Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Ryker
Dinner with my family is the same shit as always. They eat a ton, clean the fridge out of wine and beer, and the volume within the room…ten people make a ridiculous amount of noise.
I’ve hated these gatherings in the past. They look fake to me. Like we’re pretending we have a bond that we do not.
But I’m starting to wonder if that’s been me all along. Because tonight feels different. The laughter feels warm, the conversation easy.
But it’s more than that that makes the night interesting…
The funnest part of all…. Watching Sasha with my sisters-in-law.
Chloe links arms with her, pulling her toward Honeyeh, Triston’s wife.
Ava joins them, and sitting on the couch together, feminine laughter fills the room, Sasha right in the middle of it all.
In fact, she looks happier and more relaxed than I’ve ever seen her. She’s having a good time, her eyes absolutely sparkling with her delight.
And for whatever reason, that means I have fun too.
I take a swallow of my beer, leaning on the stove as I half watch her, half listen to Triston regale us with his story of his recent boardroom success.
He’s gotten the investors in our casinos to drop the interest rate of our loan, because we’re going to be able to repay the loan early.
It must be a major loss for the investors, and yet, they are happy to oblige. My guess, they see a rising star in the Smith Brothers’. And the success of the last year is about to beget more success.
Tris, Gris, and Rush stand in a semi-circle, their classically handsome features a matching set.
They look the same, think the same. They even have the same laugh, as they all chuckle over the investors’ groveling. Fuckers. They’ve always been winners.
That thought puts me back where I usually exist with my family. On the outside. They don’t know what it feels like to be on the losing end of any equation.
“You’re quiet,” Gris rumbles from next to me. His wife isn’t here tonight. A Kincaid, she had family obligations of her own.
“He’s quiet every night,” Triston adds, pushing my shoulder. “You and Killian…it’s fucking impossible to get a word out of either of you.”
I glare at Triston. “Maybe we’d share more if anyone actually cared to hear it.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Triston scowls back, squaring off with me. Fine with me. I could use an outlet for the pent-up emotions that have been crowding my head.
“You know what it means,” I grit back, looking over at Sasha, who has gone quiet, her worried eyes meeting mine. Shit. I force myself to relax.
Gris gives me a side eye, his stare thoughtful even as Triston presses. “Seriously, what’s with you tonight?”
Killian materializes from the shadows. “This Sver sighting have you tweaked?”
“It’s more than that. You’ve been even more withdrawn than normal lately.” Gris presses, his level stare making me feel like he’s attempting to uncover my darkest secrets. He won’t.
“Marriage is changing him,” Killian answers, his gaze intent upon me.
That is not it. Not at all. “This has nothing to do with my wife.”
“Wife,” Rush, my youngest brother, lets out a huff of air. “Weird to hear you say it.”
“It’s weird to hear me call a woman wife?
” I quirk a brow, forcing my tone to take on a joking air.
I know I need to lighten the mood. For Sasha’s sake, but also, my brothers never ask about feelings.
I must really be off. “Must run in the family. Before Chloe, Killian would have won a world competition for least-eligible bachelor.”
Triston snorts out a laugh, my other brothers joining in. “That’s funny because it’s true.”
I relax my shoulders, knowing that we’ve moved into safer territory with this conversation.
“If he was least eligible,” Gris scoffs at Triston, “you were least likely.”
Triston makes a noise of derision deep in his throat. “This coming from the man who blackmailed his bride.”
“That’s right, you did do that,” Killian harrumphs as he crosses his arms over his chest. “Tricky bastard.”
But my jaw goes granite hard as a muscle tics in my cheek. Gris’s story is ringing with a familiarity that has my stomach churning. “I’d forgotten too.”
“You forgot he slept with Arabella in Hawaii, but neglected to mention his identity or the fact that he was her brother’s enemy?
” Triston lifts his brow. I have to admit that Tris is as ready to needle Gris as he is me.
In that way, he’s completely fair. He’s an equal pain in the ass to everyone in the family.
“First, I did not sleep with her in Hawaii.” Gris shoves his twin hard in the shoulder. “And second, I’m still making up for some of that shit, so let’s leave it be, because if any of this conversation gets back to her, I’ll be sleeping on the fucking couch for a month.”
“How do you make it up to her?” I ask, not even sure why I’m asking except there is a weight in the pit of my stomach.
I roll my neck, cracking it as I try to get myself in check. I’m not going to get an attack of conscience. Not going to decide to make my marriage permanent. I don’t even date. But this entire conversation is pricking at my every wound.
From my family to the shifting sand that is my feelings for Sasha, my control is slipping away.
“By being an attentive husband,” Gris growls back, his black look letting me know he’s done with the conversation. “Which not only means lots of orgasms, it means lots of everything else.”
I hold up my hands to concede, my gaze drifting back to Sasha as she sips her wine, giggling into the glass.
Dimitri steps up next to me then. “I’ve got to hand it to you.”
“What’s that?” My eyes don’t leave the woman who has captivated my attention.
“She seems…happy.”
I jerk my chin in acceptance of the compliment, as I finally take my eyes off my bride. “She wasn’t happy this afternoon. In fact, she seemed completely freaked out.”
“Sver,” Dimitri’s deep frown says it all.
“Sasha said it meant Beast.”
“It does. But to be honest, he’s too controlled for the nickname. He’s more like a robot. Not even my father can goad him into reacting, and normally he can get under anyone’s skin.”
“Really? Because the one story Sasha told me sounded very emotional.”
Dimitri’s attention laser focuses to me. “What kind of story?”
Leaning over, I whisper the details, my brothers leaning in as well as they listen to the information.
Dimitri goes pale as I share the story of the guard. “How badly did he hurt her?” Dimitri pushes out through gritted teeth.
I shake my head. “She didn’t seem all that bothered by the guard. She was more focused on Sver.”
“But why would Sver kill the guard for a minor offense?” Killian asks. “It speaks to a crime that Sver could not abide.”
Killian would know.
“Maybe it was an excuse?” Gris asks with a shrug. “He already had a beef with the guard?”
Triston scrubs his jaw, “The question is, would he hurt a woman he’s killed for? I mean Sasha is a tiny little thing who looks almost…angelic. And she’s been nothing but a victim. You’d have to have no feelings at all to kill someone like that.”
No one knows better than me that Sasha is no angel.
Which reminds me, I’ve got to move this dinner along. I’ve got a night ahead with my bride that I’m looking forward to.
“Thoughts, Dimitri?” I ask, trying to get answers. “Why would he protect her then, and is he here to hurt her now?”
Dimitri shakes his head. “All I know is that he’s never disobeyed a direct order from my father. So, if my father sent him, then he’s here to do a job and no one that I know of, has ever stopped him from completing the task at hand.”
Well. Fuck.
I’ve got to think on that. I set my beer down, only pretending to drink anyway, as I start to clean up.
“We’ll double the guards,” Triston says as he scratches his chin.
“Sasha and I will stay put,” I add, tossing out an empty tray that held chicken parmesan.
“So will me and Chloe,” Killian adds as he catches my eye. “We need to be prepared for trouble.”
An hour later, my family leaves, Sasha waving goodbye like she’s really going to miss them.
Did she want them to stay?
I’m glad she fit in, enjoyed their company.
But I’ve got other plans for the woman who has captured my attention all night. And I’m ready to be alone with my wife.
I briefly wonder if the word “wife” is fucking with my head.
I can’t remember being this keen to get a woman in bed ever.
This is an arrangement, and I’d decided to make it physical to further my cause, not because I was thinking with my cock.
Doesn’t hurt if I serve both, does it?
But I have a moment where I hesitate. Things feel different with Sasha. I like watching her when she’s happy.
I liked sleeping in bed with her last night. And…
I’m not changing my mind or the plan. With that in mind, I do a quick cleanup of the kitchen and then follow her into the bedroom.
Truth be told, the whole thing with Sver has me spooked too. I’m not worried about myself. Sasha is my woman, my wife. And I will do anything and everything to keep her close and keep her safe.
She’s already in the bathroom, I hear the water running. Crossing to the doorway, I lean against the jam as she washes her face, my gaze running over her glossy ponytail, down her neck and back, and over the swell of her ass, her legs on full display in the dress.
I’ve been half hard all night, and looking at her now, I’d like to fuck her right here, right now as I bend her over the sink.
Her gaze catches mine in the mirror and I see her eyes widen. “Ryker.”
My name on her lips pulls me in closer and I stalk toward her. She spins just before I get there so that she’s facing me, which only invites me to pull her into my body, my lips finding the pulsing vein in her neck.
“You all right? It’s been a crazy day.” I run my hands over her body, testing her muscles. Are they tense? Relaxed? I know she’s not hurt, but it’s almost like I’m checking her for injuries. But she’s relaxed in my arms. I relax too.
I lightly nip her skin with my teeth, my cock getting hard until it’s pressing into the cradle of her hips as one her legs winds around mine.
I love the way her petite frame feels in my hands, the way she fits against me, hot, sexy, and a touch vulnerable.
“Your body is made for mine,” I rumble into her skin.
She shivers against me. “You think?”
“I know, Princess.” Whatever we’re building, I’m going to enjoy the ride.
“I’ll have to take your word for it,” she answers, even as she tilts her head to give me more access.
“Why is that?” I ask, lifting my head. I don’t even realize I’m glaring until her eyes widen. Am I frightening her?
For some reason, it pisses me off that this isn’t special for her. That she isn’t feeling what I’m feeling.
“Because,” she whispers, her fingers digging into my biceps. “I’ve never…”
My eyes narrow into slits as I stare down at her, trying to catch her meaning. “What do you mean, you’ve never…”
She flushes pink. “I lived under house arrest. I didn’t exactly date.”
This time, her words penetrate my dense skull and I harden everywhere, my cock thick enough to cut diamonds. “Wife, are you telling me you’re a virgin?”
“I know it’s not normal,” she rushes to explain. “It’s not a big deal. I just thought you’d want to know.”
I bend down, wrapping an arm under her ass and lifting her into my arms. “I do want to know,” I growl, as I start carrying her toward the bed.
Did sex with Sasha seem special before? Now it’s…
The very idea that she would be all mine. That no man has ever gotten to experience what I have. It makes my chest grow impossibly tight. “It’s a big fucking deal to me.”