Til Debt Do Us Part (Married At Midnight #4)

Chapter 19

Nineteen

Talia

“O h my god.” I step out of the SUV, bringing my hand up to shade my eyes. The sun is warm against my skin, like I’ve just stepped into a warm coat. Below me, a number of bright white buildings with distinctive red roofs clustered on a gently sloping hill that eases right into the bluest sea I’ve ever seen. Palm trees dot the rocky terrain, leading suggestively to the beautiful tan stripe of sand that marks the start of the beach.

“It’s a tropical paradise, straight out of a dream,” I whisper.

“I told you I would surprise you.” Dare comes around the SUV to grab my hand, a grin on his face. “Welcome to St. Barts.”

“You really went all out.” I kiss the back of his hand as he tugs me down the hill toward the bright blue front door to the sprawling villa. “Are there other people staying here?”

Dare opens the door, standing aside for me to enter and giving me a little bow. “The whole villa is all ours.”

I walk into the villa’s living room, my eyes widening at the beautifully clean light gray floors, cream colored walls, and blue slate overstuffed couches. This space looks like an art gallery and just shouts money to me. It has one wall made entirely of glass and looks out on a panoramic view of the beach.

“Wow.” I feel a little out of breath just looking at the dark blue ocean swirling just below the window. “This was definitely worth the long plane ride.”

Behind me, the chauffeur brings in the lightweight travel bags we brought on the plane. Dare throws his sunglasses on the teak coffee table and looks over at me.

“Want to check out the bedroom first?” he suggests. There is a playful kind of mischief in his gaze as he looks me up and down. “I’ve heard that the sex is better now that we are husband and wife. We can see for ourselves whether that’s true.”

I slide him a sly grin. “Can we eat first? I’m starving.”

He nods. “It’s important to fuel up for an extended sex session. I can call the private chef.”

“I need something now .” I scrunch my face up, feeling more than a little ridiculous. But my stomach is rumbling and I feel like if I don’t eat right this second, I’m going to die.

“I’m sure there is something for you to nibble on in the kitchen.” Dare jerks his head toward the back of the villa. “Let’s go see.”

I follow him into the kitchen, which is a masterpiece in its own right. This space is bright white. White countertops, white wood cabinets, white appliances, white pine on the floor. The only color in the room is the panoramic view that wraps around half of the room, looking out at the sandy walking path winding down beside the house and spreading out to the beach.

“What a view!” I say, a little awestruck. “Damn. This villa has got to be expensive. I know we don’t really talk about money, but you have to tell me how much this costs per night.”

Dare walks over to the refrigerator and pokes his head inside.

“I don’t think it works like that. It belongs to a friend.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.” I spin, my white sundress fluttering. “What kind of a friend has this kind of beach house sitting around, unused?”

He shrugs, pulling out a bowl of tropical fruits and a container of yogurt. He sets them on the countertop and rustles through the pantry for a minute. Then he pulls out a plastic package of very expensive-looking granola and waves it at me.

“How does a parfait sound?”

I bite my lip and repress a smile. “I'm so hungry that I would be pretty much anything you put in front of me, given that it was edible.”

His lips twitch and he starts to put a handful of blueberries in a bowl. I take a seat at the kitchen bar and watch him slice an Apple up and alternate it with layers of granola and thick dollops of Greek yogurt. My stomach rumbles and I run my hand over my growing baby bump, as if to soothe it somehow.

By the time Dare is done, I am absolutely ravenous. He sets the glass and a spoon on the counter in front of me and I wolf it down, barely tasting the bright, sweet notes of the fruit and the creaminess of the granola. Dare stands back and watches me with some amusement. I wolf down the whole parfait in less than three minutes. When I'm done, he takes the glass and spoon from me and sticks them near the sink.

“I take that as a compliment,” he says.

I can't help but laugh. “Thank you for feeding me. I hate to even ask, but do you think that there are any salt and vinegar chips in this house? I'm having a crazy craving for them all of a sudden.”

He smiles and shrugs his shoulders. “Whatever you want, they can get it for you. Salt and vinegar chips should be easy.”

I bite my lip and lean forward, resting my arms on the counter. “Would it be too much to ask if they can get kettle chips?”

He whips out his cell phone and starts to text someone. “I'm sure they can figure something out.”

He leans back against the cabinet and crosses his legs as he concentrates on his phone. I look Dare up and down, admiring his tall, trim physique. He is still wearing his usual black dress pants and his white button up, his suit jacket missing entirely. He's rolled up his sleeves at some point and I look at his strong forearms and his undoubtedly high end platinum watch. He's always handsome. But just at this moment, he is extremely attractive.

The fact that he is my husband doesn't hurt either.

I'm busy imagining my sexy husband shirtless and feeding me salt and vinegar potato chips when I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. I see two figures walking down the little path beside the house, a man leading the way and a woman holding his hand and lagging slightly behind. I can see the man's dark hair and looks are familiar to me. He clutches the hand of a woman whose blonde hair is tucked up in a red handkerchief. They are both dressed for a midday walk on the beach.

Why do I feel a sense of dread when I see them?

As I watch, the man stops and pulls the woman into his arms, kissing her dramatically and even dipping her backwards. I raise my hand to point them out to Dare, but then I see who the man and woman are.

It's Burn and Daisy. They are unmistakable from where I'm standing about forty feet away in the kitchen.

My jaw drops.

Dare turns his head to look, spotting Burn and Daisy in less than a second. He pushes off the cabinets and immediately his posture grows tense. His hands curl into fists and he spreads his legs, his gaze growing steely.

“What the fuck?” Dare hisses. “How do they even know where we are?”

I stand up and walk to stand beside him, pulling at one of his hands and lacing my fingers with his. I look up at Dare and take a deep breath. “They must've followed us. Or they knew that you had a plane booked to the island.”

His eye twitches. Out the window, Burn pulls away from Daisy and looks in the window, making eye contact with us. Burn grins and heads down the path, toward the front of the house. I look at Dare, who looks like he is spoiling for a fight. Tugging at his hand, I try to talk him down.

“Dare? Look at me.”

After a moment, he does. I gave him a soft smile and touch his cheek.

“You shouldn't fight with Burn. That's obviously what he wants.”

Dare grits his teeth. He grimaces. “He touched you. He kissed you. He knew you were mine and he fucking did it anyway. No one lays a hand on you and walks away unscathed. I'll kill him for it.”

I put my hands on his shoulders and try to calm him down.

“You're letting him win. You're letting Burn wind you up like a toy car. The only way that takes back the power right now is by not engaging.”

He arches a brow. “The only way to win is not to play at all?”

I nod. “It seems that way.”

Dare takes my hand, kissing the back of it. “You don't leave my side for a second. Got it?”

A sense of warmth slides through me. I nod and press up on my toes, seeking a kiss. He presents his lips against mine briefly and then sighs.

“Let's go see what they want, I guess.”

He leads me through the house, seeming to know his way around. He steps out of the gorgeous living room into a luxurious pool area.

The whole area is open to the elements outside and Burn stands on one side, gazing out at the sea. There is a pensive look on his face which I've seen so many times before on his twin brother. Daisy is over by the pool, her sandals kicked to the side and her toes testing the water of the pool. She looks up as we come out of the villa, smirking a little.

“Well look who it is,” she says.

Dare isn't interested in anything she has to say. He snaps his fingers at her, rushing past her and heading straight for his brother. This makes her eyes widen for a second and she hastily looks at Burn. I get the pleasure of watching her face as Dare stalks across the pool deck to where Burn is standing. I have no idea what's going on in her head exactly, but I get the feeling that she doesn't like Dare not pining after her.

Honestly, it's a little surprising even to me.

Burn turns and gives Dare a cocky little smile. Dare completely sidesteps my advice and punches his brother right in the mouth. Burn staggers back and looks at Dare with some horror, his hand over his lower jaw.

“Fuck?!” He cries. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Dare squares up, his fists in the air, his whole being ready to fight.

“Stand up. Put your fists up. Defend yourself.”

Burn squints at him. “For what?”

Dare moves forward, pelting him with a one-two punch, a right hook then an uppercut.

He goes stumbling backwards and Dare puts his fists up, a sneer twisting his lips. “That's what you get for laying your hands on my wife. Now get up off the floor so I can hit you again. Come on, you fucking coward, I dare you.”

My pulse races but I stay well clear of both men. The last thing anybody needs is for the pregnant lady to rush into the situation and get knocked down accidentally. Daisy on the other hand has no such reservations. She rushes in and tries to grab at Dare’s arm.

“Leave him alone.” Her voice sounds whiny. Dare shrugs her off and sidesteps her, not bothering to even look her way. A flash of rage washes over her features, there one second, gone the next. But I saw it.

She really doesn’t like when Dare ignores her. Maybe it’s a new phenomenon to her as well.

Burn wipes blood from his lip and looks at Dare, almost disbelieving. “What the fuck? I’m bleeding. You actually hit me.”

Dare glares at him. “And I’ll do it again. Get up. Or just come near my wife again, you fucking bastard. I’ll do more than make you bleed. I’ll wipe the floor with you and leave you in the forest where no one will ever find your body.”

“Are you seriously going to act like that over her?” He gestures towards me. “You’re a Morgan, for God’s sake. You should be with someone worthy of your status. I’m just looking out for your best interest. Doing you a favor.”

Something in Dare snaps. His face contorts and he heaves himself at Burn hitting him and grappling with him. They roll across the floor, each one landing a few blows. It’s not until they roll right off the edge of the deck onto the sand that Dare pulls himself off Burn. Daisy tries to help Dare up and Dare looks at her like she’s insane. Like she’s worth less than dirt.

“Get off me. Fucking creep,” Dare spits. He points to his feet and backs away, wiping blood from his upper lip. Daisy looks hurt and angry, especially when Burn yells her name.

“Daisy!” He barks. “What the fuck are you doing?” He scrambles to his feet and yanks her toward him, off of her feet entirely. She seems shaken and Burn does little to soothe her. He just looks back and forth between her and Dare.

“What do you need? We have to hash this thing out.”

Dare spits on the floor, glaring at his brother. “The fuck we do. Get off my property. The next time I see you down here, I’m gonna call the fucking cops. Or maybe I’ll just call one of my security guards. They are armed and they aren’t afraid.”

Burn bleats out a laugh. “You’re fucking crazy. You can’t threaten me.”

Before Burn says anything else, I step in, slicing my hand down through the air. “Get out of here. Get off our property. We are on our honeymoon, so just get lost.”

Daisy sneers. Burn wipes his lower lip and growls at us. Dare makes a move toward him but I catch his arm and hold him back. Daisy tries to wrap her arm around Burn but he shrugs her off, whirling and storming down the beach.

Daisy looks at both of us, looking like a deer caught in the bright headlights of an oncoming semi truck. I arch a brow at her. Dare bears his teeth at her, walks over to me, and herds me inside. Once we close the sliding glass door, I pull Dare to a stop, grabbing his face. I look at his bloody lip and the raised, red contusion on his cheekbone.

“You're hurt,” I whisper.

He slides his arms around me, grabbing my waist and pulling me close. “My brother deserves a lot worse than a punch to the face. He needs to know that if he messes with you, I will come after him with everything I’ve got.”

I smooth my hands down his neck and across his shoulders. “I appreciate you protecting me, but I would rather just move on from the situation.”

Dare’s lips curve upward.

“I knew you would. I’ve been watching you try your hardest not to rock the boat since the first day I laid eyes on you. But this is between my brother and me.”

I sigh and assess his injuries again. “Come on. Let’s get you patched up. We can talk about your brother later.”