Page 15 of Married to the Devil

But I won’t leave her alone to face him.

And I won’t go down without a fight.

5

STELLA

“You would do well notto lock balcony doors,wife.” Stoneheart’s words are cool despite the terrifying growl he’d released at the sight of Ben.

“Is that a rule of yours?” I ask, forcing levity into the words.

I almost kissed Ben.The shame of that doesn’t make it any less true. After all the assurances I gave about us not being lovers, after vowing loyalty, all it took was Ben’s compassion for me to gravitate toward him like the most inevitable catastrophe.

“Among other things.” His eyes don’t move away from Ben who is so still not a single strand of his responsibly cut dark hair moves.

But there’s no fear on his face, only caution. I half wish he would save himself and teleport away from the gargoyle I married, but he doesn’t.

I swallow. “Maybe if we communicated about these things, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

Maybe if we communicated at all, I wouldn’t have had to drag Ben into this. I don’t want Ben hurt, and I’m realizing now that I’ve brought him into danger.

“Your bag was delivered to the Firefly,” Stoneheart says, tossing the duffel at my feet with his eerie gaze still locked on Ben. The part of me that has lived my life by suppressing my need for justice and keeping my head down wants to snatch the bag up and run away, but I can’t do that.

“I called him because I was trapped here without towels or even clothes. If I contacted anyone using the hotel phone, it would have displayed our lack of unity.” I project the haughtiest air I can.

He dismisses my statement. “You could have spoken to the guards.”

The ire I summon is real now. “Oh, of course. Let me parade myself into the hallway half-naked in front of the men who allowed us to be interrupted. Who knows what else they’ve been instructed that they can ignore.”

That gets his attention. He narrows his eyes at me, probably because he can’t deny my words.

“I’m rather short on trust for the people surrounding us,” I say as calmly as I can. I don’t verbally include him in that assessment, though it’s true. Insulting him won’t help Ben leave here alive. “So I called on someone I could trust.”

His gaze snags on the jacket Ben placed around my shoulders, and I feel like I should shrug it to the floor, but I can’t. I refuse to. Stoneheart crushed me tonight. He ripped away my protective walls through seduction and left me naked.

Ben placing his jacket around me reminded me thatsomeonestill cares for me. I tighten my grip on it, and that deep sweet scent curls around me.

“I see,” my husband says. “And what do you say of your presence here, Barnes? You could have easily alerted one of mine. You didn’t need to show up in our room next to my naked wife.”

Ben’s body is tense, but it doesn’t stop the professional cadence of his words. “I wasn’t aware of the situation I was being summoned to. Stella was instructed to call if she had need of me.” His face is grim even as anger stews beneath the surface far greater than when I’ve heckled him over the months of our acquaintance. “Kalos will be displeased that you’ve treated one of ours as such.”

“One of yours?” Stoneheart asks with brows raising.

Ben glares. “She was under his protection when this deal was struck. Her continued safety and happiness are important to us.”

“To both of you?” he asks, prodding as a surgeon does, looking for weakness.

“She has many friends,” Ben snaps. “We will not allow her to be treated poorly just because you’ve placed a mating mark on her.”

“Friends, of course.” The disbelief of his words is choking. This whole situation only goes to prove his suspicion of Ben’s and my involvement.

Well, tough shit. Ben is right. Stoneheart can’t afford to mistreat me.

“Perhaps in your rush to categorize me as a piece, you forgot that the queen can turn the whole game,” I say.

Stoneheart focuses on me again. There’s an acknowledging glint in his eyes, and he moves as if to assert his claim on me. The dominance emanating from him has a shiver trailing down my spine. My body still responds to him, and that has anger percolating in my chest.

Ben moves to step in front of me, and I raise my hand to his chest to stop him. The tension between me and my husband is inconvenient to my peace of mind, but it isn’t violent.

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