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For anyone who has loved someone not because they are perfect but because you manage to find beauty in all their shades of gray.
She smiles now. And it’s fucking blinding. It’s not demure or shy. It’s a weapon, and she knows exactly what she’s doing by pulling it out on me. Before, I was quiet because I’m always suspicious of people who randomly show up at my door. Now I’m quiet because my brain is short-circuiting, and my eyes are wandering. Wandering over shiny strands of dark hair, tan skin, and the feminine flare of her hips. Yeah. Tabitha, sister of my new tenant, is hot, looks like she thinks I might have bodies buried in my basement, and has a mean handshake. Strangely, I’m into it.
“Pinky swear.” “Pinky swear?”
“You know these aren’t legally binding, right?”
know, but only a total asshole breaks a pinky promise.”
I just know that usually I go out of my way to hide from too much attention. But I don’t mind the way she looks at me.
I swallow. I blink. I roll my lips together. And then I feel a big, warm hand on my knee. One I wasn’t expecting. One I have no idea how to feel about. And one I can’t look away from. Tan skin, thick fingers, streaked with veins.
Which means I need to face Tabitha. Talk to Tabitha. Assess Tabitha. And try not to think about ripping Tabitha’s clothes off while I do it.
Plus, I get off on a good fight. And the thought of going toe-to-toe with Tabitha makes me hard.
“Tabitha. I. Don’t. Know.” That shuts her up. “You were right, okay? I don’t know anything.” Her mouth pops open and then closes again. “All I know is that the stories your sister told me don’t fit with what I’ve seen today. All I know is that Milo’s mom is gone, and I want nothing but the absolute best for him. All I know is that he’s talked about tabby cats for the past fucking year, and I’ve told him over and over again that I’m allergic.”
“Oh, and I sleep with a gun under my pillow, so don’t try anything weird.” I drop my chin, and a smile curves my lips. Because I’m pretty sure that—in her own way—Tabitha Garrison was just nice to me.
I give my head a shake too and glance up at the ceiling, asking the sky for a little self-control here. And I remind myself that I do not like Rhys Dupris, no matter what my pussy thinks about him.
How can I hate someone who loves my nephew in a way that makes my chest ache and my teeth hurt? Especially in a world where more people to love him could never be a bad thing. I actually want this.
“Just fucking let me take care of you. Where is it?” He glances up at me, and my stomach bottoms out. All those dark features homed in on me. Him on his knees for me. Wanting to take care of me. “At…at…uh…”
I absently start a list of men I want to kill for looking at Tabitha like she’s their next meal. It’s irrational and out of character. But here I am, behaving irrationally and out of character.
I am jealous of every fucker who so much as glances in Tabitha’s direction, let alone one who’s had his dick in her mouth.
“I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with me being a porn star. If you want to see me fuck someone, the bathroom is right there. Drag me in there right now, and you can watch in the mirror while I bend you over.”
“That’s adorable, Tabby. Especially since we both know you’re lying. I’ve seen the way you stare at me. I bet you’re fucking soaked right now.”
“I’ll marry you, Tabitha.”
want an alarm system, you’ll get one.” His jaw goes tight. “I doubt that anyone in their entire life has used the word subservient to describe you.”
“Erika! Aunty Tabby Cat and Ree are getting married!” My eyes fill, and my head nods as I watch him go back to drawing like he didn’t just eviscerate me with the simplest sentence in the world.
It makes me realize that I’d do anything for him. Even marry a woman who can’t stand me. One who I can’t stop thinking about.
“Yeah. Apparently, Cat Whiskers are not a common bridal choice, and he had to have them shipped in by special order.”
Fucking Cat Whiskers. What a man.
may be a sham. But it’s our sham. And for better or for worse, we’re in this together.
promise to be faithful to you and to place you and our family above all else.”
promise to love you completely and unconditionally, today and every day, and to stand at your side always, wherever life takes us together.”
Because yes, I’ve kissed plenty of men. But none of them have felt like that
“Kill you or fuck you, Tabby?” My voice drops lower. “Oh, I’ve decided.” “Fuck,” she mutters, teeth strumming her bottom lip as she glances away. “Yep. That’s the one.”
“Friendly reminder that this marriage is fake,” she mutters, focusing just a little too hard on the table where our friends sit. “Nothing fake about how wet you are right now.”
pinky promise that no matter what happens, I will never take anything that’s yours.”
pinky promise that no matter what happens, I will never take anything that’s yours.”
“Tabby, I’m not the kind of guy who fucks around. So you can make up all the rules you want, but I’ll be following my own. And that rule is that there won’t be anyone else while I’m wearing this ring.”
The two of you are like a fungus. I can’t get rid of you, so I’ve just learned to like you.
Tabby: I feel very special that I get to know both Rhys *and* Wild Side.
Rhys: You are.
“Her name is Tabitha, not that you need to know. Because you? You’re going to keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth.”
“Elle, if someone tells you they don’t like something, you fucking stop.”
Nah. Millions of people are wrong. You’re actually married to a short, flat-chested, prickly chef from Buttfuck Nowhere, Canada. HAHA. Joke’s on them. Rhys: No. I’m married to a mega-hot brunette who makes the best carbonara in the world. Tabby: Oh, Wild Side, you’re so romantic.
Rhys: Are you sure? Tabby: Strangely, I think I’d rather not watch it. So give me a heads-up. But yes, of course—work is work. Like you said, we’ve got a lot of extenuating circumstances. Don’t worry about me. And that’s all the answer I need to know this is never going to fly. Because I do worry about Tabitha—a lot more than I expected to.
“You needed someone to be angry with, and I figured I could be that person for you.”
“You should leave,” she says, her voice tinny as it echoes around us. “No.” Her face whips in my direction, eyes flashing, chin held high and defiant. “I said get out!” I match her glare. “Tabitha. You’re my wife. I’m not leaving you.”
Someone who cares put together this room, and it makes my heart fall hard on a heavy stutter step. No one has ever put a room together for me. But Tabitha did.
I knew I missed him. I just didn’t realize until now that I needed him.
Does love start off as obsession? Because that’s what I am. Obsessed with my wife.
“Are you petting me, Dupris?” There’s humor in her voice, and my lips quirk up at the tone. “Are you purring, Tabitha?”
“I think if she’d made any other choice, we might not be sitting here together at all.” It makes me wish I could tell her thank you for bringing me Tabitha.
“Careful teasing me like that, Tabby. I already admitted to being desperate. Means I’m not above dragging you out of here just to get back into that pretty little pussy.”
Maybe that chakra shit is real, and I healed him with the magic of my pussy.
“Let me guess, you hate me? And that’s why you’re fucking soaked for me.”
