Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
“Yes.” I feel like I’m back in the mines. I never knew where the bats were hidden, where they would strike. I don’t know why, but my survival instincts are kicking in. I ignore them because I haven’t talked to her about Lia. She has no reason to be jealous. “She’s a well-respected woman in the village.”
“I got every bit of brains between us,” Cian says, shaking his head. “She knows about Lia, brother. Liadan made sure our wife knows she was your mistress.”
Definitely in trouble.
“Are you telling me you come home and the first person you go to see is your girlfriend?” Meg asks as she stalks toward me.
“I haven’t touched her since we married.” I fell into a trap, and I need to quickly find a way out. “It was mere chance that I talked to her.”
I can plainly see that Meg is having none of that. She picks up the pack I set down. A righteous female fury burns in her eyes. She opens the door and tosses the bag out toward the lawn. “I changed my mind. I’m staying here. You can go live with your precious, cold, perfect blonde. See if I care.”
“I’m not going anywhere, wife,” I promise, and there’s steel in my voice. She’s pushing my every button, as my vampire cousins would say. Her defiance sparks something inside me. I haven’t done anything wrong when it comes to Liadan. I broke it off with her. “I’m not getting thrown out of my home, and we’re not getting a divorce.”
“Meg, darlin’,” Cian says, obviously trying to defuse the situation. “Why don’t we all sit down and calmly discuss this. We’re a family now.”
“I’m not married to him,” Meg swears between clenched teeth.
Those words and the bratty tone of her voice make my blood start to boil. My hands twitch as I attempt to gain control of the overwhelming desire to prove to her who she belongs to. “Are you challenging my claim to you, wife?”
“No, she’s not,” Cian tries.
“Like hell, I’m not,” Meg snarls.
“Back down, wife.” I hold my ground when every instinct screams to chase her down and bend her to my will.
“Meg,” Cian warns. “Don’t do this. If you push him, he’ll break.”
She rolls her eyes. “No, he won’t. He’ll politely ask me if I might, at some point in the future, maybe want to have lame, boring sex. If I say no, he’ll slink away and go ask his cold girlfriend if she’ll have very vanilla sex. I was wrong about him. I thought he was a Dom, but he’s just a bully. He wants utter control of my life without giving me anything back. Screw that.” She turns the full force of her disgust my way. “I won’t do it. I won’t live with you. I’ve finally found what I want. I want Ci. Cian understands me. Cian gives me what I need.”
“No, he doesn’t, love,” I return, watching her move. She’s sealed her fate. There’s no going back now. I remain still, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. All thought of doing this the easy way is gone now. This will go down hard, and damned if I’m not looking forward to it. “He just plays at it. It’s a game to him. I bet you have to tell him what to do.”
I know I’m right when Meg looks slightly startled. She hides it quickly, but I catch that hint. All isn’t as perfect as she would have me believe.
“He just didn’t understand what I wanted. I explained it to him.”
“I think I did a damn fine job.” Cian’s gaze goes from our wife to me. He’s waiting the inevitable outcome of this skirmish.
“I know what you want,” I growl.
She crosses her arms over her chest. The challenge in her pose makes blood start to pound through my body. “You might know, but you aren’t man enough to give it to me.”
“Wrong answer, darling,” Cian says, whistling a little.
I strike hard and fast. She’s on the floor beneath me before she can scream. I hold her easily, though she squirms and looks to Cian for help. There will be none forthcoming. Cian wants this as much as I do. I can feel the satisfaction coming off my brother in waves. It’s been too long since I let my beast have its way. Cian will enjoy the experience so much more because of the woman on the floor. She’ll bridge the two of us and allow us to share the feeling.
I smile down at my wife, pure triumph running through my system. I give her the smile of a predator about to enjoy a full meal after a lifetime of hunger. “As my vampire uncle might say, you wanted the bull, my Meggie. You’re about to get the horns.”