Page 45 of A Wife's Duty

“What do you mean?”

“We’re all trapped by something or other. Money, bills, jobs, responsibilities. No one is free and clear.”

“But they are free to come and go as they please. They can choose to date who they want. They’re not told who they are going to marry, or what they have to do. They are not starved against their will, or forced to marry someone they do not know.”

She looked so sad. He watched her, seeing this a little differently. The life he offered Lucia was a freedom she had never known before, but it was still a life she had to have with him. Her family would just pull her back and use her until there was nothing left.

He moved toward the main wall, opened the lock, and turned the lights on to the dance floor, along with the music.

“Dance,” Boone said.

He grabbed their drinks and moved toward the dance floor, handing her a drink as he did so.

“Huh?”

“No one is here now. Be free. Dance like you have no care in the world. Drink, and enjoy yourself. You’ve got tonight, Lucia. No one is going to stop you from living your life and being who you want to be.”

She looked at him with hope. Taking the drink from him, she knocked it back, coughing as she swallowed. She did not look elegant at all, but so adorable. So ... hopeful.

Boone finished his drink and watched her. Lucia closed her eyes, threw her hands in the air, and danced. It was slow at first, kind of jerky, like she was afraid of getting caught.

He moved back to the bar and put their glasses down. As the minutes ticked by, she started to feel the flow of the music and he saw the way it took over, and she stopped waiting for the sting of disapproval.

In the jeans and the shirt, she looked like fire. Her body was made for loving. He felt a stirring in his groin, a need he’d been trying to extinguish. Boone was attracted to his wife, and had been since before he had seen her. She was different.

Her eyes, although clouded by the life she had led, were not filled with hatred and darkness. There was still lightness within her gaze. She didn’t hate. She loved.

Stepping away from the bar, he couldn’t watch anymore. He moved toward her and took hold of her hand, twirling her toward him, making her eyes open as she looked at him.

He placed one hand at her hip, and the other he slid down to grasp over her ass, drawing her close. The song had changed. It was no longer an upbeat number, but was heavy, sensual, and designed for sex. He took the lead, showing her what she could do, what her body could do.

Lucia didn’t pull away. She followed his lead, and it was like they had been doing this for many years, not just a few months. He knew if she took the chance with him, he would be able to set her aflame and have her like fire in his arms.

“I like this,” she said.

“You do?”

He saw her eyes. The two drinks she’d consumed were affecting her.

“Yeah, I do. You know, I like being with you,” Lucia said. “You make me feel special.”

The drink was loosening her tongue.

“You are special, Lucia.”

She shook her head. “Not according to my parents. I’m a waste of space. Their words, not mine.” She let out a giggle. “Tonight was so funny. They looked so angry seeing my jeans and my hair. You’re stronger than them, aren’t you?”

He didn’t say anything as she kept talking.

“Of course you are stronger.” She blew out a raspberry. “You have to be stronger, because otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten married.”

“I think you have had a lot to drink,” he said.

“Two glasses.” She held up three fingers.

“Is a lot of alcohol for someone who has never drank before,” he said.

She wrinkled her nose. “But it was fun. I got to drink and I get to dance. I love being married to you, Boone. Do you like being married to me?”

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