Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“Great to officially meet you,” Cass says, smiling huge at him.
He frowns at her and stares for a long, awkward moment. I don’t get why he’s being so cold, but he finally quickly shakes her hand.
“You too,” he grunts.
“Uh,” I say, looking between them. “Cass and I were just hanging out. You want to join?”
“No,” he says, turning away.
“Are you sure? She’s a total delight.”
“I’m sure.” He steps inside.
I glance at her. She frowns back at me in confusion as he walks away.
“Must be busy,” I say, completely uncomfortable.
“Totally. No worries. I have to get going anyway.”
We hug and promise to hang out again soon, but the vibe is completely ruined, all thanks to my husband’s icy introduction. I walk her to the door and see her out before storming back inside, rage ripping through me like a storm.
That fucking asshole.
I ask so little of him. This is the first time I had someone from my life prior to him over to visit, and he acts like he couldn’t care less. It infuriates me beyond belief, and I stomp into his office like I’m going to crack his head.
“We need to talk,” I snap at him.
He barely looks back. “No, we don’t.”
“The way you treated Cass downstairs was rude. You realize that, don’t you?”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“You were so standoffish and weird, like you clearly didn’t want her here.”
“I don’t care if you have friends over. This is your house too.”
“Then why the hell did you act like a total dick down there?”
He finally turns to me. His jaw is tense, and I can see the stress all over him. “I’m distracted.”
“That’s not a good excuse. I get it, things are complicated right now—”
“No, baby, you don’t get it.” He rubs his forehead with the heel of his hand.
I step back. That’s the first time he’s ever been short with me. I don’t even know what to say. “What happened today?” I ask, my tone softening a touch. I feel myself spiraling, and I need to pull out of it. “Why are you like this right now?”
He closes his eyes and leans his head back. “Mantis has been following me for a while now.”
That gets my attention. I lean against the wall, arms crossed, heart beating rapidly. “Okay, so what? That’s not a huge deal, right?”
“Normally, it wouldn’t be, except there’s this fucking thing.” He gestures at the watch, jaw flexing. “And I shot one of their soldiers earlier.”
My mouth falls open. “You did what?”
“I sent them a message. They can’t get too fucking close and expect me to do my job. But now I’m thinking it might’ve been a little…” He levels me with a hard look. “Impulsive.”
“You did something impulsive? Mr. Cold Planning and Rationality did something emotional and impulsive?” I shake my head in wonder. I’d laugh, but this isn’t even remotely funny. “I’m finding it hard to believe.”
“I had my reasons, except now I’m thinking maybe they were flawed. I think I shot that guy because I’m pissed off. I’m angry that those fuckers chased after my wife and nearly hurt her.”
“Jesus, Alexan,” I whisper. “Mantis wasn’t even there.”
“Those guards were Mantis. Maybe indirectly, but still. And I know, I get it, my anger was a little misguided.”
“So you shot someone. You shoot people all the time, right?”
“Not all the time.” He opens his eyes and looks at me. “But yes, with some frequency.”
“Then you’ll get over it. That still doesn’t make your behavior downstairs okay.”
He leans forward, elbows on his knees. I expect him to argue. If this were my father or any of the other men in my life, they’d have a thousand reasons why I’m being unreasonable and they’re totally justified in being a total prick.
But he doesn’t do that.
Instead, he nods slowly.
“You’re right,” he says.
I pause. I’m not used to hearing that during a fight. “I’m right… about what?”
“I shouldn’t have been rude to your friend. I’m stressed and processing a potentially very bad decision, and I wasn’t available to be a decent husband. For that, I’m sorry. And tell Cass I apologize as well.”
I just stand there, anger slowly draining away. “I think this is the first fight I’ve ever actually won,” I admit, not sure what to do with myself.
“Don’t think of it as winning. Think of it as engaging in a mutually respectful relationship.”
“Who are you?” I ask.
He gets to his feet. My big, beautiful husband levels that cold, icy stare at me, and his lips curl into a smirk.
“I’m yours,” he says and comes toward me. “How angry are you?”
“I was pretty pissed coming up here,” I admit.
He stops in front of me and puts his hands on my hips. I keep my arms crossed as he leans forward, his body pressing into mine. “Angry enough that you want to lash out at me?” he asks softly.