SEVENTY
HAIDYN
She slams her palms into my bare chest, trying to push me out of the way. I stay where I am.
“Move,” she snaps, glaring up at me.
“No.”
“Get out of my way, Haidyn,” she shouts.
“I said no.”
“HAIDYN!” Her fists hit my chest.
I grab her wrists to keep her fists from making anymore contact. “I said no, Charlotte. I’m not still fucking Ashtyn.”
She’s breathing heavily, and her hard eyes glare up at me. I like this side of her. Although I’d rather not have had that conversation with Ashtyn, I do like Charlotte’s reaction. It shows me that I’m not going crazy alone. She’s jumped headfirst into this forced marriage with me, and I’m not the only one attached.
I did something that can’t be undone when it comes to my wife. And given the chance, I’d do the same thing again.
This is exactly how she reacted when the Lords sent her the video of me and Ashtyn at the house of Lords. I haven’t told Charlotte that I know about it, and she hasn’t told me. It’ll stay that way. I can play their stupid game and pretend I never saw it.But I’m going to prove to my wife that Ashtyn doesn’t matter to me. Not the way Charlotte thinks anyway.
I didn’t even know Charlotte was listening when Ashtyn stopped me in the hall, or I would have shut down that conversation before it started. I pushed Ashtyn away because I have to establish boundaries with her. Things are different now. I’m different now. And my priority is my wife and how she feels.
Letting go of Charlotte’s wrists, she drops them to her side, and I cup her face. “I haven’t fucked her in years.”
“Bullshit,” she snaps.
I chuckle. “Don’t believe me, doll face?”
“No. I don’t,” she growls. “But let’s go ask her. I bet she won’t lie to me.” Pushing me back, she goes to step around me, and I grab her arm, spinning her around and pulling her against me. I have one hand in her wet hair and the other wrapped around her body.
“I haven’t fucked her since she and Saint got married,” I say truthfully.
“And when was that?” she demands.
“Four years ago,” I answer.
Everything went to shit not long after that. I never wanted Ashtyn like Saint did. Not like I want Charlotte. I didn’t need Ashtyn to tell me she loves me to know how she feels. I never told her that, needing to hear it back. I just wanted her to know that I was there for her.
Charlotte nibbles on her bottom lip, and I cup her face, my thumb pulling it free. Her pretty blue eyes look up at me through her wet lashes. “How many have you fucked since you started fucking me?” Her voice is so low that it’s almost hard to hear over the shower.
I like how nervous she is. How much she wants to know, yet is still afraid of the answer. “No one.” I drop my hand to run my knuckles over her chest. “You’ve been the only one, doll face.”My girl keeps me satisfied. I’ve never been a one-woman kind of guy, but it’s different with Charlotte. I wouldn’t have married her otherwise. “I’ve also never kissed anyone until you,” I tell her. It’s the truth. That day she stood in her kitchen after giving herself over to me, I did what I had wanted to do for so long. Kissing is too personal—intimate. I wanted to make her mine in every way.
She takes in a shaky breath.
“What about you? How many men have you fucked?” I joke, knowing damn well no one else has touched her. They’d be dead if so.
She rolls her eyes and grabs my left hand. “We need to get you a ring.”
“I don’t wear jewelry.”
She huffs. “You’ve got like eight piercings in your dick and another in your nose. Not to mention you wear a watch. I don’t think a wedding ring will kill you.”
I can’t help but smile and shake my head. “Not happening…”
“Then I won’t wear mine.” She goes to remove her seven-carat Harry Winston cushion-cut sapphire wedding ring, but I grab her hands and lift them above her head. Crossing her wrists, I hold them with one hand while the other grips her chin and forces her head up to meet my glare.
