Tainted (Cardinal Sin) by Kady Ash

Author:Kady Ash [Ash, Kady]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kady Ash
Published: 2023-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

Maverick

The second I see Desiree at our brunch, my resolve settles. I’m out of time now, the wedding is tomorrow and she deserves to know what this marriage will be. I want Aiden. She can have who she wants on the side — shadows, they can move in. I don’t really care, but she needs to know that Aiden and I will have the relationship we were always meant to have.

The temptation to just fuck him and wear that mark proudly has been hard to fight, but the fears for my soul were burned deep since I was a child. It’s hard not to want to play it safe.

I’ve made it this far though, so if Des can agree to this arrangement, we can move forward tomorrow and pretend we’re a happy couple for the masses.

I just have to find a way to get it out that doesn’t send her running for the hills. “Hey, Des. Can we talk before you head back with your parents? Just us.”

“Of course.” She smiles and sends her mom outside, then sits right back down at the table we’d eaten at. “Is everything okay?”

No. I sigh and lean in so only she can hear me before I speak. “Just feel like we should talk about some things... expectations and stuff. What kind of relationship are you hoping to have here?”

Her brows pinch as she looks at me curiously. “Um... a good one? I’m sorry, Mav. I really don’t understand the question.”

Course this wouldn’t be easy, so I have to go for blunt. “Do you want to fuck other people once we’re free to fuck?”

Wide eyes betray her surprise. “Um... oh. Oh! Well,” she says, blushing deeply. “I’m not against it. I don’t love the idea, though.”

I feel my jaw flex as I take that in. “I’m sure it’s hard to understand why, so I’m not going to try and explain it but... I want to be with Aiden. Is that a dealbreaker for you?”

She relaxes, to my surprise. “Oh. I... had my suspicions, honestly. Would it just be him? No one else?”

I nod. “Yeah, just him, and I don’t want him going out to get it anywhere else. He’s going to always stay home like you. I can take care of you both.”

“So you’d still... be with me too?” Hope takes over her face. “This isn’t some way for you to be with him and cast me aside?”

“Well, that depends, honestly. Do you want someone else? Like is there someone who’s caught your eye? Because if there is, we can leave this as a paper agreement and live our own lives.”

“No,” she says quietly. “I wanted to marry you. Not someone else.”

Fuck. I can’t hurt her. I should have called it off sooner, because now her pain is my responsibility. “Okay. Yeah, long as you’re okay with Aiden being mine as well and you two never touching... we’ll make this work.”

“Right.” She nods, but she seems further away now, like she just realized she agreed to marry someone who will never really belong to her.

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