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“Lampos isn’t competitive, but he adores gifts. Just bring him a few steaks and play with him in the garden. He’ll be all yours.”
“I think he might combine his two favorite activities by eating me after chasing me in the garden.” He laughs at this, and I smack him in the chest playfully. “You forgot to mention you have a leopard yesterday.”
He looks at me again, his gaze darkening as his hands land on my waist. His fingers graze lightly over my skin, creating sizzling energy around us. “A certain gray-eyed beauty occupied my mind.” I blush. Despite knowing I’m not really beautiful, it does something to my heart knowing that he finds me so. And he proved it with his mouth last night. A tremor rushes through me as his hot palm glides upward until it reaches the necklace, his fingers skating over the diamonds as satisfaction drips from his words. “It looks good on you.” Possessiveness flashes in his eyes. “Everyone now knows you belong to me.”
“So no rings for us?” He shakes his head, anger crossing his face, and I wonder why he has such an aversion to wedding bands. He wears the dark four ring just fine. “How would the world know, then?”
“Know what?”
“That you belong to me?”
His muscles ripple under me while his hold on me tightens, and he pushes me closer to him until our lips are inches apart. “Do you want me to wear something, kitten?” I nod, our lips brushing against each other’s as we share a breath. “Do you have something in mind?”
“No.” I doubt he’ll wear a necklace, but what else can shout from the rooftops that he’s a taken man? My God, but his tendencies must rub off on me too. Although I’ve been jealous even before anything happened between us. “I’m sure I can come up with something.” His best friend is a designer, so Florian can help me out.
“Some might say this scar of mine is enough of a neon sign that no one would want me, kitten,” he teases, and anger sparks inside me at this because I don’t think it’s funny.
His scar is a part of him, but it doesn’t make him hideous or unattractive.
Leaning back, I palm his head and kiss him on the scar. He stills underneath me, and I whisper over his torn skin, “I love it.” He swallows hard. “It speaks about your strength.” I sit up and smile. “So I’ll think about something you can show off to everyone.”
I expect him to tease me back, but he studies me for several beats before saying, “You’re not hysterical.”
“Should I be?”
“I expected a lot of things this morning. From you denying what happened last night to blaming it on me or any other excuse. Yelling I’m a monster was also on my list.”
I sigh, pressing my forehead against his as I draw circles on his bare chest, thinking about his silent question. “You told me you don’t kill innocent people. That’s all that matters to me. For now, I can accept it.” I shrug. “We need to catch the Church Killer. After that, we might…talk.” This sounds like such bullshit, considering I’m in so deep already, and the idea of leaving Octavius is devastating. “I don’t want to waste time and be hysterical. Call me selfish,” I finish lamely and wince when the leopard roars in displeasure again. I glance at the terrace and see him watching me while his tail continues to sway way too much for my liking. “Please feed him so he won’t eye me with such curiosity.” I guess I’ll also have to figure out how to live with a leopard in this marriage. I’m gonna bring this wild cat so much meat, he won’t think twice about biting me.
Bribing should work, and we need some rules because I do not want to wake up one day with a leopard looming over me.
“This marriage has no expiration date, kitten,” he replies, and my insides flip. “I’ll catch the fucker and bring him to you so you can see he’s dead and won’t bother you again. However, you’re my wife and will stay my wife forever.” This should scare me as it implies he won’t let me go even if I ask. Somehow, though, instead it wraps me up in warmth and protection, a feeling I’ve never known in my life. “We’re invited to a dinner tonight.” I blink at the abrupt change of subject. Reading my confusion, he elaborates, “Ryder called.” Estella’s husband? “He practically ordered us to be at his house, so that’s where we’ll go.”
My brow shoots up. “Someone has the power to order you around?”
He rolls his eyes. “No. I know it’s my sister who wants to see us. She’s worried and excited.” He must really love her, and I’m curious to meet the girl who hooked up with her professor. “Don’t panic.”
“Emotions don’t work this way, Octavius. If I’m worried, you telling me not to worry won’t fix it.”
“We’ll work on that.” I laugh, and he’s ready to dive for my mouth again when my phone vibrates next to me on the couch, and he curses under his breath. “Your friend is already cockblocking me.”
I pat his chest and pick up my phone, frowning when the unknown number flashes on the display. On instinct, I slide it open and put it on the loudspeaker. “Hello?” I say, but no sound comes, just silence, so I try again. “Hello?”
If this is the Church Killer and his new cruel joke…
My insides freeze when loud shouts echo instead. “You little piece of shit. You’ll pay for disrespecting me like that in front of my friends.” Heavy breathing joins the sound. “Come here, you bastard.”
“No!” I shout when I hear the leather whooshing snap.
The belt.
I left my number for the kid along with a small broken phone so he could always make a phone call if he needed. It was new, so I didn't save the number.
“The little boy,” I whisper to Octavius, and his face changes instantly.
So does everything else around me.
Octavius
