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With half my face concealed behind my arm, I answer in a flat voice. "She believed her family would despise her for being gay. That turned out to be wrong, but she believed it for many years."
Her silence speaks loudly.
I lower my arm. "Say it. Whatever it is, go on and say it."
She wiggles around until she's on her knees, sitting back on her heels with her hands on her thighs. "Una caused you a lot of pain, the kind that sticks around for years. Deceiving you like that was mean and selfish."
"Una's not a bad person. She worried about what others thought of her, and I believe she cared for me in a certain way, but her fears were of her own making. Those are the hardest to overcome. I have no ill will toward Una. She did the best she could."
"Fine, maybe Una's not evil." Emery studies her hands, twirling her fingers with jerky motions. "But don't tell me Isobel wasn't selfish and mean, bitching about your job and how much money you made. You're my husband now, and I won't pretend I'm okay with the harm they did to you, whether it was intentional or not."
I stare at her, confused by the stern tone of her voice. She shouldn't feel…whatever she feels right now. I keep my tone guarded when I speak. "That sounds rather possessive."
"I stand up for the people I—" She stops, staying silent for a moment, then starts again. "As a rule, I assume everybody's doing their best and doesn't mean to hurt anybody else. But I stand up for my family. We are married, whatever the reason for it, which makes you family."
"That's…generous of you. I have a family of my own, though, so it's not necessary."
"I know you have a family, and they're amazing. But you haven't told them the whole story about your exes, have you?"
"No."
"Then it's up to me to say 'oh hell no' to what they did to you." She squints at me. "Am I the only one who knows?"
"Yes." I raise a hand when she opens her mouth to speak again, silently asking for her patience. "I'd rather not discuss this any further at the moment."
"Okay. Thank you for telling me, even though it couldn't have been easy for you."
I rub my eyes with the heels of my hands and force a faint smile. "You won the bet. What do you want for it?"
She taps her chin as if she's weighing her options. "Hmm, what do I want from Rory baby?"
A smile tries to take hold, but I can't quite let it. Not after the conversation we just had.
Emery swings a leg over me to sit astride my thighs. "I want to see the ocean."
My brows shoot up. "That's all?"
"I've never seen the ocean, but no. That's not all."
"You have never seen the ocean?"
"I lived in landlocked states. Born and raised in Idaho, moved to Colorado after college. Plenty of lakes, but no seashore."
I clasp my hands behind my head. "What else do you want, then? This was supposed to be one activity of your choice, not a Christmas list."
She rakes her nails down my belly, to within inches of my groin. "It will be one activity, Mr. Persnickety. I want to see the ocean as part of a broader tour of the Highlands. And I want you to be my tour guide."
I make a face. "I have work."
"One day." She braces her hands on my shoulders, those tits dangling in front of my eyes. "That's all I'm asking. A day trip."
"Jamie would be a better guide."
My wife nips my nose. "No dice. You agreed to our wager, and this is the one thing I want." She sits up and slaps my chest. "Don't be a grouch. Show me your homeland, Rory."
I regard her in silence as the minutes tick by on the bedside clock.
She wriggles her erse, making me grimace. And my cock rouses.
