Chapter 5

Five

Oliver

W e stand in a dark room as I secretly watch my wife willingly sign herself over to who she thinks is a complete stranger.

A door opens and closes behind me.

"She signed. My side of this deal is done."

I stay silent for a moment and let the words settle in my thoughts before I speak.

As soon as blue ink from her pen dried on the paper, I felt a primal charge run through my veins. Similar to the moment she placed her name on our wedding certificate, a surge of victory took over. Possession. Need. It goes soul deep, and it takes a lot of effort to stay rooted to this spot and not run after Amethyst.

Mine. I own Amethyst, and tonight I get to reclaim her for a second time.

I'm unapologetic for doing what I had to do in order to keep her safe. I would do it again without hesitation, but I will admit, I'm afraid I've killed the love my wife has for me. Why else would we be here?

"I saw." My tone is dry and distant.

Samuel and I don't turn when the door opens and closes behind us. The reflection in the two-way mirror reveals the face of the headmistress as she moves deeper into the viewing room and makes her way to my side.

"She'll be taken to your room and left blindfolded as you asked. The other items you requested have been placed in the closet as well."

I smile.

"Does she suspect you did more than simply send me an invitation to the auction?"

"Do you doubt my acting abilities?"

My hands are in my pockets and Samuel is beside me witnessing the betrayal of my wife in full color. She could claim the use of her safe word and be out of here. I hoped she would make all this that simple. It would prove she only did this to get my attention, but now I'm left to see this through.

"Carmen."

"Oliver."

"You won't mind if I don't call you by your position title."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Oliver. No one who witnessed me in torn jeans living on the street has to call me anything other than my name."

I give a sound that comes out as a grunt.

"You sound unhappy. I never thought I would live to see the day the mighty Oliver Stone would give into the whims of a mere mortal woman."

"Nice to hear you still consider me a god in your universe."

The reflection of her grin in the two-way takes me back to the days when even I thought I was unstoppable.

A light touch settles over my forearm. "Don't fall for your own lies, old friend. That is where the danger lies."

I keep my hands in my pockets, and my eyes hooked on my pregnant wife. The cloak hides the round form of her belly. When I have her alone, I'll take great pleasure in revealing her claimed body and reminding her who she belongs to.

Amethyst closes her eyes and I silently marvel at the beauty of her calm resolve. But beneath the serene exterior there is a storm of emotions swirling behind those gray-blue eyes. It is gathering force and the strength of it is almost palpable through the glass separating us.

The older woman beside me smells of success and old money. Red silk covers her slender frame. Silver hair is drawn back to reveal an elegant neck and a set of red lips conceal a sharp tongue. The aunt of Ryth Cross is not a woman you want to give snide remarks to or disrespect. She has a healthy affection for poison and open access to the kitchen.

It's hard to believe we go back that far but time passes and with it loyalties are formed. We've gone through a lot, built our fortunes despite the odds, and called in a favor or two over the years.

A seriousness spreads over her expression and covers the hint of humor she dared reveal behind our closed door. Carmen Cross isn't known for expressing her emotions with most people, but with me she seems to drop her shields a fraction.

A slight hand settles on my arm again. "When she came to me, I almost turned her away. Actually, if I'd thought you had left her, I would have helped her leave you."

I place my hand over hers. "Thank you for your honesty. I will repay you for your caring for my wife when I couldn't."

"You've already covered my payment. Handsomely, I might add. I have a lot of disgruntled members to deal with. Several of whom will not be happy to learn this auction was rigged before they arrived."

The corner of my lip turns up with a knowing smirk. "Dumb bastards. They don't matter in the end. Tomorrow they will forget all about the pregnant woman you auctioned off and be focused on the new club you've unveiled this evening."

"Maybe."

"And I'm sure the zeroes attached to my payment will help soothe any irritation Ryth might have with me for using his updated place. You did the right thing by giving her what she wanted, and you stayed a friend in the process."

I lock eyes with her through the reflection.

"Are you sure about that? Did I do right by her? Or you?"

Samuel leans a forearm over the mirror. "She's making the sorry bastard fight for her. I don't see how she's wrong in knowing her worth. Something tells me she'll make him pay for putting her through hell and I don't blame her."

We both turn to Samuel who hasn't taken his eyes off my wife. The muscles of his jaw are tight and the darkness in his eyes holds unchecked envy. If it were anyone else, I would have his beating heart on a platter next to his eyeballs, but I know the deep-seated desire my friend has for a wife of his own and I don't hold it against him for wanting that connection with another human being.

"Tell me how you really feel, brother."

He swivels his head and nails me with a humorless look. "You hurt her. She deserves to make you bleed. But I can tell she's got a soft heart. One you don't deserve. How are you going to mend the pain you've caused?"

I mentally planned out how this night would go. Getting attacked by friends was not in the lineup of events. Their words cut like razors, but I earned the lashes for hurting Amethyst. But like I said, I would do it all over again if it meant making her and our child safe.

Those dark, tortured eyes hold mine, and a lifetime of shared emotions passes between us. I feel the hurt in his soul as if it were mine. Long before Amethyst came into my life and my brother betrayed the family, Samuel and I thought nothing of sharing a woman. I stepped away from the idea with Amethyst. Someone so pure could never want her husband to share her. I'm depraved, but not a monster.

"I see the uncertainty in your eyes, brother."

I give him a nod before we both turn and watch Amethyst shown from the room.

"You have one shot at winning her back. Don't fuck it up."

I try to imagine what he sees from the outside looking in and how Amethyst has to be feeling right now to lead all to this moment. She was at the wrong place at the wrong time and nearly caught a bullet meant for me. It is one helluva meet-cute story. One for the books. I protected her and then her father gave me her hand in marriage for saving his daughter's life. As fucked up as that sounds, she didn't fight the arrangement and neither did I.

"Did you find out who gave her this idea in the first place?" Instead of talking to her reflection, I turn to Carmen and ask her directly.

The sides of her lips hook into a bowed smile. "You have meddlesome men in your employ." Carmen pauses like I need to brace for what else she has to say. And I'm right. Her power punches to the gut make my insides hurt.

"Your wife is a precious treasure and I agree with your friend. You've hurt her. Now you need to see how you fix it. You've spilled blood in her name. Now it's time to heal wounds. Don't ruin what I believe is the last chance you have at happiness, Stone. Only bloodshed and violence can't mar your family's legacy. You are better than your brother. You have the power to end that with her and your child." She turns to leave the room and pauses at the door. "When this light turns green, it is a signal that she is ready for you to join her in room seven-one-three."

With that my old friend leaves us, her words pressing heavy on my heart.

I'm content with standing in silence, but Samuel always had trouble staying quiet. "She's right, you know."

"You aren't doing so bad at chewing my ass out either. Not once have any of you considered the reasoning behind my actions. Wait until you have a wife, and your enemies rise from the earth like fucking demons with a thirst for your lover's blood."

Samuel stays silent. Marriage isn't in the cards for him, and I hate feeling like I'm rubbing salt in his wounds.

"Brother, I'm sorry. I just…fuck!" I rake my fingers through my hair and brace my forearms on the wall by the light that has yet to turn green. "If this had happened last week, I would have had no choice but to walk away. The Callahans?—"

"—are out of the picture now," he cuts in. "You took care of the problem. You either clean up your mess and reclaim your wife or let me do it. She deserves someone who will treat her like the queen she is."

My temper threatens to flare at the harshness of his tone but more so at the meaning behind his words.

I slowly push off the wall and turn to my lifelong best friend.

"You think I'm not good enough for her." It's not a question, but he answers all the same.

"I know you are not, brother. No one with blood on their hands is worth a pureness like her as their wife. We are here tonight because she's realized the same thing. She's moving on. How are you going to win someone back when they are already out the door?"

"Maybe I should let her go. She doesn't know the true darkness inside me. The ugly beast we share. I have kept parts of me from her."

"I know and I can't blame not wanting to share a treasure like her."

Sharing lovers between us was never about our pleasure but about taking a woman to the cusp of heaven and then bringing her slowly back. The euphoria of giving another human soul that experience is injected with arrogance and a darker desire to control another's pleasure. It's not something I ever thought of introducing Amethyst to.

"You have a choice to make, brother. You don't have to show her that side of you. Let it die and go make her fall in love with you again."

"I can't walk in there. I've been gone for months."

"I doubt there are weapons in the room. She will not shoot you the second you walk in."

Samuel's smile does nothing for the acid splashing around in my gut. Bitterness yawns and stretches inside me as reality takes hold.

"Don't throw away this chance to get your wife back, Oliver."

I can feel the pain and longing in my friend's tone. Having Amethyst as a wife is my dream come true even if I don't deserve her sweetness and kind heart. My friend hasn't been so lucky. Our families keep us tied to our thrones.

A reassuring hand settles over my shoulder. I angle my head to the side to find my friend looking at me like he gives a damn about my future. "Or… you show her and let her decide for herself. What is dark to one might not be as taboo to another as one might think."

I drop my head back and let my eyes close. I picture her sleeping form and the way I left her the last time I saw her. "She's so damn innocent and pure."

Samuel sighs heavily. "That doesn't make someone incapable of wanting more. Damn, Oliver. She's not a child."

I crack a sideways grin and open my eyes to look at him. "I've known you for decades. Since when did you become the wiser one of the two of us?"

Samuel laughs roughly and then silence fills the space between. For a long moment the only sound is our deep breathing. I stare into the empty room through the two-way mirror and wait.

"Not to rub salt in the wound, but since you asked, I'm going to tell you what no one else dares to mutter in your direction."

Samuel's voice holds an edge to it that cuts. I grit my teeth and bear the pain.

"You should have left the Callahans alone. I could have taken care of them for you, and you didn't have to leave your wife for months. You made your choice because you feared being married and didn't know how to handle the responsibility."

"Samuel," I warn.

"I'm your best friend and I get to tell you the truth. I'm on the outside looking in. I saw my best friend fall in love and almost lose it out of stupidity, blood lust, and fear."

Samuel has a flair for the dramatic but that doesn't make him wrong.

I come to stand in front of him, the toes of our shoes touching. "I took an oath to protect her," I growl fiercely. "Nothing scares me so don't tell me what I'm feeling or what I'm thinking."

Samuel's eyes blaze with anger. He inhales sharply and his nostrils flare. When he gets like this, there's normally bloodshed. But he doesn't look like he wants to shoot me with the gun I know he has tucked inside the shoulder holster he wears.

"You're scared right now. You lost your brother and now your connection with your wife is on the line. All out of fear. When are you going to ask for help, brother?" he hisses through clenched teeth.

That knocks the wind out of my chest, and I suddenly feel defeated. I clench my jaw and turn to stand in front of the mirror. Nothing stares back at me until Samuel flips the light on. Suddenly I can see all too clearly when my reflection shows me the truth.

"I'm scared I've lost her."

Fear is not an emotion I have much experience with. I roll the sour word through my mind. It leaves my stomach filled with acid. I curse softly and drag a weary hand over my face, fearing the fallout from what I am about to do. When I accepted Amethyst as a wife, I thought I could hide my darker desires. Now I might need them to save my marriage. My gut says I will need every weapon in my arsenal to lower Amethyst's defenses. I can't simply walk in and say surprise, I'm back.

Brown eyes are on mine when I turn from the mirror. A dark chill rushes up my spine at the compassion and honest pain my friend has for me.

"Brother."

Something sparks in Samuel's eyes.

I inhale deeply and let it out slowly, knowing what I need to do. This could bring her back to me or I might lose her forever. I've spilled blood for her without a second thought, but can I open my heart and show her the dark color of my love?

Tonight I guess we will find out one way or another.

"Samuel, help me win back my wife's love, please."

"I thought you would never ask. But if you hurt her again, I'll take her and not give her back."

I believe him.