Page 22 of Poison and Wine
He winced. “Christ, Callum.”
Unable to wait another second to check on Caterina, I flung open the door. Relief flooded me when I saw her. Across the room, she was on her knees by the bedside. At the sound of the door, her pinched eyes shot wide open.
“Didn’t you hear me knocking?” When she nodded, I demanded, “Then why didn’t you answer the door?”
“I was praying.”
I stalked over to her. “Let’s get one thing straight. When I call, you come. Understood?”
“I’m not a dog,” she spat. With her haughty tone and tense body language, it appeared she was over her emotional breakdown; her venom and spite was back.
“You are to answer to me, Caterina.”
With a shake of her head, she replied, “I will not interrupt my prayers for anyone, least of all you.”
Grabbing her arm, I jerked her to her feet. “The only time you should be on your knees in our bedroom is when you have my cock in your mouth.”
The next thing I knew Caterina’s palm connected with my cheek in a jarring slap. “Don’t you ever say something blasphemous like that in my presence again!”
My eyes narrowed into fury-filled slits at her. “I’ll say and do whatever the fuck I want. I’m the head of this fucking family and your future husband.”
Caterina slung herself out of my grip. “Then say what you came to say and leave me alone.”
“This is our room.”
“You can sleep somewhere else,” she commanded.
“I don’t take orders, Kitten.” I grabbed her by the shoulders and jerked her against me. My head dipped to press my lips against the shell of her ear. “I give orders, and people follow them.”
“Let me go!” she demanded.
“I’ll let you go when I’m fucking ready.” At the realization I was serious, Caterina stopped thrashing in my arms. Instead, she tucked her chin to her chest almost obediently. “While this is our room, I actually came to see if you were settling in all right.”
“As if you really care.”
“I do.”
She shook her head. “If you truly cared about me, you’d let me go.”
Rubbing my hand over my face, I countered, “I’m not arguing about this with you again.”
“Then leave me.”
“Gladly,” I hissed.
After I slammed the door, Dare gave a low whistle. “She’s a real corker.”
“A fecking geebag.”
“She’s not that bad.” After glancing around the hallway, he leaned in closer to me. “When she slapped you?” He shuddered. “Christ, I got hard as a rock.”
With a grunt, I shoved him back. “Shut your fucking mouth and go take a cold shower.”
“Come on, man. Didn’t it kinda turn you on too? I mean, think about that kinda fire but when you’re fucking.”
My frayed patience snapped, and I lunged at Dare. With my elbow against his throat, I pushed him against the wall. “Do not ever let me hear you talk about Caterina that way again. Got it?”
The bastard had the audacity to grin back at me. “Damn... she’s... already... under... your skin...” he choked out.