Page 47 of Covenant

“Is that not a good thing?” My brothers might drive me crazy, but I can’t imagine not having them. I think I’d be very lonely.

“I’m sure it’d be fine if they had the money,” he says dully, and suddenly I understand. “Or if they were gonna get clean. But that’s never going to happen.”

I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to make this better for Wyatt, and Ihatethat.

I lean into his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Wy.”

“One day I’m going to travel far away from here,” he says. “Go to one of those fancy islands they have just for billionaires. Have you heard of those?”

Not only have I heard of them, but I suspect I’ve been to a couple. Father might be neglectful in terms of parenting, but he never misses an opportunity to network. Something those islands are known for.

“I think I’d like to go there. Somewhere warm where I can hear the ocean from every window,” Wy says before I can speak. “With you, of course.”

“Of course,” I reply, nudging him. “It’s you and me. Forever.”

“Good,” he breathes. “I think I can handle anything if you’re at my side.”

“Then it’s great that I’m not planning on going anywhere. I’ll always be here for you, Wy.”

13

WYATT

I know I need to appear at this gala and pretend to be the doting husband Matthias wants me to be, but fuck if I’ll show up looking completely put-together. It’s a small rebellion, but it’s mine.

I stand in front of the mirror and tie my tie completely wrong. It sits like a lump around my neck. And I don’t stop there. I button my shirt up incorrectly as well, missing an entire button and watching the fabric fold over dramatically. The only way someone will notice me is if they pay attention to me.

And I hope everyone ignores me.

I walk down the stairs and see Matthias waiting for me, looking immaculate as always. A ringing starts in my ears as I take in the tux he’s wearing. I hope I disappoint him. I hope he’s embarrassed to call me his husband. When I come to a stop before him, his eyes meet mine, drifting to my tie and shirt. His lips quirk, and I feel myself bristle.

Oh, he thinks this is funny? That doesn’t surprise me. When he saw me walk in the door of that meeting room and realized I was the one The Firm had picked, he probably had a good fucking laugh. He knows I can’t stand him, and he had to suspect I wouldn’t go along with this scheme quietly.

I wonder why he didn’t ask for someone else, someone more pliable, who’d be taken in by those bewitching brown eyes. Who’d be flattered to be the object of his attention. Someone who wouldn’t intentionally try to embarrass him.

It makes no sense. Then again, Matthias hasn’t behaved in a way that’s made sense to me in a very long time. Starting right around the night he asked me for a favor that led to me in the back of a squad car.

His hands reach out to me, and I step back, my lip twisting in a snarl. “Don’t touch me.”

“I will be touching you tonight, Wy. We’re husbands. You’re to act like one, remember?”

I let out an exasperated breath.

He doesn’t reach out again, waiting for me to take that step as a smirk plays on his lips. “Let’s practice now.”

I’m being ridiculous, I realize this. This isn’t about me, or even about Matthias. It’s about Jackson. For him, I can do anything.

Even play the part of a doting husband to a man I can’t stand.

I lift my chin defiantly as I step forward. Matthias’s hands tug on my tie, undoing it fully and draping it across my shoulders. Then his fingers slip to the buttons on my shirt. I hate that I’m letting him do this, but he’s right. Fuck, he is. I need to get used to him touching me if I’m going to make it through tonight. I have to make it look real.

I have to make sure everyone thinks I love him.

Besides, I never used to have an issue with him touching me. Before, when he was a different person to the one I know now—when I was a different person too—touching Matthias seemed natural. Clambering on his back when my feet started to ache during a hike. His head in my lap as we watched a meteor shower. Grabbing his hand to haul him up the final part of a bluff.

My reluctance for his touch has nothing to do with his sexuality. It didn’t make a difference before, and it doesn’t matter now.

No, my issue is that it’s Matthias—the man I vowed to hate forever, who hurt me in unimaginable ways—who’s now connected to my salvation.

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