Page 114 of Force Play

She ducks her head and a dark curl falls in front of her face. We have a lot to talk about. This marriage started unconventionally, but there’s nothing about it that’s fake.

Pressing my lips to hers, I open her door, taking her hands and helping her in the car.

After I start the car and back out of the stall, she links her fingers with mine and we make the drive home in a comfortable silence. Even with everything we need to figure out between us, our friends and families waiting to be brought up to speed, and the impending implications from the team over my actions tonight, I know we will be okay.

Shutting off the car, I follow Indie’s lead when we get home. After a quick greeting from Ronnie, we let her outside. When the lock clicks into place after the dog has taken care of business, Indie leads me upstairs.

My wife takes a seat at the end of the bed and drops her head into her hands, looking utterly defeated. Taking a knee in front of her, I run my hands up her thighs.

“Tonight was all my fault,” she says, and the anger from earlier creeps back up, my body growing stiff at her feet. “I’m not trying to give you an out. I don’t want you to run away, but you deserve to know everything.”

There’s almost nothing this woman could say that would send me packing. “Say whatever you need to, but I doubt it will make a difference.”

“Yesterday, when I was coming down to meet you after the game, I saw Jensen.”

She certainly has my attention. I’d wondered how he knew about the two of us, but in the heat of things it didn’t really matter, not once he started talking about Indie. “You did?” I ask, keeping my voice even.

“He spotted me coming out of the bathroom alone. The whole thing couldn’t have lasted more than thirty seconds, but he was disgusting and overly interested in what I was doing there. I should have told you last night—”

“What do you mean he was disgusting?” I ask, alarm bells going off.

“He grabbed my arm and said some things.”

With a calm I definitely don’t feel, I take her hands in mine examining her arms. If he hurt her, that punch I threw earlier will be the least of his worries.

“He didn’t hurt me,” she says, looking far steadier than I feel. “He can’t hurt me.”

“Tell me what he said.” I can’t explain why I need to know, but I do.

She looks away, her eyes angry and fixed on the wall behind me.

“You don’t have to.” I waver, not wanting to put her through more pain than she’s already dealing with.

“It shouldn’t matter what he said.”

“But it does, and it’s one of the reasons I love you. You’re passionate and fierce. You don’t put up with shit from anyone, not even me. Feeling a certain way about seeing him doesn’t make you weak or give him power. It’s just who you are.”

“First, he insinuated I was there for him. Which was bad enough, but then he grabbed my pass and saw your name. I didn’t want him to know—to taint what we have.” My voice shakes with anger. “He mocked my sexuality—and our relationship—telling me you wouldn’t mind if I came back to his hotel for a threesome. It’s the kind of shit I expect from him, but I hate that he made me question things even if only for a second.”

“Why didn’t you tell me last night?”

“It happened right before I met your parents, and I didn’t want to cause any drama. I just wanted to enjoy the night. Later, when we were alone, I was embarrassed that I let him talk to me that way. That I let his words affect me at all. I’m used to handling things on my own. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“This is one-hundred percent a him problem, not a you problem. If I’d have known—”

“Yeah, that’s another thing. What the hell were you thinking, fighting with him? You can’t fight my battles for me. I’m a big girl.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. You don’t have battles anymore. We have battles.”

“Because I’m your wife?” Her lips tilt up in a smile that makes my dick perk right the fuck up. He needs to tone it down because with her upcoming egg retrieval, I can’t make love to her the way I want to right now.

“I’ll never get sick of hearing you say that.”

“What about, ‘I love you, husband’?”

“You’re fucking killing me, woman.”

“So we’re doing this?” she asks, her eyes shining with tears.

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