She pulled his lips to hers so that she could kiss him. “I hate you, you bastard!”
Aghast, he pulled his head back as if she’d slapped him. “Excuse me?”
“You have ripped out my heart and made me cry more than anyone ever has. You are everything in this life to me. I don’t care about laws or names or anything else. I just want you safe, Talyn.”
“And that’s how I feel about you.”
Yet they were the greatest threat to each other. Felicia picked at her food. Honestly, she had no appetite for it.
He placed his cheek to hers. “Finish your dinner. I’m going to call Ferrick and get him started on transferring funds.”
She held him to her. “I don’t need a contract to be yours, Talyn. Screw Andarion custom and laws.”
“Love you, too.” He kissed her, then left.
Alone, she touched her throbbing cheek and winced at how much it burned and ached. Like it was on fire. Her eye was still watering from the blow. Anatole had barely struck her. She couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to take the blows that Talyn did in a single fight.
Worse were the hints of the horror stories Anatole had sneered at her about Talyn while he’d tried to drag her into his transport. Covering her ears, she closed her eyes and did her best to blot it all out.
She still couldn’t believe what Talyn was willing to do to bail her out from this. It was more than any male should have to do for a female who wasn’t his blood or wife.
“I will pay you back,” she whispered. “Every last bit of credit.”
And somehow, she was going to find her own way to permanently remove Anatole from their lives. Even if she had to kill him herself.
Chapter 20
“Where is she?” Galene pulled up short in the foyer as she eyed Talyn leaving the kitchen to head back to their bedroom.
She’d made remarkable time, crossing town. He’d only called her a short time ago to ask her what he should do to help Felicia. He’d barely finished saying Felicia had been attacked before his mother beelined to them.
She hugged him close. “Are you okay?”
He shook his head as another wave of fury scalded his throat. “I want to kill the bastard who’s responsible, Matarra. It’s all I can think about.”
She cupped his face in her hands. “I know, baby. I know.”
Guilt, fear, and impudent rage suffused every molecule of his body. “If Aaron hadn’t been paying attention, she’d be in his hands. Right now.” He ground his teeth. “I came so close to losing her…”
Nodding, she blinked back her tears. “Don’t you worry, precious. I’ll stay tonight and make sure she’s not left alone for anything. And I already put a call in to Jayne. She’s going to handle security for Felicia. No one will get near her again. I promise you.”
“Tell her to bill me.”
His mother gave him an irritated glare. “You know better than that.” She kissed his cheek and went to the bedroom. As soon as she saw Felicia, she cursed.
Felicia’s eyes widened as she met Galene’s gaze. “Commander? What are you doing here?”
“I came as soon as I heard. How are you doing?”
“Wondering how Talyn can stand up after a fight. I never realized how much it hurt to be hit.”
Nodding, Galene sat down on the bed beside her to inspect her cheek and lip. “I know. I was struck once in training and my eye watered for days.” She cupped Felicia’s chin in her hand and tilted her head back very gently. “I’m so sorry about this.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“I somehow feel like it is.”
“Don’t, Commander. I’ll be much more vigilant in the future. No more texting while I walk.”
Galene patted her hand. “Have you told your brother?”
“Not yet.” She cut her gaze toward Talyn. “I figured one highly irate male filled with bloodlust was all I could handle tonight. Like you, Lorens would head straight over, and then I have a bad feeling the two of them would team up and go looking for a head to bust.”
Galene laughed.
Talyn, not so much. “He needs to be found and taken out of the gene pool.”
Felicia gestured at him. “See.”
Completely unrepentant, he crossed his arms over his chest. “My job is to protect the females who are important to me. I’m not my father. I don’t walk away from my responsibilities.”