I know if I can break down those boundaries, hack through the walls, make her listen, she’ll be mine again.
Luckily, I’m a patient man. I’ll wait for Maeve until my dying breath.
She glides to her bathroom, stripping her black dress as she goes. I stifle the urge to groan as the fabric slides down her pale skin, the red bra and matching panties causing my cock to jerk to attention. All over are old scars—dark deeds manifested on her body.
She’s the most beautiful woman to ever grace this fucking earth.
I wait until the water starts before entering her domain, keeping my steps light. Heat hits my cheeks, my nose burning from the sudden lack of cold. Picking up her dress, I inhale, catching notes of her subtle violet perfume. But under that is the spicy scent of another.
My jaw clenches, and fury, the most foul of its kind, submerges my heart.
Throwing the dress across the room, I move to the far corner where her armchair sits. Stationed between her two full bookcases, I lean back, feet outstretched, as I wait for the only woman I’ve ever loved.
It doesn’t take long. Maeve knows showers are a vulnerability in our world, and she never wastes time. As she exits, wrapped in a tiny purple towel, dark brown strands dripping around her collarbone, I see the light red mark on her throat from an overzealous lover.
Clenching my fist, I still under her gaze, her green eyes widening slightly. She doesn’t yell, doesn’t shout. Only stares.
“Linwood.”
“Maeve.”
“You shouldn’t be in here.” She crosses to her dresser, yanking out dark clothing. She rarely wears anything else.
“How was yourdate?” I can’t keep the bitterness out of my tone.
Seeing her out with another man fuckinghurts. Not in the cry my eyes out like some douche in a rom-com, but the kind when a serial killer loses his shit and takes the whole town down for touching one hair on the person he loves.
“Fine,” she responds quickly, avoiding my eyes.
“I know you saw me, Princess,” I drawl, leaning forward to dig my elbows into my knees. Anything to keep from grabbing her. “Very touching how he fed you.” I snort, rolling my eyes. “He must think you’re incapable of feeding yourself.”
She glares at me, cold green eyes freezing me to the bone.There she is.
“Is there a reason you’re in my room, Linwood?” Ouch.Linwood. “I specifically forbade you from entering my home.”
I shrug casually. “Tell that to your guards. They don’t stop me from entering.”
“Because they’re afraid of you.”
A lazy smile drifts across my face. “Then I guess you have your answer.”
“And the stalking throughout town?”
“You’re off in the city without guards,” I explain, eyeing her creamy pale legs. Fuck, did he have them wrapped around his head, the way I want? The way I used to? “You need protection.”
“Iammy protection,” she scoffs. I can’t help but smile at her confidence.
Maeve has never doubted her ability to fight. Neither have I.
“Regardless,” I say lightly. She keeps her back to me, drying her body. I practically weep, eyes trailing over her spine and the cigar burns there. “You need eyes on you. What if an assassin came for you?”
“Then I’d be dead,” she quips.
“This isn’t a fucking joke, Maeve.”
She looks over her shoulder at me. “Do I sound like I’m joking?” She shakes her head, dropping the towel. Somehow, she put on a pair of black panties without me noticing. “I know they’re coming. But I’m not going to stop living while I wait for them.”
“God forbid you not see yourboyfriendfor one night,” I growl, nails digging into my palms. Seeing her change, knowing what she feels like, and not being able to go to her is fucking torture. “You need to pick better guys ifReesecan’t fight off an assassin.”
