Page 254 of Deceit

“I tend to annoy people into liking me, yes.”

“I loved you. I hated that I loved you. I denied that I cared for you so deeply and truly that I pushed you away. Then, well…it was the perfect opportunity to make you mine if only for one night of happiness, to call you my wife. And even then, I couldn’t let you go.”

“I love you too, Bish. But—“

“I can’t deal with this anymore,” I quake, clutching my hands into fists. “I can’t worry about you to death, and what will happen if I’m not there in time. I’m a wreck for you already, Ems, and you almost annihilated me once with dying, please…don’t do it again.”

Her brows knit. “What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to quit, baby. I don’t want you here anymore. I need this to be the last thing you do to finalize everything so you can move on.”

“Move on?” She narrows her eyes. “Without you? Are you breaking up with me? Are youendingthis?” Her palms land into my chest, shoving me hard against the drywall of her room before I get to tell her no.

It’s not what I want.

I just want her amongst bullets flying and men who are clearly off their shit.

“Fuck you,” she seizes out then, her teeth visible as she spits out the words. “You can’t do this if you want us. Alaric, Atlas, and me. You can’t justgo.”

“I don’twantto. You’re—“

“Don’t tell me how much I mean to you,showme. I want you to fight for me.”

“I’d kill everything and everyone in your path, Emmy,” I profess. “Don’t you see that? I’d take out God for you. I wantyouto quit B723 with the physical shit, but I can’t. I want to be selfish as fuck because it’s how I deal, but I can’tdealwith you being there—here.Not like this. Not with the kids. And not with my undiagnosed high blood pressure that I’m sure I have. I don’t want to take my hurt out on you anymore, so I will on other people. It’ll always be there, embedded in my brain. Fuck, I had to watch you take another man’s dick tosaveme.”

“So the fuck what?!”

My nostrils flare and I clutch my fists tighter. “Are you serious? Do you think I want that for you? The mother of my children, the love of my life to be used and fucking molested like that? I will do anything to keep you from that fate. To suffer another ounce of what I have.”

She puts space between us, and I believe she’s going to bitch at me some more, but she remains quiet.

That’s when I know something’s wrong.

Again, silent Emmy scares the shit out of me.

The imagination on this woman is astounding, and God fucking knows what she’s cooking up in her head. What she believes I demand for the future.

“I’ve already thought about…quitting,” she says, staring into my chest. “With the kids, I can’t be doing this.” I bob my head up and down because it’s what I want her to do, selfish or not. “But you’re not leaving me.”

“Fine.” That gets me a punch to the chest this time and a very angry blonde within an inch of me. “Stop hitting me. You’re gonna fuck up your side.”

“I want more than afine. I want that you’re not gonna pull this shit on me every time we fight. That you’re not gonna run away from me.”

“I’m not gonna run away from you.”.

Emmy sets her jaw then steps away from me again, her fingers clasping over the hem of her new shirt, and she tosses it carelessly aside. “Last chance…”

“For?”

She undoes her bra and lets it fall to the floor, exposing her beaded breasts. “Me.”

“We’ve already accomplished that I want you, Emmy.” My cock twitches and stirs willingly like it’s game time, and she’s ready to play.

“This is us about to enter war. You choose now if you come out with me after it. When Alexander is gone, I’m free…from everything.”

I shake my head. “Not everything.” Leaning in, I smell her peachy scent mixed with blood. It makes my cock rock hard with lust and need that if not for her wound, I’d tackle her ass to the ground. “Not from me.”

Emmy reaches for my jeans and quickly undoes the button. I snatch one of her wrists, but she uses the other to jerk down and expose my cladded cock in boxers.

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