“I can handle them,” she says.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t handle them. I said I’d take you out of here if this was going to affect you.”
“You’re not in charge of me, Sebastian,” she says, trying to infuse her voice with dominance.
“I know you’re more than capable of kicking ass and taking names. You could destroy their lives if you were that kind of person. But I own your body, and I might decide I need you to spend the day on my cock. While I’m happy to rip those tantalizing fucking shorts off and slam inside of you, no matter who’s watching, I’m guessing you’d rather my parents and the rest of the guests didn’t see me stretching your greedy little cunt out.”
“Oh my god,” she says, throwing her head back and laughing. “This is not the time to talk dirty to me.”
“No?” I smile.
The pain and anguish fade from her eyes, replaced with humor and amusement. “No, you freak, this is a baby shower, you’re wearing a baby-blue shirt for fuck’s sake. We need to at least pretend we’re civilized.”
“Okay, Little Bird. Let’s pretend to be civilized until you’re too drunk to care, then while I drive you home, I’ll hold your head down on my cock and fill your throat with my cum.”
A flash of heat sparks in her eyes, and I smile knowingly. Leaning forward, I press my lips to hers, kissing her and tasting the champagne on her tongue.
By the time guests start to arrive, Starling is tipsy, her smile a little sloppy, her enthusiasm for the event a little too loud.
By three p.m., she’s stumbling and slurring her words. She’s not the only one. Bunny, January, and Clay are all a little worsefor wear too. Evan’s eyes are shimmering with alcohol while he dotes on his pregnant wife, discreetly tugging at the chains that most people would have no idea are hidden beneath her clothes.
Only Sammy, who can’t drink, and Hunter and I are completely sober.
“You have that crazy look in your eye,” I tell Hunter as I sidle up beside him.
“Not crazy, just making sure I know where my wife is,” he replies.
“Do you think she’d run again?” I question, the shock evident in my voice. Bunny was free, but she made the decision to come back to Hunter, and honestly, I thought they were pretty settled now.
“I want us to have a baby,” he says.
“She doesn’t?”
“She wants to wait until after she graduates.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I tell him, already trying to think of ways I can convince Starling to let me put my baby in her.
“I canceled her next birth control shot,” he confesses.
“Does she know?”
“Not yet.”
Laughing softly, I turn to look at my brother. “Psycho club meetings are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from six till seven.”
“Your wife is the fucking chairman these days, so I can’t talk about how I really want to drug my wife and fuck her until she’s pregnant. Because not only will she tell my wife, but she’d probably drug me and have me castrated without telling me,” Hunter spits angrily.
Once again, I’m split between being proud of how effortlessly Starling has become one of us and being pissed that she’s lost the naivety that drew me to her in the first place.
“I’m sorry, brother. If I pick you over my wife, she’ll leave me, and if she did, I’d have to destroy the entire world until I got herback,” I tell him, making sure he knows there’s not an ounce of humor in my words.
Staring at me intently, Hunter eventually nods, and I see the acceptance in his eyes. He’s my brother in every way but blood, but Starling is my wife. She’s my world, and the time when I could put others before her has gone. I can’t lose her, and that means accepting who she is now and making sure I always pick her, no matter the circumstances.
“I think it’s time I took my wife home,” I say, slapping Hunter on the shoulder as I make my way across the room.
“Sebastian,” Starling slurs, throwing her arms around my neck the moment I’m close enough for her to reach.
“Time to go home, wife,” I tell her, letting my voice drop an octave so she’ll hear the order in my words.
