Page 22 of Creatures in the Night

“You wear gloves,” I pointed out, my vision still red as a knife wound.

I saw her jaw tick, and I really wanted to fucking kill her when she lifted her chin. “Yes, we do,” she replied haughtily. “However, with a stone as large as the one that you picked out, there’s a good chance of it ripping the latex, forcing me to have to put on a fresh pair, therefore, wasting valuable time.”

“Get them out of your purse and put them back on,” I ordered. “Now.”

To my surprise, she did. Neither of us spoke a word as she fished them out of her purse, then slid them back on her ring finger. What surprised me the most was the sense of relief that flooded my chest at seeing them back on her finger. She was my wife, and even though it was clear that we were not on the same page, I was going to have to remedy that quickly if I didn’t want to end up killing her with my bare hands.

Once the rings were back on her finger, I said, “You have permission to take the solitaire off at work, but the band stays on. If you ever take it off again, I’ll have Lochlan surgically attach both rings to your finger.”

“Well, that won’t be a problem since I’m quitting on Sunday,” she replied coolly. “Any other orders that you want to throw out there?”

Declan’s words were back, and it bothered me how bothered I was by her unhappiness. She was going to quit her job, so that I couldn’t use it against her in the future, and that was going to leave her with nothing. She could always go work with her parents, but it was only a matter of time before the store ended up belonging to Declan, so I couldn’t see her choosing that for herself. Declan had told me about their conversation at my parents’ house, and there really wasn’t anything that Shea didn’t know, including how I used to prefer blondes with big tits.

“And if I gave you my word that I’ll never use your job to manipulate you again?” I posed.

Her coffee-colored eyes started to water, and I felt it like a kick to my chest, these motherfucking emotions coming out of nowhere. I wasn’t used to caring about anything apart from my family, and whatever sorcery that Shea Burke possessed, it was the real deal.

“Then I’d think that you must really believe I’m stupid to believe anything that you’d ever tell me,” she replied, forcing her tears back. “And I’m not stupid.”

No, she wasn’t.

She wasn’t, and that was going to be a problem.

Chapter 14

Shea~

I couldn’t remember ever feeling so goddamn exhausted, and that was rather remarkable when you considered my job. However, it was already one in the morning, and I had to get up early to take care of all the things that were my life now. I needed to finish packing up my condo, clean out the refrigerator, throw out my two plants, and then set up enough rodent traps for the vacancy. While I lived in a good building, critters always managed to find themselves living comfortably in empty spaces.

So, even if I didn’t hate Noah Murphy with every fiber of my being, I really didn’t have time for his shit. My life was no longer my own, and I needed to adjust, or else I was going to end up in some basement somewhere, wishing that I hadn’t been so goddamn stubborn.

“I’ll make you a deal, lass,” he offered, his words exhausting me more if that was possible.

“What kind of deal?”

“Give me what I want, and then I’ll let you have what you want,” he answered.

I couldn’t help myself.

I let out a dark laugh as I said, “I don’t know any blondes with hour-glass figures, Mr. Murphy. The best I can do for you is a nurse that works swing shift at Donza, but I’m not sure if her chest size will be as appealing to you as what you’re used to. However, she is blonde and single.”

He looked like he wanted to snap my neck again, but instead of killing me where I stood, he said, “I want you to call me Noah. You’re my wife, not my employee, Shea.”

“That’s debatable,” I shot back.

“Feckin’ Christ, lass,” he bit out, and his accent hit me between my legs like all stupid women.

“I’m tired,” I repeated. “I just want to go to bed.”

“Quit calling me Mr. Murphy, and then I’ll let you go to bed and keep your job,” he countered, but he was lying. Men like Noah Murphy didn’t compromise.

“Let me go to bed or let me go to sleep?” I asked pointedly.

“Bed,” he answered honestly, proving me right.

Though I was tired, the pressure behind my eyes was for another reason entirely this time. Even though I knew what was expected of me as his wife, whether I hated him or not, no woman wanted to sign up for pity fucks or obligatory sex. I wasn’t in this for a paycheck, status, or revenge, so it was hard to just look the other way when I knew that I was the complete opposite of what turned my husband on. Nevertheless, I knew that I had no choice. Noah was going to want children one day, so what difference did it make if I gave in now or later?

“Fine,” I said, resigned to the facts. “Let me take a shower and-”

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