Page 84 of The Ruler
“When?” I narrowed my eyes. “When did she save your ass?”
“Not important; I’m merely saying that she’s capable of lying, that’s all.”
“When?” I slammed my fist down and stared at Finn.
He scrunched up his face. “When she said we were holding our breaths,” he admitted.
I was at his throat before he could finish saying, “Nothing happened.”
“Why were you out of breath that day?” I growled and twisted his shirt in my fist. “Did you touch her?”
“I tickled her to see if she would squeal?”
“You tickledmy woman?” My voice was seething.
“I thought you were going to make me her protector. Why else would you ask that she fly with me? I thought you didn’t want her anymore.”
Boulder moved between us. “Calm down, Khan. I know you’re upset right now, but Finn isn’t a threat to you. Pearl isn’t interested in him or anyone else but you. We’re just trying to establish if she’s trustworthy.”
I let go of Finn and took a step back. “Nobody touches her,” I ordered.
“Of course not,” they all agreed and for a few moments no one spoke.
“I think,” Boulder said, “that you should see Finn’s admission as a sign of loyalty. We all like Pearl, but our loyalty lies with you.”
“I never said I liked her,” Magni muttered.
“I’m not asking you to,” I replied. “Besides, I already knew she was capable of lying or at least bending the truth. We all witnessed that in the bar.”
“Right! So youknowyou can’t fucking trust her,” Magni pointed out again.
“I trust that she only lies when it’s to protect others. That makes her predictable and I can work with that.”
“You want a wife who lies to you?” Magni asked incredulously.
“Is there a wife in this world that doesn’t?” I asked matter-of-factly. “And before you answer that question, ask yourself if there’s a husband in this world who doesn’t lie, yourself included?”
“I think everybody lies sometimes,” Boulder interjected. “This morning, I told Christina I was considering cutting down on meat. That’s a lie.”
“That time when I told you guys I shot the grizzly.” Finn frowned and leaned against the bookshelf. “It was actually dead when I found it. I fucking hate bears – they scare the shit out of me.”
“What the hell is this? Confession day?” Magni sputtered. “The women are turning you into mush. What’s next?” He pointed to Finn. “You want us to start a fucking book club and discuss poetry or what?”
“No!” Finn gave an offended snort. “I hate poetry more than I hate bears, but if you want we could have a porn club and discuss our favorite scenes.” He grinned.
“I’m going for a beer, and you three better grab deep in your pants to make sure you still have any balls left,” Magni scoffed and slammed the door shut after him.
“Fucking prickly bastard,” Finn mouthed at the door. “You think he’s got his period or something?” he asked us.
“Nah, he’s just protective of me,” I said and shrugged it off. “It’s cute.”
CHAPTER 18
Spanking
Pearl
Whistling with happiness from my passionate night with Khan and my great conversation with Kya and Christina, I walked back toward the Manor to call my mother for an update.
