Page 24 of Ly to Me (Devils of Alliston Springs #1)
Carver
The Gasoline
I hadn’t planned to go into work on a Saturday, but I’d go crazy if I waited for Lyra to come out of the bedroom any longer.
My horse was ready for a run to the facility, both of our energies matched—or maybe it was mine feeding into hers. Mares were finicky. Lyra and her would get along well.
Wind whipped through my hair, and moisture from the air coated my skin, reminding me of the night before.
Holding her in the shower should have never happened.
I should have left her in my bed and went to the guest room, where I’d been staying since we signed the contract.
I shouldn’t have held her all night and taken care of her when it had been her drunken state of mind that made her want to do it.
But that mind was sharp as ever, still seeing dollar signs through the haze of the liquor. That was the only thing that made the most sense. She knew that getting the money after thirty days was going to require her to follow all the rules laid out in that document, and that included consummating.
Sue me for being traditional, but a marriage wasn’t a marriage if there was no fucking.
But what we did when we were teens would pale in comparison to the meaning of that word now—the way I would thoroughly fuck her after all this time.
We used to make love to each other, but when we signed that paper, all my cock wanted to make was war.
I wanted to make her drool, bleed, scream, and beg.
I wanted her on her knees, strapped to the mattress, or chained up in my barn.
She said I could have her body, use her if I wanted. And I fucking wanted . But then she had to go and say that her body had no value, no worth.
That she hated me.
And I’d spent these past few days wondering why it was that she hated me when it was so clear it was the other way around.
She left me.
We had a plan, and she jumped ship.
So what gave her the right to hate me?
Lyra took one look at my tattoo and reacted with spite. I could see the hate. Felt it as she slammed the bathroom door without a single glance back. If caring for her wasn’t the way to get her to bend and break for me, then perhaps she needed the version of myself that she’d created.
I tugged on the reins as a large grey building came into view, bringing her to a stop. I hopped off and walked her to the gate that led to a small pasture meant just for her, then made my way inside the facility.
“Mornin’ boss.” A short cropping of ashy brown hair popped out from one of the office doors, the Oak Heart Farms logo of a tree trunk behind floral words on his shirt.
“Leo.” I bobbed my head in greeting as I walked by.
He ran to catch up, walking beside me. I sighed as he started, “Meant to congratulate you on your wedding.”
“Alright.”
Leo dodged a few plants as we stepped into the main room. “So, um, listen.”
Waiting for him to speak wasn’t on my agenda today. “Continue.” I circled my hand in the air.
He nodded, then rushed out, “Jamie’s been sayin’ a lot of things lately, and—”
“What things ?” I kept my tone flat and eyed one of the cameras in the corner.
“Things about a bet between you two, and how you won, but he doesn’t think you really did.”
“That so?” Leo swallowed and crouched with me as I lowered to inspect one of the plants. “These plants aren’t ready for flowering.”
Leo cleared his throat. “Yes, sir.”
“Who told you to flip these?”
“Jamie, sir.”
“How long ago?”
“Three days.” Leo scratched the back of his head. “I tried to tell him no—”
“Try harder next time,” I scorned, narrowing my eyes on the lights above. “He could have just cost me close to a mil. These plants were supposed to stay behind on rotation. Fix it.”
“Noted, boss.” Leo pulled out his phone, snapping a picture of the row and typing out a note. “So, like I was sayin’ about Jamie.”
I stood and put my hand on his shoulder. He stiffened. “I’d tell you to tell Jamie to stay in his fucking office next time but—well, there won’t be a next time soon enough. Jamie won’t be workin’ here in about—” I did some math. “Twenty-four days.” Fuck, almost a week already?
“Right, well. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Jamie says ‘if’ a lot about that whole thing that happened.”
My arms folded over my chest. “Go on.” A vibration spread over my chest, stemming from my phone, but talking was the last thing I wanted to do. If only Leo here would get that hint and get it all out in one go.
“He was just in here yesterday and he said that he will be working from home, which I gather is no longer your home, too.”
My phone vibrated in my shirt pocket again and I hit the button on the side to ignore it. “Is there a point to your ramblin’ this morning, Leo, or are you actually going to wrap this up for me?”
Leo reached for the back of his neck. “Yeah, yeah. Sorry. He said, basically, ‘I’m going to be working from home until Carver buys me out, if he does, anyway.’”
I smirked. “Right.” I tapped my temple. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
I turned on my heel and pulled my buzzing phone from my pocket.
“Boss?” My head hung as I sighed and turned.
Leo came in close enough to whisper, “I don’t want him hearin’ this on the cameras, but—he called this morning, too.
Said that he believes your wife is in danger ’cause you are losin’ your mind. ”
I chuckled, shaking my head as I glanced down at the notifications on my phone. “Leo, let me ask you somethin’.” I clicked open the security camera app on my phone and held it up so Leo could see. “Does this look like a woman in danger?”
Leo squinted. “No…is she—” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Did you guys have a fight?”
“We’re working through a newly wed rough patch.” I winked back at one of the cameras, hoping that worthless soon-to-be ex-business partner was watching.
Leo pointed at the screen and winced. “She’s stacking chairs in your yard and pouring gasoline on them.”
I smirked. “Yeah. Seems that way.”