“How can I leave you alone when you’ve just been shot?”

  Instead of being touched by her concern, I was just annoyed. “There’s nothing you can do for me. Now, let me go to sleep.” I started to strip off my clothes without waiting for her to leave. She’d already seen me naked, so it didn’t matter.

  She stood by the door, still watching me with that concerned gaze.

  “Don’t make me ask you again.” I didn’t want to be an ass when her only crime was compassion, but I was seriously not in the mood tonight. “I’ve been up for almost thirty-six hours. We aren’t doing this now.”

  “You’ll say the same thing in the morning.”

  Yeah, I probably would.

  “I know there’s something bothering you, something you’re keeping from me.” With her arms crossed over her chest, she watched me like she was reading words that appeared on my forehead.

  My father couldn’t care less if I died…that was the secret I was keeping from the whole world. “It’s none of your business, Arwen. Now, get the fuck out—before I make you.”

  20

  Arwen

  When I came down for breakfast the next day, Maverick was nowhere to be seen. “Did he already leave for work?”

  “No.” Abigail stood at the sink and washed the dishes she’d used to make breakfast. “He’s resting in bed today. I told him if he moved, he wouldn’t get anything to eat. He made the right call and decided to stay put.”

  “Good.” He shouldn’t be running around with a wound like that. “Anything I can do to help?”

  “I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do. Mr. DeVille can be a bastard sometimes…” Abigail was a woman in her midforties, someone who was a faithful servant but also spoke her mind. And her heart seemed to be in the right place. “All we can do is hope he gets the rest he needs. But you know how he is…”

  Yes, he was a huge bastard. “Yeah, I do.”

  I headed to the third floor and walked down the hallway to his bedroom. The door was closed, so I tapped my knuckles against the wood, thinking of the time I’d spied on him when he was fucking someone. It was a huge violation of his privacy, but I couldn’t help it…and I didn’t regret it. It led to me getting the best night of sex in my life.

  His deep voice sounded like a distant drum. “Come in.”

  I stepped inside and saw him sitting up in bed. Shirtless and in just his sweatpants on top of the sheets, his white gauze was visible around his shoulder. He was scrolling through his phone, probably assuming I was Abigail who’d come to clean.

  I shut the door behind me. “You look better today.”

  When he heard my voice, he looked up from his phone and abandoned whatever he was doing. He was calmer than he was yesterday, and the shadow along his jawline was thicker because he’d skipped the shave that morning. His eyes were the same color as his coffee on the nightstand, dark brown. “Yes?” Like we hadn’t had sex just a few days ago, he was cold and hostile.

  I sat at the edge of the bed. “Wanted to see if there was something I could do for you.”

  “No.” He looked at his phone again.

  This man couldn’t accept compliments. He couldn’t accept help either. He couldn’t accept anything. “I can help at the factory if you need anything. Or if you just want some company, I can help with that too.”

  “I know you don’t know me very well, but I’m not much of a talker.”

  “Yeah…I picked up on that.”

  He lowered his phone again. “Then go.”

  I noticed he had no problem being sympathetic if I was in pain. Whatever it was, he was there for me. Not once did he make fun of me. He always turned into the crutch that supported my grief. But for whatever reason, he wouldn’t let me do the same for him. He kept everything bottled up inside, refusing to acknowledge whatever was bothering him. “You don’t trust anyone, do you?”

  His eyes slowly turned to me, narrowing slightly like those words hit a sensitive nerve. “No. But you don’t trust anyone either.”

  “That’s not true…I trust you.”

  He set his phone on the bed beside him, still looking strong despite the injury he suffered. His chest was still as strong as ever, powerful muscles constantly throbbing under his tight skin. “You shouldn’t.”

  “Why not? You promised you would never hurt me, and you kept that promise. You’re there for me in my darkest times. You’ve never put me down when I already felt terrible. You always pick me up. I trust you more than I trust anyone else in this world.”

  “You said you didn’t like me.”

  “I don’t always have to like you to trust you. You can be an asshole sometimes, but that doesn’t mean you’re a liar. You’re there when it matters, and that’s what counts.”

  He shifted his gaze away.

  “You told me we were allies. If you’re my ally, that means I’m yours.”

  He turned back to look at me. “What’s your point?”

  “That you can trust me. I know you well enough to see when something is weighing you down, when you have a boulder on each shoulder. I know you well enough to see the irritation in your eyes…and know it has nothing to do with me. You obviously don’t have anyone to talk to, but you can talk to me.” I stared at him and hoped he would open up to me, tell me what happened last night.

  But he was still cold.

  “Maverick…”

  “Why do you want me to talk to you so badly?”

  “Because I care about you. I was happy when you returned, but devastated when I saw you’d been shot. I’m glad you’re okay… I mean that.” The only time he flinched was when something heartfelt came from my mouth. His eyes blinked and he tensed slightly, like my words hurt him rather than helped him. When I knew he wouldn’t respond in any way, I finally gave up. I didn’t understand this man, and if never let me in, I would never understand him. I turned away and looked at his bedroom wall.

  Silence stretched for a long time, as if Maverick didn’t have a single thing to say to me. He was closed like a steel gate. Nothing could get through—not even a key. Eventually, his deep voice broke through the silence. “My father is the reason I got shot.”

  My eyes stayed on the wall, but my heart started to clench in pain and rage. I slowly turned back to him, flabbergasted by what I’d just heard.

  He leaned his head against the headboard and looked away, like eye contact was too much for him. “I was supposed to go after Ramon, but I could tell my father was in trouble by listening to the comms. I went after my father instead…didn’t think twice about it. When I got there, I shot one of the men. But another was about to take out my father. I pushed him out of the way and took the bullet myself…”

  He risked his life to save his father…even though he was an asshole. If that wasn’t loyalty, I didn’t know what was.

  “Instead of being pleased, he was disappointed. He stepped on my arm and made it bleed more. He said Ramon was the only thing that mattered…and I was stupid for disobeying him.”

  “You saved his life, and that was his response?”

  A wounded expression came over his face, looking lost. “Yes.”

  I hadn’t liked his father the second I met him, but I hadn’t thought he was capable of something so malicious.

  “And he’s shot me before…when he didn’t get his way.”

  My eyes widened.

  His hand moved to his injury. “Same spot, actually. At least the scars will be in one place…”

  “Jackass.”

  He made a slight shrug. “As stupid and insignificant as this sounds, he didn’t remember my birthday. It really bothered me for some reason, made me realize how much my mother held the four of us together.”

  What kind of father was he? “The four of you?” I’d never asked if he had a sibling. If he did, I didn’t notice them at the wedding.

  “I have a younger sister.”

  “Oh…did I meet her at the wedding?” There were a lot of people around that day.

  He shook his head. “She wasn’t there.”

  What kind of family was this?

  “I know your father did a stupid thing, but even when your mother was gone, he still loved you. I respected him for that. Everything I said at the funeral…I meant it.” He finally turned his head back and looked at me, finding the strength to meet my gaze when there was pain in his eyes. “When my father dropped me off yesterday, I said I wished he were dead… He didn’t seem to care.”

  Maverick’s story made me miss my father more. He was always affectionate and kind to me, never downplaying his love even in front of his friends. “I don’t understand how your father can be that way. There’s no excuse. Why do you still talk to him?”

  “Our lives are too intertwined. We used to work together, the cheese company is technically his because he’s still family, and I guess I thought things might change when we got Ramon. Might give him closure. It’s hard to believe, but when my mother was still here, he was a good guy. He was affectionate, he did remember my birthday. But after what happened to her…all of his compassion disappeared. He turned into a whole different person.”

  When my mother died, my father was different too. But he never stopped loving me as a result. “That’s no excuse…”

  “No, it’s not. But I guess I still hope that he’ll come back…someday.”

  That was never going to happen. But I kept my opinion to myself.

  “There. I told you everything. Now what?” He turned cold again, like he resented me for opening up.

  “Now, I can share your pain. Now, I can understand you. Now, I can make you feel less alone.” My hand moved to his, and I interlocked our fingers, just the way I had at the funeral. I stared at our joined hands and felt the pain in my heart. He didn’t deserve this. No son deserved to be treated so poorly by his father. “Thank you for telling me…”

  “You weren’t going to leave me alone until I did.”

  “But still…” I lifted my gaze and met his.

  He watched me for a long time, his brown eyes a little less hostile. He didn’t pull his hand away and let our fingers rest together. Even when he was in pain, he still wore the most handsome expression, his jawline so tight, he seemed to be brooding all the time. But the look was sexy on him.

  “I noticed you have a TV in here.” It hung on the wall above the fireplace, directly facing his bed.

  He watched me, unsure why I’d said that.

  “Since you don’t have anything to do today, how about we watch movies together? We can watch a couple of your favorites, and I can watch a couple of mine.”

  “I don’t watch TV.”

  “Then why do you have it?” I countered.

  He smiled slightly, like he knew he’d bested me. “Honestly? When I watch porn, I watch it on TV. Easier than using a laptop.”

  It was a dirty thing to say, but I admired him for being honest. It was one of the things I liked about him, the fact that he didn’t care about my opinion. If I thought he was an asshole, he would still act like an asshole. “I didn’t think you watched porn.”

  He cocked an eyebrow, like I’d just said something crazy. “If a guy tells you he doesn’t watch porn, he’s full of shit. Just so you know.”

  “That’s not what I meant. It just seems like you get the real thing a lot…”

  The corner of his mouth rose in a smile. “Sometimes it takes too much work. You just want to get off and be done with it. No talking. No drinking. No sleepovers.”

  “Well…how about we find something to watch?”

  “You want to watch porn in here?” he asked, lightening up a little more.

  “No.” I smacked his hand playfully. “I meant, let’s find a movie to watch—one that isn’t X-rated.”

  “You don’t like porn? You should give it a try.”

  “I do like porn,” I said honestly. “I just don’t watch it on my TV. And I probably don’t watch it as much as you do.”

  He nearly did a double take at my response. “You don’t seem like a woman who would be into that.”

  “I told you I was good in bed. I didn’t just get my moves from experience…”

  Now he looked at me with new eyes. “Maybe you’re right…maybe we can be friends.”

  I rolled my eyes and rose to my feet. “I’m going to change. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  “You could just take one of my shirts. It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked.”

  I opened one of his drawers and pulled out a shirt, something that fit him snugly but would be a blanket on me. “Alright.” I moved to the bathroom.

  “You can’t change out here?”

  “Nope. You don’t just get to see this whenever you feel like it.”

  “You are my wife…”

  I smiled before I shut the door. “And that means I run the show.”

  21

  Maverick

  My day was spent in bed—watching movies.

  I hadn’t done that since I was a kid.

  And I’d never had a woman in my bed without fucking. Arwen lay next to me under the sheets, eating the popcorn Abigail brought up an hour ago. She stayed on her side of the bed and didn’t try to cuddle with me.

  Good. Because I would have pushed her off.

  When the movie ended, she propped her head on her hand and looked at me. “What did you think?”

  “Porn would have been better.”

  She rolled her eyes but chuckled at the same time.

  I was surprised I’d told her so much about my life. I never told anyone anything, not my friends or my sister. The idea of sharing those intimate thoughts and feelings made me feel weak. Actually saying them out loud made me feel like a pussy.

  But it also made me feel better.

  I didn’t know what this woman was to me anymore. On the outside, she was just my wife. But in reality, she was my friend…and someone I was attracted to.

  How could I not be? Even with messy hair and a baggy shirt, she was still stunning. There was kernel stuck in her teeth earlier, but I somehow found it cute rather than grotesque. I ended up spending the entire day with her, doing absolutely nothing.

  I wasn’t the kind of man that did nothing. The only reason why I did today was because my injury forced me to. But spending it with her made it seem a little less unbearable.

  She set the empty bowl on the nightstand then looked at the time on my alarm clock. “Wow…time flies when you’re having fun.”

  I followed her gaze and realized she was right. We’d spent the entire day in bed, eating and watching whatever she picked out. I wasn’t bored like I’d thought I would be.

  She adjusted her pillow then lay down again, her hair falling perfectly over the soft cotton. The sheets were around her waist, and my t-shirt didn’t fit her curves well because it was many sizes too big. But she happened to lie in the perfect position, at the perfect angle, and she looked beautiful.

  Her thick eyelashes cast a light shadow over her blue eyes. Sometimes her mascara would smear on my pillowcases, but I didn’t mind in the least. She was the first woman to wear one of my t-shirts to bed, and it looked better on her than it ever did on me.

  Now I ignored the TV and watched her instead. My mind drifted back to the evening when she’d begged me to fuck her. All of her restraint disappeared, and she finally gave in to the throbbing desire between her legs. My cock sank inside her, finding a home inside that wet slit. She had the sexiest ass, so I was happy to fuck her that way, like she was a bitch in heat. I stared at her asshole as I came, in love with the lovely curves of her body.

  The pain in my shoulder dulled when the arousal took over. Now I wanted to take her on her back, to stare at those sexy tits as I fucked her hard into the mattress. I wanted to see her expression when she came. Listening to her moan was just as beautiful as when she sang, but I wanted to see it with my own eyes, see those plump lips part as she screamed.

  She kept watching the TV, oblivious to my intentions.

  My cock hardened in my sweatpants the longer I stared at her. Ever since our night together, we hadn’t discussed what happened. It seemed to be a memory neither one of us mentioned. I wasn’t sure what would happen when we were finished. I enjoyed fucking her, so I assumed I would want to fuck her again.

  I definitely wanted to fuck her again.

  I wanted a casual relationship where we didn’t talk about it all the time. It seemed like she could handle it. After all, she was the one who assumed I would become obsessed with her…which was ridiculous.

  So I went for it.

  I rolled toward her then dug my hand into her hair, capturing her attention as I lowered my head. My lips found hers, tasting like butter from the popcorn. My free hand snaked up her thigh until my fingers felt the soft material of her panties. Once my mouth was on hers, I felt the electricity burn my spine from top to bottom. It even hit my dick, making it twitch with a jolt. My shoulder screamed in agony, but that wasn’t enough to stop me.

  Her lips were hesitant at first because she hadn’t been expecting my kiss. But once she felt it, her hand went to my bare chest, and she dug her long nails into me. After a few breaths, she kissed me harder, giving me her tongue right from the beginning.

  She was a damn good kisser.

  We fell into a rhythm naturally, taking and giving in perfect succession. I knew how to suck her bottom lip to make her nails dig into me a little harder, and she did a sexy swipe with her tongue that was so amazing, my dick nearly broke through my sweatpants. I could feel the hardness of her ring whenever she touched me, the piece of jewelry that bonded her to me in the eyes of the world.

  I gripped the back of her panties and slowly started to pull them down, but I stilled when I felt the pain in my shoulder. A hot explosion of agony ran through the nerves and made me still.

  Arwen stopped kissing me when she felt me tense up. The arousal slowly died away in her gaze, replaced by concern. It was the same way she looked at me when she realized I’d been shot. It was like she really cared…which was more than most people could say.

 

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