Page 4 of Bred

A soft flush bit over my skin, making my fingers tingle as I stared down at the engagement ring I’d been wearing for weeks already. His ring. Perhaps that was my sign that I belonged here, that I was already tied to this house because I was tied to its master.

I spun the ring on my finger, my thoughts falling again to the man I hadn’t even met yet. The man I was supposed to marry in a matter of hours.

“You’re here.”

I squeaked, spinning in place and finding myself face-to-face with the man who was supposed to be my other half.

For a moment, I wondered if he and Erik were related, because their size was too similar. But whereas the gruff man’s hair was coppery brown, Loren’s was straight silvery blond. The dark-blue eyes were staring at me so hard, I wondered if he was able to see straight into my soul.

My future husband wasn’t just handsome. He was strikingly good-looking. Straight nose, serious full lips that were currently parted, as if he were panting. His jaw was broad and square, cleanshaven, and my hand twitched with the need to run a finger across the high cheekbones that stood out in such sharp relief.

He was observing me too, his gaze hot enough to make my skin flush and tingle as he moved into the living room.

“Loren,” I whispered, my belly flip-flopping as I was reminded of the fact that in a few hours, I would be permanently joined with this man.

I felt that flush again at my neck at the thought of that entanglement. I bit my lip and held out my hand. “I’m Wren.”

The man before me shuddered, his body visibly changing as if my voice broke him out of some kind of trance he’d been in. He took a step towards me, and while his size was just as shocking as the beauty in his face, I wasn’t scared of him.

Loren moved slowly, his hand gripping mine as he drew close enough I could see the green flakes in his blue eyes when he stared down at me.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, but the tone was confused, perhaps disbelieving.

“Thank you,” I responded, swallowing hard as the subtle power in his grip distracted me from the strangeness of his comment. “You’re…” My mind stuttered over the options for a return compliment. There were too many, and I was too slow to respond, so my word hung between us, timid and uncomfortable.

“I’d like to talk to you. Before the minister gets here.”

I blinked. He was so direct, but I could appreciate that. I nodded, moving across to perch on the edge of an overstuffed blue chair. “Alright. Go ahead.” I gestured to the sofa behind him, which he looked at over his shoulder. There was something at the edge of his eyes that makes me wonder if he thought me offering him a chair in his own house might be comical, but I held fast to this.

I was here first.

I was on time.

He could sit where I told him to.

As soon as he folded his long body into the matching sofa, I felt a gentle thrill at the small victory.

“Wren, you have to know that when your grandfather mentioned this contract, I thought he might be…”

“Insane?” I supplied happily.

Loren seemed uncomfortable with the term but nodded after a time, his long-fingered hand running over his silver locks. I was surprised to find myself wanting to do the same with my hand to see if it was as soft as it looked. “I’d never thought that I’d have to arrange any marriage, let alone my own. Yet, here we are. And you are, well, rather stunning.”

“Thank you.”

“But that’s not the point. I’m trying to tell you that this won’t be easy. That there’s a reason I got to this age and am still single.”

I cocked my head. “Do you want to give me details? Or will I find out soon enough on my own?”

“I’m a workaholic. I spend a lot of time on the road, and people tell me I tend to be a bit intense.”

Laughter threatened in my chest. “I never would’ve guessed.”

He glanced at me, as if trying to decide if I was serious or kidding with him. I deadpanned my expression and waited, my stomach quivering with humor. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me. It was probably some kind of mismanaged wedding nerves.

“But I want you to know, at one time, I wanted this badly. I wanted the family life, the home, the wife, the babies.”

“But not now?”