Page 87 of Coercion

I blink away the tears, trembling more in fear at how vulnerable I am, how precarious everything suddenly feels.

And then I’m kissing him, crashing my lips into his, needing to shut my head up, and stop always seeing the worst possible outcome. So I love my husband? So what? Surely that’s a good thing, surely that’s the best case scenario? But loving makes me vulnerable, loving makes me weak.

His hands tangle in my hair as he deepens it, and his tongue battles mine for dominance. I can’t help the moan as I give in and let him win.

But as we break apart, I can still see that serious look on his face. “I need to tell you something.”

I can see from his face that whatever it is, it can’t be good. I bite my lip, waiting for whatever awful news he’s going to speak about now.

“Your uncle is dying.”

“What?”

“Levi had a stroke.” Preston states.

My eyes widen. I don’t know whether to laugh out loud or rally against the fact that that bastard has once again gotten off too easily.

“Ruby?”

“I, give me a moment.” I say, scrambling from his lap, turning my back on him. My mind feels like it’s whirling. My body feels like it’s trembling. I don’t understand why I’m not jumping for joy.

The bastard is dying, the bastard is dying.

“Who is taking over…?” I ask.

“Gunnar.”

Of course. Of course he is. So he gets my family’s wealth, he gets my family’s power, everything that was stolen from me. I clench my fists, letting out a snarl of frustration and then jolt as I feel Preston’s hands on my shoulders.

“I’m sorry.” He says, like he understands why I’m so wound up. Like he has a clue.

I stare back at him, trying to tell myself that the idea forming in my head is madness, that I’m rocking the boat when right now, I’m safe in the harbour, far from the storm, that none of it should matter now.

“You could do it.” I half-whisper.

“What?” He frowns and a micro-expression I can’t read flickers across his face before that mask comes down.

“You could take over.” I state.

His eyes react, his jaw tightens. “Ruby…”

“Hear me out, you have Nico on your side, you have me, a Holtz, as your wife…”

“Ruby.” He growls, clearly telling me that I’ve crossed the line.

“What?” I say. “Why not? Why not take it back?”

He shakes his head, pulling me in, burying my face into his chest. “This isn’t a discussion for now.”

“This is exactly when we should be talking about this. Gunnar is weak right now, they only follow him because of Levi…”

“Ruby.” He snaps. “Enough. Enough.”

“But…”

His hand wraps around my mouth. He stands over me and, though I know he’s pissed, all I can feel is that heat rapidly spreading through my core.

“I’ve spent the entire morning having the shit kicked out of me in one way or another.” He states. “I want to spend the rest of my day buried in my wife, losing myself in her body, not arguing about something that doesn’t matter. Do you hear me?”