KIER
"Does your father still think we're in the 1800s? Who still forces their children to marry some random girl they don't even know?" Veronica huffed, clearly more annoyed by the situation than I was, the one actually in it.
I let out a small, humorless smile, but as my eyes drifted toward Genesis, the smile vanished.
Why was she smiling?
I glanced at Charlie, who was leaning in too close to my wife, that ridiculous grin plastered on his face—the same one he always wore around women he fancied.
And she wasn't even pulling away.
Okay, she wasn't exactly leaning in, but she was sitting there, smiling at him.
I didn't like that.
Wait—saying it like that made me sound like a controlling asshole.
I just didn't like that she was smiling at him.
I thought she didn't like strangers. She barely even talked to me. But now, she was completely comfortable, amused even.
And that bastard was—
"Kier, are you even listening to me?"
Veronica's voice snapped me out of my blatant gawking—no, no, not gawking. I wasn't gawking. She was my wife. Looking at her didn't mean I was gawking.
I turned to Vera, who wasn't even looking at me anymore. Her gaze was locked onto Genesis and Charlie, a slight crease forming between her brows. Then, she turned back to me.
"Do you like her?"
The question caught me off guard. My eyes flicked back to Genesis, only to find her staring at me. But the moment our eyes met, she looked away, a soft rosy tint blooming on her cheeks.
And just like that, I felt my dick twitch in my pants.
Shit.
I sucked in a sharp breath, forcing my mind to think of the most unappealing thing possible to kill the reaction. Thankfully, it worked.
"Wow," Veronica murmured, smirking. "You do like her. The fact that you're not saying hell no or shut the hell up, Vera is proof enough."
There was something odd in her tone, but I didn't have the energy to dissect it.
I sighed, running a hand over my face. "I don't hate her. That doesn't mean I love her. I don't even know her."
Veronica scoffed. "You married her."
"Yeah, well, I didn't exactly have a choice, did I?" I muttered.
I should've been focused on the conversation, but my eyes kept drifting back to Genesis.
She was still at the table with Charlie, her fingers resting lightly on the surface. Her expression was unreadable, but then—
Charlie leaned in closer, lowering his voice, that smug grin never leaving his face.
And she…
She lifted a hand to cover her mouth, shaking her head.
Was she laughing?
My jaw clenched.
Genesis wasn't the type to open up to strangers. She barely even looked me in the eye. But now? She was smiling. At Charlie. Like he was the most interesting person in the damn room.
I hated it.
My fingers curled into a fist, and Veronica noticed.
"For someone who claims he doesn't love her," she mused, watching me carefully, "you sure look pissed that she's talking to someone else."
I ignored her.
Charlie, the bastard, leaned in even closer, resting an elbow on the table, his full attention on Genesis.
"So, tell me," he said, grinning. "How did Kier manage to land someone like you? I mean, the guy's got the personality of a rock. You must be into the quiet, brooding type?"
Genesis blinked, tilting her head slightly as she studied him.
And I waited.
Because for some reason, her answer suddenly mattered to me.
Charlie sighed dramatically. "Right, the whole can't talk thing. That's okay, you don't need words to say a lot. Like that look you just gave me? That says, 'Charlie, you're the most handsome man I've ever seen.'"
Genesis looked down at the table, but the corners of her lips twitched.
That was it.
Before I even realized what I was doing, I pushed off the counter and strode over.
Charlie glanced up, amusement flickering in his eyes. "Oh, look who finally decided to join us. Worried I'm stealing your wife?"
Genesis stiffened at the word wife, her fingers twitching slightly against the table.
Charlie saw it too. His smirk deepened.
I ignored him, my focus solely on her. "Are you done eating?"
She hesitated, then nodded.
"Good. Come with me."
I didn't wait for a response. I grabbed her wrist—not hard, just enough to make sure she followed—and pulled her away from the table.
Charlie let out a low whistle behind us. "Damn. And here I thought you didn't care."
I did care.
I just didn't know why.
I felt the tension in her wrist beneath my fingers. She was rigid, cautious.
So she was tense and uneasy with me—but with Charlie? She was relaxed. Smiling.
Fuck.
Why the hell was that getting to me?
When we were far enough from them, I stopped, pressing her gently against the wall.
She looked up at me with wide, uncertain eyes. Fearful.
I hated it.
I didn't want her to look at me like that.
Before I could stop myself, I was closer, my body pressing lightly against hers, my fingers tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
That's when I saw it.
A deep, bruised mark on her neck.
Like she'd been bitten.
Like her animal.
My jaw tightened.
Well, I had taken her like an animal.
I cupped her jaw, tilting her face up to mine. "Why do I hate it when you smile at someone else but not at me?"
She just stared, her wide doe eyes unblinking.
My gaze dipped to her lips—full, pink, soft.
I wanted to kiss her.
I shouldn't.
I closed my eyes, breathing deeply, trying to steady myself. But when I looked down, I was already hard. Painfully hard. And she hadn't even touched me.
I clenched my fist, pressing my nose against her neck, inhaling the soft scent of her skin.
Get it together.
I forced myself to step back like I'd been burned, turning away before I did something I couldn't take back.
But just as I was about to leave, I glanced at her again.
She was breathing heavily, her ches
t rising and falling, watching me with a dazed expression.
She was waiting.
Expecting something.
"I have a rule for you," I murmured, my vo
ice rough. "From now on, you don't smile at another man. Ever."
She blinked.
I turned and walked away.
Because if I stayed any longer, I'd break my own damn rule.