Page 162 of Wilde and Deadly

Audrey smacked her husband. Not on the arm or shoulder. No, she slapped his ass. “Oh, c’mon, sailor. Like we’ve never done it on your desk at home. In fact, yesterday…”

“Oh, no!” Rue clamped her hands over her ears. “No, no, no. We’re resetting this conversation right now.” She dropped her hands from her ears with an exaggerated shudder and pretended to jab a button. “Reset. I came here for an interrogation, maybe some bloodshed, not psychological trauma.”

“You started it,” Rowan pointed out, smirking.

Rue ignored her, turning to her father. “Aren’t you supposed to be threatening him or something?”

Gabe, who had been glaring at the desk like it had personally wronged him, exhaled through his nose and finally—finally—dragged his death stare back to Davey.

“Right,” he muttered, straightening to his full, imposing height. “Where were we?”

Davey braced himself.

Gabe held out a hand. “I never thought my daughter would end up with a Wilde.”

Davey’s hand was engulfed in an iron grip, the older man’s palm callused from years of hard work and combat. He exhaled and met Gabe’s gaze steadily, refusing to flinch even though his face still felt like it was on fire.

“Sir,” he said, proud that his voice was calm. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

Gabe’s eyes narrowed slightly, searching his face for any sign of weakness. “Is it now? And why’s that?”

He could feel Rowan’s eyes on him and knew she was waiting to see how he’d handle her father’s interrogation. He took a deep breath, choosing his words carefully. “Because you raised an incredible daughter.”

“Yeah, I did.” Gabe’s grip turned painful, grinding the bones in his hand together. “And if you hurt her?—”

“Let me stop you right there,” he said, cutting off the threat. “I have no intention of ever hurting Rowan. I love your daughter, sir, and I’m going to marry her. My only goal is to make sure she’s safe, happy, and never forgets how much I love her. If I ever fail at that, if I ever cause her a moment’s heartache, then I will personally hand you the dull knife so you can castrate me.”

Gabe held his stare for a stony moment, then a slow smile spread across his stern face. And suddenly, Davey knew exactly who Rowan inherited her smile from.

“I believe you mean that.” Gabe finally released his hand to sling an arm around his shoulders. “But it’s not me you’ll hand the knife to.” He nodded toward his daughter. “She’s more than capable of doing it herself. And then, after you bleed out, I’ll make sure nobody ever finds your body.”

Davey resisted the urge to gulp. “Understood, sir.”

“Sailor, you better not be threatening him.” Audrey strolled over with an arm looped with each of her daughters and gave her husband a sharp look. Her voice was a whip-crack of authority that had Gabe snapping to attention. “I won’t have you scaring him away when I like him, and he’s clearly head over heels in love with our girl.”

Gabe held up his hands in surrender, his rough features melting into the semblance of innocent amusement. “Only making sure the boy knows what he’s getting into. And that it’s not me he needs to be afraid of.”

Davey smiled at Audrey and held out an arm for Rowan. “Nothing could scare me away.”

She slid into his arms like she’d always belonged there, her slim, muscular body fitting perfectly against his. Hazel eyes met his with a warmth that always softened the heart he’d tried so hard to harden against her.

She traced the line of his jaw with one finger. “Is that so?”

“Yeah. I’d walk through hell for you, Rowan.”

Her eyes clouded. “You already have.”

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” He bent his head and pressed his lips against hers in a kiss that was sweet, full of promise. For a moment, everything else faded into the background, and it was just them…

Until Gabe cleared his throat.

Davey looked up and found Gabe scowling. Audrey beamed with approval and reached for Gabe’s hand. The man let out a gruff sound but didn’t pull away from his wife, holding her hand like he never wanted to let it go.

Davey knew how that felt.

“Aww.” Rue clasped her hands in front of her, her eyes welling with tears. She rushed forward, enveloping them both in a hug. “I always knew you two were meant for each other!”

Davey chuckled as Rue pulled back. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. Glad someone saw it before I did.”

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