She motherfucking hugged him. Dressed like that.

I want his blood.

My heart shot painful adrenaline through my body. No amount of stitches, gunshots, or broken ribs could stop me from beating the little cunt into a pulp. Tearing my blazer off, I closed the distance. “Tess, get away from him.” Ripping her from Twerp’s arms, I slammed my jacket around Tess’s front.

She gasped, pushing at my blazer imprisoning her. “Q—what on earth?”

I breathed hard, never taking my eyes from the little f**ker who’d had his hands on my wife.

What in the flying f**k was he doing at my wedding?

“Q, calm down. You’re not thinking straight.” Tess’s voice only pissed me off.

The boy curled his arm around a pretty brunette dressed in yellow. He brought her forward, distracting me for a second—intentionally showing he had his own girl and respected that Tess was mine. “That’s a rad tattoo you’ve got, mate. Never been a fan of needles myself but I can appreciate the art.”

Tess jumped in. “Q, this is Brax Cliffingstone and his girlfriend, Bianca. They travelled all the way from Australia to see us marry, so a thank you for coming would be nice.”

A thank-you? They flew on my f**king money. Suzette would no doubt present me with a bill a mile long once we got home.

“Brax, Bianca, this is my husband, Quincy Mercer. I could go on and on about how amazing he is but that’s irrelevant—you can guess how special he is because I married him.”

Husband.

She called me her husband.

Special.

She called me special.

The words starved some of my anger, relaxing my screeching muscles.

Twerp’s blue eyes met mine, apprehension tangling with false bravado. “Hey, mate. Nice to meet you finally.” He stuck out his hand. “Congratulations. I’m super glad you guys were able to work out whatever issues you had. I’m stoked for you.”

What the hell had Tess told this delinquent? Her emails. My teeth gritted. The emails she sent when she blocked me out. She’d talked to him when she couldn’t talk to me.

The frustration and anger rose, reminding me of the intense pain Tess had caused.

Fuckwit’s eyes fell on Tess’s cle**age. It was fleeting. But it was there.

My neck rolled. Fists clenched.

Yep, couldn’t do it. I’d kill him.

I yelled, “Suzette. Donne moi quelque chose pour couvrir Tess ou je vais —” Give me something to cover Tess or I'll—

A black embroidered dress appeared from nowhere, matching the crimson sparrows of my velvet blazer. “Here you go. I’ve come prepared.” Suzette gave me a wary look, holding up the wraparound dress for Tess. I dropped my blazer, shoving Tess toward Suzette.

I had to admit Suzette had done an amazing f**king job—I wanted to murder her, but she deserved a substantial raise for putting this venue together in five days.

My heart hammered while Tess slipped into the dress. Suzette secured it with a large bow at the back. The second Tess was encased in something suitable, I relaxed a little. Just a little.

Tess smiled. “Thank you. I feel better not being so exposed.”

Me, too. I’d been ready to murder everyone.

Suzette grinned. “Not that you have any cause for being shy, but I understand.”

Goddammit, my nerves. The overbearing monster inside prowled, snapping its jaws. The beast wanted to go suicidal. I felt threatened. Threatened by a boy from Tess’s past.

There was no reason to be. But try telling that to a beast that didn’t listen.

He’s just a stupid boy who will never deserve Tess. Me, on the other hand—I still didn’t deserve her but too f**king bad—she’d married me.

A headache overshadowed the rest of my injuries. I managed to unlock my jaw enough to say, “Merci. And I’m sorry for my temper.”

I scanned the room out of habit, searching for anyone out of place. The guests smiled, milling around now that the service was over. Not that they were guests. Mrs. Sucre didn’t count, nor did Frederick, Angelique, or Franco. There wasn’t one unfamiliar face. Apart from the dickshit in front of me.

“It’s okay, mate. Totally understand.” Brax nodded, opening his mouth to say something equally annoying in his Australian twang.

I couldn’t do it.

Growling under my breath, I said to Suzette, “You’re in deep shit for inviting him.”

Tess scowled, whacking my shoulder. “Q. That isn’t fair. She did it for me.” Smiling gently at Fuckwit, she added, “Sorry, Brax. Q’s been through a lot the past couple of days. We really ought to be leaving. He needs to rest.”

A geyser of temper exploded from my mouth. “Did you just call me weak, Tess? I’m perfectly capable thank you very much. I’m not going to pass out from a simple conversation.”

Twerp jumped in. “Hey, don’t be mad at her. Look, maybe it was the wrong thing coming here, but I wanted to see Tess and make sure she was happy. I love her. I wanted to wish her all the best. And you too—if you stopped being such a jerk.”

Fuck, that’s it.

Thank god I wasn’t wearing a shirt because it would’ve ended up splattered with his blood.

Tess leapt in the middle of us. “Brax, stop it. Q, don’t judge him until you know him. He’s a good friend and you need—”

“I don’t need to do anything, esclave. He’s seen you naked. I’ll never be his friend. So don’t expect it to be all rugby games and f**king unicorns.”

Tess blew curls out of her eyes, exasperation rather than fear on her face. That just irritated me further. Did I look so banged up I was incapable of inflicting pain?

I can rectify that.

The girl dressed in yellow giggled. “I doubt you’ll see us again after today, but if it makes you feel any better, your wife has seen my fiancé naked, too, and I don’t want to beat her up.”

My eyes stretched wide. I couldn’t come up with a response. I hated the thought of Tess being anywhere near this boy. I hated to think of anyone owning her heart. I was beyond jealous. I was f**king possessive and the beast inside only made it worse.

I wanted to piss a circle around Tess, blatantly claiming she was off bounds to everyone but me.

Calm down, idiot.

My heart raced but Tess laughed. “I’m glad you don’t want to hurt me, Bianca. I’m just happy you and Brax are together. And please accept mine and Q’s congratulations.”