Page 136 of Theirs to Possess: The Marriage Claim

I exhale through my nose, forcing myself to relax as the deck rocks gently under us. “I’ve done things I’m not proudof, Isla.” My admission is reluctant, at best. “We both have. Brennan. Me. But we won’t let any of this touch you.”

“It already has.”

The wind picks up, carrying the distant clang of a halyard somewhere above. Belowdecks, I hear faint music. One of the crew must have turned something on in the galley. Life moves on, oblivious to the way mine is unravelling.

She curls more tightly around herself.

“This is in the past. And it needs to stay there.”

“Dorian…Stop.I mean it.” She looks me in the eye.

My throat tightens.

“We’re married. I have a right to know.”

No, I want to rage.You don’t.

But when she said I do, she became entangled in the dark mess that is my past. And Brennan’s too.

Maybe because I don’t want to face this, I look away, out a window, across the vast expanse of open sea.

“Enough is enough. I want to know.Now.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

Isla

My demand hangs on the hot, heavy air.

Dorian’s steel-gray eyes darken, maybe from anger, or maybe frustration, and he exchanges a long glance with Brennan. It’s as if they have a conversation that I’m not part of.

I’m tempted to back down. There’s nothing I want more than to recapture the warm glow I had after our amazing lovemaking. They took me to the limit again and again and made me delirious with pleasure.

But the two men I’ll be spending forever with are complicated. Dorian didn’t have to tell me he’d done things he wasn’t proud of; I knew that. After all, that dossier had been so thick the cover would barely close.

So instead of smiling politely and backing down like I know they want me to, I tip back my chin. “I’m waiting.”

Brennan leans forward, elbows on the table, his icy gaze softening just enough to make my chest ache. “Isla.” His voice steady and reassuring. “You’re right. You deserve to know.”

Dorian’s hand curls into a fist, but he doesn’t interrupt. That’s a first.

Brennan continues, choosing his words with the precision of a man who’s walked too many tightropes. “The message you got is probably tied to Dorian’s business. Vale Imports. We’ve moved things for people who don’t like attention.”

People like the Morettis, no doubt. Dante Moretti’s chilling smile at the wedding flashes in my mind, his nod to my father like a predator acknowledging prey.

Dorian finally speaks, his voice a low growl. “Someone’s stirring it up. Trying to rattle me.”

“Because of your potential Senate run.”

He leans closer and his unbelievably sexy scent seems to wrap around me.

He doesn’t answer, and the text burns in my mind.Debts don’t disappear.“How did they get my phone number?”

“It’s probably not hard to find.” Brennan shrugs. “Everett was able to access your student reviews.”

Then he brushes my hand with his, grounding me. “It’s a warning, not a direct threat. They’re testing us, seeing if we’ll flinch.”

“And you won’t.” I know him well enough to realize that.