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“Cuddling? We’re going to have to invite your long-lost brothers over more often.” She grinned at him, and he stole a kiss. “Hey.” Tentatively, she caught his face between her hands, her brows drawing together as she searched his expression. “Are you okay? You held it together while Loïc and Rodrigo were around, but if you need to talk or cry or flip out or work at the forge, you do what you need to do. It’s a hell of a lot to process. And then there’s what happened last night. I don’t know how you feel about it.”
He didn’t regret telling her that he loved her. Had that been just last night? It felt as if a lifetime had passed.
“Just...” He wasn’t sure where his sentence was going, but felt as if Loïc’s arrival heralded the beginning of the end of Minnow’s patience with his fucking issues.
“Just?” she asked, grinning up at him with a mischievous glint in her gaze. “Just what? Give you another massage? Run so you can chase me through the house and do terrible things to me on the floor of the ballroom again?”
“I’d thought about giving your asshole a break until at least tomorrow, but if you insist...”
Her eyes widened apprehensively, and he had to force back a laugh.
“Seriously, though,” she said quickly, as though he was joking. She traced his brow with the tip of her finger. He forced down a shudder of disgust, reminding himself that he usually liked her doing this. “What’s going on behind that sexy scowl of yours?”
He hadn’t realized he was frowning, but now he felt the tension there, as though he’d been doing it for a while.
Cut to the chase, Leduc.
“If you decide you prefer him, I want you to tell me immediately.”
“What?” Her brows rose and she looked confused. “Him who? Loïc?”
“Yes, Loïc.”
“Oh my god, Mister Leduc. He’s a baby!”
“He’s older than you.”
“Not my type.”
“Oh, but I am?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re not anyone’s type. You’re not a type, you’re a force of nature.”
He gritted his teeth. “He flirts with you. He wants to dominate you.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, I have my plate full with you, then you add Rodrigo to the mix, and I’m far too sore and satisfied to be scouting for new talent. Besides, you own me, remember?” She tapped the metal collar locked around her delicate neck. The words he’d stamped into it – Property of Severin Leduc – filled him with satisfaction every time he saw them.
He thumbed the collar then gave it a tug to reassure himself. The small gesture made Minnow’s gaze go soft and submissive.
“And I’m in love with you. That’s probably the most important part.”
“But he’s – me with better manners.”
“He’s not you with better manners. You’re completely different. If he was the kind of man I wanted, I never would have accepted your collar.”
He bared his teeth at her in what wasn’t meant to be a smile. “Like I gave you a choice?”
She butted her head against his chest. “Then don’t push me at him and don’t let me leave. Are you going to be a coward and let me go just because your baby brother showed up on your doorstep?”
He narrowed his gaze at her and she paled.
“I’m sorry, Mister Leduc. I took that too far.”
“Yes. Yes, you did.” He scooped her up and threw her on the bed, where she bounced and skidded to a stop.
The girl scrambled to kneel, her body curled in on itself in submissive contriteness.
“On your back. Pull your knees apart and hold them there.”
