VICTORIOUS (A Quantum Novel)(41)

“You think that’s what this is? Me dominating you?”

“That’s how it seems to me.”

“Well, it’s not. It’s me taking care of you.”

“It’s you doing something I told you not to do.”

“Put yourself in my place, Nat. If I’m stressing out about something you can easily fix, what would you do?”

“I’d respect your wishes.”

“Well, sorry to be such a bastard that I couldn’t stand to see you upset about something I could fix for you with a phone call.”

“I’m going to reimburse you.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am!”

“If you think I’m going to take your money, you’re crazy.”

“But I’m expected to take yours like the dutiful little wife?”

“Now you’re just trying to piss me off.”

“Good, then we’re both pissed off.”

As much as I wish I hadn’t made her mad, I love that she feels free to say anything she wants to me. I love that she’s mad at me. I’m far more accustomed to women who go out of their way to please me rather than challenge me and risk losing my affection. None of them ever figured out that all I really wanted was for them to be real with me. With Natalie, it’s as real as it gets. And she’s furious with me. I can tell by the rigid set to her shoulders as she stares out the passenger-side window.

I reach for her hand. “I’m sorry, Nat.”

She pulls her hand free. “No, you’re not.”

She’s so cute when she’s pissed. “I’m honestly sorry that I did something you told me not to do and that it upset you.”

“Save it. You’re just sorry you got caught.”

I decide this would be the perfect time to send the text I’ve drafted. I press Send and wait for the chime of her phone.

She pulls it from her pocket, reads the text and then looks at me, incredulous. “Are you for real right now?”

“As real as it gets. You know how to say no. If I don’t hear the word, I expect you to follow my instructions.” I lean in close so I can see her green eyes, so different from what I’m used to but still my Nat. “To. The. Letter.”

She shakes her head and resumes giving me the cold shoulder as she stares out the window. In this case, silence is golden. She doesn’t say the word that would put a stop to my plans before they get started.

I flatten my palm over my coat pocket, where I’ve zipped the items I brought from my stash in New York. She has no idea what she’s in for on this flight.





He’s crazy if he thinks I’m going to have sex with him after finding out he went against my wishes and paid off my loans. I’m appreciative of his desire to care for me and take away my worries. He’s incredibly generous and thoughtful. But it worries me that he thinks it’s okay to do something I specifically asked him not to do—without even talking to me about it first.

That’s a dangerous precedent, even more so than his propensity for buying me extravagant gifts. I have to make him understand that I won’t put up with him disregarding my wishes on important matters. That’s not the kind of marriage I want to have. We’re capable of better than that.

I want two pillows propped under your hips so your luscious ass is the first thing I see when I walk in the door. Present that ass to me to do with as I please.

I want to growl from the frustration that accompanies the slow drumbeat of desire that has me shifting in my seat. He knows exactly what he’s doing to me with that text, which he obviously prepared in advance and then sent while we were in the middle of an argument. Does he think that scrambling my brain with sex will make me forget I’m annoyed with him?

Well, his plan is working, because rather than thinking about how angry I am, I’m thinking about my ass presented to him as his own personal plaything. I recall the times he’s touched me there before and how much I loved it. I admit to being intensely curious about what he has planned.

We don’t say another word to each other as we cross the bridge into New Jersey and arrive at the airport a short time later. We’re loaded onto the plane with the usual efficiency, and greeted by yet another flight attendant who tries to pretend she’s not freaking out that Flynn Godfrey is on her plane.

With Fluff on my lap, I settle into the seat by the window so I can continue to watch the world go by while trying to figure out what to do about my current dilemma. Do I give him what he wants even after he directly went against my wishes? If I give in to him now, will that be rolling over? Or can I separate the sex from the larger life issue that now stands between us?