Hayley grimaced, shaking her hand. “Dammit, no one said slapping someone hurt almost as much as getting slapped.”
I laughed. “Fiona, why don’t you just run along and play. The adults are talking.”
Her face twisted into a snarl of hate, Fiona reached for Hayley with her nails extended into claws. I stepped smoothly between them.
Halting, Fiona stared up at me, her mouth agape.
“If you want to fight,” I said, “I’ll oblige you. In the sky, right now. If I send you straight into Da’arvass’s waiting arms, he might be a bit pissed at you for dying so easily.”
“He’ll grant me eternal life,” she snapped.
“Uh, huh. Chained in his dungeons and suffering under his warm regard for you.”
Uncertainty crossed her face, rose in her lovely blue eyes. She stepped backward toward her car, while lifting her finger to point at me like a gun. “I’ll kill you, Alaric,” Fiona said calmly. “You and your toy. At a time of my choosing.”
“Okay, looking forward to it.” I smiled. “Thanks for stopping by, but do us a favor and don’t come back.”
Fiona got into her car. In a fit of pique, she floored the gas in reverse and left rubber marks on my driveway. She spun the car around and drove away at a high speed. Once she’d vanished, I looked down at Hayley.
“That wasn’t smart, you know.”
Hayley shrugged. “I’m a brainless bimbo, remember? I’m not supposed to be smart.”
“Aggravating a dragon who worships a black god goes far beyond mere stupidity,” I snapped. “You should know better.”
“What do you care if she kills me?” Hayley snapped her fingers. “Oh, that’s right, you don’t. I’m just your pawn in your little inheritance game.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Oh, and it’s supposed to be? All is fair in love and war, although I think we can dispense with the love part.”
“You’re trying to piss me off.”
“Is it working?”
“Yeah,” I growled. “Why you’d do it, however, I don’t know.”
“Because if I piss you off, at least you’re feeling something for me.”
“I do feel something for you.”
“Irritation, aggravation, and nothing at all don’t cont.”
“Dammit, Hayley, stop playing games with me.”
“Games?” Hayley laughed. “You’re the master game player here. Moving your little pawns and knights around the chessboard.”
“I’m warning you.”
Laughing again, Hayley moved to step past me. I didn’t know where she planned to go, and it didn’t matter anyway. I seized her upper arm, and spun her around.
“You don’t walk away from me, girl.”
Hayley yanked her arm from my grip. “You don’t give me orders.”
“I’m your husband and your mate. You’ll do what I say.”
Laughing again, Hayley snapped, “Like hell I will.”
