. But…that just wasn’t me.
Ash took a long drink then licked his lips. “Tell me about yourself, Sofia.”
“That sounds like an interrogation.” I sipped my wine.
“An interrogation is when someone asks specific questions looking for specific answers. You can tell me anything you want.” He relaxed in his chair, displaying a lazy posture, unlike his brother. “Tell me about your sex life with Hades…but only if you want this to be a boring conversation.”
He was bold. “He just gave me incredible head on the couch before we left…and that definitely wasn’t boring.”
Both of his eyebrows jumped up his face, and he slowly turned his look onto his brother. “Damn.” He slowly returned his gaze to me. “Take off that ring and marry me instead.”
“Oh, I never take off my ring.”
Ash nodded slightly. “Beautiful, sassy, and loyal…you’re the whole package.”
“Your brother is the whole package too…if you just gave him a chance.” I steered the conversation where it needed to go and hoped it would stick.