“Yes, Dad took Mom when Amos was just a kid, but it wasn’t as bad as you’re thinking. And yes, Amos and Mercy had a...unique...relationship. But believe me, everyone loves each other and now we’re all one big happy family.”
Rosanna misses my last sentence entirely. “Did...did you do this to me? The insurance...you tricked me and made me marry you! Oh, God...” Horror coats her words. “Did you do anything to my boss before he died?”
“Oh, come fucking on.” Her body tenses even more as my arms tighten around her. “Think about what you just said. Is that how little you think of me? That I would hurt an old man?” A derisive scoff leaves me.
“If I did that, then I must have also somehow made Silas act like the asshole he was. And if that didn’t make you come to me, I must have also had someone shoot a fucking gun outside your apartment to make you run into my arms. Use your head, baby.” I shake her gently. “I’d do lots of things in the name of love, but I would never do that. I love you too much.”
“Do...do you really?”
“I do.” I fucking love this woman with every fiber of my being, and now that everything’s off my chest, we can get back to where we were. My entire body dying with need for her, I lean in for her mouth, only for my lips to barely graze her hair as she turns from me.The fuck?
“Am I free to leave whenever I want?” Rosanna watches me warily, hand pressed to my chest as if the slight pressure could keep me at bay.
“I’ll take you wherever you want.” The words travel on a raspy breath from her cheek to her lips. “Just say the word, and I’ll load all four of us in the truck and we’ll go. We’ll see the world if that’s what you want to do.”
Her body melts into my touch for a fraction of a second, then snaps back. “That’s not what I meant, and I think you fucking know it. I didn’t escape a lifetime with one asshole only to end up with another.”
“You didn’t, baby. I swear you didn’t.” I move in for my kiss, but she jerks away, glancing to the bedroom before looking back at me.
“I want you to take me and the babies to a motel in town.”
Fuck that. “Absolutely not. You’re my wife and they’re mine, too, no matter whose blood is in their veins. I love them, and the three of you are stuck with me because I’m not going anyfuckingwhere.”
Steam pours out of her ears as her forehead wrinkles. “You listen to me—”
Enough of this. I slam my mouth to hers, stealing her breath and the vitriolic words she was sure to spew at me. I get my fucking kiss for all of two seconds before my wife struggles against me, but I refuse to let her fight this. Fight us. “Kiss me.” My gruff command is a flimsy façade for the needy plea underneath. “Kiss me back.”
Want me.
Love me.
Fuck. Out of all the men in my family, I think I’m the only one who had such a rough time coming to grips with my destiny. But now it’s here, and I embrace it. I’m a fucking Shay and this is my fucking woman. Slowly, gently, I press her into the couch, giving her more of my weight as she tentatively moves her mouth with mine. The sharp bite of nails across my back sends a bolt of blood to my cock right before her teeth bear down on my lip.
So, my little wildcat wants it a little rougher.
Fine by me. I return the nip, capturing the tip of her tongue in a teasing bite. My hips grind against her pussy, forcing a moan from her that she tries to hide. I hear it, though. Trailing hot, sucking kisses down the length of her neck, I murmur reassurances. “This is so right, kitten. You and me.”Kiss. “Our babies.”Lick.“Together.”Bite.“Forever.”
A tiny growl leaves her, and she pushes hard on my chest, catching me by surprise. My arms hold her close as we tumble from the couch and onto the rug. The edge of the coffee table hits my hip, sending a dull throb to radiate through the rest of my body. Worst fucking luck I have with coffee tables. I capture her hands in mine and pin them over her head. “The fuck are you doing? Trying to knock us both out?”
“Let. Me. Go.” Her hands twist in mine, trying futilely to escape my grip as her body writhes underneath me, her breasts heaving in the most distracting way.
Toto gives a warning bark that I ignore as I tighten my grip with the need to make her understand. The vow that I’d buried deep in my chest, the one I’d held back with all my might every time I was balls deep inside her, breaks free from its constraints and erupts from my mouth. “You are my woman, and I am your man.”
God, it feels so fucking good to say this. I throw a heavy leg over hers as she squirms and pants, determined for her to hear me out. “With this marriage, I lay a claim on you stronger than the heat of the sun or the pull of the moon. I vow to you—fucking vow to you, Rosanna—darkness will never fall without the press of my lips upon yours”—I claim her mouth in a violent kiss, dodging her teeth—“or your body knowing the comfort of my touch.”
“Get off!” she spits out.
The next words are barely clear due to the rawness of my voice. “Though I’ve captured your body, you’ve taken my fucking heart, kitten.” The heart that booms steadily in my chest for her and our babies. “This is what it means to be a Shay.”
“What are you even saying? Never mind—I don’t care!” Giving up on fighting me and understanding the importance of what I just said, my little wife resorts to throwing words and glaring daggers at me. “If you don’t let me up right this minute, Connor fucking Shay, I’m going to pee on you.”
My head falls, nose nuzzling hers as I whisper against her angry lips. “Do it, kitten. I fucking dare you. But if you do, know that I’m going to do it right back to you. Is that what you want?” She stills under me as my words hit her ears. “You’ve squirted on me before, and I fucking loved it. You’re dead wrong if you think I’ll be grossed out.”
The gauntlet thrown down, I stare at her, tension and anticipation almost suffocating us. Then I see it in her eyes...her silent answer that comes a millisecond before wet heat penetrates my jean-encased thigh.
She did it. She fucking did it. Not much, but enough to let me know.
“Oh, little wildcat.” My growl into her ear precedes a warning bite. “You’ve done it now. You’ve marked me as yours. And now you’re even more mine.” My hips hold hers captive as I return the favor through a stiff cock, relishing her gasp of surprise. Just a bit more than she did to me. “You’re mine, and I’m yours. I fucking love you, woman, and I’m not afraid to show it.”
