94

94
AUTHOR

Kieran came home in a very good mood today, and it had little to do with him putting Van in his place. Rather, it had to do with him seeing his wife after a very long day. He could not wait to have her in his arms so he could finally feel at peace.

“Welcome back, Mr Archibald.” The staff at the door greeted him, taking his jacket and bag.

“Where is my wife?” he asked, moving into the house, eyes glancing around for a glimpse of the sole reason for his happiness.

“In the bedroom, sire.” The staff answered, and Kieran was already bounding up the stairs.

“They surely are happy these days,” Maria edged towards Lily. They had been setting the table for dinner when Kieran entered. “I hope things remain like this,” she said.

“Me too,” Lily added, and they both turned to their tasks.

Artemis stood in the middle of their bedroom, still mindlessly scrolling through her phone when strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind.

She was startled at first but then began to laugh as his mouth brushed against the side of her neck. “Kier,” she whispered with a smile, and her hands lifted while her fingers disappeared into his hair. “You are back early.”

“I told you I would come back early.” He turned her so he could kiss her. “I missed you,” he murmured against her lips. “I had to restrain myself so I didn’t abandon all my work just to come home to you.”

Artemis giggled, his kisses along her neck tickling her. “You did good then. You deserve a reward.” She kissed him, and this time it was deeper but softer than the first.

Her hands cupped his face gently, and her thumbs brushed over his jaw. His smile was unguarded, and Artemis couldn’t help but think he looked good like this. It still amazed her how gentle he was whenever he was with her.

“I missed you too,” she said and kissed him again. She couldn’t help it.

Kieran’s hands travelled under her shirt, but she caught it.

“What?” He asked, already worried when he saw the expression in her face. “Did anything happen?”

She took his hands and pulled him to the bed so they were sitting. “Van came by today,” she told him.

Kieran’s face darkened. “He did what? Does he want me to send people to break his legs before he understands what I meant when I said he should stay the fuck away from you?” Kieran growled.

He was about to stand up, but Artemis held him down. “He was really angry. He said you ruined his business. I tried to explain that you wouldn’t, but he was convinced it had something to do with you.”

“So?”

“Did you do it?”

“Do what?” Kieran asked, feigning ignorance.

“You know what I mean.” Artemis told him with a hard expression but soft tone. “Those things couldn’t have just happened on their own.”

“I didn’t do anything that he didn’t deserve,” Kieran answered.

Artemis sighed. She had been expecting it. At first, she was convinced that Kieran had nothing to do with it, but the more she thought about it and saw more news about what happened to Van, she could see her husband’s name written all over it.

“But why? He hadn’t contacted me for a long time or done anything to harm me.”

Kieran scoffed, “That’s because I took care of it before it could happen. The bastard was buying off your directors so they could cast you out, and you would have no choice but to run back to him. I don’t know how he thought that stupid plan would ever work.”

“I would never go back to Van. Over my dead body,” Artemis swore, and Kieran grinned with relief. He trusted her now, but he couldn’t help but feel anxious when he thought of the possibility of her leaving him.

“I wouldn’t let that happen in the first place,” he told her confidently, and he meant every word he said.

“If you knew it wouldn’t, why didn’t you just let him be?” Artemis asked. “You already knew nothing would come out of his plans.”

“Because I was tired of his antics. It was grating on my nerves, so I wanted to take care of it for good. I don’t want to keep hearing his name unnecessarily,” he explained with a smug grin, and Artemis rolled her eyes. He cupped her cheeks. “I would not give anyone any reason to hurt you.”

“He did all that?” Artemus gasped. She had no idea that Van had been trying to hurt her still.

“Yes. And when you go back to work tomorrow, you won’t have to deal with that woman as well. I took care of her. I don’t want anyone who makes you uncomfortable to be around you anymore.”

“How?” Her brows shot up in surprise. “What did you do, Kier?”

“Nothing illegal. You don’t have to be scared that I killed her and dumped her useless body in the forest for the wild animals to find,” he teased, but Artemis couldn’t share his amusement.

“Kier,” she called, her mouth in a pout. “What did you do?” She demanded, wanting to know what he did so she could be prepared in case anything happened.

Kieran wrapped a hand around her waist and hoisted her up so she was straddling him. His hand cupped the back of her head and he brought her head down so he could claim her lips in a fiery kiss.

“You are trying to avoid the question,” Artemis accused with a small whine when they pulled apart.

“I’m prioritising,” Kieran joked and kissed her again, this time on her neck.

She laughed softly and cocked her head to the side. “You are impossible. I hope you know.”

“And you love me just the way I am,” he said smugly.

She rolled her eyes and wrapped her hands around his neck. “You are lucky I do.”

“I won’t dispute that because it’s true.”

Kieran kissed her and let her remove his shirt so her hands could trail his naked chest. When her hands lingered over his belt, he gave her the go-ahead. Dinner could wait.

Right now, all he wanted was to bury himself in his wife and get lost in all her perfection because he felt good about taking out her trash so she could be at ease.