Page 151 of Theirs to Tempt: The Marriage Claim

I have always understood possession.

Being possessed is another matter entirely.

And, Christ help me, I liked it.

Yesterday she sat between us at Carrington’s table and took command of a situation most experienced men would have found intimidating. She saw what I didn’t. Understood what Voss needed. Used his arrogance against him.

I should be satisfied.

Instead, Malcolm Voss has inserted himself into my bed without ever entering the room.

For the first time since Caleb and I began this long, ruthless pursuit, Sophie is with us because some part of her genuinely wants to be.

And I will be goddamned if I’ll allow anyone to ruin that.

My grip tightens around the phone.

Caleb’s eyes open.

He doesn’t ask why I’m awake. One look at my face is enough.

Silently I hand him the phone.

His gaze drops to the screen, and he’s instantly alert. “Son of a bitch.”

Unlike most people, Malcolm Voss has never been intimidated by our dislike of him. If anything, he seems to relish it.

The feeling is mutual.

Years ago, he approached us with what he described as a simple retrieval problem. His wife had disappeared with his longtime business partner, and Voss wanted them found.

There was nothing simple about it.

His wife had discovered an affair he had with a woman young enough that the word affair was charitable. Voss had enough power over her employment and her future that the idea of consent was questionable at best.

And when his wife found out…?

The divorce cost him half of what she could legally reach. His former partner, who knew where Voss had hidden substantially more money, relieved him of another fortune before disappearing with Voss’s wife.

In Voss’s words, he was the victim.

I never agreed.

Voss particularly disliked hearing that from us.

He disliked it even more when Caleb and I refused to locate either of them.

Since his wife still has evidence of his wrongdoing, he wants her back. Unfortunately for him, he’s spent years discovering that there are limits to his reach.

He offered Richard Langford’s archive because he knew we wanted it badly enough to wager something he wanted more.

If Sophie turns on us after seeing what’s in that archive, Voss gets something he wants almost as badly as his wife found—proof that Caleb and I are no better than he is.

Caleb hands my phone back. “We need to tell her.”

My gaze moves to Sophie. “When I’m ready.”

Voss knows enough about our marriage to recognize our obvious hypocrisy. But that doesn’t mean I will allow him to use Sophie to manipulate us.