Page 36 of Keep Me

He smiles wickedly. “That’s right. You’re a married man now.” He shakes my shoulders, and I hold up my left hand to display the ring there. After dropping his hands from my shoulders he adds, “But being married doesn’t mean you can’t still be that kinky fucker we once knew.”

“Jesus,” I mutter. He doesn’t understand that I’ve got my family breathing down my neck, threatening to take my house away from me. But I’m not getting into that with him. “For me it does. None of that will be happening tonight. It truly is a quiet weekend getaway.”

“Fair enough,” he replies, putting the glass to his lips. “But if I remember Killian Barclay, then I know a few whiskies in you will get you to do just about anything.”

He lets out a hearty laugh as he slaps a hand on my back. I force a smile in return.

My head perks up at the sound of footsteps on the stairs. I don’t know why my heart suddenly starts hammering in my chest. Maybe because I’m about to introduce my wife to all of my oldest friends. I’ve never done this before.

When Sylvie appears in the room, my jaw nearly hits the floor. In my mind, I was expecting her in her usual style. Black jacket, loose-fitting top, tight jeans, and thick black boots.

But that’s not what she’s wearing tonight. She’s in a thin green dress, deep cut and hanging from her delicate shoulders. Judging by the thin straps and the sight of her perky nipples under the satin, she’s not wearing a bra.

Suddenly, my throat is dry, and my cock gives a twitch.

And I’m glaring angrily at her.

“Fuck me,” Liam whispers. “Is that…?”

As he pauses with his lips against his glass of whisky, I let out a groan.

“That’s my wife,” I say with a disgruntled sigh.

Liam gapes. “Holy shite.”

Just then, Sylvie spots me across the room. Slowly she makes her way toward me, and I notice how miserable and nervous she looks. Her full lips are set in a delicate pout, and her normally fiery eyes are sullen and emotionless.

And it pains me that I won’t be able to call her a heinous bitch all night. I’ll miss the rise it gets out of her.

When she meets me at the bar, she hesitates for a moment. She goes in for an embrace but pulls away nervously. Trying to ease her discomfort, I throw my arm around her shoulders and drag her lithe body to mine.

Sylvie is so much smaller than me. The top of her head doesn’teven meet my chin. She makes me feel like a giant, and touching her even slightly has me worried I’m going to break her.

“Sylvie, darling, this is my old friend Liam McNeil. Liam, this is my wife, Sylvie.”

Liam makes a dramatic show of putting his glass down and turning toward the both of us.

“Killian Barclay, you can make a better introduction than that. This is your wife,” he shouts.

All of the chatter in the room dies, and just like that, all eyes are on us.

Turning Sylvie toward the rest of my friends mingling around the room, I make a proper announcement. “I know you’ve all seen the announcement online and in the paper. I’d like you all to meet my wife, Sylvie Barclay.”

Just then, her face turns up toward mine. Perhaps it’s the sound of her full name now that we’re married. My friends’ reactions are loud and excited, clapping and murmuring to each other.

But I’m too busy staring at her. It’s not like the day of our wedding, when she was still a stranger, and there was nothing in the eye contact between us.

Now, she’s staring up at me with cold, lifeless eyes. It’s the insignificance in her gaze that pains me. As if she doesn’t care about me at all.

I much prefer the hatred.

“Mo ghràidh,” I add so softly no one can hear it but her. I throw in a smirk and a wink.

It causes her eyes to squint angrily and her hands to pinch my sides, struggling to push me away, but I don’t let her move an inch. Instead, I haul her closer and press my lips firmly against hers.

My friends whoop and holler at the show of affection. Sylvie keeps up her struggle, and it only encourages me more.

Without meaning to, I slip my tongue between her lips. She immediately stiffens, letting out the smallest whimper. Instead of pulling away or ending the kiss, I deepen it. This only makes myfriends grow louder, urging me on as I scoop her tighter to my body and kiss her with heat and passion.

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