“Why did you set Rosie up tonight?” she asked.
“I didn’t plan for it to be Rosie, but I did plan for it to be someone. Needed you to talk to me, and I had to engineer a way to make it happen. Knew Saskia would be able to push your buttons, so I took her with us. After tonight, she’s out. Only kept her around in case I could use her. She’s been in a cell since she fucked me over. Tonight was the first time she’s been out since the drama.”
“Good,” she cut in, her tone hard as nails.
“I’ll give her to your uncle to play with,” I promised. “A little gift for you.”
Her mouth curved into a wicked smile, and my cock thickened in my shorts. I loved her evil streak, and it would serve her well in the future. I mean, she was gonna be my ol’ lady, so she had to let her inner bitch out to play now and again.
“We gotta get married,” I informed her.
Ash’s eyes rounded. “That’s crazy.”
“Need to fuck you,” I admitted.
“And I need time,” she said, her tone almost pleading.
“You’ve had all the time you’re gettin’,” I argued. “You’ve had goddamned months. Need you in my bed, wearin’ my collar and my ring, on your back, and takin’ my cum so you can make me a baby.”
“My family won’t go for it,” she explained gently. “I need to ease them into this slowly. They think we’re over and that youcheated on me, and now you’ve gone after Rosie, too, so you’ve not only alienated my brothers, but also the Speed Demons.”
I mulled over her words for a minute.
She had a point. Maybe the whole threatening Atlas’s sister was a step too far, but I was a man with a plan, and desperate times called for desperate measures.
“Call ’em tomorrow and tell ’em I’ve deleted the evidence,” I told her. “I’ll send Castle to the Demons to start damage control. Honestly, I don’t give a fuck if we have an alliance with ’em, but they mean somethin’ to you, so I’ll make an effort. Your brothers probably won’t ever like me, and that’s okay too ’cause I’m not exactly the type you take home to your family, but once they see I can make you happy, they’ll put up with me.”
“Still,” she argued gently, “I can’t see them even coming to our wedding unless it’s to try and stop it.”
“So we get married without them,” I suggested.
“No,” she protested. “I want my family there.”
My back teeth clenched. Jesus Christ, why couldn’t this fucking woman just do as she was told? I could see a future full of ass beatings and punishments, but then, that wasn’t exactly a chore.
I rubbed the top of my head and tried to think of a solution. “Murphy, our chaplain, will ordain a quickie weddin’ here tomorrow, and we keep it quiet. Then we start PR to rehabilitate my rep. In six months, you get the weddin’ you want. If Callum and Maeve can have two weddings, so can we, and in the meantime, I get to finally fuck you.”
Her eyes took on a distant look while she thought my proposal through, her fingers still trailing my new tattoo. “Maybe it could work.”
“It’s cute you think you have a choice,” I muttered as my eyes drank her in.
Fuck, I’d missed her.
I knew we were complicated, even toxic to a point, but toxic was all I’d ever known. So it wasn’t a big deal. For the first time in my life, I’d had to fight for a woman, and now I’d finally got my prize. The night I met myDubheasa, I knew she was different from the others, and she’d spent the last six months proving that she was fit to rule by my side.
Life with Aislynn O’Shea wouldn’t be a walk in the park, but it would be interesting. This woman drove me crazy and kept me on my toes, and as much as I wanted to throttle her, I knew she was perfect for me.
Life with myDubheasawas going to be a test of my patience alright.
And fuck me, I couldn't wait.
—————
The Next Day
“Honestly, I’m fine,”Aislynn assured her brother through the cell phone. “We talked, and he eventually accepted I wasn’t budging. After some back and forth, he took me home to Ma’s.”
“Thank God,” Callum muttered, relief evident in his voice.
