The Business Arrangement | Mafia Romance 18+

Chapter Five: The Castle (Part 1)

POV: Maya 

I'm getting far too close.

How did this happen again?

Oh, right, fake relationship. Whatever could go wrong?

Turns out, fake relationships in real life are a lot more complicated than the ones in romance novels.

Like, emotionally complicated.

It's hard to separate what's real from what's pretend.

For example, when Henry is holding me to his chest, reassuring me that I won't be alone anymore, it's easy for me to think I'm falling in love with him.

Or, when our arms touch and that familiar zap of electricity passes between us, it's easy for me to think there's sexual tension between us.

Especially when he pulls away as if he's felt it too.

I can tell myself all day long that it's not real, but my body doesn't seem to realize that.

Ah, the difficulties of contract marriages.

Well, we're not married yet, but close enough.

My mind catches on another memory between us, when I asked him if he'd ever hurt me.

What was it he said?

Not unless I beg?

I'll admit, part of me wanted to push him further on what he meant by that, but the voice in the back of my head managed to convince me not to.

Will I manage to restrain myself in the future?

We shall see.

Then there's the matter of his random mood swings. We'll be having fun together, but as soon as I say something nice to him he acts like I spit in his coffee.

I know very well how men– no, how people– can be, but I also know that he's not dangerous for me. He could have hurt me a million times by now if he wanted. He could have ordered his private plane to ship me off to somewhere desolate and horrible.

Like Iowa.

Or Idaho.

Or both.

Anyway, the point is, he could have and he didn't.

Then why are you still arguing with yourself?

The annoying voice in my head makes a good point.

"Ready?"

I look up, surprised to see that our car has come to a stop.

"Ready."

Henry exits the car, then comes to my side to open the door. It's a habit of his I've begun to like quite a bit.

We left the airport in a luxury vehicle I didn't recognize. Trevor drove, so we sat quietly in the back for the duration of the trip. It's nearing eight at night now, which is usually around the time I go to sleep. I'm beyond grateful to Henry for buying me lunch before we got on the plane, because otherwise I'd be famished by now. I've been doing my best not to fall asleep in the car, but as soon as I see the castle all thoughts of sleep vanish.

"This is where you live?"

Henry's 'castle' is a skyscraper that towers over us, its glass windows sparkling brilliantly as they reflect the lights of the city.

I'm sure it came with an outrageous price tag, but part of me feels afraid at the thought of going inside.

Is that thing stable?