“No.”
I narrow my eyes at her. She’s been behaving rather oddly ever since I got home an hour ago. First, she wasn’t hiding from me in her rooms, as she tends to do. Instead, I found her sitting on the steps of the back entrance, arms wrapped around her knees, staring absently at the trees. When I exited the car, a strange, frantic look filled her wide eyes as she watched me approach. But when my foot hit that first stone step, she bounced up and darted inside the house without a single word to me. After that greeting, I certainly did not expect her to join me for dinner, but Iris was already in the dining room when I got there. Once we sat down to eat, she started stealing glances at me from beneath her lashes, as if I were some kind of ghost.
“Is this about the dog?” I ask.
A low growl sounds a few feet away. I turn to find Taffy sprawled on the floor nearby, his gaze fixed on me. Theo told me about what happened when he brought Iris home in my car. The damn pooch wouldn’t move out of the way, giving them the welcome he reserves exclusively for me. He pulls that crap everytime I get back to the house. That dog hates my guts and is not shy about expressing it.
“Nope.” Iris shakes her head, putting food in her mouth as if on autopilot.
“You sure? If you’re scared of him, I’ll make sure staff do not allow him inside anymore.”
“Taffy has been sleeping in my room since the day he and I met.”
I raise an eyebrow. “So that’s where he’s been. I wondered why the pest hasn’t been barking at night like he used to.”
Iris lowers her cutlery and raises her head, her eyes locking on mine. That peculiar look is in them again, as if there’s a storm brewing in her mind, but somehow, she’s keeping it contained.
“I’d like to spend tonight at my mom’s, if that’s okay?”
“Why?”
“She’s been feeling off for the last couple of days. I think she misses me, but I want to make sure it’s nothing more serious. I’ll be back first thing in the morning.”
My hands clench into fists. I hardly see her as it is, and the idea of Iris spending the night anywhere except our home makes me outright furious. “Theo will take you over after dinner and will collect you in the morning when you’re ready to go.”
“Thank you.”
The rest of our meal passes in silence, with my wife stealing more glances and giving me that weird look when she thinks I’m not paying attention. Maybe she thought I’d keep her as a virtual prisoner and not allow her to spend the night with her mother? Could that be the reason for her odd behavior this evening?
After finishing her dinner, Iris excuses herself. But as she heads out of the room, she stops right beside me. For the span of a long breath, she simply stands there with her head slightly tilted toward me, her anxious eyes searching for something intangible in mine. Then, she mumbles a hurriedgood nightand disappears.
An hour later, I watch from my home office window as the taillights of the car whisking my wife away shrink down the driveway. Followed by three SUVs carrying her protection detail. I sent an extra team to replace my eyes on her. While I’m preoccupied with the fading red glow, already feeling her absence like an acute pain, my phone starts ringing. I wait until the last glimpse has vanished before turning toward my desk to take the call.
“Good evening, sir!” Maggie’s voice carries across the line. “I’m sorry if I’m disturbing you.”
“What is it?” I snarl. She damn well knows to bring whatever issue is happening at the Annex to the club manager and not me.
“I know you said we shouldn’t expect you again in the future, but, given the exclusivity parameter, I thought it would be better to inform you…”
“Inform me about what?” My patience is fading, and Maggie’s hesitant tone is grinding it to dust.
“Your girl just contacted me to see if you might be up for a visit tonight.”
“What?” I roar.
Maggie stays quiet, but I hear her breathing rapidly into the phone.
“Sh-she said she would like to meet with her regular guest,” she finally answers. “I didn’t want to dismiss her request beforespeaking with you. Just in case you changed your mind and would like to see her after all.”
I squeeze my phone so fucking hard, I almost crack it.My wifejust called to schedule a visit with another man. A man she kissed mere hours before marrying me. A man whose savage caresses she welcomed, though my simple touch the next day left her trembling with fear.
A red haze clouds my vision as I try to form the words to respond, but fail.
“Sir? Sir, did you hear me?”
A wild growl rips from my throat. “Tell her, I’ll be there.”
Chapter 27
