Page 29 of Mistletoe Missus
Mitt softly chuckled but cut the moment short.
“I thought you might not show,” he added.
Lost for words, I turned to him and my eyes landed on his delicious mouth. The pad of his thumb stroked the small dip in my backside, and I was putty in his hand. He had me yearning for more, longing for his kiss and soaking wet between my thighs.
“I almost didn’t,” I admitted after I found the will to breathe again.
“That would’ve been a shame,” Mitt said in a husky tone and came closer, with his whiskers brushing against my cheek.
“Why?” I asked in a soft whisper.
“Because I dropped over half a million so we could be alone.”
Mitt’s response made me dizzy, and I swayed, but my hand gripped the table’s edge. My knees were weak, and I melted at his feet. I was like a snowman basking in the hot sunshine, becoming nothing but a puddle, all because of one man. My husband.
Wait a minute...
My head shot back, and I snapped. “That’s a lie. The server told me you do this all the time.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Yes. It. Is,” I heaved and pointed my index finger against his chest with each word.
Mitt grabbed my defiant finger and brought it to his mouth as he breathed against my skin, “I’ve always come alone, never with a woman. Until you, Wife.”
“Aren’t you forgetting someone, Son?” Cyprus questioned from behind Mitt.
Shit.
I should’ve known Mitt’s father wouldn’t be far behind. My husband’s word had gone up in smoke ever since he revealed his grand plan of only owning me for business purposes. The remembrance stung all over again, and I pulled my finger away from him.
“Cyprus. I should’ve known,” I breathed as I took a step away from Mitt and took the seat he had pulled out for me.
“We have to keep up appearances, don’t we?” Cyprus said with a raised eyebrow as he took his seat and laid his napkin out in his lap. “Especially after your hasty departure from the estate.”
My blood boiled, my hands formed fists in my lap, and I was ready to let Cyprus have it—teach him a lesson by treating him the way he treats others and giving him a black eye to display publicly. One quick punch would do justice, but I was sure I wouldn’t leave a dent. He was a dangerous man with thick skin, someone I shouldn’t mess with, and the look in his evil stare proved my point. I’d be fighting fire with fire, and we’d both go up in smoke.
“It wouldn’t have been so quick if my husband didn’t blindside me.” I smiled and killed him with kindness. “Or have been threatened by you.”
Cyprus grinned. “I appreciate a woman who stands her ground.”
“And I appreciate honesty and not lies, Mr. Morgan,” I said as I peered straight at Mitt, who didn’t even flinch from my remark and he ordered an expensive bottle of wine. “But I can see that everything isn’t as it seems.”
Or was it?
“As you should, Tinsley. We Morgan men have one thing on our minds and that’s money,” Cyprus admitted as he glanced at his son and took the glass of wine from the server. “Wealth that you’ll have at your expense and nothing more. This arrangement is strictly for business. Isn’t that right, Son?”
Mitt remained silent. The sharpness of his stillness was intense. It was a thick cloud of nothingness. The quiet was awkward yet almost frightening until Cyprus cleared his throat and called Mitt’s name again.
“Yes. Strictly business,” Mitt agreed and peered right at me.
Stone-cold hazel eyes were all I got. No emotion, only darkness. My husband’s icy demeanor hurt, but I couldn’t let his poor attitude win. I wanted to take his gloominess and sprinkle him with happiness. My surprise might just do the trick.
“On that unpleasant note...” I announced, and I picked up the gift for Mitt and passed it over to him. “I have something for you.”
A spark of brightness shot through his eyes, but it was brief. The glimmer I had witnessed gave me hope for the man I had longed would come back, and he’d call the deal off. He’d cut all ties with his father, and we’d start fresh. But this was only wishful thinking, and I was getting ahead of myself.
Cyprus glared. “Don’t I get one too? After all, I am your father-in-law.”
