Page 75 of Vicious Vows

"I like to help people; I always thought I'd do good as a therapist or a social worker, someone that people could come to with their problems."

"You already do a good job at that. You're able to get under people's skin in both good and bad ways."

"Have I gotten under your skin?"

"I'm sitting here, divulging secrets to you, aren't I?"

"I suppose you are. Why did you want my sister as your wife?"

"I didn't want her; she was the best option. She knows about my world; she didn't expect anything in return besides me not killing her, and I could have easily put her in a room and left her to her own devices without her ever bothering me."

Faye nodded her head a few times before she spoke again, "Basically, you wanted the title but not the responsibility."

"Yeah, all I needed was the title and the heir. All this extra wasn't something I'd planned on."

"Now that you have the responsibility, can you live up to the expectations?"

I leaned forward wanting to get closer to her, Faye stared at me and I didn't wait for the response she wanted. I could lie and tell her that I was definitely up for the challenge, but I didn't want to do that. Just having her sit here with me and talk was more than I'd gotten from her in the last few days. I didn't want to risk her backing away from me now.

"I don't know, Faye. I never saw myself with a wife, especially not one as pure and innocent as you. You deserve someone of much better moral quality than me. I can't promise you that I'm going to turn into your knight in shining armor."

"I don't need a knight in shining armor. I don't even mind that your armor is stained in the blood of your enemies. All that matters is that you don't treat me as your enemy. We're in this together. We're a team. I'm first in your life. I just want you to realize that and act accordingly."

"How do I do that?"

"Well, it starts by not trying to beat me to death." She hissed at me, her eyes flashing with anger.

"You'll never let me live that down." I scoffed.

"Should I? Would you just forgive someone who hurt me the way you hurt me?"

I thought about the question. If someone had struck me the same way I'd struck her, I'd have already mounted their heads on a pike. She was handling this much better than I would've, that's for sure.

"No, I'd want retribution."

"Retribution, that's a good idea; maybe I should get a little bit of that." She raised her eyebrow again, and I could almost see the gears in her head turning.

"Is that what you want, you want to hurt me?" I asked, squeezing my hands tight against the table. My childhood was nothing short of rough. My father made sure I had a healthy respect for discipline and punishment. I'd taken more than my share of beatings. If that's what she needed to get over this I'd let her.

"Yes and no." She replied. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes." The words are out of my mouth before I can think about them. I did trust her; after what I saw in her gaze the night I had her tied up to the bed, I knew that Faye was probably the one person I could trust.

"Then I do think a little payback is in order."

"What do you want to do?"

"That's for me to know."

"When?" My nerves vibrated beneath my skin.

"Tonight."

"Tonight?" My eyes sprang open wider, and I gulped down hard. "Fine, tonight." I nodded once and picked up the cloth napkin from my lap to drop on the table. I didn't want to wait to figure out what she had planned. I was anxious.

"You're so keen." She smiled wider, and I had to fight myself not to reach across the table and pull her closer to me. I wanted to taste her mouth again. Wanted to feel her pressed against me. This woman was driving me absolutely out of my mind.

"I'm not one to wait for things. I thought you knew that already. If I'm going to have to get my licks, I'd rather get it over with."

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