“Not personally. I had someone else do it. I can’t be everywhere.”
Nix snorts a laugh. “Is this wedding still on?” she asks.
“Yes, why would it not be?” Do they have information I do not?
“She was actually referring to having not killed me yet,” Paxton fills in for me. I marginally relax. When it comes to Paxton and me, I don’t do well with the jokes. I know they are only poking at him as they do with each other, but it irritates me.
“I love how annoyed she got from my question.” Nix laughs.
“She was needling me and not you,” I say.
Paxton’s lip pulls up on one side, and he gives a slight nod.
“It’s hard to push your buttons.” Nix pretends to poke the air with both index fingers.
Paxton’s hand slides up my back to rest at the nape of my neck, his thumb stroking me. Any annoyance I was feeling melts away, Paxton’s touch bringing me a comfort no other ever could.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
PAXTON
All these years I’ve fantasized about Naomi being mine; I never thought about all the ins and outs there would be on a personal level for myself. The only person I have ever considered family was Sloane.
Now I’m in a room filled with all the Marino men who have welcomed me into the fold far easier than I would have thought, but I suppose they trust Naomi’s judgment. They also likely don’t want to cross her. My soon-to-be wife is rather scrappy, and she’ll play dirty.
We’ve trained together many times. It doesn’t pan out. We always end up fucking. I can’t say that I hate it. She has the rest of her family to train with. Naomi might want me to come out here and give her a challenge, but it’s not in my nature.
Maybe I should treat her like one of the boys. That’s the whole point to a lot of this. She’s no different, but to me she will always be different. I want to nurture all of her sides, and that includes the feminine part that she keeps tucked away. The one that is for my eyes only.
What’s the most fascinating about it is the deceit and femininity. The more ruthless I am to her enemies, the more ruthless she becomes. My sunshine will burn down the worldand then crawl into my lap like a cuddly kitten. That shit makes me feel like a king.
“I would tell you this is your last chance to get out of this if you wanted, but I don’t want to die tonight,” Eros jokes.
“You’d have to kill me to stop this wedding.” I’ve been fascinated with Naomi from afar for years, but now having spent weeks having her in my arms and bed each night, I have only sunk deeper. I should have killed my father sooner.
“He’s not going anywhere.” War comes to stand next to us. I check my watch. We should have had a morning wedding. I have been waiting all fucking day for this. “Let me ask you something,” War says. “What were the odds you had on me not killing you that day in my office?”
“I gave it a ninety percent chance you wouldn’t, but it dropped down to eighty when I reminded you that you and Tova had an arranged marriage.”
War’s jaw flexes.
“Holy fuck,” Eros chuckles at War. “You and Naomi are so much alike.” He shakes his head. “I mean, I get murderous about Bonte, but you and Naomi might kill us all and ask questions later.” I smirk at that. What is there to say? I don’t think he’s far off the mark. Naomi does share a lot of War’s qualities on the outside, but deep inside, she has a lot of Tova in her too.
“He’s good for her,” War says. “Her life shouldn’t be all work. She’d been letting her mind stay in that mode all the time. It can be exhausting. It’s not easy for us to step back, but my wife can bring me back.” He flicks a glance over to me. “Tova grounded me, and I am pleased that my daughter has found that for herself too.”
I almost say that I found her, but it’s a moot point.
“She’s good for me too.” They all look at me as though that was already assumed. I have to say that I love how protective they are of all the women in the family.
“The two of you complement each other. Both powerful in your own right but willing to cede power when it comes to one another. To compromise when needed. I never thought I’d see the day that Naomi compromised on anything.” War lets out a rare low chuckle.
I check my watch again. I’ve always been patient, but today, not so much. If I had to guess, Naomi isn’t either. They tried to say we couldn’t spend last night together. That they were having a girls’ night.
That lasted until around midnight, and we might have crashed it. When I stepped into the movie room downstairs where they’d all been hanging out, I saw the slight widening of her eyes and the small pull to the corner of her lips that showed she was pleased to see me.
Hoots and hollers echoed as I tossed her over my shoulder and carried her out. Naomi’s face had flushed, but she didn’t protest. We got back to the room, and I had my way with her twice and once this morning.
“It’s time,” Tova says, poking her head into the library where we’d been ordered to go. “Everyone to their seats.” Everyone files out, even War to go see Naomi.
