Accidental Knight: A Marriage Mistake Romance(71)

Fucking her till she screams and carves lines in my back with those tiny nails that promise to hurt so good.

There’s more to this hell-lust, too. Something new and different under it. Unfamiliar.

I’m afraid to acknowledge what it might be because I can’t have it.

I can’t be the caveman asshole to stake a claim on a make-believe wife I’ve known for under a month. I can’t be the man to get his head yanked around by any woman, especially not one overflowing with sugary sass like her.

Damn.

I break the kiss slowly because it’s the last thing a part of me wants to do and press her head to my chest, holding her there while I try to remember how to move.

When I’m able, I kiss the top of her head and release her. “I have to go finish the wind vane on top of the machine shed.”

Her hands leave my neck and fall to her sides as she sighs. “Wind vane. That’s what it is today?”

Stepping back, she looks up at me with eyes so full of naked lust, my cock jolts.

“You must love heights? You’ve been on top of every roof on the ranch this week.”

“I respect a pretty view, darlin’.” I try to tell myself I’m not talking about her while I step around her and grab my water bottle. After downing the rest, I set it down. “Just work that needs to be done, really,” I say.

Yeah, it’s work that needs to be done, but I haven’t truly been repairing anything.

Just like I’d called an Army friend for the ring on her finger, I’d called another for the long and short-range cameras I’ve installed on every building. Gabe Barin personally shipped ’em to me, the same high-grade stuff they use at his security firm out west.

You can’t do better than the gear trusted by Enguard Security, and even if old Gabe was a big slice of Louisiana crazy in the old days, I’d trust him with my life any day. We did that with each other plenty of times already.

These are more modern than the ones I’d put up the first time. I can control and view them from my phone instantly.

Sheriff Wallace confirmed the tattoo on one of the men he’d arrested. If Avery Briar finds a way to have Dragon released, I’ll be ready when that bastard tries to get anywhere near Bella.

“Grilled cheese or chicken salad?” she asks. “It’s almost lunchtime. I’ll make soup and sandwiches.”

I nod, then give her a wink. “Surprise me. Won’t stay gone all day this time. I promise.”

“Okay.” She smiles, but I wonder if she believes me.

Guilt roils my guts at the thought of disappointing her.

I head back outside. If her ma hadn’t shown up, the camera work would be done by now.

I was on the last two screws to finish attaching the solar panel, but I’d stopped and climbed down the moment the BMW came into view. By the time her ma was parked, I’d already entered the house through the kitchen, and heard every word Molly said.

Right up to the point where she’d been about to call Bella a bitch.

The fucking nerve of her. If there’s anyone born with a raging need to be knocked off their high horse, it’s Molly Reed.

I climb up the ladder, finish attaching the solar panel to the roof, and then turn on the camera to test it. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I open the app and see the live feed. Using the icon, I move the camera in a full pivot, comparing what I see on the screen to what’s visible with the naked eye.

I nod. This is the longest range one I could get, and the fact I can see old Edison in the front pasture, clear as day, tells me it works. Zooming in, I can even see his eyelashes.

I try another camera, and maneuver it about, zooming in on targets, including Edison again.

He’s blurry with some of the shorter-range ones when I zoom all the way in, but others, he’s crystal clear.

At one point, he looks up like he knows I’m watching.

I try taking a few pictures of him then and save them to a folder. When I open it up and pull up the photos, they’re stunning. He’s about as photogenic as he is a pain in the ass.

And maybe I can relate to how he feels about Bella. That damn horse does anything she asks because he loves her, though.

I don’t.

I’m not capable of loving anyone, but if I could, spending the rest of my life with her wouldn’t be half bad in a fairy tale sense.

Too bad I don’t believe in fairy tales.

Never have.

I’ve overdosed on real life. Here, the dragons are real, and they do worse than breathe scalding fire. The damsels always have issues, and the knights show up too damn late.

Satisfied with the cameras, I put them on auto-watch, so they’ll scan the perimeters and notify me of any unusual movements, then put my phone in my pocket and collect my tools. The app will give me live feed from all the cameras no matter where I am and send instant alerts if it detects any motion bigger than a squirrel.

I climb down and carry the ladder to the pole shed. When I exit the building, I notice Edison again. He’s still standing in the same spot. Staring back at me with his big, dark eyes.

Odd. But he’s an odd horse.

“Lunch is ready!” Bella yells out the window.

“Coming!” I shout, walking toward the house.

She tells me about her mother’s visit as we eat. I act like I don’t know exactly what was said, word for word.