Chapter 131. FIONA

Chapter 131. FIONA
I'd been asleep for about fifteen minutes, when suddenly there was a loud knock on Melissa's door.
I lazily swung my legs out of bed. I was worried that Melissa would wake up from the knock. I hurriedly opened the door and found Joshua standing in the doorway.
He was leaning against the wall in just a pair of black silk pajama pants that hung low on his slim, luscious hips. He seemed to have just gotten out of the shower. His hair was still slightly damp. The distinctly masculine scent of his soap danced in my sensitive nostrils.
“What’s wrong?”
Joshua looked at me like I’d done something wrong. His eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes narrowed at me.
“Why are you sleeping in Melissa’s room?”
“Because I don’t have a bedroom. Yeah, I could have slept in the guest room, but Melissa’s bed is so big. So I decided to sleep with her tonight.”
“Didn’t I tell you this afternoon that you were sleeping in my room? I waited for you for half an hour like a fool.”
“Well, it’s not my fault. I didn’t ask you to wait for me.”
“You’re wasting my time,” Joshua growled.
“I can’t sleep in your room.”
“Why? What’s your excuse this time, huh?”
“Because you and I have no relationship. Well, I’ll just consider yesterday a time-out. I agreed to come with you to Chicago, so you could be closer to Melissa. So she could experience a normal life with two parents around. I’ll find a job here and move into an apartment once I have some income. But let me stay here for a while.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You’re going to stay here forever. I won’t let you work for anyone but me.”
“Well, I already told you we needed to have a serious discussion. First, you’re nothing to me. Second, you have no right to control my life. And third, I don’t want to work with you.”
My nose flared in anger. I always got carried away when Joshua started bossing me around.
“Fuck, Fiona. Do you really not understand what I mean? Don’t try to play dumb in front of me.”
“What? I really don’t understand what you’re talking about, you asshole.”
Since Mellisa was asleep, there was no longer any punishment for bad mouths. We were free to hurl insults and curses at each other. It was intense.
Joshua pinched the bridge of his nose, as if he had a lot of problems and was really confused about his life. Well, I bet he was. I just didn’t know what problems he was facing because this guy liked to play mysterious.
“Close the door behind you.”
“Why? I’m going back to Melissa’s room and sleeping.”
“I said close the door,” he growled.
When I didn’t, Joshua grabbed my hand and closed the door behind me. He suddenly picked me up like a sack of rice and carried me to his bedroom.
“Joshua, what are you doing? Put me down.”
“Shhh… Shut up. Melissa is sleeping.”
Joshua kicked his bedroom door shut with his heel. He carried me to his bed and threw me onto it. He literally threw me, not gently placed me down.
“Josh, I don’t want to start a fight with you. Please don’t force me to.”
Joshua took something out of his pajama pants pocket and handed it to me.
“What is this?”
“What do you think?”
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking you.”
“Open it. I’m not a patient man. So don’t test my patience with your fake stupidity.”
“Excuse me, are you calling me stupid?”
“Yes. You pretend not to know anything, even though I know you do.”
“I really don’t know what you mean.”
Joshua sighed harshly and then snatched the velvet box from my hands. He opened it and showed me its contents.
“What do you think this is?”
“A ring.”
“Good. At least, you’re not as stupid as I thought.”
“Stop calling me stupid, you bastard.”
I punched his chest hard. Joshua grabbed my wrist and held me back.
“Let go of me.”
“Shut up!”
Joshua pulled the diamond ring from the box and placed it on my finger.
“You’re my fiancée now.”
I gaped at him.
“Is this another kind of coercion? You didn’t hold a gun to my head, but you did this.”
I pointed at the ring on my finger in annoyance.
“At least ask me on your knees, will you be my fiancée and marry me?”
“You know damn well I’m not that kind of man. Besides, I’m pretty sure you want to be my fiancée.”
“Hahaha, that was fucking hilarious. I could have turned you down,” I hit his chest hard.
“You’re not in a position to turn me down. We’re getting married soon.”
“Is that an order?”
“Yes. It’s an order. No resistance, no protest. Just accept your fate. You’re stuck with me forever.”
“I don’t want to be stuck with you forever.”
“You’re already stuck with me.”
“No!”
Joshua pushed me onto the bed and pinned me down. My breath caught as I stared at the cruelty on his face.
“Josh, you promised to be a civilized man.”
“That was a few hours ago. The rule of the underworld is that you have to renew your promises frequently because anyone can cheat you, even if they promise you something. You’re still an idiot after becoming an FBI agent.”
“You bastard! First, I’m not an agent anymore. I’m a former agent. Second, I’m not stupid. You’ve said it three times. One more time, and I’ll give you a kick you’ll never forget.”
I glanced down at my knee, which was right in his crotch. I wasn’t kidding, and I hoped Joshua took it seriously.
“Don’t play around with that one. We won’t be able to give Melissa siblings if you hurt him.”
“Yikes. You’re disgusting.”
I burst out laughing at our foolishness. My arms wrapped around his neck and held him tightly. Joshua’s palms rested on the mattress to keep him from falling on top of me.
“You annoying bastard. That was the most unromantic proposal in history.”
“I can’t be the sweet guy you want me to be.”
Joshua rolled onto his side. I remained clinging to his neck like a koala. I loved this position. It was intimate, sweet, and hot. It was perfect.
“I tried to be romantic. I waited for half an hour, and you were sleeping in Melissa’s room. I decided I wasn’t going to be romantic. I was going to be a dick. And you prefer a dick, rather than a romantic man.”
I laughed at his words.
It was so true. Without realizing it, I preferred a dangerous jerk like Joshua to a sweet, syrupy man with impeccable manners.
“I like foul-mouthed men like you.”
“Do I turn you on?”
“Hmm... A little. Aww,” I patted his chest lightly. Joshua’s palm groped my ass and squeezed them hard.
“When are you buying a ring? I didn’t expect you to do it tonight.”
“After I finish my meeting with my managers. There’s no point in putting it off any longer. I’ve been putting it off for four years. Do you like the ring? We can return it and buy another one if you don’t like this one.”
I raised my hand in the air and admired my new ring with its nipple-sized diamond. Seriously, it was a huge diamond. Even bigger than my old one.
“I like this one. Thank you.”
“I was wondering, what did you do with your old ring?”
I grimaced at him.
“What?”
“I sold it to buy a house in Atlantic City. Yeah, I’m a realistic woman. That ring has been sitting in a drawer for too long. I’m not going to wear it anymore, so I might as well sell it to buy a house.”
“Smart girl. I like the way you think.”
“Um-hum, you must be proud of me.”
“Absolutely.”