Page 114 of Brutal Vows
That makes me chuckle. “Now who’s the gooey one?”
Hiding her face, she shakes her head and says nothing.
Rolling onto my side, I gather her in my arms, bury my face in her hair, and inhale deeply. When she slides an arm around my waist and squeezes me, I feel as if someone just handed me a crown and ushered me into my new castle.
After a while, her voice muffled, she says, “I don’t know how to be a wife.”
“That’s okay. I don’t know how to be a husband.”
“No, I mean, I don’t know if Icanbe a wife. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got a lot of baggage from the matrimony department.”
I stroke a hand over her shoulder and down her back, gently tracing the outlines of her scars. More than ever, I wish that worthless fuck of a dead husband of hers were alive.
Oh, what I would do to him. All the ugly and wonderful things.
“If it makes you feel better, I have zero expectations. If you’d let me look at you naked every once in a while, that would be grand, but other than that, you don’t have to do or be anything.”
Sounding confused, she says, “Are all Irishmen as easy to please as you are?”
“Are all Italian women as gorgeous as you are?”
“There are a million Italian women who look like me, Quinn. Tits, ass, lots of sass. It runs in the gene pool.”
“Hmm. Sounds like I need to book a trip to Italy.”
She slaps me on the back, making me chuckle.
“That was a joke.”
She mutters, “Better be.”
“I’m sorry, is this the same person who accused me of being jealous and possessive? Because hello, pot, meet the kettle.”
“I’ll put a bullet in that stupid kettle if you don’t shut up soon.”
My chest shaking with silent laughter, I roll on top of her, brushing her hair off her face.
She glares up at me with flashing eyes.
“My God,” I breathe, staring down at her lovely, livid face. “You’re a fine thing, Mrs. Quinn.”
“And you’re crushing me. How much do you weigh, anyway?”
“Dunno. Don’t bother with scales much.”
“Maybe you should buy one. You’re abnormally heavy.”
“It’s all the muscles.”
She sighs, closing her eyes.
“I have an idea.”
“The poor thing must be lonely inside that empty brain of yours.”
“Stop insulting me for a minute and listen. Let’s go shopping in the morning.”
She opens her eyes and quirks a brow.
