Page 46 of Sour Lollipops and Sweet Nightmares
Motherfucker!
“What was all that ‘it might not be what we think’ bullshit?” I should’ve known. He was way too calm when he mentioned Georgia was in Craven House.
“What can I say?” Ravi lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “I’m a good actor.”
Good actor, my ass. That shit had nothing to do with acting. Bastard was feeling me out, seeing how I would react. It had been less than twenty-four hours, and the motherfucker was already two steps ahead of me.
“Enjoy it while you can,” I hissed at Ravi. “You won’t get one over on me again.”
He smirked back at me. “Keep telling yourself that.”
Of course, they would pick Ravi to be my second. Levi and Slater wouldn’t stand a chance against me, but Ravi knew precisely how to get under my skin, and he was almost as horny as Levi. Meaning he was going to work hard as hell to ensure the claiming was done as quickly as possible.
“I told you she wasn’t mine,” Levi said to Slater.
My father looked their way. “Leave!”
That was all they needed to hear. They headed out, but not before Levi slapped me on the back, gave me a smile, and said, “Good luck.”
Fucking prick.
Once they were gone and we were alone, my father closed the door and walked over to sit behind the desk. A part of me wanted to ask what he did with the dean—who was nowhere to be seen—but I had other things on my mind.
“What if I don’t want her?”
My father sat down and leaned back, making the leather chair creak. “Are you rejecting your bride?”
“What if I am?” I asked while folding my arms over my chest.
My father cocked a brow. “Then you will find out what happened to Matteo.”
I stared at my father while contemplating my options. Whatever happened to Matteo and Aiden couldn’t have been good. I hadn’t heard a peep from either of them in two years. They were probably dead. Denying my bride wasn’t worth my life.
“No.” How bad could it be? Georgia Pyne was amusing if nothing else, and at least I wanted to fuck her. That was more than some grooms got. “I’m not rejecting her.”
But I would take my sweet ass time claiming her. It was my way of not only punishing Ravi—fucking prick—but my father as well. The Society may have given me a bride, but that didn’t mean I would take her right away. Maybe I’d luck out and she’d meet with some horrific accident—like getting pushed in traffic—and I’d be off the hook.
“Alright,” My father nodded at the chair beside Ravi. “Have a seat and we’ll discuss your stipulations…”
“I know the stipulations.” No fucking anyone else until I claimed her, blah, blah, blah.
“Oh no, son,youhave added stipulations.”
What?“Why?”
“Because failure is not an option when it comes to this girl.”
“This girl?” That was specifically cryptic.
“Yes, this girl.” My father sat forward, folded his hands on the desk, and locked his stern stare on mine. “You will claim Georgia Pyne, Issac. There is no ifs, ands, or buts. You will bend her, you will break her, you will bind her, and you will breed her. And you’ll do it in ninety days. Do you understand?”
I understood that there was something he wasn’t telling me. There had never been a time stipulation before. Don’t get me wrong, if it a groom hadn’t done anything in months, The Society saw it as a rejection. But this was different. There was a sense of urgency in my father’s tone.
“Why the time line?”
“Because you’re stubborn, Issac.”
No, this had nothing to do with me. It was all about her. “What’s her Salem tie?”
