Page 15 of Bloody Wedding (The Order of the Owed #1)

I remember, too. That’s how he convinced me that it wasn’t such a bad idea if he didn’t pull out.

That he chose me to fuck that first time, and I was so stunned that Adrian Heller was still a virgin—because, even if he lied to get me on my back, it worked —that I let him do whatever he wanted.

The two minutes he lasted after the most uncomfortable sex I’ve ever had makes me sure he was telling the truth, but the more we spent time together, the better we both got.

And he came in me almost every single damn time.

I snort. “I was such a stupid kid back then. It’s a miracle we didn’t have a pregnancy scare.”

“You wouldn’t have been able to get away from me if I knocked you up.” His eyes spark. “Maybe that’s my plan now.”

My stomach turns. Setting my fork down on my plate, I push it all away from me. “You want kids?”

Oh, God. I knew we’d have to have this conversation sooner or later almost immediately after I was forced to say ‘I do’.

To keep his position in the Order’s upper ranks, he needed to be married by thirty.

Check. The old guard prefer to see the young guys popping out ‘heirs’ so that the founding families don’t die out.

It’s not a non-negotiable—it depends on the couple, their fertility, and whether they want to be parents or not—but I saw the spark in Adrian’s eyes when I mentioned the word ‘pregnancy’ just now.

His shrug could possibly be perceived as casual, even if I’m not buying it. “Do you?”

Ah, fuck.

“I’ve never really thought about it before,” I admit. “Not that it matters right now. I’m on birth control.”

A muscle tics in his jaw. “What’s the matter, Loni? Didn’t want your boyfriend leaving a little something behind?”

Look at that. The return of asshole Adrian.

Okay. So I tried to fabricate a boyfriend so he’d see how insane it was to kill Desmond and think that he could easily take his place. When he easily called me out for lying later, it became clear that he didn’t buy my ‘boyfriend’ story for a second.

So him bringing up my imaginary boyfriend now? He’s fucking with me.

If that’s how he wants to play, fine. “More like I wanted to fuck whoever I wanted without worrying about getting pregnant.” I grin at him, enjoying the dark shadow that falls over his face at the reminder that he’s not my only lover anymore.

“I grew up, Adrian. Condoms are a must, but even they’re not a hundred percent effective. ”

He takes a sip of his coffee, composing himself. When he finally does, his tone is still casual, though his body language is anything but . “What kind?”

“What?”

“Birth control. What kind are you on?”

He seems really fixated on this, doesnt he?

“An IUD. The one I’m on is a five-year device. This is my third year.”

“Good. That’ll work just fine.”

What? “Excuse me?”

“I waited ten years to make you mine. We’re young, Loni. We can have kids later. For now, I want my wife to myself. And maybe that makes me a selfish bastard, but fuck it. Unless you’re ready to start trying now?”

Trying… of course. Like always with Adrian, it comes down to sex. He can ‘try’ all he wants, but my birth control will keep his swimmers from knocking me up… but the look of lust he can’t quite hide tells me that he’ll enjoy the process.

Mimicking his pose from before, I cross my arms over my chest. “I have to sleep in your bed. I don’t have to fuck you.”

Adrian shifts his position. Leaning forward, he perches his elbow on one hand, resting his chin on his other palm. “You think you can sleep next to me and you won’t be begging me to climb on top of you?”

My cheeks flame, but I refuse to look away from the dare written all over his face. Jutting my chin at him, I tell Adrian, “I know it.”

“Like I said. It’s been ten years, princess. Don’t you want to know if we were as good together as you remember?”

Yes .

“Pass.”

He raises his eyebrows.

Remember… I think back, latching onto a memory that doesn’t involve Adrian’s body pressing against mine, making my toe curls as he pinned me in place, fucking me the same time as he kissed me until I was breathless…

Got one.

“Do you remember the history class we had together? Senior year? How you turned the entire class against me after Mr. Banks sprung that pop quiz on us and you blamed me? How I had to get switched out to Mrs. Andersen’s class instead, screwing up my whole schedule so that I didn’t get early release for half the year? ”

It’s one of a hundred little ways that Adrian messed with me when we were younger. Back then, he apologized during one of our stolen moments a couple of days later, but the damage was done. One flippant, off-handed comment from the most popular kid in class had Loni Dougherty an outcast again.

Just like always.

“I remember that perv was looking down your shirt every time he came by your desk to ‘help’ you,” is Adrian’s response.

His voice is easy. The sudden hard look twisting his features is anything but.

“I remember his casual offers to help you after school… you, Loni, no one else… and how he got caught fucking a junior the year after we graduated.”

What? I… what ?

“I needed you out of that class. And if it didn’t happen the way it did, I would’ve had to involve the Order. He wasn’t a member. He paid the price anyway when he targeted a different girl, but at least he didn’t get his hands on you first.”

I blink. “You did that for me?”

“You don’t know half the things I did for you.”

“But… you bullied me.”

“I did,” Adrian agrees. “Because I didn’t understand what to make of my feelings for you back then. I tried to protect you. I tried to make you untouchable.”

“You tried to make it so that no one else wanted me… because you did?”

“Teenage boys aren’t known for thinking with the head on top of their shoulders.

” Straightening up again, he leans toward the table.

Adrian picks up his cold cup of coffee, taking another swig though his eyes never leave my face as he does.

“Same for little boys who throw rocks at the girls they like.”

I swallow. My own breakfast has gone untouched ever since my stomach went queasy. “You like me.”

Adrian lowers his cup. “I don’t like you, Loni.”

“Then why the fuck did you marry me?”

His lips curve. “Good question.”

I didn’t expect him to say he loves me. If he did, I might’ve picked up my pancake, slapping him in the face with the sticky, syrupy side of my breakfast. And yet… it’s worse that he goes all enigmatic like that right after dropping the bomb on me about Mr. Banks.

I’m done. Yeah… I’m done. I ate most of my eggs. Some of my pancakes. As far as I’m concerned, I fulfilled my obligation. We had breakfast, and now that I have his word that I can keep my job for as long as I can, I have work to do.

However, right as I’m about to get up, his phone buzzes. For the first time since I sat down, he takes his eyes off of me momentarily so that he can pick it up. He had it facedown on the table, lost among all of the food, glasses, and utensils, and I never even saw it until he grabbed it.

There’s a slight furrow to his brow as he reads the screen before he shakes his head, setting it back down.

I don’t expect him to tell me what that was about.

Even when we had some semblance of a relationship between us, Adrian was always so secretive.

Especially when it involved the Order, and now that he’s fully inducted into it, there’s no doubt in my mind that that buzz has everything to do with the society.

I don’t expect him to tell me anything at all—and that’s why I’m so stunned when he looks at me again and says, “That was a text from Dallas.”

Dallas. Not my favorite person on the planet at the moment. “What did he want?”

“Just to pass along a message. Seems like my uncle wants to meet with me.”

Oh.

Wonderful .