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His silence said it all.
Feeling my mouth tighten, I propped my hands on my hips. “Look, we might not have gotten married for conventional reasons, but you’re still my husband. You have my loyalty.Allthe way. I will always stand by you, no matter what. Get used to it.”
His direct stare flickered with so many emotions—all were there and gone in milliseconds, leaving me with no idea what he was thinking or feeling.
He delved a hand into my hair and fisted—not too tight, but tight enough to get my attention. “It’s dangerous to make that kind of promise to a man like me.” The words were soft. Quiet. Grave.
I swallowed, my hands slipping down to my sides. “I don’t know what that means.”
“It means I’ll hold you to it,” he warned. “Even when I’ve done something I know you won’t condone—and there’ll be plenty of things I’ll do that most people won’t condone—I’ll still hold you to it.”
“And so you should. I gave you my word.” I held up my hand and wiggled my ring finger slightly. “Haven’t I always stuck to it before?”
“Yes, you have. But lying to a cop for me is one thing. You don’t like or respect Lowe. Could you lie to your sisters, friends, parents? Lie to the people you love for me?”
“Yes.” I could say that with all certainty. “I already have. I mean, they were lies of omission to be exact. Like yesterday, when I was telling Sabrina and my sisters about what Blaise did. They guessed that you would personally deal with him—I didn’t confirm it. But had they outright asked if you would handle him, I’d have said no.”
They would have known I was lying, of course. But they would also have understood. They knew me; knew I would protect him.
Dax’s grip on my hair tightened to the point that my scalp prickled—and yeah, ow. He drew in a breath through his nose. “Hearing you pledge such loyalty to me, I have to wonder if you have any idea who you married. You say you see the wolf, but I’m not sure you really know what I’m actually capable of. I suppose it’s moot, though. You made your choice. It’s too late for you to go back on it now. I wouldn’t let you if you tried. You’re mine. I made you mine. You wear proof of it on your finger.” He paused, his eyes blazing. “And you always fucking will.”
∞∞∞
It was past ten that evening when I returned home. The muffled sounds of rumbly voices and deep male laughter greeted me as I entered. I tracked the sounds to the living room. The lighting was dim, and most of said light came from the glare of the widescreen TV. That didn’t obstruct my view, though. I swept my gaze across the large space and …damn.
Look, I had no actual interest in any guy other than Dax, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate coming home to the sight of five smolderingly gorgeous males lounging around my living room, did it?
Dax, Caelan, and Maverick were sprawled on the sofa while both Drey and Jag were chilling in an armchair. It was a whole lot of alpha and testosterone in one room. What a bounty of blessings.
And Dax had thought I might complain about returning home to find this little scene here?
Pfft.
As five sets of eyes flew to me, I smiled. “Evening, boys.” In response, I received hellos, nods, the raising of a beer bottle, and even a salute.
“How was the movie?” Dax asked me.
“I’m delighted to say it was jumpy as hell.” Alicia had become so freaked out she’d performed the sign of the cross at one point—she wasn’t even all that religious.
Jag frowned. “Why delighted?”
I lifted my shoulders. “What’s the point in watching a horror flick if it ain’t gonna give you the chills?”
“Nice dress,” Maverick remarked. “Dax, you really let her go out looking like that? It’s as if youwantguys to hit on her.”
I would have addressed the whole “let her” part, since no oneletme do anything. But I’d quickly come to learn that Maverick liked to bait people and then sit back and observe the show. “Stop trying to start shit.”
He grinned. “But I’m good at it.”
“I’ve noticed.” I glanced at the TV and felt my brow pinch. A superhot guy was being interviewed in a room with glass walls that overlooked a boxing ring. “I know his face from somewhere.”
“He lives in Redwater,” Caelan told me. “That’s Cole Delaney, the retired boxer who married—”
“Izzy McKenzie,” I finished with a mental snap of my fingers, thinking of a famous photographer who also happened to be the daughter of a celebrity couple. “I remember now.” I’d seen them together a few times.
Drey parted his lips to speak, but then a sound blared on the TV that made his attention zoom back to the screen. “Fight’s about to start.” That easily, all eyes left me.
Intending to grab a bottle of water, I headed for the kitchen. I only took three steps into the large room before I halted with a wince. “Oh, girl.”
