He shook his head. “I wish she’d kept that shit to herself. There’s been some hit or another out on me since I was in grade school. It’s part of the life we lead.”
“I have a question. How does being a Weber play into your work for Interpol?”
“My connections get them into places where they’d never have access, and they leave me the hell alone to run my business. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
“But you’re an agent and the…” I wasn’t sure how to put it.
“…head of an organized syndicate.” He finished my sentence. “There are lines most of the organizations in Europe won’t cross. I just happen to go after the ones who do.”
He was talking about sex trafficking. That was the one piece of information Ana had provided me. Sebastian Weber had a no-tolerance view of anyone involved in that world. So it made sense for him to have been involved in Ana’s assignment.
It still didn’t sit well with me that my husband had slept with one of my friends, but I’d have to get over it. From the way Adrian acted toward Sebastian, he had no issues with the past. All indications showed they were still friends, even if they couldn’t run in the same circles anymore.
“Have you left anything out? Anything that will make me all stabby, as Ana put it?”
“No.”
I wanted to believe there couldn’t be any more, but then again, his job was to keep secrets.
“I mean it. There’s only so much I can take.”
He leaned in. “You asked for a promise. Here it is. I promise never to lie to you with omission or otherwise. If I can’t tell you something, I’ll say it point blank.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about the latter part, but it was the best I was going to get. At least now I knew what he meant by wearing many faces. Organized crime boss, Interpol agent, and Baz. As long as my Baz was there under it all, I’d handle it.
The trust would have to come in time.
“Okay.”
He smiled, and it reached his eyes for the first time since we entered the library.
My heart skipped a beat.
I grabbed his face in my hands and pulled him toward me for a kiss.
This marriage thing was way more complicated than I could ever have imagined.
Chapter Eighteen
Isa
We arrived back at Ida a little before eight in the evening. What had originally been planned as a brunch turned into a surprisingly relaxing and fun day of food, poker, and laughter.
It was enlightening to see Sebastian interact with everyone. He shared a history with the Lykaios-Kipos family that went back over a decade. Plus seeing the easy way Adrian and Sebastian interacted eased any lingering jealousy I’d had about the whole Ana and Sebastian thing.
What surprised me most was that no one seemed fazed by how abruptly we’d gone into the library and then returned an hour later. It was as if it was a regular occurrence in the house. Then again, this was a very animated and intense family.
Hopefully we’d get to enjoy another of these gatherings before Sebastian and I had to get back home.
Just as the driver pulled into the residence driveway, Sebastian asked, “Are you tired?”
I cocked my head to the side. “No. What do you have planned?”
I knew it wasn’t sex. For some reason, the man wanted to keep me in a state of lady blue balls.
“I want to revisit something we started during our wedding night but never finished.”
My heartbeat was a drum in my chest and head. Maybe this was going to lead to some hot monkey sex, after all.
“Are you willing?”
Anxiety and excitement coursed in my blood as did the anticipation of what he planned.
“Yes.”
“Then follow me.” He offered me his hand and we exited the car as soon as the door opened. We walked past the front desk and into the main area of the opulent hotel.
"Where are we going?"
He continued to guide me past slot machines and card tables. "Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” I answered and then added, “With my body.”
It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but we still had things to work through. Too much had happened for me to blindly trust him. Our conversation from earlier in the day had shifted something between us. I knew he wouldn’t go back on his word. He would keep me informed.
I wasn’t naive enough to believe I’d know everything that went on in his world. I knew from growing up with Papa, sometimes it was better not to know.
Complete trust would come in time. All I cared about was that my Baz would always be there underneath.
Sebastian stopped, turning toward me. The intensity of his gaze had my breath catching. He wasn’t upset with what I’d said. He accepted it.
“One day, you’ll trust me with everything.” He cupped my face. “Just know you’re mine, Isa. To possess, to protect, to cherish. Your pleasure is the balm to my black soul.”
I gripped one of his wrists as the other settled on his chest. “Your soul isn’t as dark as you believe it is.”
His easy acknowledgement of my feelings cracked the wall I’d started to build around my heart since I discovered the truth of what happened on the mission with Ana.
“So, you aren’t still mad at me for denying you an orgasm?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Are you mad at me for leaving you with a raging hard-on?”
“Not as long as I get to end tonight inside you. Which I plan to, and we’re both going to come harder than ever before.”
“Well when you put it that way, I have no objections of any kind for what’s ahead.”
His mouth curved at the corners, making his gorgeous looks even more staggering.
The elevator doors opened as we reached the main floor of the hotel.
He stepped back, taking my hand in his and thumbing the diamond of my wedding
