The Deal Taker (Book III)

Chapter Sixteen - Bitter

                                                                                 Chapter Sixteen

                                                                                          Bitter

If anyone can hold a grudge, it's me. I should be given an award for my capability of holding a grudge and making it obvious. In the week Matthew has been here doing business with several other vampires, I have been sauntering around the house making sighing sounds as soon as his company leaves. Matthew made it abundantly clear I wasn't to "act up" while we had guests, so I did, of course, play my perfect trophy wife part. But as soon as the doors closed I was back to giving the cold shoulder and making sighing sounds.

Yet, despite my efforts, Matthew has still been firm on me not leaving this house. It wasn't just about leaving the house while he was here, but also while he was away. The only time I could leave the house was if I brought two of Matthew's "finest" men with me as guards. Did he not know me? Does he not remember the last time he had men guarding me and I ended up dusting one of them?

Tonight Matthew was packing to go to Berlin, and I wasn't about to give him a good farewell.

I sat in our bedroom, mostly because the other bedrooms remained locked unless guests were using them, and flipped through the channels of the television. Buddy was flopped next to me on the bed, which was a big no-no because Matthew found it disgusting. I rubbed Buddy's belly with one hand and held the remote in the other, absentmindedly flipping through the stations as Matthew placed things in his suitcase.

A loud and frustrated sigh tore my eyes from the television.

Matthew stared at me with a large frown on his face with a shirt in his hand, ready to be placed into his luggage. "Are you going to ignore me forever?" he demanded.

I stared at him for a long minute before turning my head back towards the television.

"If you think this is how you'll get your way, think again."

I continued to stare at the screen, my expression unchanging.

"I'm leaving tonight and I don't want to leave when we're fighting. At least speak to me."

"What does speaking do?" I asked, still not looking at him.

"I can't believe you're acting so childish. Are you seriously this upset over having to stay here?"

Finally I looked at him, my eyes slits. "You would be too if someone told you that you had to stay in one place forever."

"It's not forever, Anna. You'll come to meet me in one week, we stay for a week, and then we come back."

Was he confused? Did he think my only frustration was being here? "I'm only allowed to leave when you give permission. This isn't the 1900's, Matthew, this is 2010, and I demand to be able to make my own decisions!"

He shook his head at me and gave me a pitying look. "Not when you're safety is involved. Anna, I have enemies. I've told you all of this before. They'll jump on the opportunity to take me down, and you're my only weakness."

"I am not a weakness. I'm capable of handling myself! Do you not remember I used to work for you to dust some vamps? Seriously, Matthew, you act as if I'm fragile when I'm probably one of the toughest, most badass women out there!"

Matthew's lips twitched and he looked at me like one would look at a little puppy. "You are tough, but you haven't had enough training to be able to handle yourself. The people I had you eliminate were only of lower skill levels. The people who have been against me for centuries? Far beyond your skill set."