Page 67 of Beastly Armory
“We need to talk about the weapons. Sosa’s weapons,” she says, after taking a sip of her cola.
“I don’t want to talk about Sosa ever again. We’re good on weapons. I think we’re set. The trade is going well, so we should hunker down now.” I take a drink ofmy ice water. Rubbing the cold condensation from the plastic cup on my jeans, I clear my throat. “I do think we need to talk about moving forward. Uh…” Why am I so fucking nervous? My stomach feels twisted in on itself and one hand raises up to scratch the back of my head. I’ve only ever felt this way before a big match, but usually could deal with it. Now, my heart is racing, pounding out of my chest, and I don’t know how to form the words I need to, the ones I’m so desperate to.
“Moving forward with the guns?” Livia’s bright eyes are large as she investigates mine.
“Uh, with us. Moving forward.” I swallow deeply. “This isn’t a formal proposal, but we should make us official. For the legacy. Talk about heirs when the time is right. And, um, all that.”
Livia turns her head away from me, and now I know why my shoulders are tensed around my neck. She’s going to say no. The knots in my stomach and neck unravel as the bear comes out to play. My claws are itching to rip into her the moment she refuses.
“Here you go! Need anything else? Some ketchup?” Livia looks at me briefly, then shakes her head at the waitress. Neither of us move toward the food. After the waitress walks away, Livia leans forward to take a hearty bite of her burger. She chews slowly while I monitor every morsel roaming around in her mouth. Waiting.
“Livia,” I say quietly, letting it fall into the open air as she half pretends like she didn’t hear me.
“Hmm?”
“Livia, come on. What is it? I thought youunderstood last night. You—you’re fuckingmine, foxy.” She takes another bite of her burger, then a long sip of her drink. Sitting forward, she stays still as can be, pulling away from my touch, not even looking at me. That’s the part that does me in. “Answer me. Goddamn it, Livia, answer me!” Pounding a fist on the table, the saltshaker spills on its side, emphasizing my point further.
With a swift inhale, tears spring to her eyes before flooding cheeks, droplets splashing onto her pile of fries. A silent desperation focuses on her face as her shoulders shake with silent sobs, the movement causing my heart to shatter with every rise and fall. She seems to be crying a lot around me. The first time we kissed, the first time I entered her...
Reaching across the orange Formica table, I snatch a handful of thin paper napkins from the stainless-steel dispenser. She takes them from me, and I wrap an arm around my woman, pulling her back into my side, where she belongs. I only feel an ounce of relief when her wet face buries into my neck as she weeps, her back heaving as she pants for breaths, knowing she isn’t totally closing me out. The sound of her whimpers drives me insane with agony. All the happiness I felt yelling out the car window now makes me ache with pain.
“Do we need to leave? What’s wrong, Livia? Please, talk to me.” My large fingers stroke through the back of her hair as I press my lips close to her ear and say in a low, calming voice, “Is it Franklin? He’s a dick. I’ll hunt him down and kill him myself if that will make you feel better. I won’t hurt you, foxy. Please, just talk to me.”
Her heaves settle, and her cries become sniffles against my shoulder. The moisture from her face has soaked into my shirt, but I don’t mind. I need her back together, or I’m going to fucking break. She’s my wild mustang, my badass bitch, and I’m not quite sure what to do with her like this.
“Max. I-I can’t have children. I’m so sorry. I’m broken. You should be with someone else. Be with someone else to have your legacy.”
Everything in me stills. My heart falters, its chambers closing. Lungs stop exchanging air. And for the first time since Markus found me to tell me about my parents dying, tears form in my eyes.
Is this what she has hidden from me? Why she’s avoided me this whole time…
I can barely hear my own voice as it comes out. “I’m so sorry, Livia.” My arm envelopes her body as I hold her closer, flush to me. “But if you eventhinkfor a moment that means I don’t want you, or that I should be with someone else, you banish that thought from your brain right the fuck now. You’remine, foxy. Nothing changes that. Nothing.” Gripping the tail of her hair, I pull her back to look at me, tears streaming down her pinkened cheeks. “If you can or cannot have children, I don’t give a shit. If you want kids, we’ll have some kids. Whatever it takes, adopt, surrogacy, I don’t fucking care. I’ll be happy to die alone with you, if you don’t want any, but Iwillbe with you. Fuck the legacy.”
She swallows roughly and takes a moment to stare at me before she says, “Okay.”
My lips find hers, wet and sloppy. I’m still surrounding her under the protection of my arms. When I pull back, I sit up and point to her dish. “Now, eat your meat. And let’s get hitched.”
Wiping her face, she remains quiet while I dig into my food and say with my mouth full, “I’m serious, foxy. No kids is fine. Eat up. We can get married whenever you want. But we’re getting married.”
She leans into my shoulder and picks up a fry. “Thank you, Max.”
Taking a bite of my burger, I kiss the top of her head. “No need to thank me. This is what I want. This is what’s happening now.”
Seeming to shake off the doldrums, she sits up and begins to eat again.
“So, wedding at the Crimson Angel, then?” I ask with a smirk. She shoves her shoulder into mine and snorts. “I mean, we did meet there after twenty years. It’s only fitting.”
A piece of her meal sticks out of her mouth as she says, “I amnotgetting married in Strauss’s corrupt cathedral.”
Nodding slowly, a small smile crosses my face. “But you’ll marry me.”
Taking another few bites, she nods. “Yes, Max. I suppose I’ll marry you.”
“Jesus. Don’t sound so excited, foxy.” Shaking my head, I let a heavy sigh ring out.
“It’s hard to break the conditioning that I was born toproduce an heir for you. And I’m worried you’ll regret marrying me and kill me off.”
IknewFranklin had something to do with her cold nature. Maybe I could ask Cal his whereabouts… String him up to a tree and let loose some Yellowjackets after covering him with honey. Is that enough for the pain he’s caused my fox?