Page 24 of Wed to the Devil
“No offense, Clive. But if my brother wanted to fuck with Talia, he would have found a way to do it regardless of being watched or not. None of his actions are your fault.”
I reach out, gently laying a hand onto Clive’s arm. I’m hysterical, almost sobbing when I speak.
“You saved me, Clive. Thank you. I’ll never forget it.”
Dare looks at me, grabbing my coat and pulling me close, his eyes search my face.
“You’re all right now. It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He cups my jaw, looking down at me, his eyes blazing with fury and concern. “Did he hurt you?”
“He… He grabbed me. He wanted to pay me to run away from our marriage. And he– he threatened to kill me. I think if it weren’t for Clive, he would’ve…” I shake my head, tears welling in my eyes. “Done something more.”
Dare turns away, his body as tight as a bowstring, his eyes riveted on the door that we just exited. But I grab at his arm, scared that he will either trounce Burn or Burn will beat the shit out of him. Either way, I don’t want to be the cause of it.
“Dare, please. Stay with me!”
He moves toward his twin brother, murder in his eyes. I pull Dare away from Burn, my tone turning pleading.
“Please don’t leave me. I need you, Dare.”
Dare freezes and then turns his head back to me. I lift his arm, using my shoulders underneath it. Then I hug his body, realizing only then that I am shaking so hard that my teeth began to chatter.
“Don’t leave me. Please.”
Some of the tension goes out of his body and he closes his arms around my shoulders, pulling me against his chest. I know that I am supposed to be faking my reaction to keep the twins from killing each other. But it feels so good to have his familiar scent around me, his warmth revitalizing me, his big strong body sheltering me. I close my eyes for a second and let out a shaky breath.
“Okay,” he whispers into my hair. “Okay. I’ll deal with my brother later. Clive, tell the driver to pull the car around. We’re leaving.”
Dare sweeps me up into his arms and carries me out of the mansion.
ChapterEight
DARE
It takes everything in me to drive Talia back to our loft and carry her upstairs without turning around and going back to the estate. The fact that my brother thinks that he has the right to touch my fucking wife makes me sick with a frenzied kind of anger.
I am poisoned with fury, unable to think straight. I can’t stop myself from picturing just how amazing it will feel when I grab Burn by the collar and put my hands around his throat, staring into his eyes as I choke the life out of him.
But I can’t do that just now. No, now I have to carry Talia through the loft, not stopping until I manage to deposit her in our bed. She is still shaky and watching me with wide eyes. As if she doesn’t quite trust me, but I am better than the alternatives.
“You didn’t have to carry me all this way,” she says, her voice barely a whisper. She shrugs her long red mane out of her face and purses her lips, her eyes still scanning my face. “I could’ve walked.”
I look up at her, my blood still pumping hot through my veins. Talia struggles out of her jacket and I lean in, cupping her jaw.
Something has changed. Something has shifted inside me.
Something that was triggered by her words.I need you, Dare.
I’ve never been needed before, never been relied upon. The responsibility of being Talia’s husband is all striking at once, enormous and sudden and sucking the breath right out of my lungs.
I need you, Dare.It’s like she found the secret words to activate my soul.
I bend and brush my lips against Talia's, my fingers tightening on her face.
“I will kill him,” I utter. “For laying a hand on you, Burn assured his own death.”
Talia winces and reaches up a hand, delicately threading it through my hair. She hesitates for a moment before answering.
“You can’t kill Burn. What he did was unthinkable and unforgivable. But he doesn’t deserve to die for it. He is a bastard, no question about it. But I don’t think you killing him and then ending up in jail is going to help anyone. Not me, not the entire Morgan family.”