Page 37 of Dark Succession (The O’Malleys #1)

No . She opened her mouth, ready to spit the damning words at his feet, but then he kissed her.

Teague’s lips moved against hers as if she was his last bastion of hope in a world gone mad.

She clung to him, trying to keep from losing herself.

It was a lost cause. Her control always was when it came to this man.

She would do truly unforgivable things to keep him at her side. She was proving that right now.

Selfish. Stubborn idiot. Coward .

Teague rested his forehead against hers. “This is the only bright spot in the clusterfuck we’re currently neck deep in.”

Just like that, all her good intentions went up in smoke. She couldn’t walk away from this man, even if she wanted to. And she desperately didn’t want to. She’d deal with the fallout when she was forced to, and not a moment sooner. She pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Shall we? ”

“Definitely. I’m not giving you a chance to get cold feet.” He took her hand as she slid out of the car and shut the door behind her. “The judge already signed the paperwork, so we’re good to go.”

They walked into the courthouse. Callie had been here a few times over the years, but it felt different now.

She would be walking out the doors as a married woman.

Trying to wrap her head around that fact just gave her a headache.

So she didn’t think about it. There were far too many things she tried not to think about these days.

She occupied herself with filling out the paperwork, and then they were being ushered back to say their vows.

The dim little room wasn’t anything like she imagined their families had wanted for them.

There was no bouquet, no family, no elegant white dress.

She wouldn’t dance with her new husband, staring up into his eyes and feeling her heart nearly full to bursting with love. It was strangely fitting.

Teague repeated his vows after the minister, his gaze never leaving hers. His thumb stroked soothing circles on her knuckles, as if he knew exactly where her mind had gone. He finished with, “Till death do us part.”

Now it was her turn. She spoke her vows through numb lips, unable to summon even the smallest reassuring smile for him.

Marrying Teague was what she wanted, but the fear that worked its insidious way through her threatened to send her to her knees.

He will never forgive me . Her last words came out as barely more than a rasp.

The minister moved on, his voice so monotone, he could have been reading from a phonebook. He did manage a smile as he pronounced them husband and wife, but it was a cynical one. He patted them on the shoulders. “Good luck.”

Callie blinked. That was… uplifting.

She let Teague tug her over to where Micah and Emma stood in the first row.

Emma’s eyes were shining, but her son didn’t look any happier now than he had been when Callie first asked him to stand as one of the witnesses.

He shook Teague’s hand, but his attention was solely on her. “Your father isn’t going to be happy.”

“I know.” But, as much as she didn’t want to hurt Papa, she refused to let anything stand in the way of their doing this today. Her father most certainly would have objected. She turned to Emma and took her hands. “Thank you for being here.”

“I can’t believe it. I knew you were all grown up but…” She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “Your mama would be proud of you, and your papa will be fine.”

Words tried to stick in her throat. She doubted her mother would be proud of any of the things she’d done, but marrying a man she cared about in the courthouse instead of having a fully Catholic wedding was the least of her sins. “Thank you, Emma.”

Teague’s arm settled around her waist. “We should go.”

She nodded. “Micah, we’re going to Teague’s apartment.” He’d proven his loyalty to her time and time again. She wasn’t going to compromise it further by running off with her new husband and making Micah search for her.

He nodded once and then stood with his mother and watched them walk out of the room.

She was half-sure she felt his gaze on the back of her neck even after the door closed between them, but it was most definitely her guilt talking.

They made their way through the building and out into the light.

She couldn’t breathe any better out here, despite the fact that there were no walls to close in around her. She pressed a hand to her chest.

Oh God, what have I done?

“Angel?”

She looked up, the tired happiness on his face grounding her further.

This was why she’d agreed to marry him—she’d never met a man who made her feel so incredibly safe and wanted and cared for.

No matter how twisted up inside she felt, she wasn’t simply going through the motions for the sake of their respective families.

She wanted Teague as her husband. She just flat-out wanted him.

That was it. The one thing guaranteed to quiet her mind and silence her worries. She chose him. It made all the difference in the world. She stopped next to his car. “Take me home, Teague.”

“With pleasure.” He held the door open for her and moved quickly around to slide into the driver’s seat. There was no need for words—especially when she didn’t trust herself not to say something she couldn’t take back the second she opened her mouth—but she slid her hand back into his.

The trip passed far too quickly and not quickly enough. There was so much left unsaid between them, even beyond her confession that she never quite managed to actually confess. He turned the car off. “It will be okay, angel.”

It was a false comfort, and they both knew it. She gripped his hand too tightly, but she couldn’t make herself loosen her hold on him. “I’m afraid.” Those words cost her, but she fought to get the rest out. “This isn’t over, Teague. I feel like it’s just getting started.” All my fault .

“I won’t let anything happen to you.”

It wasn’t lost on her that he’d just lost a brother and he was comforting her . God, this was pathetic. She had to get herself together. She was better than this. She had to be. “It’s not just me that I’m worried about.”

“I know. We’ll put a stop to this. I promise.”

Words. They were just words. They shouldn’t have the ability to calm her when she knew that he had as little control over this situation as she did.

No matter what happened tomorrow, they had tonight.

It would be enough. It had to be. She tried for a smile, but it felt broken on her face.

“Are you going to carry me over the threshold?”

“Of course.”

The trip up to his apartment door was a blur.

Now that they were so close to being able to shut the door between themselves and the rest of the world, she moved more quickly, needing to surround herself with him.

Teague swept her into his arms and opened the door in one smooth move.

He kicked it shut as soon as they were through, leaving them bathed in the shadows of his apartment.

And then he just stood there, looking at her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him. “I’m going to be the best damn husband to you that I can be, angel. I can’t promise you much else with all the bullshit going on, but I can promise you that.”

He meant every word. Teague wouldn’t hesitate to put himself between her and the rest of the world.

She fisted her hand in the front of his shirt, her heart beating too hard.

I love this man . As if just waiting for her mind to come to terms with the realization, the feeling swelled inside her, filling her completely, making it hard to breathe.

I love him .

She couldn’t say the words aloud. Not yet. But she could show him.

So she kissed him, slipping her tongue between his lips the second he opened for her.

He didn’t miss a step on his way to the bedroom, until he stopped next to the bed and let her body slide against his as he set her on her feet.

He tangled his hands in her hair and tipped her head back, taking control of the kiss, gentling it to the barest brushing of their lips, as if he fully intended to take his time.

As if she was priceless.

She shivered. She wasn’t priceless. She wasn’t… He nipped her bottom lip, effectively bringing her back to the present. “Stay with me, angel.”

“Always.” A promise she couldn’t make, but this was the day for them. She unbuttoned his shirt, going slowly, relishing the way his chest felt beneath her fingers. The bruises looked better today. He was healing. He’d be okay. Thank God. All too soon she was at the waistband of his slacks.

His hands caught hers. “Not yet.”

She didn’t get a chance to argue, because he bent to unzip the side of her dress and then pulled it off, leaving her in only a pair of white panties.

Teague’s breath hissed out. “A month or a hundred years, I’ll never get tired of seeing you like this.

” He traced a finger down her sternum, the look in his eyes stealing her breath. “Angel, I don’t deserve you.”

It was she who didn’t deserve him . She opened her mouth to tell him as much, but he hooked his finger in the top of her panties and towed her to close that last inch between them.

The feeling of her skin against his chased every thought from her head.

She let herself run her hands up his chest, marveling at the muscles that tensed beneath her touch.

She stopped at the tattoo over his left pectoral, a twisting oak whose roots worked down his side and whose branches covered his shoulder. “Will you tell me about this one?”