Page 74 of Playing with Fire

“Uneventful. This is my brother, Barnabus. The whelp is Darrel. He’d apologize for his crude behavior, but I’m afraid he won’t be saying anything at all today. I petrified his tongue for daring to be rude and smearing the family name.”

I still didn’t know my grandfather-in-law’s name, but at least I knew the name of the gorgon king. Sweet. Maybe I’d survive the meeting. “Pleased to meet you, Your Majesty.”

Was Your Majesty the appropriate title? No one seemed offended, so I added a tally to my score of being polite like a good adult.

“Miss,” Barnabus greeted. “I appreciate you coming here today.”

Signing the papers in the courthouse moved me from Miss to Mrs.; I frowned, glancing at Quinn’s grandfather. “You didn’t tell them, did you?”

“And ruin your chance to tell them yourself? I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Who knew I could like a gorgon so much? “You’re so sweet.”

His coral snakes cooed at me, and my grandfather-in-law winked. “Don’t tell them that. I have them fooled.”

Okay, maybe the sweetness was a bit much. “I will still kill you if you make me clean up after you.”

“Miss Gardener!” Clemmends bellowed, rising from his seat and slapping his hands against his desk. “You are in the presence of gorgon royalty. Remember your place.”

I was going to have so, so much fun with Clemmends. If he didn’t cry by the time I finished with him, I’d be disappointed. Stepping to his desk, I dug out my folded marriage certificate, made a show of opening it, and slammed it on his desk. “Mrs. Quinn. I’m pretty sure this stunt robbed me of dating, a proper proposal, and a nice wedding. While I have nothing against a good brawl, I didn’t even have a chance to get a wedding dress.”

Being tired and cranky made it easy to fake watery eyes. I even got my lip to tremble. “Sir.”

Clemmends sat down and tried to pick up the marriage certificate. Straightening, I lifted my hand so he could read it. His brow furrowed. “Quinn? You don’t mean Chief Quinn.”

All three gorgons turned their glares on the head of the CDC, and I considered it a miracle he didn’t end up petrified. A few of my grandfather-in-law’s snakes hissed their displeasure.

“Yes, Chief Quinn. Once he finished laughing and could get off the floor of his office, he grabbed me, tossed me into an SUV, and carted me to Virginia. He refused to allow me out of the courthouse until I married him. He didn’t think a mere license was sufficient to convince you I was off-limits.”

“You married Chief Quinn.”

I really couldn’t blame the man for his incredulous tone and doubtful expression. After a trip to Virginia, two hours driving to Washington, and waiting in a cafeteria for an hour, my white shirt had turned gray, my jacket had new scuffs and leather wrinkles, and my jeans needed a good washing. “Is it that hard to believe?”

It was, but I fully intended to be a bitch to the man after having to endure his stupid phone call at the station.

“Yes. It’s on file you have a terrible relationship. Actually, it’s on file you have a terrible relationship with everyone, but Chief Quinn is able to make you do your job with minimal struggle.”

I turned to my grandfather-in-law. “Can I really say whatever I want?”

He chuckled. “Be my guest.”

“You might want to cover the whelp’s virgin ears. I’m not sure if gorgon kings have delicate sensibilities, but if they do, maybe your brother better cover his ears, too.”

Barnabus cleared his throat and hid his mouth behind his hand. “Excuse me. By all means. I’m sure my son could use the education. While it would be tragic if he didn’t survive the experience, I would enjoy whelping more children to replace him.”

Ouch. I almost felt bad for the gorgon prince—almost.

I smiled at Clemmends. “My relationship with Chief Quinn is so terrible we’ve had sex in every room of his home. Absolutely miserable, our relationship. Oh dear. I forgot to ask Sylvester to confirm I am most certainly not a virgin.” With a dramatic sigh, I fluttered my lashes at my grandfather-in-law. “Quinn must have gotten his charm from you.”

My grandfather-in-law chuckled. “You’re such a gem. I’m sorry, Barnabus. Little Samuel has been after her for years. Once I found out about her altercation with your whelp, I may have called in a few favors.” Every one of his coral snakes rose from his head and turned to Quinn’s cousin. “As for you. You made a very poor choice. If I ever catch wind of you even thinking of forcing a woman, I will castrate you myself. Being my nephew will not save you. Once your tongue softens, you will apologize to your cousin and his bride in a sincere fashion. Give them a wedding gift while you’re at it. You’re fortunate he wasn’t present. A courting prince is well within his rights to safeguard his future bride, and I’m sure he wouldn’t have had any problem with petrifying you and bashing your statue into tiny fragments.”

It would take some time to get used to anyone referring to me as someone’s bride, let alone as someone’s wife. How had that happened? I’m not sure I would ever understand the nature of miracles, which was what I thought had been required to have someone like me marry someone like Quinn.

Quinn’s cousin cringed and stared at the floor.

Later, I’d have to ask who would be doing the petrifying and how Quinn would go about bashing his cousin’s statue to pieces.

“Excuse me?” Clemmends choked, cleared his throat, and shot looks at my grandfather-in-law and his brother. “A courting prince? Did I hear you correctly?”