Chapter Sixteen
Beck made sure he had a tight hold on his mental shields as he approached the cottage. Even as he looked around, he kept the walls up so he didn’t alert his brother to his presence.
Beck was shocked at the state of his lands. He had left a sad, rundown cottage and was returning to a home someone gave a shit about. Someone had weeded the gardens and planted flowers. The front walk was lined with orange and yellow marigolds. The walk had been swept, and someone had woven ivy up and down the front walls. The cottage looked lovely. There were pretty yellow linens hanging in the windows.
Beck stopped and looked out over the fields. Someone had been working there, too. It seemed that Cian hadn’t been so derelict.
Beck wondered about Liadan’s words. He hoped his twin hadn’t been forcing the villagers to work while he paid court to their new wife. Cian could be lazy at times, but he wasn’t cruel. He did sometimes take a different view of what was due to them than Beck did.
What if Meg sided with Cian? What if Meg thought it should be her right to take what she wanted simply because someone had put a title in front of her name? She was about to discover that it was his right to set her straight.
“You wanted to see me, Professor Finn?”
Meg’s voice was soft but audible through the open windows. Beck paused before opening the door. He could see his brother and their wife through the open shades. She was so beautiful to Beck. She was wearing a pretty skirt and a shirt that dipped awfully low on her chest. She’d unbuttoned the top two buttons, and her breasts swelled out of the white linen. It made his mouth water to remember just how good those breasts felt in his hands and pressed against his chest. She wore her long hair in pigtails, tied with white ribbons.
“Yes, I did, Megan,” Cian said in what Beck recognized as his teacher voice. It was stern and a little intimidating. Why was he using it on their wife? “You were a very naughty girl in class today.”
Cian was sitting at the kitchen table, and Meg stood looking down at him. Beck couldn’t see his brother’s face, but he had an excellent view of Meg. She leaned over. Her voice was slightly breathy. “Please, Professor. I need to pass this class. I can’t fail. My parents would be so angry with me. Is there anything I could do for a little extra credit?”
Beck let his pack fall to the ground. This was interesting, and he wanted to see exactly what they were doing. Cian liked to play out little scenes like the one he was performing with Meg.
Cian had a great imagination when it came to dirty fun. Beck felt his interest rising along with his cock. Meg seemed to be playing along willingly. The entire trip home, Beck had thought about what Colin had said. Meg didn’t have the same expectations other bondmates had. What if she had been telling him the truth? What if she really did want that submissive relationship-thing she had talked about? Could he trust himself to give her what she wanted and not hurt her?
There was a deep chuckle. Cian sat back in his chair. “I don’t know about that. I’d have to see what you have to offer me. Let’s see, your Gaelic is horrible.”
“I’m working on that,” Meg promised with wide eyes. “Tà grà agam duit.”
She’d said I love you in passable Gaelic. It sounded pretty coming from her lips. She’d said it to his brother.
“Nice, a grhà,” Cian praised her. His long fingers tapped rhythmically against the table. “But I was thinking of something a bit more physical for this extra credit you need. You look like a strong girl. Why don’t you take off that shirt and show me your muscles. I’ve been looking for someone to help me carry my books.”
Beck almost laughed out loud, but then Meg was dragging the shirt over her head. Her nipples came in view. They were a dusky pink and stood out, obviously aroused. She touched them. She rubbed her breasts brazenly. Her small hands caressed the mounds. They were round and gorgeous, just perfectly made. They made his mouth water. He really wanted to force her onto his cock and watch those breasts jiggle as she rode him hard.
Would she do it if he asked her? Would she do it faster if he ordered her?
“Do I look strong enough, Professor?” Meg asked. Her voice was husky. Beck’s cock hardened painfully. He could only imagine what it was doing to Cian.
“I suppose so,” Cian allowed. He was playing the stern professor to the hilt. “You know, all that walking is going to require strength in your legs as well as your torso. I don’t think I can give you this assignment until I’ve seen your legs.”
Meg bit her lower lip and looked sweetly nervous. She was good at this. She seemed to enjoy the play.
He had thought that once he and Cian settled down with a bondmate, their days of playing in such a manner would be done. Sexual relations with a bondmate were reverent, sacred acts. What if all that reverent sex bored his wife to tears because she was a dirty girl underneath? Maybe Colin was right. Maybe he should start thinking of Meg as Meg, rather than a bondmate. Maybe he should give Meg what Meg wanted rather than what he thought she should want.
Meg slid her right leg onto the top of the table. She carefully, slowly pulled her skirt up. Her fingers ran the length of her pretty leg, all the way to her hip.
“Now, Megan,” Cian began authoritatively. “It is obvious to me that you’re missing a very important piece of your school clothes. A good student doesn’t come to class without her underwear.”
Her mouth was a perfect O that would fit his cock when he shoved it in. Beck was so hard. He had to get a grip if he ever wanted to walk in that room. If he didn’t, he would end up stroking his own meat in the flowerbeds.
“I must have forgotten, Professor Finn,” Meg said as her finger started playing with her pussy. A wicked little smile lit her face, and Beck felt left out. She looked at Cian like he was ten feet tall and had just slain a dragon for her. “Sometimes I forget. Are you angry?”
“The question isn’t whether I’m angry, my lover,” Cian said, slyly coming out of character. His head swung around, and he looked his brother straight in the eyes. “The question is whether our peeping Beck is enjoying the show?”
Cian looked perfectly pleased with himself, and Beck knew his brother had been on to him for a while. Meg, on the other hand, looked horrified. She gasped and held the shirt in front of her like a shield. Beck sighed and picked up his pack. He stalked to the door of his home and stepped inside. He frowned. It looked like sexy playtime was over.
“How dare you,” Meg said, going to stand behind Cian.
Beck went from being slightly upset at getting caught peeping to insanely jealous at the sight of his woman hiding behind another man. It didn’t matter that the other man held half of Beck’s soul. It only mattered that Meg was seeking protection from him.
Beck forced himself to calmly put down the bag. He could be reasonable. In Meg’s mind, she had been treated poorly. Hell, in reality Beck had treated her poorly, but he’d had his reasons. He would very peacefully explain to her why he had treated her as he did and ask for another chance.
Meg had her back to him. She shoved her arms through the sleeves of her shirt.
Cian grinned. “You were shielding, weren’t you, brother? The minute your dick got hard, those walls came down. You can’t hide from me when you’re that aroused.”
“You could have said something,” Meg hissed at Cian. She sounded pissed, but her hands came down on his shoulders. She glared at Beck. “I’m sure you’re here to lecture me about how to behave.”
“I was enjoying the show,” Beck said evenly.
He wanted to go and rip her away from his brother, whose hand had come up to play with hers. It seemed to be an unconscious act between two people who were very comfortable touching each other.
“Well, I was acting like a whore, so you shouldn’t be surprised,” she said, bitterness evident in every aspect of her being.
“No, my lover,” Cian corrected. “Tonight was schoolgirl night. Last night was whore night.” He leaned toward his brother. “She was brand new to her profession. I had to teach her everything she needed to know.”
Beck ignored his brother, though he knew the scenario well. He focused on his wife. He had a lot of damage to undo. “You were a very sexy schoolgirl, Meg.” He smiled as she flushed. “I like the pigtails.”
He did. He thought about all the ways he could grip them while he fucked into her. He took a deep breath. Tossing her over his shoulder and forcing her to the bedroom wouldn’t help his case right now.
There was an uncomfortable silence that Cian moved to fill. He stood and walked to his brother, giving him a manly hug. “It’s good to see you, brother.”
Beck softened. Cian was whole. It had been a long time since Cian had been complete. He enveloped his brother, the man who held half his soul, in a spine-cracking bear hug. He looked over to Meg. “Thank you,” he mouthed.
Meg’s eyes were suspiciously bright as she nodded.
“You feel fine?” Beck asked, looking over his younger brother.
“I feel fantastic,” Cian replied seriously. “The bond, goddess, Beck, it’s amazing. She’s always with me. I can sense her moods when she’s not hiding them. She’s perfect.”
Cian looked back at their wife, and she practically glowed under his praise. It made Beck remember the errand he’d gone on before leaving the Vampire plane. He reached down into his pack and pulled out the gift he’d bought for his wife.
“I got you a present, Meggie,” he said, holding it out to her.
He felt like an idiot standing there hoping she liked what he’d bought for her. It took her a moment, but finally she took the small package from him and looked it over.
“This is A Tale of Two Cities,” she said, looking at the old book with a growing smile. “Is it a vampire version? Does Sydney Carton eat the French Revolutionaries at the end? That would be cool.”
Beck frowned and shook his head. “No. It’s from the human plane. They promised me it was very rare. I thought you would like having something from your home. You said you liked books.”
Meg touched the book reverently. “This is one of my favorite books.”
She stopped, some unnamed emotion choking her words. Cian reached out and grabbed her hand. It annoyed Beck that Cian could calm her.
“Do you like it?” Beck asked. He’d searched for hours trying to find something to remind her of the world she’d come from. “I could get something else if it displeases you.”
Meg shook her head. “No, Beck, I love it. It’s a lovely gift.” She sighed as though making a decision. “Thank you.”
She walked up and kissed him on the cheek.
It was a start. His hand went to her waist. He held her to him for a moment. He looked down at her uncertain eyes and chose to be bold. He cupped her face while he kissed her roughly. “I missed you, wife.”
She was breathless when he let her go. Her hands shook slightly as she forced herself to back away. “I should go start dinner. I’ll just put this up.”
She practically ran from the room. Something deep inside Beck eased. She still wanted him. Everything would be all right. He could ease them into the relationship they both wanted.
“Damn it,” Cian said, slapping Beck on the back. “Why do you think I started the sex play early this evening, brother? I was trying to avoid Meggie’s cooking. Don’t get me wrong, the woman can make a damn fine cookie, but the rest of it is terrible. I’m dying here, Beck. I was going to exhaust her then slink off to Flanna’s and beg her to feed me.”
“It can’t possibly be that bad,” Beck said, shaking his head at his brother’s dramatics.
“Oh, it can,” Cian said.
Beck remembered that he had a bone to pick with his brother. “Why slink off to Flanna’s when there’s an entire festival going on in the village?”
“We should probably talk about that.”
“Don’t feed me some line of crap about wanting the villagers to accept Meg,” Beck replied, cutting off that avenue of escape. “Did you think for one minute about how this affects things? Did you consider that Torin will know about her now?”
Cian waved him off. “Torin knew about her the minute you stepped into that arena. If I let you hide her, people would think we were ashamed of her.”
“Why does it matter?” Beck shot back. “Who cares what people think as long she’s safe?”
Cian’s gray eyes settled into a stubborn stare. “If you’re so fired up about keeping her safe, then let me take her to the Vampire plane. She’ll be perfectly safe with the Dellacourts. I’ll get a job at the university. Problem solved. You’ll never have to worry about either of us again.”
“I’m not letting you take her anywhere,” Beck said, feeling a bit savage. Did Cian think he could waltz off with their wife? “As far as I can tell, you’ve been a bad influence on her.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Cian was obviously feeling a bit of Beck’s restless anger.
“It means she’s getting quite the reputation in town,” Beck said. “Have you been letting her run wild? She’s met with goblins? She’s forcing the young people to do her bidding? This isn’t the way we run this village, Ci.”
Cian’s face twisted in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about our wife taking whatever she wants,” Beck said, trying to keep his voice low. “Those are new clothes. I can tell. As we didn’t have a coin to our name when I left, I’m wondering where she got them.”
Cian leaned against the wall as though he was completely unconcerned with his guilt in the matter. “I might have been hiding a bit of coin from you. I bought Meggie a dress, and the village women liked her so much they sewed her a few pieces. You couldn’t expect her to wear the same thing every day. Where are you getting this from? She meets with those same women every other day for sewing lessons. They love her. Everyone loves her. She’s fitting in beautifully. Even the bloody goblins like her. As for the stall she set up in the market, those kids are taking a cut. Meg does the baking, and the Shaw kids handle the selling. They take half the damn profits.”
“What the hell is she doing selling stuff at market?” Beck asked. He was confused by the whole thing.
“Making money,” Meg said quietly from the doorway.
Beck turned quickly, taking in her frown. She had straightened her clothes and put on an apron. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a neat bun. She looked every bit the proper Fae wife about to cook her husbands’ dinner. He missed the naughty schoolgirl.
“I took care of it,” Beck explained. “We should have enough coin to see us through the winter.”
Meg’s eyes dulled. She shrugged as though it didn’t mean anything to her. “I’ll keep it for myself if you don’t want it.” She moved toward the kitchen. “And I’ll make sure to pay the women for their clothes. I’ll do it tomorrow.”
Beck ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Meg…”
She held up a hand to stop him. “Just leave me a list of what I’m supposed to do, and I’ll get it done, Beck. I’ll shut down the bakery stall, or I’ll work it myself from now on.”
“I didn’t say that, Meg,” Beck replied. Damn it. He didn’t want to argue with her. “You’re deliberately misunderstanding me.”
“No, I’m being realistic,” Meg said, her back stiffening with pride. “I’m not going to win with you, Beck. I could try to be this proper lady you want, but you’ll always remember that you bought me in a marketplace. I’ll always be a reminder that you didn’t get to be with the bondmate you were promised.”
Beck threw his brother a surprised glare. “Does she think we’re pining for Maris? Where did she get that?”
“Not from me.” Cian shuddered at the thought. “She knows how I felt about Maris. The best thing about having our kingdom ripped from us was not having to bed that bitch. She damn near froze off my willy every time I stood next to her. I can’t imagine having to put it in her.”
“She wasn’t your type, baby,” Meg said with an intimate smile that didn’t include Beck. “She was Beck’s. Look, I’ve thought a lot about this while you were gone. I realize that you married me to save Ci. That doesn’t mean you have to pay for it the rest of your life. I haven’t talked about this with Ci yet, so I hope I’m not being too forward, but I think we get along really well. I love him, I really do.”
“I love you, too, darlin’,” Cian replied sweetly with a wink.
“So I think that Ci and I should find our own place to live,” Meg continued, sounding very sensible. She sounded like she was explaining her plans to redecorate, not ripping his heart out. “Cian built this house. He can build a new place for us, and I’ll help him. We wouldn’t ask anything of you. I’m making money now, and Cian knows how to farm. We just need some land. I think it’s best if we make it a clean break. I’ll still be close so I can still do the bridge thing, but you can find someone more suitable.”
“Are you asking me for a divorce?” The question came out as a low growl.
Meg put her hands on her hips. Her eyes were suspiciously bright. “It hasn’t been much of a marriage, has it? I embarrass you at every turn. You don’t enjoy sleeping with me. It’s for the best. I promise, though, that I will try to fix whatever I did wrong in the village. I thought they liked me. I thought I was fitting in. Do you mind telling me who said those things about me? Maybe if I talked to them, I could figure out how to fix it.”
Beck’s mind was still on the fact that his wife was trying to leave. He spoke without thinking. “It was Liadan.”
“Oh, fuck,” Cian muttered under his breath.
Meg’s hazel eyes became dangerously narrow slits. “Liadan?”
“Yes,” Beck said cautiously. “She’s a well-respected woman in the village.”
“I got every bit of brains between us,” Cian said, shaking his head. “She knows about Lia, brother. Liadan made sure our wife knew she was your mistress.”
“Are you telling me you come home and the first person you go to see is your girlfriend?” Meg asked as she stalked toward him.
“I haven’t touched her since we got married,” Beck defended himself. “It was just chance that I talked to her.”
Beck could plainly see that Meg was having none of that. She picked up the pack he had set down. There was a righteous female fury in her eyes. She opened the door and tossed the luggage out. “I changed my mind. I’m staying here. You can go live with your precious, cold, perfect little blonde. See if I care.”
“I’m not going anywhere, wife,” Beck promised, and there was steel in his voice. “I’m not getting thrown out of my home, and we’re not getting a divorce.”
“Meg, darlin’,” Cian said, obviously trying to defuse the situation. “Why don’t we all sit down and calmly discuss this. We’re a family now.”
“I’m not married to him,” Meg swore between clenched teeth.
Everything inside Beck was starting to boil. His hands twitched as he attempted to gain control of the overwhelming desire to prove to her who she belonged to. “Are you challenging my claim to you, wife?”
“No, she’s not,” Cian tried.
“Like hell, I’m not,” Meg snarled.
“Back down, wife,” Beck commanded. He forced himself to hold his ground when his every instinct told him to chase her down and bend her to his will.
“Meg,” Cian said, looking into her eyes. “Don’t do this. If you push him, he’ll break.”
Meg rolled her eyes. “No, he won’t. He’ll politely ask me if I might, at some point in the future, maybe want to have lame, boring sex with him. If I say no, he’ll slink away and go ask his cold girlfriend if she’ll have very vanilla sex with him. I was wrong about him. I thought he was a Dom, but he’s just a bully. He wants utter control of my life without giving me anything back. Screw that, Beck.” She turned the full force of her disgust on Beck. “I won’t do it. I won’t live with you. I’ve finally found what I want. I want Ci. Cian understands me. Cian gives me what I need.”
“No, he doesn’t, love,” Beck returned, watching her move. He remained still, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. All thought of doing this the easy way was gone now. This would go down hard, and damned if he wasn’t looking forward to it. “He just plays at it. It’s a game to him. I bet you have to tell him what to do.”
Beck knew he was right when Meg looked slightly startled. She hid it quickly, but Beck caught that little hint. All wasn’t as perfect as Meg would have him believe.
“He just didn’t understand what I wanted. I explained it to him.”
“I think I did a damn fine job,” Cian interjected. His eyes went from his wife to his brother. Beck knew he was awaiting the inevitable outcome of this little skirmish.
“I know what you want,” Beck growled.
Meg crossed her arms over her chest. The challenge in her pose made Beck’s blood start to pound through his body. “You might know, Beck, but you aren’t man enough to give it to me.”
“Wrong answer, darling,” Cian said, whistling a little.
Beck struck hard and fast. Meg was on the floor beneath him before she could scream. Beck held her easily, though she squirmed and looked to Cian for help. There would be none forthcoming. Cian wanted this as much as Beck did, and Beck knew it. Beck could feel the satisfaction coming off his brother in waves. It had been too long since Beck let his beast have its way. Beck knew Cian would enjoy the experience so much more because of the woman on the floor. She would bridge the two and allow them to share the feeling.
Beck smiled down at his wife, a triumphant feeling running through his system. He gave her the smile of a predator about to enjoy a full meal after a lifetime of hunger. “As my vampire uncle might say, you wanted the bull, my Meggie. You’re about to get the horns.”