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"Yes, Ma."

"Yes, Ma."

"Good girl. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go fuck my husband again."

"Ma!"

I was the only one who didn't make that exclamation. Because I thought my mother-in-law had the right idea.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

GUNNAR

Iheld Rosalind's hand as we walked through the woods. Neither of us spoke. There had been enough talking all day. Confessions. Accusations. Explanations.

Rosalind rested her head against my shoulder. Her eyes were closed as she leaned into me. Complete trust in every step.

When we married, I was a stranger. Worse than a stranger. I was another decision someone else had made for her. She hadn't known me. Hadn't trusted me. Now she did.

I stopped walking. My wife turned her face up to me. The moonlight caught her pale eyes. I tugged her closer. She came without resisting.

I put my hands on her face and kissed her. Softly. No teeth. No growling. No demands. Just my lips against hers.

Rosalind went still. Apparently, tenderness frightened my wife more than violence.

I pulled back just enough to rest my forehead against hers. "I love you."

Every muscle in her body went tight. I didn't tighten my arms around her or loosen them. I waited and listened to her body. Her heart hammered against my chest. Her breathing became shallow. The muscles beneath my hands stayed rigid, ready to push me away or twist free. I smelled her wolf stir beneath her skin.

I knew bodies. I knew what they did before people made decisions they hadn't figured out how to put into words yet. I waited for her to give me the verdict.

Fight.

Flee.

Stay.

Not that it mattered. She could panic. She could argue. She could run all the way back into those woods and make me chase her again. But I wasn't letting her go.

I'd spent my whole life breaking things for the people I loved. For Rosalind, I'd learn how to hold on without breaking her.

"I know you've done some insane shit. You're probably going to do more insane shit. From now on, tell me first. So I can at least clear a path so you don't get hurt."

A tiny smile tugged at her mouth. I ran my thumb across it.

"You don't have to do anything alone anymore. You don't have to manipulate me into helping you. You don't have to lie because you're afraid I'll leave you if I know what you're planning. You are never, ever getting rid of me."

The grip of my control snapped up. Lethal claws punched through as my heavy fingers clamped firmly around her throat. The predator in me surged to the surface, baring my fangs as a low rumble vibrated from my chest.

"Run," I growled as my hands trapped her in place. "You can't get away from me, Rosalind."

She threw a sudden, blinding punch straight toward my jaw. It glazed off my chin as I ducked it, but a grin broke across my face. Unfazed, she drove her knee up toward my chest, then brought her foot down hard in an attempt to stomp my boot. I shifted my weight, dodging the blow, but the exertion only fed her fight.

Before I could lock her down tighter, Rosalind's claws erupted. She brought both hands up, dragging her lethal nails down the skin of my forearms in a brutal slash. Deep, red score marks burst across my skin, a hot sting breaking through my concentration and my grip on her throat.

My dick went hard.

"That's my girl," I chuckled, a dark, primal sound as she wrenched herself free.