Page 48 of They Call Him Reaper

“What’s the point of this? It’s excessive.”

Hardly anyone is here, yet I’m expected to wear a full tux for the ceremony. We already did the paperwork; this is just a formality. Andrea’s personal jeweler showed up this morning for me to pick out our wedding rings. I’d never bothered with such things and none of the rings “spoke to me” like they said they should. Eventually, they left me alone and went to Inaya. I have no idea what she picked, and I don’t care.

Without answering me, Andrea steps back and gives my outfit another assessing once-over. Satisfied, he shifts his light eyes back to mine to acknowledge my words.

“It’s a necessary memory. If not for you, for Inaya and your child.”

“The memory will still be valid without a damn tux. The bowtie is already irritating me.”

“The bowtie isn’t your problem,” Wyn says as he enters the room.

“I’m pretty fucking annoyed,” I retort, with another glare in his direction. I may have been emotionally stunted, but I didn’t just fall out of the sky. I know what annoys me.

His smile never slips. In fact, it grows. “Andres would love to have someone like you on his payroll. The way you’re so cold with everyone else but care about Inaya is impressive.” Wyn shrugs and continues like I’m not over this conversation. “You’re focusing on the bowtie but you’re nervous about the ceremony. We’ve all been there.”

I drop my hands in my pockets and level them with looks. “If one of you tries to mansplain what I’m feeling or thinking one more time, I’m going to start making widows.”

Theodore appears, just as I finish issuing my warning. “Okay, let’s get this moving. Stop bothering him and line up. I’m the first out of the room, because it was becoming stuffy. I’m ready to get this over with so people can stop paying attention to me. I’m used to being a ghost, lurking in the background. I don’t like having attention on me, nor am I trying to forge friendships.

The manhunt for me continues, but they’re looking into the wrong places. Since I now must get married, Andrea had his hacker contact, Huxley, create a trail that will go cold here. The plan is to turn myself in here so Inaya doesn’t have to travel just yet. I don’t know what Father and his associates are up to, but there isn’t any proof that I kidnapped my wife. This feels like a reach to buy him time to heal.

I’ll play his game, but if he has something on me, it’s something he’s held close to the chest and nowhere that I canfind it. My musings, however, fall away when Inaya enters the room.

She looks beautiful and so happy that her brown eyes shine. Some of my restlessness melts away. We’re really doing this. The very woman I’d considered a pawn months ago is becoming my wife. Not only is she marrying me, but she’s doing it partially because she doesn’t want me to go away for what I did to her. The human brain and emotional system are very fascinating things. Inaya doesn’t have a veil, but she doesn’t strike me as a veil person now that I think about it. It’s all too fussy. Her hair has been styled into soft waves that fall around her shoulders to mid back.

I want to touch it. I want to touch her. The soft blue dress she’s wearing glimmers, giving it a silver glow. It gives her just enough cleavage to make my mouth water. The quiet that I found when I had that dream about her finds me now. When she looks at me like she does and takes my hand, I feel warm, and everything is calm.

“I do,” I tell her.

The damn smile that she keeps pulling out of me appears on my face. Inaya giggles and repeats my words right before I kiss her.

River, Delaney, and Kennedy laugh right along with the guys, but fuck ceremonies.

“It took me hours of tweaking and rewording to write what I was going to say, so I’m just going to say it since you two skipped to the end.”

I don’t hear anything else as Theodore gives his speech. I’m sure it’s a good one, but I’ll just have to get it framed for her later. I take her hand and lead her out of the room since her title change somehow made her sexier than she already is to me.

The women stop us. I’m sure it’s Andrea’s strategy, since I mentioned my lack of desire to kill women when I first met him.At Inaya’s insistence, I paused long enough to get a few photos of us putting the rings on each other, along with a few other couple photos.

Couple.It’s still a weird word, but there is no other way to describe us and now I won’t allow her to be called anything less than my wife. The isolation must have spoiled me because I don’t want to share her attention with anyone, and my impatience grows because of it. When one of Andrea’s employees hands me the knife to cut the cake, I stab it dead center. All conversation ends abruptly while everyone stares from me to the knife sticking out of the cake.

“Enjoy.” My invitation sounds more like me daring them to ask me to do anything else. “We’re leaving.”

No one argues with me as I grab my wife’s hand and lead her to our temporary room. Inaya laughs as I close and lock the door behind me.

“Dante, sweetheart. Why did you scare them like that?” I’m sure other brides would have been angry, but mine is accustomed to my moods and disposition.

I smirk as I pull her closer to me. “What was the phrasing you used before?” I snap my fingers when I remember. “My social battery is drained. Right?”

My response just makes her laugh harder. “You don’t have a social battery.”

I kiss her slowly, bringing her back to our honeymoon, then break the kiss to respond. “Then I should be commended for my patience.”

“I think our wedding and ceremony was quicker than anything ever done in Las Vegas.”

My chuckle rumbles between us as I start to remove her dress. “It gives me more time to make love to my wife.”

Her eyes glaze over, and I don’t immediately get why she became so glassy-eyed. “Say it again,” she whispers.

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