Page 5 of Fix You
His proclamation caused my trembling knees to give way, and I sank to the ground. Heaving sobs tore through me so harshly I could scarcely breathe.
“Dry your eyes, you ungrateful cunt. You’ll be one of the richest women in Ireland. Your sons will lead the second most powerful clan in the country.”
At the thought of bearing Oisin’s sons, my stomach rolled, and I retched violently onto the crypt floor. Over and over I heaved under the heavy burden Da was imposing.
With his gun still pointed on me, my father reached for the handkerchief in his breast pocket. He threw it at me. “Clean up and make yourself presentable for your future husband.”
My eyes widened in horror. Oisin was here? Was Father going to give me to him to be marriedtonight?
As if on cue, Qisinn swept through the door of the crypt. A cruel smirk curved on his lips at the sight of me. “Hello, mybrídeach.”
Hearing him call me his bride sent bile shooting into my throat, causing me to gag. Before I could recover, my father’s fingers twisted around my arm, jerking me to my feet. My cry of pain choked off into a screech.
Da grabbed me by the shoulders, turning me to face him. “I’m done with your impudence, Maeve. After I uncovered you and your brothers’ plan, I thought of many ways to punish you for your continued insolence and to dissuade you from any future disobedience.”
A sadistic look flashed in his eyes, and I shuddered at what I imagined was the torture that lay ahead. “But then I realized you are Oisin’s future wife, and the punishment should be up to him.”
This couldn’t be happening. When I tore my gaze from Da over to Oisin, a fiendish smile carved into his doughy cheeks. “I thought long and hard of all the ways I could prove that you were mine and mine alone. Beatings and brandings were in the forefront of my mind, but then I realized the perfectpunishment.” Jerking his chin at Da, Oisin said, “ Surprisingly, your father agreed.”
“To prove that you belong to Oisin, he’s going to make you his. Right here, right now,” Da replied.
I stared blankly at my father. Considering there wasn’t a priest present, I didn’t comprehend what he meant. He’d already forced me to sign a marriage contract. The only thing that kept me from being legally Oisin’s was a ceremony.
Oisin leered at me as he took a step forward. “I certainly never imagined our first time in a crypt, least of all with an audience, but I’m sure I can rise to the occasion,” he mused with a lecherous chuckle.
At the realization of his words, mind-altering terror the likes I’d never experienced before shattered through me. “You can’t mean that,” I choked out.
“Marriages aren’t truly legal unless they’re consummated. In this case, possession is 9/10’s of the law–I possess your body, and you belong to me.”
As Kellan once again jerked me behind him, Eamon jabbed his finger at Oisin. “If you think we’re going to stand here and let you lay one finger on Maeve, you’re out of your fucking mind.”
Smirking, Oisin pointed his gun at Eamon. “You’ll stand there with your feckin’ mouth shut, or I’ll blow your brains out all over your sister. Either way, I’m still fucking her.”
“They’re not going to just stand there,” Da said, a menacing look flashing on his face.
“You’re damn right we’re not,” Kellan challenged.
Da cocked his gun. “As part of your punishments for helping her, you’re going to hold Maeve down for Oisin.”
The color drained from Kellan’s face as Eamon sputtered with anger. “You’ll have to kill me before you do that!” he spat.
“I have other sons,” Da calmly remarked. A horrific chill went through me at his intent As his finger twisted on the trigger, Ishoved into him, causing the shot to barely miss Eamon before it shattered a vase of lillies.
My act of sparing Eamon earned me another stinging smack across my cheek. I turned my pleading gaze on Eamon and Kellan. Although I desperately wanted them to save me from the torture that lay ahead, the stakes were too high. “Just do what he asks.”
Kellan furiously shook his head. “We would never betray you like that.”
“Think of Mam. She can’t lose you.” There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that Mam would be utterly destroyed if Kellan and Eamon were killed. As long as I had breath in me, I couldn’t allow that to happen. Swiping the tears from my cheek, I begged, “I can’t endure this if you’re killed.”
In that moment, I didn’t comprehend the depth of the emotional torture my request would be inflicting on them. Time would only prove how wounding it was to have a part in their sister’s violation. I just knew I couldn’t bear to live in a world where I had a hand in their demise.
A tormented regret twisted on their faces before they finally bobbed their heads. Their hands once twisted into fists fell limply at their sides.
After closing the distance between us, Oisin’s fingers gripped my chin. “From this moment on, you’remineMaeve. My wife in practice if not yet in name. But don’t worry, we’ll be wed within the day.”
Before I could protest his insinuations, he slammed his lips against mine. Revulsion rocketed through me, and I once again fought my gag reflex. At that moment, I looked for small mercies, and one was that he wasn’t my first kiss. I’d given that to the son of one of my father’s clansmen on my eighteenth birthday. It had been soft and tender–everything a young woman could hope for.
Once he released my mouth, he stared down at me with a lust-filled gaze. “Your taste drives me wild.”