Irresistible Danger

Exclusive Rights

The walk upstairs was silent, giving you plenty of time to ponder what Amber had said about the wives being kicked out of their rooms and forced to move back in with the community. You and Negan hadn't discussed specific details of what would happen with the wives, just acknowledged that neither of you wanted anyone except each other. However, the fact that he had gone ahead and made that move on his own was even more poignant, and showed once again just how serious he was about having you as his equal partner.

Reaching the office, he opened the door and let go of your hand so that you could precede him inside, these little moments of chivalry never failing to warm your chest. Crossing the room, you went into the adjourning bedroom, flicking on the tall floor lamp and depositing your sack of belongings onto the floor beside the bed. When Negan didn't follow, you returned to the office to find him pushing papers into folders, which he then stacked and tossed down into a desk drawer. You couldn't help but smile at the thought that he hadn't even waited to tidy up his paperwork before coming to collect you for the night.

Rounding the desk to stand beside him, you leaned a hip casually against the wood and said, "So...I'm gonna take a wild guess that you had a conversation with your wives."

Desk now cleared, he straightened and looked at you. "They're not my wives anymore."

Eyebrows raising, you replied, "Amber said that you're making them move out of their rooms."

Giving a sigh and running a hand down over his beard, he murmured under his breath, "Amber's a real pain in the fucking ass." Raising his voice to normal level, he continued, "I told all of them that I'd set them up with weekly fucking points so that they could live comfortably here, since that was part of the initial fucking deal and it wouldn't be fair to totally renege on it. Though I also made it clear they're welcome to get a fucking job and help out if they want. But I said that they would no longer be called my wives and that I'd no longer, uh..."

You almost laughed at the usually crass Negan hesitating, so helped him out. "Fuck them?"

He glanced at your face, as if to assess if you were upset or uncomfortable with discussing other women he'd slept with, but you honestly weren't. It wasn't as if the wives hadn't been a constant presence until now, even if he hadn't been fucking them.

"I let them know that if they had any issues with my decision, they were more than welcome to leave, because I wasn't going to put up with any fucking arguments about it."

"Did any of them seem to have any issues at the time?" you asked.

He gave a little shake of his head. "Sherry asked if that meant they could fuck whoever they wanted now, and I said it didn't matter to me; I'm not their fucking guardian. I let them know that they'd be moving down to the third floor with the rest of the community, though I was fucking nice enough to say I'd get them single rooms, if they wanted. They mostly just nodded and didn't say a word, though I should've known Amber would throw a fit as soon as I left."

His jaw clenched with frustration as he said, "I'm fucking sorry, doll. I should've had a Savior keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't do anything fucking stupid."

Moving closer, you reached out and placed your palm over the back of his hand where it was clenched into a fist against the desktop. "Hey, don't worry about it. If anything, it was probably good that Amber and I got that little talk out of the way immediately, because if it hadn't happened tonight then it would've been some other time."

Deciding that enough energy had been wasted on Amber, you moved the conversation away from her. "I'm glad you gave them the option of working, if they want. Hopefully some of them take that offer, since it'll make it easier for them to fit in with the rest of the community and make some connections outside of one another."