Page 34 of Colin (The Doherty Mafia)
He turned to me with a chuckle.
“They’re not as nice as you think they are.”
“I thought you guys were close,” I said, trying to sound casual. I hoped my shaky voice didn’t give me away.
“We are close. My family means everything to me, but they’re not nice people. Not what you would consider to be nice people.”
I was so close to him admitting the truth about his family, what they were involved with. I could taste it on my tongue—sweet victory.
Colin returned to the table and placed a hand on top of my head, he leaned in to kiss my forehead and my skin prickled when I got a whiff of his familiar masculine scent.
“But you don’t have to worry about it, Marley, you’re not actually related to them. In a few days, if everything goes well, you’ll never have to think about me or my family again,” he said, smiling.
I smiled too, but I was desperate for more.
“Yeah, fingers crossed, but I don’t want to leave here without knowing anything about you,” I persisted.
Colin’s eyes darkened a little and he stepped back.
“Why the fuck not? I’m a stranger to you and I would like it to stay that way,” he growled.
“Okay, sure, you don’t have to tell me anything,” I snapped, standing up from the chair with a jerk.
I sensed I’d pissed him off by asking too many questions and the way I looked at it, I had two options—I could either apologize profusely and hope he bought it and I was back in his favor soon. Or I reacted the way any other girl would in a relationship with a man. After all, what did I have to lose if we ended up having a big fight and he kicked me out?
Maybe this was the opportunity I needed, then I could return home in peace and in one piece.
“Sit down, Marley,” he growled when I turned away from him, crossing my arms over my breasts.
“You’re not actually my husband, remember? You don’t have any control over me. I don’t have to do what you say.”
I sensed him coming up behind me.
“The only reason why I agreed for you to come here with me was because I thought it would be fun. Fighting with you isn’t fun,” he said in a deep voice.
“I get that I’m a stranger to you, and I don’t really have any purpose or place in your life, and yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have come here with you and disrupted your life…but I’m here now, and I don’t appreciate being treated like I mean nothing to anybody.” I tried to be bold and confident, but I was shaking inside.
I knew who I was speaking to. I knew the reputation of his family. He wouldn’t flinch if he shot me in the back right now and ended the fight that way. He had no reason to keep me alive anymore now that he’d fucked me a couple of times already. Maybe that would be the easier way out of our fake marriage.
“Marley, turn around and sit back down in that chair so we can talk to each other like adults.” His voice was so even and smooth, I had no choice but to follow his command. He couldn’t have been that much older than me. Two years, three years maybe? But right then, he sounded like a man who was wiser beyond his years.
He looked deep in my eyes and towered above me with his immense strength threatening to crush me if he wanted to.
“I don’t want to fight with you, do you understand? I don’t have the headspace for that right now. Not tonight.”
I watched as he rubbed a hand over his face in frustration.
Something had happened with his family today—that much I was sure of now.
But asking him about it would be the wrong move. I learned not to push too hard.
“I don’t want to fight either,” I replied. I drank some of the beer and he sat down across from me at the table.
“There is stuff about me that you’re better off not knowing,” he said.
“Why don’t I start by telling you something about myself that I think you’re better off not knowing?” I suggested.
Colin looked at me suspiciously, and I knew he was hesitant about playing this dangerous game.
“Okay, I’ll bite,” he said.
“When I was twelve, I got into the habit of stealing from supermarkets. In fact, I got pretty good at it,” I began. I hadn’t spoken about this openly, and I didn’t think I ever would. Why bring up something nobody knew about? But I thought maybe shedding myself in a poor light would encourage him to do the same.
He sat back in his chair with a smile.
“Let me guess, candy? Beers?”
I blushed deeply and stared down at my hands.
“Something even more ridiculous.”
