“Good girl,”she spits the words out like they’re poison. “Like I’m a pet.”
My wife’s chest is heaving, her hands between us, trying to push me away, but that’s not happening. Not until we’re done here.
“I hurt you. Very much, I see.” I should add in a tone of contrition, but she seems attuned to my social tricks. I rarely allow interacting with people, even my family, to rouse much emotion in me. But I can feel Afton’s sadness, mixed with humiliation and fury, beating against me like the force the ocean wields, crashing waves into the beach. It’s not… pleasant. However, I can take it.
“No, you just clarified what you felt. Continuing on the way we were and thinking we could build a normal marriage and finding this out later- six months? A year?” She shakes her head, refusing to look at me. “That would have killed me.”
My hand slides from her throat into her hair, my fingers slowly stroking the curls away from her face. “I don’t want to send you away.”
“Iheardyou, Mason!”
“It’s different now.” I take the honest route, even though I haven’t factored in the variables of how she might respond. “When we were married, I did it because… well, one of us MacTavish men had to. The other candidates were already attached or unsuitable.”
Uncle Cormac knew exactly what he was doing the entire time.
The realization hits me and I have a grudging respect for the diabolical head of our family. He knows about Michael pining for their housekeeper’s daughter, Sophie. And because the Chieftain doesn’t miss a single detail, he must know Duncan is gay. He knew I’d likely never get married. I don’t have much interest in children…
That bastard set me up.
Right now, though, feeling the heat of my wife’s body soak through my chilly skin, watching her try to turn from me…
I can’t find it in me to be angry about it.
“One of youhadto.” She stops, thinking about it. “Just like I had to be the sacrificial lamb.”
“Here’s where we change the outcome,” I say. “I thought sending you away would be the best thing for you. I’m cold. You know I don’t show genuine emotion much because I usually don’t feelit.” She’s utterly still, eyes scanning my face. “I thought sending you somewhere where you could create a life without much time spent with me would be better in the long run. Less messy. You make me feel… things.
“But I don’t want to send you away. I want you here. In my house. In my bed. My cock deep inside you. This is your house, too. Your bed. Some arranged marriages do very well. We can be one of them.”
Afton looks like she was waiting for something else, and her vivid eyes dim. “How do you see this going?”
“We spend time together. We get to know each other. You find your place here in our world. Talon tells me you’ve already started mapping out your college credits. You have a place where you like to get your peppermint tea and scones.”
Her cheek is so warm as I cup it, still flushed from her storm of anger, and hurt.
“I think you’ll find that the cousins already like you. I can shower you with clothes and jewelry, enough flowers to fill your greenhouse. I don’t feel soft things. But, I know duty and responsibility. Idecisivelyfeel the need to bend you over any available surface in every waking moment.”
“Smooth, husband.”
“Speaking from a place of complete transparency, wife.”
“So…” I don’t think she notices that her hips have been moving against me, pushing back subtly. “You’re saying that you can offer lust and duty, but other things likelove-”That last word hurries out of her mouth before she can stop it, she pauses for a moment, flustered. “You say you can’t feel that. Don’t you love your family?”
How to explain this? “You look out the window and see leaves unfurling on the branches outside, and you think about spring, yes? About renewal of life.”
“Yes,” she smiles, “I love spring.”
“I see chlorophyll,” I say flatly. “The green leaves on that tree are building chlorophyll to keep it alive for another season. I see things for what they are, I can’t sugarcoat them. My duty is to my family. I care about them. And now, I feel a powerful responsibility for you. To keep you safe and well cared-for.”
Her hands stop pushing against my chest.
“You’re sweet, and sincere. I don’t want to destroy that part of you. But… I can’t be the dashing, romantic lover. I like control too much.”
“What-” Afton stops and clears her throat. “What kind of control?”
“The kind of control where right now, I know exactly where I’d grab your dress to tear it in half. I’d use your knickers to tie your hands behind your back, slip my belt around your neck, and tighten it. Just enough to keep your pretty head up, to force you to look at me the entire time I’m fucking you.” I bend my head close to her, my lips almost touching hers, seeing her eyes flare with need.
My wife releases a shaky little exhale.
