Page 22 of Married with Blood
Confident.
Observant.
Strong.
Fucking gorgeous.
“Sassy?” I guessed, thinking back to her aversion to my giving her orders or instructions.
Adrik cursed under his breath again. “Is this going to be a mistake?” he asked.
“I don’t anticipate letting it be one,” I replied. “Relax. It’s not like this is the first time we’ve used nonconventional ways to get intel and keep an eye on those working against us.”
“And you’re that certain that the Garcia Cartel is working against us now?”
“I disagree with Arturo Garcia’s claim that what happened with those lost guns was a mishap or misunderstanding.” I didn’t break my gaze from him, letting him see the sincerity in my words. “I’m not sure yet what he’s up to, but keeping his sister close should be a means of getting a better clue to what it might be.”
He nodded once then patted my back. “You’re sure you want to tie yourself to her like this, though?”
I laughed a single bark of laughter. “Why not?”
It wasn’t like I was going to fall in love with her.
Lusting after her was one matter. I was only a red-blooded man, after all.
But no one around here had any reason to be worried that I was risking my heart or anything frivolous like that.
Watching Adrik and Elena leave and go upstairs, I stayed in the foyer and decided to give my fiancée a night of relative freedom. It was too late to launch an interrogation with her. I wasn’t in the mood to ask her questions when I was still developing the tolerance to this sudden and instant attraction that sparked inside me each time I looked at her heart-shaped face and admired more of her slender yet curvy body.
“Better head home. Got a wedding to get up early for,” Viktor teased.
“I might stay here.”
He smirked. “Why?”
“Just to set up the details for tomorrow.” Noticing his amused smile, I added, “Also to give her space and a false sense of security so she might be more amenable in the morning.”
“Sure,” he mocked. “That sounds like an excellent start to a marriage. Spending the night apart.”
“Fuck you,” I replied, shoving him as I walked toward one of the guest rooms.
“You don’t trust yourself not to take her tonight. That’s the problem.”
I shot him a dirty look.
I didn’t admit defeat to problems. I solved them.
“You want to stay over there and make sure she doesn’t try to escape or anything like that?” Jeremiah and the guards would see to it that Carina was locked in my house for the night, but it wouldn’t hurt to have my brother standing by. She’d seen him at the Cartel compound and villa, so maybe she wouldn’t be as alarmed if he were around again.
He huffed. “Sure. I can babysit your uninterested fiancée.”
It didn’t matter what she was interested in or not. So far, she wasn’t crazy about the idea of spending time near me, but that was too bad. If she had any secrets I could learn for the security of my family, I’d get them however I could.
Even if it meant taking her hand in marriage.
8
CARINA
