Page 81 of A Queen and HER Bad Boy
A single tear slid down her cheek, hot against her cold skin. She hadn’t even realized she was crying.
He immediately sobered, setting down the brush and turning her in his arms. She felt the strength of his hand trace her chin, the edge of his thumb so rough, so powerful that his gentleness was almost ridiculous, and yet so absolutely touching how softly he wiped away the moisture from her cheek. This was always how she wanted love to be. It only made her cry harder.
“Hey, hey… what’s wrong? Talk to me.”
With trembling fingers, she pulled out the necklace from her shirt, holding it up to catch the lamplight. The silver gleamed innocently. She studied every link of the chain, the glistening surface of the cross, looking for signs of surveillance equipment. She couldn’t see anything obvious… tracking him wasn’t so bad, right? If the Myrdons tried to blackmail him, they had to know. It might protect him even!
The weight of what she was about to do settled over her like a burial shroud. Once she put this around his neck, she would become complicit in whatever her father had planned. She would become the enemy. “It just would mean so much to me if you would take this as—as a reminder of me.”
A reminder that she was a double-crossing traitor who’d sold out the man she loved.
His entire body went still, every muscle tensing with sudden alertness. “A reminder? Where are you going?”
The sharp question cut through her like a blade. He was too clever not to sense that something was terribly wrong. Her stupid crying wasn’t helping. Her father was right—why couldn’t she grow up?
“Nowhere! Of course not! Only that it’s my gift to you. It means a lot to me.” The lie tasted gross like moldy cheese. Yuck! She hated herself for the deception, hated the concerned way he watched her. No love like that was true to life anyway! Wasn’t she smart enough to know that? His stormy gaze searched her face with an intensity that made her feel transparent.
He could see right through her, couldn’t he? He knew exactly what she was doing and why. But then his expression softened, and he surprised her with a laugh. “Only if you put it on me. This sling is stopping me from doing a lot of things I want to do with you.”
His lighthearted teasing only made her feel worse.
Her fingers shook when she tried to unclasp the chain. Chuckling, he reached over to help, his larger hand covering hers to steady her shaking. The brush of his fingers against hers was electric, intimate… and could so easily lead to more. Getting the clasp open, she fastened the silver against the warm column of his throat, her fingers lingering against his skin, memorizing the steady pulse of his heartbeat.
He caught her hand, bringing them to his lips to press playful kisses to her knuckles, each touch achingly tender. “Now I need to give you something,” Achilles said.
“No need,” she whispered.
He pulled her closer, enveloping her in his comforting presence. She breathed in his familiar scent—soap, his skin salted with a touch of musk. How long had she wanted this withhim—this precious moment between husband and wife with the man she adored? And it was only a mirage, wasn’t it?
“I want to be open with you about everything,” he said, “and…” he took a steadying breath, “I’ve received a message from my mother…”
Panic shot through her like lightning. Whatever secret he was about to share might be picked up by that hateful necklace that he wore around his neck like a noose.
Immediately her fingers flew to his mouth, pressing against his lips to stop the words. “No, please…”
His hand covered hers, his brow furrowing with concern. “Okay, you’re acting off.Youneed to talk. What happened between you and your father? Did he tell you who was behind Aggie Mnon? How did they catch him? C’mon, Bris, I need to know.”
She shook her head frantically, her thoughts a chaotic whirlwind of desperation and self-loathing. Her desire to confide in him, to beg for his help while digging out the truth of what he was doing from his own lips, all crashed against the cold reality of what would happen if she did. “He wouldn’t say anything about Aggie,” she found herself telling him. At least that wasn’t a lie. Her father had refused to answer her questions about her murderous cousin. “I’m… sorry.”
Achilles searched her face with concern, his powerful frame radiating the strength she desperately wanted to draw from. “As your husband, I will protect you… will you let me?”
She let out a breath. Did this even exist—a man who would fight for her, adore her, who would shield her from the world? Maybe he wanted to pretend this was their reality as much as she did?
That only made things worse.
“Talk to me,” he whispered. The ache in his eyes made her gut twist in response. Everything was ruined before it had begun.She couldn’t fake that this was a real marriage anymore; that meant pushing him away and fast. Pull off the Band-Aid already! Make him hate the fake version of herself rather than discover who she really was and use it against her, like everyone else did.
She scrambled away from him, putting the width of the room between them. “Okay, I’m ready to talk about what happened. Let’s talk!” She’d throw every suspicion at him like weapons. “My father told me that you’ve been calling Charisse every night, telling her that you want out of this prison…. Not that I blame you. It really is awful here.” She shrugged at him, not daring to look at him, not wanting to see how much he disliked her yet.
“Every night? That’s a lie.”
“Oh yes, well, that’s splitting hairs, isn’t it?” He didn’t deny it.Point in her favor.“You’re notthatcommitted to anyone—everyone knows that! But how did you not know my father wouldn’t surveil your calls? Don’t get me wrong, they were sickeningly sweet—I’m so happy that Charisse is willing to stay by your side,always and forever! I just don’t understand why you wanted to be so discreet and to—to not let me find out about it. I gave you an out with us—over and over! Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I made it sound innocent to my father. I think he bought it, but I have to hand it to you. You really had me scrambling.”
The look he gave her after she dared to face him was pure disbelief, hurt and confusion warring in his black eyes. “Itwasinnocent…” He held his hands up. “Nothing was likethat… I was upset those first few nights, sure, but I told you I’d never cheat on you.”
“Why not?” she asked. “It’s not like you care about me!”
“How can you say that? Of course, I care! And I wasn’t talking about leaving you, Bris. I wanted to leave this place… not you—neveryou.”
