Bound

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.

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  “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.”

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  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.”

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  “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.

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  “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.”
br />   “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

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  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.”

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  “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.”

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  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.”

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&nbs
p; Chapter Seventeen

  Meg bucked beneath her husband. His weight held her efficiently

  as he sat on her midsection and calmly looked to his brother.

  “Get me some rope,” he said as though asking someone to pass

  the salt.

  Cian walked off to do his bidding.

  “Bastard,” Meg grunted as she tried to force him off. His position

  was perfect. She couldn’t quite strike him, though she tried. “Get the

  fuck off me.”

  Beck looked entirely too pleased for Meg’s comfort. “Language,

  my love. Have you noticed, Ci, that our sweet little wife has quite the

  mouth on her?”

  Cian was smiling broadly as he returned with a length of material.

  Meg recognized it as a scarf she’d bought in the marketplace. “I did,

  indeed, notice the mouth on her. I’ve found when she gets that dirty

  mouth of hers going, it’s best to shove something in it.”

  “Fuck you, too, Ci,” Meg said. Cian was supposed to side with

  her, damn it. He was supposed to understand. He’d spent two weeks

  listening to her and getting to really know her. He’d understood how

  she felt about Beck. It had taken roughly three minutes for Cian to flip

  on her and take his brother’s side. She should have known. Meg tried

  kicking her legs.

  “I suspect there will be a lot of fucking, my lover,” Cian

  promised. “This will chafe less than the rope.”

  Meg looked up at the faces staring down at her. They were twins,

  but she could tell them apart. Besides the very slight differences

  living had brought to their faces, she could tell by their expressions.

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  Cian was looking down on her with a sweetly lascivious grin. Meg

  could tell he was anticipating the sex he thought was coming. His

  hand had already begun to rub against the swell in his pants. Beck

  was an entirely different animal. He just looked hungry. He caught

  her hands when she tried to hit him.

  “No, Megan.” He neatly wrapped the scarf around her wrists.

  “You will behave, or I’ll have you across my lap. I won’t be nice

  about it either. You’ve pushed me too far, love. It’s time we put this

  relationship of ours on a proper footing.”

  “It’s time you let me up, asshole.” Meg tried to kick again.