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Dare grabs his father and wrenches him back, raising his fist. “I’ll end you,” he manages, his voice laden with threats. “You will fucking die, old man.”
“Stop it!” My voice leaves me in a shriek. I clutch at Dare, stopping him from hitting his father. I turn to Tripp, my face growing red. “Stop it right now. Leave Dare alone, you big bully. Go bother someone else.”
Tripp and Dare both turn and look at me.
I realize that my words were loud enough to draw the attention of the surrounding people. My face goes an even deeper shade of red, but I lift my head, giving Tripp a haughty stare. He sneers at me and then clambers to his feet, lurching off toward the other side of the room.
“Fucking tyrant,” Dare spits, his eyes still fixed on his father’s retreating figure. “If he ever lays a finger on you, I’ll kill him. Hell, I’ll kill anybody who touches you. And I’ll do itgleefully.”
I put my hands on my hips, my lips twisting. “I have to say, Dare. I don’t much care for your father. I hope that you don’t take offense to me talking to him like that.”
Dare whips his head around, his eyes fastening on me. To my surprise, he grabs me by the waist and hauls me close, his lips descending until they reach mine. He kisses me hard, his lips demanding, his breath coming out of his nose in a snort. It’s like kissing a dragon, or so I imagine.
I give myself over to Dare, pressing my mouth against his lips. He kisses me back, his hands digging into my waist, and I feel my pulse speed up. But then he slowly ends the kiss.
“I take that as an agreement that I should always talk to your dad like he’s a menace?”
Dare smooths back my hair, tucking a strand behind my ear. His gaze is direct and intense. “I’m going to reward you later, darling girl. Just remember that.”
We circulate for a little while longer, making sure that we are never far apart. I make sure to pretend to enjoy Dare’s possessive hold on me.
Well, maybe I don’t have to pretendthathard.
Dare, for his part, makes sure that he kisses me every few minutes. All in all, quite a spectacle for anyone that hasn’t met me yet.
And the best part is that I think it’s working. If I have to be honest about it, I don’t even hate his kisses as much as I could. There is a low tickle at the center of my stomach, thinking about what Dare promises me.
What will he reward me with in bed, I wonder? The question makes me shiver.
At one point, Dare steps away but keeps me in his eye line. I meet a lot of Dare’s female cousins and eventually I grow tired of my plastered-on smile and the continual shaking hands.
I excuse myself to go to the restroom and slip out the first exterior door that I see, which happens to lead to the gardens. Releasing a sigh, I lean against the outside of the mansion and look at the hedge maze.
It brings a smile to my lips before I remember that my marriage, such as it is, remains a hoax.
My phone buzzes in my purse. I blink and fish it out.
I haven’t heard it go off in days. At first, I think that maybe it’s just Olivia checking up on me. But instead of seeing texts from her, there are a series of texts, all from a number I don’t recognize.
Gulping, I shiver against the cold night air and read the text messages.
Dare is a liar.
He is not to be trusted.
Want proof?
There is a picture of Dare and Tristen from the side, their heads bowed as Tristen whispers something and Dare smiles wickedly back at him.
You didn’t just agree to marry him out of the blue… you were pushed. Dare had people damage your aunt’s store and leave threats. He also had people come into the restaurant you worked at and pretend to be impossible to please customers.
A video appears on my screen.
There is a short clip, shot in the dark. A squat balding man in tears rubs his hands over his eyes and looks directly at the camera with a pleading expression. “I’m sorry. I was paid to break some windows at some broad’s bookstore. I broke the front window and went inside to mess some stuff up and then left the message that I was told to leave. I really didn’t mean…”
The video cuts off abruptly but I am completely shocked. I lean over, trying to catch my breath.
This man is clearly talking about Aunt Minnie’s bookstore. My fingers shake as I play the clip again, trying to gain any additional clues. But the video is too brief for that, and I am ready to close my phone when a final text comes through.
