Chapter Ten

A week later, Laila had her head on his shoulder after a long afternoon of sex. "What was your childhood like? Did you know your mom?"

She felt him sigh, and then his fingers skate up and down her back. "Yes. She was very sweet and timid. I don't know if she was always like that or if my father broke her spirit."

She tilted her head back and looked up at him. "Why do you say that?"

"He raised me to think of women as nothing but a body for sex. He felt, or maybe still feels, like women aren't smart and don't have minds of their own."

"If he raised you, why aren't you like that?" she asked.

"My mother. We spent a lot of time together. My father tried to keep us apart because he thought she was making me weak. He even tried to send me to a boarding school to get me away from her."

She could feel the residual anger he felt as a child. "What happened?"

"My mother called her own mother, my grandmother. I guess the woman was formidable. She ran their family business because her father died unexpectedly at a young age, and being the only child, my grandmother took over. There was nothing timid about her," he said and grinned.

"Is she still alive?" she asked.

"No. My grandmother passed away when I was nineteen. I was only fourteen when I lost my mother."

"Can I ask how she died?" Laila asked.

"Yes. It was a car accident."

"I'm sorry."

Roland kissed the top of her head. "What about you?"

"You already know my father is still alive, but my mother died three years ago because of a stroke."

"I'm sorry, Pet."

Laila blinked several times to dispel the tears that wanted to run down her face. "She was pretty special."

"How was your father when you were a child?"

She felt anger burn in her stomach. "He was a bastard. He had so many affairs and was very open about it. I think the only reason my mother stayed with him was because she knew he'd take me away from her. He was very rich, and her family wasn't. So, if she left, she would have lost me in a custody battle. I promised myself I would never put up with that from the man I married."

"You won't have to," he said and kissed her again. "Affairs repulse me. There is no good reason for it. And I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize our marriage."

They lay there for a long minute before Laila needed to have Roland inside of her, making her feel whole again.

She smiled when he looked surprised as she mounted him like a horse. His cock, which had been semi-hard, was now growing between her legs. She bent forward and kissed him sweetly.

"I'm going to have my way with you, Husband. Are you okay with that?" she asked.

Roland chuckled, raised his hands above his head, and interlocked his fingers. "Have at it, Wife."

"You can't move your hands," she instructed him. "No matter what I do."

His eyes narrowed. "No teasing."

"But, Husband, that's what you do to me," she said sweetly. "It's only fair that I get a chance."

She spent the next half hour tormenting him and never letting him get close to going over. Her mouth kissed and tasted every part of him, and she paid special attention to his nipples, belly button, and cock. She had no idea he was so ticklish in places. She loved that she got him so worked up that he lay there cursing and threatening her with retribution.

"Wife, enough."

She giggled and then screamed when he flipped them around, so she was on her back, and he was pounding into her. It took about ten seconds for her to come, and he soon followed. Their cries of satisfaction and the scent of hot sex filled the room.

When she was able to get her breath back, she scowled at him when he raised his head.

"You cheated," she accused him.

He smirked. "You'll get over it."

She gasped and couldn't help but smile. She liked it when he teased her. She could tell he enjoyed it as much as she did. Laila prayed it would never stop.

"We should get up. I've still got some work to do," he said.

"I told Betsy I'd help her with baking this afternoon."

He sighed, kissed her, rolled out of bed, and walked into the bathroom.

Laila lay on her side, appreciating the fine male specimen her husband was. She couldn't have felt more blessed than to be his wife. She liked to think her mother had a hand in it. She knew she was watching over her.

"Hey, Pet, if you don't get out of bed right now, I'll turn you over and spank your ass."

She hadn't known she'd been daydreaming so long. When she didn't move fast enough, he took a threatening step toward her.

Laila screamed and rolled out of bed, racing into the bathroom. She smiled when she heard him chuckle in the closet. She showered without washing her hair and then put on the dress she'd been wearing earlier in the day.

"Are you ready, Pet?" Roland said as he stood by the door.

"Yes."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and led her down the stairs. She caught sight of his father in the older man's office doorway. She couldn't understand the peculiar look in the man's eyes. She looked up at Roland to find he hadn't spotted Warren yet.

Roland stopped when they came to the main floor, turned, and kissed her passionately.

"I'll see you later. Come to me if you need anything."

Laila smiled and watched him walk away. She caught a glance at Warren and found he almost looked furious as he watched his son walk away. Now, why in the world would he be mad? She would bring it up to her husband later that night.

"There you are," Betsy said when she walked into the kitchen. "Do you still have time to bake?"

"Yes. Of course."

Betsy handed her an apron before they got to work. Any thought about Warren disappeared from her head.