The Red Wife Read online

  “Mariss, are you crying?” Sebastian lifted her head. “What's wrong, sweetheart?”

  Mariss shook her head. She should have turned away, snuggled into Holden's body and left Sebastian alone. That was what she should have done, but lately, she was no good at doing what she was supposed to. Instead, she let the pillow dry her tears and she fought to go back to sleep.

  Sleep wouldn't come. If she hadn't been held down by both men's bodies, Mariss would have been tossing and turning. Finally, when she couldn't stand it any longer, Mariss pulled herself from Holden's grasp and dragged her exhaused body into the shower. Fluids and lubricant left her body sticky. She locked the bathroom door so she could have a few moments to herself.

  Holden had to know. As much as it killed her at admit it to herself, she knew it was the only explanation for last night.

  Mariss dried off and wrapped herself in a thick towel. Neither of the men were in the bed. Holden was watching TV, his beautiful, bronzed body spread out on the sofa. Mariss didn't see Sebastian anywhere. She crossed the room to go to her husband. As she reached him, Sebastian came in from outside the room. He had those pajama pants on again and a loose t-shirt. His feet were bare and his hair was stylishly messy.

  “I know.”

  Mariss turned and blinked at Holden. He never looked away from the TV. She wanted badly to reach out and touch him, run her hands over his chest and stomach, but she knew that wasn't going to happen.

  Sebastian came to stand beside her. “I told you.”

  “You told him,” Mariss accused.

  “I've told no one anything. You probably told more people than I have. Which is none.”

  Mariss rolled her eyes. Holden rose from the sofa, his shoulders back, chest out, and arms bulging like he'd just done push ups. Mariss' mouth went dry. Even though she knew he was righteously angry, her body reacted as if he'd just touched her between her legs. He stalked across the carpet to her, stopping just before ther bodies touched. Mariss' breath caught in her throat. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think. No words came to mind. What could she say anyway? She squeezed her eyes shut, but the tears slipped out anyway.

  “Don't cry,” Holden scolded. His voice was gruff, but strangely gentle at the same time. He wiped a tear away with his thumb. His warm hand cupped her face and Mariss pressed her cheek into it.

  “Why aren't you mad?” she asked.

  “I am mad. I couldn't stand to be around you when I found out.”

  Mariss looked at him. The fury in his deep brown eyes was unmistakable. It cut to the core of her being. How could she have done this? How did she let it happen? Her chest ached as she thought about how she'd thrown herself at Sebastian that night. After she stabbed the German at Hellena's party, her mind started to slip away, revert to that base, dark person who sometimes took her over. She'd attacked him, given him little chance to refuse her because she needed something to keep her grounded.

  That wasn't the only reason, of course. Her draw to him was like none other. He wasn't the first man she'd found attractive or who'd thrown themselves at her after she was married, but he was the one she just couldn't deny.

  More tears poured down her cheeks.

  “If it's going to happen,” Holden growled, his eyes trained on Sebastian, “it's going to happen when I'm around. No more of that phone sex bullshit and no more goading my wife into having sex with you in secret. If you want her, you can have her, but when you're through with her, I'm going to show her who really does her fine body the way she likes it. Are we clear?”

  “Crystal.” Instead of sounding admonished, Sebastian's tone rang with amusement.

  Mariss fumed at his ability to turn something so monumental into a joke.

  “Give us a moment, please,” Holden said.

  “Of course.” Sebastian headed back to the door.

  “I'm not done with you yet,” Holden called after him.

  Sebastian turned, his eyes dancing with humor. It pissed Mariss off. She glared at him. When he saw her, some of the mirth melted away.

  “You heard me.” Mariss had never heard Holden's voice so deep or so angry. The way he growled at Sebastian reminded her of an angry bear.

  Sebastian quirked an eyebrow. “I'll go down and get us coffee and something to eat. That should give you enough time.”

  Holden nodded once, and then the blue-eyed, home-wrecking god of a man was finally gone. Holden gave Mariss a warning look before he sat in a chair at the table. The two of them were quiet for a long time. She didn't know what to say or how much he wanted to know. Eventually, Mariss went to him. She sat on his lap and made him look at her.

  “Why did you do it?” Holden asked. He voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “Did you want him that bad? Can I really not give you what you need? Why, Mariss?”

  Her heart broke. Mariss covered her face with her hands and wept. Despite her betrayal, Holden pulled her against him and pressed her head to his shoulder.

  “Why didn't you tell me at least?”

  “I didn't know how,” she sobbed. “How was I supposed to tell you? What words could I possibly use?”

  “Just tell me why?”

  “Oh, god, I hate this,” she muttered in German. “I freaked out.” Mariss sniffed, struggling to get herself under control. “Hellena threw this party and insisted that I come. I just… She invited one of the Judge's friends. She knew what would happen. I stabbed him and flew into one of my fits. I needed…him…something…to keep me from going balistic.”

  “You expect me to believe that's why you had sex with him? The only reason? You seriously expect me to believe that?”

  “No,” she sobbed, the tears coming again. “It's not the only reason, but I swear it wouldn't have happened if…I could have…if I'd been…” Mariss couldn't think straight enough to get the words out. “I'm sorry,” she cried. “I'm so so sorry!”

  “I know. Me too.”

  He was taking it too well. Or maybe he wasn't, but he was reacting too well and that nearly killed her.

  “Can we be okay again?” she asked. “Please, don't leave me. I deserve it. I know I do, but please. I can't lose you. Please, Holden. Please.”

  Holden chuckled. He actually laughed. “I'm not going anywhere, baby. Look at me.” He pulled her away so they were looking each other in the eye. “We'll work on it. We'll get through it. As long as you follow the rules. Both of you. Follow. The. Rules. Got it?”

  Mariss nodded and tried to wipe away the teary mess from her face. She just succeeded in smearing it more. Holden tried to help her. His rough hands helped to wipe the tears away.

  “I'm so sorry, Holden,” she gasped.

  “I know, baby.” He kissed her tenderly, accepting her apology. “Believe it or not, I don't really blame you. Not one hundred percent. It takes two to tango, and I know you fought him for a long time.”

  “It's not all his fault.” Mariss' heart kicked up a beat as his gentle kiss stole her breath. “Percentage-wise, it's like…70/30.”

  Holden chuckled and pressed his lips to hers again. “Oh yeah? I'm going to assume his fault is the seventy percent.”

  “Mm hm. Make love to me, Holden.”

  “Right here?” he asked. He pushed her hair out of her face and kissed her cheek.

  “Yes,” she breathed. “Please.”

  “Right now?” His lips trailed her neck and across her bare shoulder, sending light tingles across her skin.

  “I know I don't deserve you.”

  “Hm. Should I keep my love away from you? As punishment?” Holden's teeth knipped at her shoulder. Mariss shuddered.

  “Punish me.”

  He laughed. “You couldn't handle it. But I am going to take you right here.” He tugged the towel off of her. The cold air hit her skin and her nipples hardened painfully.

  “Wait!” she cried. Mariss pushed him away and dashed across to her phone. It felt like an eternity as she waited for it to turn on.

  :Don't you dare come back
to this room.: She sent the text to Sebastian.

  “Okay, now.” Mariss tossed her phone on the bed and hurried back into Holden's waiting arms. “Have your way with me.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  NEVER WITHOUT ME

  Holden's hands glided over her skin. Their roughness excited sensitive flesh and Mariss writhed beneath his touch. Only he knew how to set her body alight with the softest caress. Her body came alive, awakening to the comfort and love that touch spoke of. Holden palmed her breasts, kneading them in his firm grip. Fire and guilt burned inside her. She hated herself, but he loved her.

  Teeth grazed the inside of her thigh, pulling a moan from Mariss' throat before she could stop it.

  “Come back to me, baby.” Holden's husky voice brought Mariss back into the room with him. “There you are.” He gazed up her body from where he was nestled between her legs. “Stay here with me.” Holden's tongue snaked out and traced the apex of her hip and thigh.

  Mariss gasped and twisted, trying to make him lick where she needed release. Holden gripped her hips and held her firm.

  “Impatient,” he chuckled. “Greedy.”

  “Yes,” she hissed.

  “That's what's got you in trouble in the first place, isn't it?”

  Mariss blinked up at her husband. Before she could question him, Holden rose up and thrust himself inside her. She cried out at the sudden intrusion, but her cry turned into a moan.

  “No one knows your body like I do, Mariss,” Holden growled. “Does he?”

  “No. Not like you do,” she gasped. She shuddered as Holden pulled out and slammed back in.

  “No. Not like I do.”

  Mariss' body accepted him, knew him. She writhed beneath him as he drilled into her.

  “Never without me, Mariss,” Holden grunted.

  The emotion and tension between them drove them both over the edge. Her back arched with her release and she cried out. Her exhausted body throbbed with pleasure she could drown in.

  Holden collapsed on top of her. His heavy body pinned her to the sofa, but Mariss didn't care. He rolled to the side and held her close.

  “Never without me, Mariss. Never again.”

  “I won't. I promise.”

  “You alright?” Holden asked.

  Mariss nodded. “Will you hold me?”

  He nodded. “Can I hold you in the shower?”

  Mariss didn't answer. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his jaw. “I'm sorry.”

  “I know. Why do you think I came home early to surprise you?” Holden lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bathroom.

  “You mean last night?”

  “Mm hm. Last night and a few months ago. I missed you and I knew already.” She felt tears fill her eyes. “Stop crying, baby.”

  Holden kissed her forehead. “You needed me, so I came home. Juliet said-”

  “Juliet?” she asked, suddenly mad.

  “She said you needed me. She didn't say why, but I already knew. She made it out to be about that tabloid, but I knew better.”

  “When did you figure it out?”

  “The morning after the party at Sebastian's. The morning after you did it. You wouldn't answer the phone, and when you did, you wouldn't talk to me. I'm not stupid, Mariss.”

  “I never said you were. I never meant to insinuate that you were, Holden.”

  He set her on the bathroom counter and kissed her.

  “I know. We'll work through this. I have no intentions of leaving you or losing you to him.”

  He smiled as he turned away to start the shower, but there was a sadness in his eyes that killed her.

  When the water was warm, Holden helped her down from the counter and into the shower stall. There, he held her until Sebastian came back.

  “There's breakfast out here,” the Englishman said over the sound of the water.

  Holden shut off the shower and wrapped a towel around his hips. Mariss rescued her towel from the floor next to the bed and wrapped herself up while both men watched. Holden threw on some sweats and a tank top.

  “Mare, can you give us a minute, please?” Holden asked, his voice freakishly diplomatic.

  Mariss looked from her husband to her lover and back. “Should I be worried?”

  “We had our talk,” Holden said. “Now I want to talk to him.”

  Mariss frowned. “What happened to 'never without me'?”

  Holden grinned. His eyes filled with a ferocious light that could only be described as vicious. Mariss shuddered, remembering the way his body felt against hers.

  “Let me grab a robe.” Mariss threw on one of the silky black robes and tied it over her towel.

  “Come here.” Holden pulled her against him. His body reacted to her proximity like a teenager. She grinned.

  “You need to get a handle on that, baby.”

  “Never.” Holden kissed her. “We'll only be a minute. Go get ready for the day, okay?”

  “Yeah, okay. I'll be back in a little bit. Neither one of you better be dead when I get back.” Mariss kissed him again, not wanting to be away from him. “And by 'neither' I mean him.” She pointed at Sebastian.

  “I'll do my best.” Holden was suddenly serious.

  Mariss swallowed around the lump in her throat. Shit. This was going to be bad.

  It took her all of twenty minutes to shower, dress, and rush back to Sebastian's room. Mariss knocked on the door, but no one answered.

  “Holden? Sebastian?” she called. When they still didn't answer, Mariss sat down against the wall on the opposite side of the hall.

  :I'm outside.: She sent the text to Holden and waited.

  It was excrutiating. Every time she thought she heard a noise from inside, Mariss jumped up, hoping they were coming for her, but they didn't.

  Crash.

  The sound echoed from inside the room. Mariss got to her feet in record time, banging on the door.

  “Holden? Sebastian!” She pounded the door with her fist and tried the knob, but it wouldn't budge. “Oh, my god! Open the door!”

  The door gave way and Sebastian stood there. Mariss looked him over, but his once-again-bare chest was just as perfect and biteable as ever. She huffed.

  “What the hell was that?”

  Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “I threw a glass at the wall,” he said, as if this was natural behavior for the usually held together Englishman. “You're being a little dramatic, aren't you?”

  Mariss frowned. “Me?” His brow pressed together. Though he tried to hide it, she could clearly see that he was angry. “You're the one who threw a glass at the wall. What did you two talk about?” She looked between them, but knew neither man was going to tell her.

  “It doesn't matter.” Sebastian closed the door a little too hard and walked away from her.

  Mariss frowned at Holden. He only shrugged and wrapped his arms around her waist.

  “What time are you supposed to be downstairs?” He asked.

  “In an hour.”

  Holden kissed her neck. “Get some breakfast. What time is your costume contest.”

  “Noon I think. Bassy, are you still going to do the contest with me?” She glanced over her husband's shoulder.

  “Of course.” Sebastian bit into an apple and smiled around his mouthful. “I said I would.”

  “Oh, my god. He's talking with his mouth full,” she gasped. “What did you do to him?”

  Holden winked and kissed her on the mouth. “I'm going to the room to change. You remember the rules.”

  “How could I forget them? You…drilled them into me quite thoroughly this morning.” Holden smacked her on the ass. “I'll be good. I promise.”

  “You'd better. You know what happens if you don't.”

  “Divorce?” she asked. Holden frowned at her.

  “No,” he laughed. “I'm gonna beat dat ass.”

  “Ha! Oh. That's a relief.” Holden left them alone. “So, what did you talk about?” she asked Sebastian.
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  “Nothing that I really want to repeat.” Sebastian took another bite of his apple. He chewed slow and deliberate.

  “Why did you throw a glass at the wall? You know you're going to have to pay for that.”

  He shrugged. “I wanted to see if I could intimidate him.”

  He was lying. Sebastian wouldn't even look at her. “Holden doesn't intimidate.”

  “Yes, I saw that. He's a good man. He loves you very much.”

  “Yes.” Mariss chewed the inside of her cheek. “I don't want him to leave me.”

  “He won't.”

  Sebastian took another bite of his apple. The crunching set Mariss' nerves on edge. Snatching the piece of fruit from his hand, she took an angry bite and tossed it back at him, hitting him in the head.

  “Bloody hell, Mariss! What is wrong with you?” Sebastian knelt to pick up what was left of the apple. He inspected it, pulled a piece of lint from it, and took another bite.

  Mariss smirked, despite herself.

  “You just threw an apple at my fucking head!” Sebastian wasn't as amused.

  “Yeah. Sue me.”

  He quirked an eyebrow. “What did you and Holden talk about?”

  “He punished me with sex.”

  “Mm. Sounds nice.”

  Mariss grabbed a bagel from the table. “Sorry I threw an apple at you.”

  “No worries, sweetheart. If I end up with a black eye, though, I am sueing.”

  “If you sue, you won't get this fine piece of ass ever again.”

  Sebastian shrugged. “Does it matter?”

  “Does what matter?” Mariss didn't like this attitude of his. “What's wrong? What did Holden say?”

  “It's of no consequence.”

  “If it has you this pissed off, then it is of consequence.”

  “I'm not angry, Mariss. I still can't believe you threw an apple at my head.”

  “You were supposed to duck.”

  The corner of Sebastian's lips slowly rose into a devious smirk. Part of Mariss had no desire to know what he was thinking. The other part of her begged to know.