He spat the words, and it took me a moment to understand what he was saying, what he could mean.
“Hey!”I caught his arm when he made to move past me, spinning him back around.“Sassy?Our Sassy?”
Clive snorted.His dark eyes were burning with anger.Whatever he’d learned in town, he’d built up a full head of steam on his way back, and I wasn’t going to let him approach Sassy when he was like this.She hadn’t any experience dealing with an angry Clive, but I had plenty.
“She’s not ours.”He tried to shrug me off, but I held on tight and used his movement to push him back, setting myself protectively between him and the house.
“The hell, she isn’t.What the hell happened in town?”
“There are men looking for her, but not for the reason she said,” Clive said flatly.The lack of emotion in his voice wasn’t good, not at all.It meant he barely had control of his temper and was right on the verge of erupting.“Get out of my way, William, I have some questions for ourwife.”He sneered at me on the final word.
Hell.
I stood my ground, clenching my fists.Even if Sassy had lied to us, even if not a word out of her mouth was true, that didn’t mean she deserved Clive at his worst.Besides, we’dseenthe kind of woman she was.Caring.Sensual.Eager for affection.Eager to bestow affection.
“You’re not going in there ‘til you tell me what’s going on.”
Maybe that would help shave off some of his anger.I didn’t think he’d hurt her, not physically, but sometimes, Clive didn’t realize how much damage he could do with his words.
“There’s a man looking for her all right, her former lover.She was his mistress.And before that, she was a whore.She stole from him, assaulted him, and ran.”
I stared at Clive.
Shit.
That… explained a lot, actually.At least about how she did things like easily suck our whole cocks down her throat, and why she didn’t want to talk about her past.Had she been scared we’d reject her if we’d known?Clive and I weren’t virgins, far from it, but there were different standards for men.It wouldn’t have bothered me.
Was it bothering Clive?
“I don’t care what she did before she came to us, she’s our wife now.”I wasn’t going back on that.If Clive intended to, we might have to part ways.The thought made me sick to my stomach, but I wasn’t going to leave Sassy unprotected because of her past.Staying with Clive because he had some puritanical notion lodged in his head and leaving her in danger wouldn’t just make me sick, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
“You don’t care that she lied?”Clive stared at me, flabbergasted.
“What does it matter what she did in the past?She’s ours now, and she’s a damn good wife,” I shot back at him.
“But shelied.We don’t know a thing about her, not really.She could be setting us up, just like she did him.”
“Setting us up for what, Clive?”I swept my arm out, gesturing at the ranch.We had cows, horses she couldn’t ride, a vegetable garden, chickens...“What do we have that she can physically steal?And where would she go with it?You aren’t making a lick of sense.”
He was starting to turn red in the face.Jabbing a finger at me, he scowled.
“No, you aren’t making a lick of sense.She lied to us, and you don’t even care.Or is it that you don’t want to admit you were wrong about that damn ad?”
“I wasn’t wrong!”Damnit.I shook my head.“That’s not why, though, Clive.The ad doesn’t matter.Her past doesn’t matter.You aren’t thinking straight.”
“No,youaren’t thinking straight.You’ve got her built up in your head to be something she’s not, and you aren’t willing to admit she’s not perfect because that would ruin the happy little dream you’ve concocted.I knew something was wrong from the start, but I kept stepping back, trying to give you what you wanted?—”
“Oh, sure,givingme what I wanted,” I cut off his tirade, shaking my head.My fists flexed.That was pure Clive.Now that he thought marrying Sassy was a mistake, it was allmyfault.Not that I agreed with him about it being a mistake, but my temper was soaring.“Because sharing a wife was some great sacrifice on your part, you’ve been suffering terribly?—”
“It doesn’t matter.”He slashed his hand through the air as if that would be the end of the argument.“I’m going in to ask her some questions, and this time, sheisgoing to answer.”He stepped forward, but I didn’t move.I braced myself, feet apart, muscles tensed, and head lowered.
“Like hell.You want to questionourwife, you’ll have to go through me first.”
“Don’t do this, William,” Clive warned, taking another step toward me, his dark eyes glinting with barely repressed violence.“I don’t want to hurt you.”
Arrogant bastard.Of course, he assumed he’d win in a fight.
“Then turn around and walk away until you come to your senses,” I snapped back.
