AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What the hell are you doing here so early?” Kiki asks, her hazel eyes wide. Her auburn hair is fashioned in a messy topknot and she’s still dressed in her pajamas.
My eyes narrow, but I don’t correct her for the language. “I need your help. Yours and Kitty’s,” I say and Kiki leans forward.
“You needmyhelp, big brother?” Kiki’s eyes brighten and her lips curl into a smile.
“Yes,” I groan. “And it has to do with fashion.”
“Well, that’s our area of expertise!” Kitty reaches over to pat my hand. “What do you need?”
“It’s not just me. It’s also Rex and Zeke.”
“Okay,” Kitty nods. “And where are you going?”
“We need to dress up and just look like a regular guy in a suit.”
“All right,” Kitty says, but her hazel eyes flash with impatience. “But I still need to know where you’re going. How else can I know what outfit?”
I feel myself grimace and I squirm in my seat. I can’t believe that I’m about to say this.
“I’m going to a church,” I reveal, watching while Kitty’s brows raise in surprise.
“We’re going to a wedding.”
Chapter 36
Marigold
Thaddeus takes my manicured hand in his almost equally soft one. It’s nothing like the tough, weathered hands of the men I’ve become accustomed to. Their very touch made me feel alive. It was worth going to hell for.
“I want you to know,” Thaddeus smiles, revealing two lines of perfect white teeth. “That I will be a Godly husband for you.” He pauses, his eyes moving up and down my figure. “Just as I am sure that you will be a Godly wife.”
I try not to gag. Thaddeus saying something less appealing is beyond my imagination.
I had lust. I had passion. But Thaddeus still makes my skin crawl.
He lowers his head to my hand and when his lips brush my skin, I involuntarily shudder. Thaddeus notices and his head snaps up, his eyebrows draw together like bushy brown caterpillars.
“Listen here,” Thaddeus hisses, tightening his grip on my hand. He pulls forward, jerking me closer to him and I almost stumble.
“You’ve got the perfect pedigree for me, you little bitch,” Thaddeus sneers, his face twisting into an ugly scowl. “You will be mywifeand you willobey.”
His face is inches from mine and I stare into his brown eyes, seeing nothing but rage and contempt there. Seemingly satisfied by my silence, Thaddeus releases my hand with a jerk.
“I’m going to be the next head Reverend,” Thaddeus announces, lifting his cleated chin. “And youwillbe beside me.”He looks me up and down for a final time before turning on his heel to stride away.
Thaddeus disappears out the doorway of my father’s office and I’m left alone to catch my breath. I try to settle back into the comfort of the leather upholstered armchair, but I can hear the voices of Thaddeus and my father from the hallway. It causes every muscle in my body to tense.
“You’ve raised a fine daughter, sir,” Thaddeus says and I think that they’re shaking hands. “She’ll make a wonderful wife, Reverend.”
I hear my father chuckling.
“Nonsense,” He says. “Call me Dad.”
Their voices trail off, replaced by the sound of their footsteps as they tread down the hallway. I listen to the sound of the front door opening and closing and my stomach sinks when I hear the footsteps return.
“Marigold,” My father says, appearing in the doorway. He’s smiling as he steps closer, but he remains standing. He wants to speak down to me, literally and figuratively.
“You’re lucky that Thaddeus has agreed to marry you,” Reverend Bennett says. He stares at me, his eyes cold and with one side of his mouth pulled back.
