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“I really must be going. My wife is waiting for me. As I said, she has quite the temper.” I don’t give him a chance to say another word. I know this won’t be my last interaction with him, but it will be for tonight.

Chapter twenty-five

Josephine

When we make it back home, I jump out of the car without waiting, but Aedon is lithe and catches up. When I get to the doors, Sam is already there waiting for our return.

“Welcome back,” he greets us.

I shoot him a death glare. Aedon gives him a brisk hello before jogging behind me to the elevator. I push the door closed button before he reaches me. The doors miraculously close on the sight of me giving him a vulgar gesture. I press the button to the penthouse, but the elevator doesn’t go anywhere.

The doors open again, and Aedon stands there with a key card between two fingers and a haughty smirk. I almost think he hasn’t given me one on purpose. He waves the card over the reader and presses the button. The elevator whirs in the dreadful silence and shoots upward. We reach our foyer and I stalk out, not even stopping while I attempt to tear the dress from my body. I’m stuck in the bodice, trying to reach behind me and yank the laces.

Aedon shoves my hands away and unclasps it, then the sound of the laces tearing fills the apartment before the bodice falls away. The Eye, which I had forgotten was shoved in between my breasts, rolls to the floor. It still looks stunned. Aedon bites his cheek, raising a brow, but stays unnervingly silent. I’m angry, proud, and irrational, which is a horrible combination.

My eyes lock onto the bar. I grab the first bottle I find, pouring myself a glass all the way to the brim. Then I sink into the couch.

He sits in the armchair across from me. “Are you ready to talk now?”

I raise a finger, gulp down the drink, and hold it out to him for another. He huffs, takes it, and refills it.

“You may speak now.” I give him permission.

“Tell me what happened.” He seems calm, cool, and collected. It’s boiling my blood.

“You tell me what happened first.”

Aedon does something unprecedented. He leaves. He goes to the bedroom and shuts the door behind him, not a slam, but a shut. In a fit of misplaced rage, I go after him, tossing open the door and storming in. With his back to me, his body turns to stone.

I shove him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Aedon whirls around and there is chaos flashing in his eyes. In moments he is on me, slamming me into the wall. I try to fight him, but the effort is futile. I scratch, bite, and kick until I’m too tired to continue.

“He’s the boy, isn’t he? The one you loved?” One hand wraps around my neck gently, and my breath hitches in my throat. The other unzips the pants of his tux. I feel him at my entrance, and he plunges into me without warning. My lungs give out as I struggle to adjust to his size.

“This hardly seems like the time.” My voice rides on a moan.

“When do you suggest, Josephine?” He’s frustrated and seated inside of me, looking at me with malice. “Every time we speak it’s like talking in circles. One step forward and three steps back. I’ve been on my best behavior, trying to be patient when you need it, and doing my best to let you come to me like Vivian said, but I am not a patient man.”

“Vivian said that?” It’s difficult to focus on his words. I’m so fucking full. “You asked her for advice?”

“Stop changing the goddamn subject." His jaw twitches.

He’s losing his nerve. His fingers tighten around my neck, and I mew, grinding against him. Aedon pins me, pushing deeper inside. My hips are so tight against the wall that I can’t move. My clit is burning, and my brain is like a dumpster fire.

“Aedon,” I whine with a frustrated laugh—as much of one as I can give with my airway cut off.

“Do you regret it?” His hot breath fans my ear. I’m so dizzy that it takes me a few moments to catch up to his uncharacteristically desperate question.

“Regret what?” I ask through my teeth.

“Being with me. Now that you know he lives.” His hand squeezes tighter. I try to stay calm, breathing through my nose while a river rushes between my legs. “Do you still feel love for him?”

“I’m feeling everything right now,” I groan. He releases my neck, but keeps my hips pinned against the wall, stroking his fingers down my collarbone.

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”

I do know what he’s talking about. Killian’s return. It’s jarring, but it doesn’t change anything when it comes to Aedon. I’m his wife. I won’t take that back just because some lying boy said he loved me one fucking time. He thinks my newfound need for revenge is an interest in revitalizing something that never existed in the first place.