Page 71 of Wed to the Devil

A silky voice comes from just behind me.

"You're looking well, Talia."

I jump and spin, clutching at my chest. Burn smirks at me, seeming to enjoy my panic. My heart hammers against my chest and I go into full fight or flight mode. Luckily, Dare is right beside me, pushing me behind his big body.

"Don't talk to her," he grits out.

"Dare," Burn finally speaks up, his voice strained. "You can't keep me from talking to her. We both know I didn't do anything wrong, I just...misunderstood."

I snort in disbelief and Dare's arm tightens around my waist as if to remind me that he is still here.

"She's clearly not misunderstanding," Dare says tersely. "She knows exactly what's going on here, and she knows you're a part of it." His voice is cold and firm but it carries an unmistakable undercurrent of anger.

Burn stares at us for a few moments before finally letting out an exasperated sigh. "Fine," he mutters under his breath before turning away from us.

Dare pulls me closer and I feel his rage radiating off him like heat from a fire. He might be trying to contain himself, but his emotions are so palpable I can almost taste them on the air.

But he does not move against his twin brother in any way; he only stands there with me tucked securely against him, silently defending my honor without resorting to violence or even raised voices. It's a stark contrast from the way Remy had treated me earlier and it makes my heart swell with admiration for Dare in spite of all the anger I'm feeling towards him right now.

It takes several long moments of silence before Dare finally speaks up again, this time with a calmer tone: "Burn, why don't you piss off? Unless you want Talia to start telling everybody here that you tried to assault her?"

Burn turns red and shoots me a glare. "This isn't over," he says through clenched teeth.

"It's over when I say it's over," Dare spits back.

Burn grimaces and turns away, heading through the party. My husband's grip on me loosens slightly but doesn't disappear entirely; the comfort of his embrace remains even as he sends his twin away with a polite request instead of an order or threat.

We mill around for a while, talking to wealthy party guests whenever they come up to congratulate us on our recent nuptials. While this is a slightly different set of wealthy people from our wedding guests, word has certainly gotten around about the lavish affair. My feet begin to ache and I start to regret my choice of stiletto high heels. They look great, but they are murder on my legs and back.

"There's Felix," Dare whispers into my ear. "Come on. I want to talk to him."

I compress my lips into a thin line and follow Dare's lead. He sidles up to Felix, who is just coming from one of the party's bars with a fresh cocktail.

"There you are!" Felix crowds when he locks his gaze on Dare. ""It's good to see you. How have you been?"

"Good," Dare replies, still tense from the confrontation with his brother earlier.

"I've got some good news from the state," Felix continues, his gaze flicking briefly over to me before returning to Dare. "My lobbying and legal efforts paid off; your project of offshore drilling off the coast of Maine is finally going to move forward."

Dare grins widely and claps Felix on the shoulder. "That's great! We can start construction soon then."

Felix nods and offers an encouraging smile in response. "Let's get down to business then, shall we? We need to start making plans." He turns back to Dare and fixes him with an intense gaze.

At first I think he's just addressing Dare, but then he adds "Ditch the wife and let’s get down to business." There it is again; that term 'wife' being thrown around like I'm nothing more than an accessory or burden.

But I don't get angry at Felix like I did Remy earlier; instead I feel a swell of pride as Dare stands up for me without hesitating for even a second: "No, she can hear anything you need to say now," he responds firmly. "We're married."

Felix's expression softens slightly and he gives me a small nod of acknowledgement before addressing us both again.

"Very well," he says. "Let's talk about our next steps then."

He launches into a detailed description of the plans for offshore drilling in Maine, leaving Dare and me both thoroughly informed on every aspect of the project by the end of our discussion.

The conversation between Dare and Felix quickly turns to the project's finances. Felix is telling us that they will need a huge cash infusion for the next steps of the plan, when he suddenly stops mid-sentence.

He looks from Dare to me before saying in a low voice: "There is another way, but it's not exactly legal."

My heart sinks as I realize what Felix is suggesting - he's implying that Dare should consider killing his billionaire grandfather Remy for the inheritance money. It's a suggestion so extreme and shocking that I can barely comprehend it.