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“Cillian,” Winter begins, but I shake my head at her to keep quiet as I step closer to the bed.
“It’s my ring. Winter’s my wife.”
Cillian stares at me, and I watch as anger tightens his features. “You fucking forced her into a marriage?”
“It was an alliance. No one forced Winter to do anything she didn’t agree to.”
“She lost her family. She thought she lost me. Four fucking days and you take over,” Cillian begins to rage at me.
“She had a choice,” I bite the words out.
“What choice?” he growls. “She’s a young woman up against the Vetrovs and Koslovs. What fucking choice did that leave her?”
I take a calming breath, knowing I can’t lose my temper.
“I love him,” Winter interrupts, her voice soft. Cillian’s gaze snaps to her, and she repeats, “I love, Damien. It was my choice to marry him.”
“How? You barely know him. A month at St. Monarch’s while you were supposed to focus on your training. When did you have time to fall in love?”
Winter holds Cillian’s gaze as she admits, “The moment I laid eyes on him.”
“Come on, poppet,” he scoffs. “Love at first sight? That’s nothing but a fairytale.”
“Not to me, it isn’t,” she begins to argue, and it makes the corner of my mouth lift. “Damien’s everything I want in a man. You said it yourself when you told me stories of the Vetrovs. He’s merciless, unkillable, with a devastating potency no one can escape. That’s what I wanted, what I needed to survive in this world, and he was able to give it to me.”
Even though Winter knew that about me, she never backed down.
Cillian turns his attention back to me. “And you? Was it only for the business?”
I shake my head. “It was for her fiery spirit.”
I watch as the anger retreats from his face as my words sink in.
“I love her.”
Cillian takes a deep breath, a twinge of pain on his face, then he leans back against the pillows. He’s quiet for a moment before he says, “You can be glad I’m stuck in this bed, or it would be you and me in the barn.”
Unable to keep a straight face, I begin to smile. “We’ll wait until you’re back on your feet.”
His eyes move between Winter and me. “Christ, poppet. Only you would marry a Vetrov.”
She lets out a chuckle. “You know me, I always wanted the best.”
He pins me with a look of warning. “Don’t hurt her.”
“I won’t.”
“What about the business?” Cillian asks.
God, here we go for round two.
Squaring my shoulders, I say, “Alexei gets fifty percent.”
Cillian blinks at me, then he mutters, “Say that again.”
“Alexei will arrange the buyers.”
Cillian’s eyes dart between Winter and me. “Fifty percent?”
“For his protection and support, yes,” I answer.
I’m surprised when Cillian doesn’t burst a vein but instead thinks about it, then he mutters, “Christ. Four days and the Vetrovs and Koslovs take over. You people don’t waste any time.”
“Time is money,” I shrug.
“Who will do the runs and negotiations with the rebels?”
“I will.”
“We will,” Winter interrupts.
My gaze snaps to hers. “We’re not having that conversation now.” I turn my attention back to Cillian. “I’ll take care of the business with Alexei’s help.”
“Good luck trying to keep this one away from the business,” he mutters.
Again the corner of my mouth lifts and considering the conversation over, I say, “Time for dinner.”
When Dana moves to get up from where she’s sitting on the side of the bed, Winter says, “Don’t worry. I’ll plate the food and bring it to you.”
Before we leave the room, Cillian mutters, “She might love you, but you’ll have to prove yourself to me.”
“Of course,” I chuckle as I take hold of Winter’s hand.
Leaving the room, Winter’s quiet until we reach the kitchen. I take a seat at the island and watch as she begins to plate the lamb and vegetables Dana prepared.
“I will go with you on the runs,” she grumbles, giving me a glare.
“It’s not safe,” I state the obvious. “I won’t be able to focus on the job with you there.”
“Damien,” she snaps, her hands stilling. “I did everything right during the attack on the Blancos. I can hold my own. Stop trying to keep me locked away on the island. I won’t stand for it.”
Seeing the fire in her eyes, I begin to grow hard. “I’ll fuck you on this table. I don’t care if Dana walks in on us.”
She makes a disgruntled sound through her nose. “Don’t change the subject.”
Rising to my feet, I go to stand behind Winter. I wrap my arms around her and slip a hand between her legs. “You know it’s a turn-on when you fight me.” I press a kiss to the scar on her neck and then suck hard as I begin to rub her through the clothes. “Still, you defy me every chance you get.” Moving my hand up, I slip it under the fabric, and then my middle finger brushes over her sensitive nerves.
