He opened the door and showed off his hard chest and chiseled abs. His skin was always slightly tanned even though he wasn’t outside shirtless often. He was just gifted with beautiful Italian skin. He was as powerful as a statue and as beautiful as a piece of art.
I thought about our night in the alley and felt my skin flush.
His eyes quickly glanced over me, taking in my tight dress with the same thought.
I helped myself inside and carried Andrew to the bed. “I just fed him, so he doesn’t need dinner. He had a cold a couple days ago, but it cleared up. If you hear him sneeze, don’t worry about it.” I opened his bag and pulled out a few extra toys. “The dinosaur is his favorite toy right now. It’s the best way to get him to stop crying.” I glanced at Hades to see if he was listening.
He stood beside me with his hands in his pockets, so strong that it was distracting. His eyes were focused on my face, and he gave me the usual look of intensity that he was known for. His face was impossible to read. His mood was even more mysterious.
“I’ll be back in a couple days.” I leaned down and kissed Andrew on the head and the tummy. I rose to my full height and squeezed his little feet. “I love you, baby.” Leaving my baby was always hard, but since I was giving him to Hades, it didn’t hurt as much as it would if I gave him to a sitter or my mother.
I looked at Hades again and swallowed my feelings. I wanted to move into his chest and wrap my arms around his neck so I could hold him. I just wanted to feel my husband love me. I wanted to feel like we were a family.
But I continued my ruse. “Call me if you need anything.” I stepped around him and headed to the door.
His voice made me stop. “Sofia.”
My heart started to race when I heard him say my name. It immediately made me weak, made my ovaries come to life. I wanted to love this man. I wanted to make so many babies with him. I wanted this place to be my home again. But when I turned around, I didn’t let any of those thoughts creep into my expression. “Yes?” I was cold, indifferent, even a little bitchy.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked so sexy when he was focused. His already hard features hardened even more, making his jawline razor-sharp. He must’ve shaved that morning because there was no shadow on his face. “Where are you off to?”
I was thrilled he cared, but I acted pissed instead. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
“I can’t ask you about your life?” He stepped toward me, his bare feet tapping against the hard wood.
“If I asked you, would you answer?” One hand moved to my hip, and I flexed my full attitude.
He stopped in front of me, his hands in his pockets.
“That’s what I thought.” I grabbed the handle and opened the door. “Our alleyway fuck was a mistake, and I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just forget it happened.”
His eyes shifted back and forth slightly as he regarded me.
“I’m seeing someone, and that’s not the kind of person I want to be.” I turned away and shut the door behind me. Once he couldn’t see me, my heart started to race, and I felt sick because of the lie I’d just told. Playing games like this wasn’t my forte. I wasn’t even sure if I was convincing. I walked down the hallway and headed to the stairs, the blood slowly draining from my face.
The bedroom door opened, and his footsteps sounded behind me. “Sofia.”
I stopped walking and took a deep breath. I wanted this nightmare to end. I wanted Hades to come back to me so I could just be myself, tell him I loved him whenever I felt like it, never worrying about what he was doing when I wasn’t around.
When I didn’t face him, his footsteps grew louder behind me. I felt like prey that could sense a predator’s attack. Before I turned around, I turned into the stone-cold bitch I’d been a few seconds ago.
He stopped in front of me, anger in his eyes that wasn’t there a minute ago. “What do you mean, you’re seeing someone?”
“What do you think it means?” I snapped. “It means I met a guy I like. I wouldn’t say we’re serious, but eventually it might go there, so I can’t fool around like that again. It was stupid for a lot of reasons, but I don’t want it to sabotage this relationship’s potential.”
His eyes narrowed farther like he didn’t like that response. “You don’t think that’s too soon?”