Page 189 of Seizing Control: Part One

Take her back.

She’s mine.

My wife until the day I die.

I know my claim on Cherub is turning me into something unrecognisable, yet I have never felt more like myself than I do in this moment.

“I love you, duchess.” My touch is tender as I lift my wife off my straining cock and lay her down on the bed. Cherub curls into a ball, hugging her knees while she sobs. When I spoon her from behind, she doesn’t protest my presence. Instead, my duchess links her fingers with mine and pulls my arm tight around her. “You’re everythin’ to me, I hope you know that.”

“I know.”

As quickly as the jealousy that fuelled my savagery drains from me, I’m filled with remorse. I hurt her—mentally and maybe physically—to soothe my pride. I’m as bad for her as Venom used to be, a monster without limits when it comes to possessing Lilianna Hudson’s heart.

My wife must feel the difference in me because she turns in my arms.

I hold her tight, viscerally aware of the tears that still fall when they dampen my chest.

After pressing her lips to butchered cherub tattoo over my heart, my duchess murmurs, “You’re a good man, Slash.”

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are… and I don’t care if it takes me the rest of my life, but I’m not going to stop saying it until you finally believe it.”

38

LILY

His murderous hands are linked with mine.

The cock that was inside me is now pressed to my backside.

Memories of his harsh words echo around my head.

His forehead against mine, his hand gripping my nape like Zeke once did.

The man holding me doesn’t believe he’s a good man.

I believe he’s the best man.

Dark and dangerous.

Loyal and kind.

My man.

Breathing in unison, we lay together for a while on the bed, maybe twenty minutes in total, before someone pounds on our bedroom door. My husband surges back to his feet in a rush. The door handle twists. Slash slams his hand against the wood to stop the person on the other side from entering.

“Fuck off, we’re busy.”

“Jesus Christ,” Sander grumbles. “Put some clothes on, and meet us down by the pool.”

In the wake of my twin’s complaint, I hear my best friend giggling. Her presence makes me aware of how our absence is going to be spun. The newlyweds, sneaking off to screw each other’s brains out. If this was an ordinary marriage, I’d be able to shake off their teasing with ease. Instead, I feel a stomach-turning mixture of guilt and harmony settle awkwardly over my psyche.

I love my husband.

I yearn for Zeke.

Two truths that shouldn’t coexist.

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