That night, Roman placed his hand on Vivian’s back and ushered her into her favorite tavern. “I’m glad you agreed to join me,” he said, forcing a smile for the benefit of their audience.
Vivian fluttered her lashes, putting on an excellent show of the doting fiancée. “Me too.”
The woman was a wildcard, and he had no idea how she’d react to what he had to say.
Once they had their food, Roman leaned back and drummed his fingers on the table. “Are you still seeing someone?”So much for easing into it.
Vivian stopped chewing and Roman saw the wheels turning in her mind. She swallowed her bite and licked her lips. “Why would you ask me that?”
He relished in her unease, and even though this conversation would end in them having to step up their farce in the eye of the public, he couldn’t wait to crush her happiness in his palm. “Answer the question.”
Her chin lifted. “No, of course not.”
He huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I know you’re lying, and it’s time to call it off.”
She set down her fork and sat back. “I told you I’m not seeing anyone.”
Leaning forward, Roman’s voice took on a hard edge. “I don’t believe you, and I suggest you break up with them immediately. I will not hesitate to hunt them down and charge them with treason. We made an agreement that you’d stop seeing them once my parents announced our bond.”
Roman picked up his silverware and tucked a bit of food into his mouth to keep from laughing at the proverbial steam coming out of Vivian’s ears. “Surely you weren’t stupid enough to fall in love,” he couldn’t help but add with a sardonic smile.
Vivian’s cheeks flushed maroon, and there looked to be tears gathering in the corners of her calculating eyes. He should feel lucky to have garnered such a response; after all, she deserved to suffer for how she spoke to Violet, but bitterness consumed him at the injustice of it all. Neither of them wanted this. The gods had made a mistake and Roman and Vivian had to pay penance.
After composing herself, she beamed at him from across the table. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” She sighed woefully. “I’m excited for us to start our lives together, but I wanted to experience a relationship first. I never loved him.”
It didn’t escape Roman’s attention that she only mentioned one man, and he wondered if it’d been the same one all these years. Against his better judgement, he pitied her.
Viv smiled demurely. “We’ll be in arealrelationship, then?”
He nearly snorted at the false hope she displayed. “As far as anyone is concerned, yes, but not in private. There’s no need for it until we are married.”Which will never happen.
Vivian leaned forward and lowered her voice suggestively. “I can’t wait tofeeleach other at the same time.” Roman would have recoiled if he’d thought she meant it. Did she honestly think he believed her act? He’d add delusional to her long list of faults.
He worked hard to shut down his disgust, lest she sense it through the bond. “Not until we’re married,” he said with too much force.
Vivian tilted her head with a look of surprise, her sharp mind hard at work. “You’ve never fucked anyone, have you?” She chuckled. “When I felt you, I assumed you had, but that’s not correct, is it?”
“What I’ve done is none of your business, just as what you’ve done until now is none of mine.”
She was correct in her assessment, though. The only pleasure his cock experienced had been by his own hand, but his lack of experience didn’t bother him. He only hoped it wouldn’t bother Violet, either.
12
NINETEEN YEARS OLD
Violet secured the last pin to the lace top, stepped back to examine Griff, and clapped. “It’s perfect.”
Griff glanced down at the sheer shirt with nothing but embroidered flowers to cover his nipples. “Can I take it off now before someone sees? I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Violet gestured for him to lift his arms.
“VIOLET IT’S JUST ME. I’M COMING IN,” Lydia, Griff’s cousin by marriage, yelled through the front door before walking into Violet’s home. Violet lived in a small two-bedroom cottage on the edge of town. She’d rented it just after graduation and loved the independence it afforded her.
“Dammit,” Lydia griped when she entered the room. “I wanted to see him in something pretty.”
Violet snickered at the cousins’ banter. She and Lydia weren’t close—they’d been a year apart in school—but the girl popped up occasionally to spend time with Griff.
Today, Lydia had her golden-blonde hair in a bun to showcase her ample cleavage that spilled out of her tight, low-cut shirt. The pale blue fabric complimented her alabaster skin. The revealing top paired with fitted leather pants made her look like a walking, curvaceous sex goddess.
