Page 8 of Another Ryan Christmas

Rage prickles beneath my eyelids. “Did she just …?”

Shane laughs darkly and laces his fingers through mine. “Calm down, firecracker. Let me introduce you to Conor’s ex-fiancée.”

Conor’s what now? How did I not know about her? What the …? I open and close my mouth but before any logical words can come out, Shane clasps my hand tightly in his and leads me a few feet across the room to Conor and the mystery woman, who’s now standing so close to him, there’s barely a sliver of light between them. An unfamiliar feeling of intense anger bubbles beneath my skin. She leans forward and brushes her full red lips over his cheek and that simmering rage boils over like an overfilled crock pot.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I shriek like a crazy woman, making both her and Conor turn sharply. Her mouth hangs open in shock but Conor has one eyebrow quirked in amusement.

He slips an arm around my waist and pulls me to his side. “Diana, I’d like you to meet my wife.”

Her eyes drop down to my swollen belly and the hint of a sneer curls her lip before she smiles again. “Your wife?”

“Yes. Hiswife!” I say with a possessive snarl.

She laughs, throwing her head back a little and showing off the diamond choker on her slender neck. “I never thought I’d see the day you’d commit yourself to any woman, Conor Ryan,” she says with a seductive purr that makes my blood boil.

I inch forward, a possessive growl rumbling in my throat. “And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

Diana blinks at me, her face a mask of shock at the venom in my tone. I’m kind of shocked myself to be honest. I have no idea what’s come over me, but I’m all in now. Full on crazy jealous wife mode has been activated and I have no idea how to switch it off.

Conor glances down at me, and damn that bastard is almost grinning, like he thinks this is funny. A scowl furrows my brow and that makes the corners of his mouth curl up into a full on smile. “You think it’s funny that she’s hitting on you right in front of your pregnant wife?” I snap.

His shoulders shake a little like he’s suppressing a snigger and I ball my hands into fists. All it would take is me stamping my foot and I’d be having a full on toddler tantrum in the middle of our club but I can’t stop it. “Conor!”

His eyes twinkle with amusement and before I can protest any further, he scoops me into his arms. “Excuse us, would you?” he says before he starts walking through the crowd.

“Where are you taking me?” I insist as he strides so purposefully through the crowd that people move out of his way like the parting of the red sea.

“To put you in a time out, angel,” he says with a soft laugh.

“I can’t believe you—”

He cuts off the rest of my rant with a soft kiss and he goes on kissing me until we reach the manager’s office, which is thankfully empty. He breaks our kiss only to kick the door closed and sets me on the edge of the desk, his eyes still dancing with unrestrained amusement. He brushes a curl back from my face. “What the hell was that, angel?”

I fold my arms over my chest. “You mean your ex-fiancée throwing herself at you out there?”

He laughs again, pinching the bridge of his nose. “My what?”

“Your ex-fiancée!”

He frowns. “She’s not my … Who told you that?”

“Shane.” I pout.

“Asshole.” He shakes his head, planting his hands on the desk either side of my hips and pushing himself between my thighs. He smells so good. My heart rate spikes. “She was never that. It was a misunderstanding.”

I suck in a breath through my nose, the intense anger I felt a few moments ago already reduced down to a mere simmer again now that he’s so close to me. “You misunderstandingly proposed to her?”

He sighs deeply. “It was almost Christmas. I saw this cute ring at a market that I thought she might like. It wasn’t a diamond. It wasnotan engagement ring. I’ve never proposed to anyone in my life but you.”

He cups my jaw in his hand, titling my head until I’m staring into his dark eyes. “I have never wanted to marry anyone except you.” He presses a soft kiss on my lips and rubs a hand over my stomach. “Never wanted kids with anyone but you.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “Never wanted to fuck anyone quite so much as I fuck you,” his voice comes in a deep growl now and the atmosphere in the room changes in a heartbeat.

I wrap my arms around his neck. “I have no idea what made me act like that out there. I’m sorry.”

He brushes his lips over my cheek, his warm breath on my skin making me shiver. “Don’t apologize, angel. Seeing you all possessive over me was fucking hot.”

“It was?” I giggle despite my embarrassment.

“Yeah. I love how feral you got for a minute. Like you were about to rip her throat out for touching me.”

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