Page 42 of Brutal Knight

My father’s face twists, and it’s clear that he’s considering going through them. All of them.

It proves what I already know. He’s cruel and single-minded, wanting nothing more than to have me and use me for whatever he wants. Maybe I was wrong before. Maybe he’d go so far as to take a chance on his life and mine just to have the pleasure of bringing the O’Reillys down.

But there’s an ounce of hesitation on my father’s face. There’s a small moment of debate, and then he turns on his heel and leaves.

His shoulders are squared, back stiff. I know he’s still furious, but he’s far too outnumbered. He wouldn’t be able to fight everyone off if he tried. He only had a few men come in with him, and they wouldn’t be enough. Not against the O’Reilly family and the allies they have out in the main part of the church.

When he’s gone, I’m left standing with the brothers, feeling less like we’ve won and more like we’ve postponed the inevitable.

Because he will come for me, and when he does, it won’t be pretty.

The O’Reilly men share a look. I don’t understand it, can’t decipher what it means. Maybe they regret this already. Maybe they think I tried to call my father here somehow.

The very thought repulses me. I don’t want any one of them to think that I somehow want this, that I’d take my father over them. Over death, even.

I’d do anything and everything in my power to avoid going back to my father.

“This is going to be a tightrope walk,” Lachlan murmurs.

Aiden shakes his head. “We have a family to uphold. A name.”

“He’s nothing but dishonor and weakness,” Jamie says.

I don’t understand them. I don’t understand their cryptic words or the conclusion they’ve all seemed to reach. I don’t know what it means that they refused him, and I can’t tell if they did it for me or Connor. Or both.

I know they’re trying not to let me see their full reactions, but I know what Connor did was a big deal. He didn’t just defy my father, he defied his brothers. They were considering accepting the offer, right until Connor refused it.

He stepped out of line. I know that means something, but I don’t know what the repercussions will be.

The brothers exchange a few more quiet words, and then someone ushers me back out of the room, and we all leave.

I’m still dazed as I walk back up the aisle. I’m even more disoriented than when I did it the first time, more uncertain about my future.

Suddenly, I’m standing at the front of the church, waiting while the priest recites the vows. Connor holds my gaze, unflinching.

I don’t listen to most of the priest’s words during the ceremony. Everything is blurred, obscured behind a bigger picture I know most of the people here haven’t seen. I know that my father came. I know what Connor did, and I know what’s going to come soon. There’s a storm brewing, and it feels just as dangerous as when Dmitri chose to turn against the Assembly.

Then it’s my turn, and I find myself saying, “I do.”

Something strange comes over me when the words leave my mouth. I can’t tell what it is—fear or excitement, the need to run or the need to face this. It’s a burning energy that spreads from my mouth to the rest of my body, setting everything on fire.

I feel like I’m crackling with some kind of electricity. I don’t know why.

I only know that the vows end and Connor leans close, the smell of his cologne filling my senses. I almost can’t see or feel anything else, the rest of the world completely obscured by this man.

Then he kisses me.

It’s not like Dmitri, like the way he would push me and kiss me with uncaring force. It was almost a slap with him.

With Connor, it feels strong, like an embrace. Like he’s holding me down to the earth, not allowing me to float out of my body the same way I did every time I was high. I’m here, in this moment, with him.

And despite myself, I can feel my lips part.

Connor doesn’t pause. He moves with me, taking my offer and deepening the kiss. For a dizzying moment, it feels unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. There’s a sweet burn to it, like whiskey warming my bones.

Then he pulls away.

I don’t know if I miss it or if I’m so shocked I want to study the moment for just a second longer, understand what it means that I feel anything at all when Connor touches me. It’s not just that I should feel afraid when he kisses me. It’s that I shouldn’t feel anything at all. I shouldn’t have this fire inside me.

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