Page 12 of Samuel

I laugh, despite being terrified of meeting with Samuel. “I’ll also give you her favorite flower and which chocolate she loves to the point she says it’s better than sex,” I add in my sing-song voice.

“That’s because she hasn’t had sex with me yet,” he mutters. “Let’s go Natalie.”

“Who is that?” Samuel asks, his hand grabbing mine. I try to pull away, but he just holds me tighter.Jerk.

“My bodyguard,” I exhale. “Let’s get this over with.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Samuel agrees, leading me toward my brother’s office. I frown, obstinately thinking that he doesn’t have to sound so happy to get rid of me.

“Amen. The sooner we end this, the better for all of us,” I practically growl, yanking harder on my hand. Samuel smirks down at me and refuses to let me go.

“Sammy! If you get all this taken care of, you can call me. Maybe me, you, and Danny could have some fun.”

I don’t miss the way Samuel’s body goes tight. “If she calls me Sammy again, I’m going to rip her tongue out of her mouth and wrap it around her neck.”

“Yikes,” I gasp, looking up at him. I don’t think he’s joking at all. Perhaps he’s more like Ivan than I realized. I liked Ivan once I met him. Samuel, however, has been a grade-A ass since the beginning. The sooner we get this annulment done, the better.

He leads me over to a seat in front of Daniel’s desk. My brother is already in his chair. I don’t miss the look he’s giving me. It’s clearly a silent warning to watch my mouth and not alienate Samuel further. I roll my eyes, but I give a slight nod. I don’t want to make trouble. If it gets me free, I’ll be a good little girl. I’ll smile pretty and nod—all the while biting my tongue to keep from telling Samuel Levkin what an arrogant jackass he is.I just hope I don’t have to bite so hard that it’s in two pieces when this meeting is done.

9

samuel

“Is there a reason you brought that woman to my house, Samuel?” Daniel asks.

I look at Isabel, who just smiles at me like she doesn’t have a care in the world. There’s a fire inside of her that shines through her eyes. I noticed it before—even as she was annoying the shit out of me. Now, it’s all I can see. It challenges me. I grin at her. I’m rewarded as a skittering of fear moves over her features.

That’s it, darling wife, be very afraid.

“To get rid of her. It seems I was misled as to who she was,” I respond, looking once more at Isabel. The woman doesn’t even blink. She just stares at me. I’m starting to think this might be fun. “Once Natalie began telling me how she dressed up as a French maid to clean your …desk,I knew you’d like to have her back as soon as possible.”

“Misled? I seem to recall you personally telling me that Natalie would be staying with you,” Daniel answers, after grimacing through my explanation about bringing the woman back. I get the feeling he’s had as much, if not more, trouble from her as I have.

“Hmm … I think my dear wife thought it would be nice to lead me down the path of adultery,” I explain.

“Oh, please. Get over yourself. No one had to lead you down that road. You were going willingly. You were following Natalie’s fake boobs like they were the yellow brick road, and you were the scarecrow.”

“Izzy,” Daniel warns.

“You sound jealous, wife. Don’t worry. I’ll give you equal time. Yours don’t quite measure up to hers, but they may keep my attention if you get inventive,” I purr, baiting the hell out of her.

“No thanks, I’d rather stick needles in my eyes. Can we get on with this meeting? The quicker we end this marriage, the better,” she retorts.

“Perhaps it would be better if we discuss the terms of the annulment,” Daniel suggests.

“The only terms I have are that I want it done yesterday,” Isabel says, speaking up immediately.

I’m barely containing my smile. My darling wife is in for a very rude awakening. Daniel lets out an exasperated breath. I bet Isabel provokes that response from every man in her life. Too bad for her that soon I’ll be the only one allowed to get close.

“Samuel, I’m fine with dissolving this entire arrangement, although I do think it would be advantageous to keep our alliance in place.”

I stare at him, pretending to think things over. My gaze moves to my wayward wife. As much as she annoyed me and drove me nuts before, I’m extremely attracted to her. Her little trick also revealed she has a cunning mind. She’ll never bore me. As much as I cared about Angelina, I’d be the first to admit I never understood how she’d lose herself in books and go quiet for hours, lost in her own little world. My time with her when she was fully present made it all worth it, however. I have a feeling it wouldn’t be an issue with my wife. She excites me in ways I never imagined.

“Well?” Isabel prompts—clearly put out with me not answering.

“I don’t think I agree, Daniel.” I completely ignore her, knowing that will piss her off. I’m eager to see how she retaliates.

“What?”

---