Page 26 of Twisted Fate
“This is incredible,” she murmurs, as we watch the pair of zebras herd their foal away from the watering hole, trotting off into the distance. “Thank you for agreeing to come here, Konstantin.” She glances over at me. “It’s really amazing to get to see this.”
Before the words are even fully out of her mouth, I’m already searching them for some insincerity, some ulterior meaning. Shesoundsgenuine, but I can’t bring myself to believe that this woman might really be grateful that I gave in to the honeymoon—especially given the friction between us over our sleeping arrangements. I can’t get past the idea that she’s still trying to lure me in, to get my guard down.
When I don’t respond, she looks away from me, her mouth tightening ever so slightly before she turns her attention to Omari. They start up a conversation about the elephants as he puts the Jeep in gear, continuing past the watering hole and on to the rest of the safari. Omari points out a group of giraffes coming from the west, and Sophia leans forward, asking questions as we drive. I watch her—her animated expression, the smile on her face, and I have to remind myself that this woman is on my father’s side, not mine. That letting her in—letting myself give in to the feelings she’s stirring in me—would be no different than shooting myself in the foot.
She isn’t behaving like a woman who’s married to me only for money or power, who is working with my father to undermine me. But wouldn’t she be smart enoughnotto behave that way? She’s got a cunning, sly side to her; I saw that at our firstmeeting. Surely she’s playing the game that they’ve both set up, wanting me to do exactly what I am now—question my own lines that I’ve drawn and my own feelings.
By noon, the sun overhead is high and hot, and Omari suggests we stop at a large acacia tree for refreshments. He parks the Jeep beneath one side of the semi-shading branches and gets out a small folding table along with a cooler pack of drinks and snacks, pointing out birds and explaining their habits and names as he does so.
I get out of the Jeep, circling around to help Sophia down. When I reach for her waist, the feeling of her beneath my touch, my fingers curling around her slim curves, sends another jolt of need through me.
She looks down at me, her sharp green eyes meeting mine, and I see a flicker of recognition. That desire that floods me every time I touch her—she feels it too. Whatever game she’s playing, whatever goal she and my father have in mind, that at least is real.
The moment her feet touch the dry, grassy dirt, I let go of her as if she’s burned me, stepping back to put much-needed distance between us.
“Are you enjoying the safari?” she asks as we walk over to the table, glancing over at me. “It’s a nice way to spend the first part of the day, right?”
“Sure.” I take a glass bottle of lemonade, already perspiring from the heat, and take a sip. “It’s interesting. Not something I’ve experienced before.”
She presses her lips together, glancing around, and I watch her expression, trying to gauge her response to my noncommittal reply. I can’t read her as well as I’d like, but she seems irritated.Irritated that I’m not buying into her game, or is she really upset that I’m stonewalling her?It’s difficult to tell whether Sophia’s moods are the result of a wife who expectedsomething different from her husband, or a woman who isn’t getting her way.
But she has mafia ties. She’s familiar with our world. Surely she didn’t expect a romance when we married. Surely she didn’t really believe that I’d fulfill every loving, passionate, girlish dream she might ever have had.
Sophia trails past me, taking a bottle of lemonade for herself and a quarter of a sandwich. “It would be too much for you to actually admit that you’re having a good time, wouldn’t it?” she snipes in a low tone, glancing back at me. “You’d have to admit that you might not hate being in my company.”
“I never said I hated it.” I take another long swallow of lemonade. I’m thirstier than I realized—the sun out here, even at this time of day, is intense. “I simply said that I want to keep my distance, Sophia. I don’t get close to my business associates, and this is a business arrangement. Nothing more.”
“A wife is something more.” She purses her lips. “No matter the reason for the marriage.” Her shoulders are tense, and she tips her bottle back as if there were something stronger than just lemonade in it. It brings the long, slender line of her neck into focus, and I have to look away from the movement of her throat as she swallows. It’s been a long time since something so simple could turn me on—but just the sight of it makes me think of wrapping my hand in her hair and forcing her to her knees, the way her throat would tighten around my cock as I made her swallow that instead.
I grit my teeth, turning back toward the Jeep. I’m about to head over and ask Omari how soon we can return, when there’s a sudden, loudbangfrom the vehicle that makes both Sophia and me jump back as a plume of black smoke emits from the hood. My hand instinctively goes to my back for a weapon that isn’t there, and I see Sophia’s hand twitch oddly. I glance back at her,curious as to what she was doing, but the sound of Omari cursing loudly turns my attention back to the vehicle.
I stride toward where he’s already popping the hood of the truck. “What’s happening?”
“Looks like engine trouble.” Omari swears under his breath again, glancing over the interior workings of the Jeep. “Doesn’t look good.”
“Can you fix it?” Sophia’s voice comes from just behind me, and I glance over at her. Her brow is furrowed, her lips pressing together anxiously. But something about her demeanor seems off. She doesn’t seem as panicked as I would have expected her to be—a city-bred, spoiled heiress now stranded in the Serengeti with a broken vehicle in the middle of the afternoon.
Omari peers under the hood, studying and poking at the inner workings of the Jeep for a few minutes before shaking his head. “The radiator is cracked. I’m not able to repair it here.”
“So we’re stranded.” I glare at him, my muscles tensing as I calculate the risks. We’re several hours from the resort, and there could be any number of predators close by. The Jeep offers some safety, but only if we’re moving. Sitting out here like this, we could be in a deadly situation.
Not for the first time, I curse the fact that I don’t have a weapon with me. I managed to bring a gun in my luggage, refusing to entirely comply with the resort’s weapons policy, but I didn’t bring it with me today. An oversight on my part, because I let my guard down.
A mistake that I can all too easily think of reasons to blame on Sophia, and her influence.
“I’ll radio for help,” Omari assures us. “But it may take some time for another vehicle to get out here. Three hours, maybe four.”
“Four—” I grit my teeth, glancing around again. I can’t help but think that this smells of a trap, even if it’s likely just badluck. When I look at Sophia, she still seems far too calm for the situation, though she’s scanning the area around us with wariness in her eyes, too.
“We have plenty of water,” Omari assures us both. “And additional food, if you are hungry. And—” He heads to the back of the Jeep and slings a rifle over his shoulder. “I’m armed, just in case of danger. But we should be careful, all the same.”
Next to me, I see Sophia flinch, almost imperceptibly, at the sight of the rifle. I narrow my eyes, watching her. Is she afraid of the idea of predators, or is she, too, wondering if Omari is all he says he is? Is she concerned that this is some kind of trap?
And if so, why would it be? Has my father decided I’m such a liability that he’d rather have me removed from the board altogether?
“Are you alright?” Sophia moves closer to my side. “You look tense.”
I snort softly. “This isn’t exactly an ideal situation to be in,wife.”
