I’d meant every word I said to Rhiannon.
She was going to be my wife, the woman that would spark envy and jealousy among the dick hopping, gold-digging socialites.
It wasn’t solely because she was stunning, unconventional, and unafraid to get her hands dirty—which were just a few of the reasons I coveted her.
It was because she had me.
Now that she was here, I didn’t want to let her out of my sight for a single second. I was reigning in the need to keep her beside me twenty-four-seven the best I could. She needed space. Eventually, I wouldn’t give a fuck. For now, I was trying to be understanding.
It felt like my patience had been pushed to its limit, but I’d learned something from all of this, at least. Absence did indeed make the heart grow fonder.
It also made you homicidal.
Borderline psychotic with obsession.
Sometimes it had your closest friends talking you down from stuffing the person you loved in the trunk of your car kicking and screaming against their will.
No one ever mentioned that part of the fucking proverb.
Since I was an asshole who promised to behave myself for a full twenty-four hours my dick was now solid as a rod of steel. I had to question my psychological state for being upset that washing my hands removed the scent of Rhiannon’s pussy from my fingers.
Fucking Christ.
She owned me and didn’t even know it.
One day she would.
Hopefully…
Perhaps I could fuck that revelation into her. Regardless, until that miracle occurred, I had work to keep me somewhat preoccupied. She was never entirely off my mind especially now when I knew how unstable she felt, but I would keep my word to her if it killed me, as long as she would be taken care of and protected when I was gone.
That unpleasant thought made me want to work harder. It was crucial to keep building an impenetrable empire for the dynasty we would create together.
For me, for the life I envisioned in the future, it had to be her. There was only her to complete the fantasy. I didn’t want a trophy to sit on a shelf or a docile lamb that would be fodder for the wolves always circling in search of weakness. I wanted the woman that would skin the fucking wolf and then send its pelt to their friends and family as a gift.
I’d gotten her.
I thanked the devil every day for that. Now I needed to lead my queen to the pedestal I had waiting for her.
There was a quick two-knuckled-knock and before I could look away from the monitor that had been distracting me for the last fifteen minutes, my office door swung open, and Gavin walked right in.
I minimized the screen that had Rhiannon sleeping restlessly in our bed and pulled up the spreadsheet I was supposed to be checking for Cookie’s grocery order.
“Is your name on the door?”
“Huh? No, why?”
“It’s just, you knocked and then walked in here like this was your office and not mine. I thought one of us might be really fucking confused.”
“Courtesy knock,” he replied, dropping into one of the plush chairs in front of my desk.
“What do you need?”
“To catch up with my brother?” he retorted with raised brows as if I should have known that was his intention from the get-go.
“You first. How was your quality time with Audrey?”
“After following you to your parents, we went to the park.”
I typed out a quick note for Cookie to grab some granola bars, the chocolate chip kind. Rhiannon liked those the best.
“You went to the park? Adorable. My heart just swelled for you.”
“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you, J. It never has.”
“I’m a natural-born comedian.”
“Naturally bad.” He laughed and settled back into his seat. He’d ditched the suit jacket and now like me, only wore the undershirt, sans tie.
“You know I can’t be bad at anything. I’m an overachiever. Great at everything even the things I’m not.”
“Been watching Squid Games, have we?”
I ignored that. “So, you took a stroll and probably fed some squirrels. Did you go big and pull out all the stops by giving a few bucks to a beggar?”
He laughed again, shaking his head. “I don’t need to impress Audrey by pulling out stops. She likes doing couple-shit like feeding birds, asshole. Maybe you should take Rhiannon one day.”
“If my Rhiannon wants to feed birds, I’ll build her an entire fucking aviary and we can make a tradition out of it.”
Huh.
That wasn’t a bad idea.
“Judas, no. Birds shit, a lot. Who’s going to clean that up? You pay people to pick up after those hell beasts you call dogs.”
“You make a good point.”
“I always do that’s why you keep me around.”
We both knew that wasn’t true. Gavin and Owen were still my brothers in every way that mattered. We had a bond that could be tested and tried but never broken. Theo was working his way into the fold quite nicely.