Page 20 of Poisonous Savage

"JesusChrist,"Imuttered under my breath.Eachstep she took frayed the leash on my temper.EyeingMarco, who was well dressed in his normal black suit,Iwould have missed the exhausted look in his eye, but not the heavy gulp he took as he saw her.Ijust about snapped, watching her eyes flicker to his and a blush crest over her chest and tint her cheeks.Theymust have fucked.Goddamntraitors.

Shereached the bottom, her gaze foggy as she refused to look at me, opting instead to look athim.Istormed over, rage coiling in my gut.Igrabbed her shoulders and shook her. "You'rereally testing me, aren’t you?Fuckingmy brother?Lowblow,Rosalind,"Ispat at her. "Goclean yourself up and put some fucking decent clothes on.Wehave a meeting with the council soon.Youlook like a harlot.Asfor your…behavior,I’lldeal with that later."

Herhead whipped up, and her dark eyes shot with hurt and confusion.Shehissed in pain as she tentatively rubbed whereIgrabbed her.ButIdidn't care.Couldn'tafford to.Ifshe wanted to act like a child,I'dtreat her like a child.Myworld had no place for weakness, andIsure as hell wouldn’t let hers become mine.

Bloodpounded in my ears, hot and thick like the aftermath of a kill.Atwinge hit me beforeIcould stop it.Ishouldn't have done that, and the thought flickered beforeIkilled it.Infact,I'dhalf the mind to drag her ass upstairs and tan her hide before fucking it into oblivion.

"Backthe fuck off,Hunter,"Marco'svoice cut through the tension.Hestepped forward, a wall of muscle and defiance between me and her.

"Orwhat?"Isneered, chest heaving, ready to rip into him. "Youwanna throw down, or are you just itching to get under the sheets with my wife?"

Hisjaw clenched, the blue in his eyes flaring cold fire.Westood inches apart, two alpha beasts circling for dominance.Theair crackled, electric with the promise of violence.Icouldn't wait.Iknew about his little crush on my bride, andI'dbeen itching to beat it out of him.Whythe fuck do you thinkImade him her guard?

"Makeyour move."Mygrowl was low, daring him.Everymuscle tensed, ready to snap bones and spill blood—his or mine, it didn’t matter.

Hestayed rooted, a silent challenge.Hisloyalty to her over me was clear as day.Thatpissed me off more.

"Finethen,"Ispat. "Youwant to shield her?Bemy fucking guest.Youcan take the beating that would have been hers."

Myknuckles found his jaw with a sickening crack, the sound reverberating through the silence like a gunshot.Nocry escaped him.Hetook it like a man, but that wouldn't save him.Notfrom me.Musclemet muscle, blow for blow, my rage an inferno scorching everything in its path.Eachhit a message; he was nothing but dirt under my boot.Herefused to hit me back.Theman has been on the receiving end of my punishment once before.Itwas smart not to fight it.Fuckthe meeting, he needed to learn you don’t fuck with what’s mine.Sheneeded to see the depths of whatI’ddo to keep her.

"Stop!Hunter, please!"Theshriek tore through the chaos, a streak of light in the pitch black of my wrath.Herform blurred into view, throwing herself overMarco.Hertouch, soft against the hard lines of his bloodied face, was a fucking mockery.

"Getoff him,Rosalind!"Iroared; my fist was cut open and raw, butIdidn't reign a blow down on her.Asfurious asIwas, hurting the womanIloved more thanIhad to was a hard no.

Sheclung toMarco, shielding him with her frailty, her pleas turning desperate.Hertears were real, but they burned me and seared me to the core.Shewas mine to protect, not him.

"Please!" she screamed, voice breaking. "I'lldo anything!"

Bloodclouded my vision as rage flamed before subsiding.It'ddo me no good to be this heated.Istared atRosalind'scrumpled form atopMarco, her body heaving with sobs.

"Feelsomething for him?"Igrowled, words barbed with suspicion asIyanked her up by the arm.Herdark eyes, wide and shimmering with tears, met mine, but she clamped her lips shut, a stubborn silence her only reply. "Didyou fuck him, wife?"

"Answerme."Myvoice, a low rumble, didn’t betray the inferno raging within.Sheshrank back, sitting on the floor next to whereMarcolay, not moving a muscle.

Shedidn't speak.Nota fucking word.Justthose doe eyes staring up at me—lost, confused, or maybe just fucking terrified.Itmade my blood boil, the silence between us louder than the chaos that had just unfolded.

"Fuckthis.Marco, you fucking dare interrupt me, andI'llstring you up and bleed you out."Mygrip tightened on her arm, fingers digging into her flesh asIhauled her up the stairs.Eachstep thumped against the floor.Shedidn't even struggle, allowing me to drag her all the way up.

Islammed the bedroom door behind us with a force that rattled the walls.Theroom, once my place of peace, is now a prison, locking away the outside world.Aplace whereI'dmake her face me, where there’d be no more dodging my goddamn questions.

"Talk,"Idemanded, spinning her to face me.Myhands were weapons capable of harm, yet allIwanted was to peel back the layers of her defiance.Ineeded the truth.MyGod, nothing but the fear of losing her kept swirling in my mind.Iwanted to love her, to have her love me, but every fucking thingIdid just pushed her further away.Ididn't have the skills to deal with this womanly shit.Itreated her the way my father treated my mother.Harsh.Becausethat's how women stay in line.

Shestood mute, a marble statue, her mouth a tight line of resistance.Hersilence was a challenge, a sting for my already seething ego.

"Speak, or so help me..."Ilet the threat hang in the air.Herrefusal to answer was a knife twisting in my gut.I'dreally fucked this up.

"Rosalind."Itshould've been sweet coming from my lips, but all that came out was anger.Igrabbed her chin, forcing her gaze to meet mine, searching for a flicker of whatever she felt.Butdamn her; she was closed off.Hereyes looked dead as they tried to avoid my gaze.

Herbreathing hitched, eyes darting around the room as if looking for an escape.Therewas none.Notfrom me.Notfrom the questions that needed answers.Iwas a manaccustomed to getting whatIwanted, one way or another.Andright now,Iwanted the truth.

Myhands clenched into fists, itching for something to break, to shatter under the force of my fury.Grabbingthe nearest vase, it shattered asIchucked it at the wall.

Sheflinched, her dark eyes wide, her lips parting as if she wanted to speak but couldn’t find the damned words.

"Talk,Goddamnit!"Isnatched her arm, pulling her close enough to feel her trembling.Thescent of her fear mixed with her floral perfume was a heady intoxication that fueled my rage even more.Shedeserved a spanking.Onethat would have her aching for days.

Rosalind'smouth opened and closed, her struggle written all over her beautiful face.Shewas a storm of emotions buried beneath clouds of confusion and terror. "I—Hunter,Idon't know…"Hervoice was a whisper as she trailed off.

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