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My breathing starts to become labored, and I wonder if my nonchalance about their deaths was premature becausewho the fuck is going to take care of everything?
“You and your siblings will split your parents’ estate four ways. That is if they don’t have a will, and I highly doubt people like them have one. If they do, their money isn’t going to charity or anything.”
Inhaling a deep breath, I hold it for just a moment before I let it out slowly. “Okay, but do they have any money?” I ask.
He grins. “They don’t…” he replies. “The building has a huge debt, but I know who owns that debt.”
“Coleman?” I ask.
His grin turns into a smirk. “My family owns that building, along with the business part of the casino. Part of us forgiving the loan that we gave them was not just you, but also everything.”
Taking a step backward, I stumble slightly, and I know I appear stricken because that’s exactly how I feel right now. I’m so confused by so many parts of this whole situation. I open my mouth to ask him what is going to happen next, but then I snap my lips closed because I’m not sure I want to know.
“Right now, we’re going to go home. Tomorrow, we’ll talk and figure everything out. Some paperwork needs to be signed.”
I don’t ask him what he means. It doesn’t matter. Shock begins to settle deep in my belly. Not that they’re gone, but that my husband and his family own everything. They have control not just over me but my entire family. They have had this control. They were given this control. And it didn’t matter if I were here or not.
“That’s why my parents were making a deal with your cousin, right?” I ask. “They were going to try and get control of the casino back through my sister. It wasn’t just about them wanting money. They wanted all their assets back because they’d squandered them.”
Coleman dips his chin. I can’t read his expression. He’s watching me, staring, and then his lips curve up into a smirk. “You’re too good for those people, Claire. Too beautiful, too sweet, and way too fucking smart.”
“Am I sweet, though? I’m not sure. I haven’t even thought about shedding a tear about my parents being killed right in front of me. In fact, I feel relief.”
Coleman lifts his hand, and I think he’s going to cup my cheek, but he doesn’t. Instead, he wraps his fingers around the front of my throat. My breath hitches. I don’t move. My eyes connect to his, and it’s as if sparks fly between us.
Shots of color dance in front of my vision as he smiles at me, the lines at the corners of his eyes crinkle, and I swear my heart bursts into a million pieces. A million little pieces which land right at his feet.
“You’re sweet, hummingbird. They’re just fucking trash.”
His fingers flex against my throat, and the colors dance between us. I want to kiss him right now. I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted more. He stands in front of me, his eyes focused, his face having lost the playful expression it was wearing just seconds ago. It’s been replaced with hunger.
A dangerous hunger.
“I’ve got blood on my clothes, on my hands, and black marks on my soul,” he says.
“You’re beautiful,” I rasp.
He shakes his head once. Then he leans forward, and his lips touch mine. My breathing comes out in quick pants. I want to push him away so I can catch my breath, but I also want him closer just so I can breathe him in, all at the same time.
I could easily find myself becoming lost without him. Lost inside of him. Lost to him. And I think it’s something I want. At the same time, it’s something I fear. Instead of questioning any of it, I decide to question none of it, and I close my eyes, accepting his mouth on mine.
He releases my throat, his tongue sliding deep into my mouth as he tastes me.
Consuming me.
Owning me.
Possessing me.
COLEMAN
I breakthe kiss but don’t step too far away from her. Instead, after releasing Claire’s throat, I grip her ass and pick her up. I can hear people’s voices behind me, but I ignore them.
I’m sure they’re just the men from the meeting, leaving so the cleanup crew can get to work disposing of the bodies, or in the Simons’ case, planting the bodies so everything is wrapped up in a neat bow.
Carrying my bride to my car, I wish it were low enough I could set her ass down on the hood. Instead, I tug open the passenger door and place her on the seat.
As much as I want to fuck her right here, my father and mother are nearby, and all the ranking men in the family are as well. Tonight isn’t the night for a show like that. And it would be a show.
