Page 60 of Cursing My Cheating Husband

How desperately I wished I hadn’t fucked all this up. I’ve never wanted anything more than to be able to sweep her off her feet, carry her to that bed, and bring her to heights of pleasure beyond anything she’d ever felt before.

She swallowed, looking up at me. Reflected moonlight sparkled in her eyes. “Maddox…”

“Yes?” I whispered.

“You fucking reek.”

I flinched.

“Go take a damn shower.” At that, she gave me her back and stalked off into the yard.

My head dropped as sadness cascaded over me. She wasn’t wrong. I had worked up such a heavy sweat I could smell myself.

I was overcome by a rush of memories from the early days of our marriage, when my getting sweaty had been her number one turn-on. In the beginning, she was never more excited than when I was fresh off a workout.

And now, because of what I’ve done, the exact thing that used to turn her on so much had become repulsive to her.

I silently slunk back into the room. There was nothing else to say. I had married the powerful daughter of the High Priestess of Nightshade Cove. Someone who gave her warmth freely to everyone she met. Someone who had bravery and integrity, who didn’t hesitate to set aside her power and status for love. I had been chosen by someone who was both royalty and an outstanding person, yet I’d treated her as if she were lucky to have me!

When she was a woman who surpassed me in every possible way. When she could have been here, a part of something as incredible as this community.

She had given me all of herself, I had given her nothing, and the shame and disgrace of that was going to crush me for the rest of my life.

CHAPTER 25

CALLIE

Behind me, I heard the sliding door close as Maddox retreated into the room. I forcefully exhaled. I hadn't even realized I'd been holding my breath.

I watched through the glass as he peeled off his shirt, briefly exposing the sculpted muscles of his back, before he was again hidden behind the closed bathroom door.

And not a minute too soon! After everything that he’d done, I was shocked by how intoxicating I could still find the scent of that man. How many times in the past had I loved to bury my face in his neck after a workout, breathing him in like an addict…

That distinctive masculine musk of his, intensified by exertion, had always been my kryptonite. The salt and heat of his skin, slight cedar notes from his deodorant, mixed with whatever pheromones his body produced. There was no beating that cocktail… at least, not with my post-divorce partners thus far.

I ruefully recalled some article I once read about the biology of attraction and scent compatibility, claiming it was hard-wired and beyond our control. When we encounter the person whose smell we respond to on a primal biological level, we can’t resist them.

I sighed. It would be nice to really believe that! What a convenient spot to place the blame for my earlier poor decisions. It’s not my fault, the pheromones made me do it.

But as I thought about it, what happened just now was actually an occasion to be proud of myself. Sure, I’d had a moment of remembering how much I loved being surrounded by Maddox’s scent, but I hadn’t let it carry me away.

Instead, I had told him to fuck off and take a shower. I didn’t think he’d even noticed my moment of weakness, when I’d momentarily pictured falling into him and⁠—

I shook my head, trying to clear it. The rain was falling harder now, cool droplets hitting my face and arms.

I tilted my head back and closed my eyes, holding myself perfectly still as the late spring rain of Nightshade Cove cascaded over my face. This was a sensation I had been craving.

After savoring it for a good long while, I opened my eyes—and was jolted by the sight of two dark shapes slipping over the fence into the yard!

Two men in dark fatigues. They were athletic but depressingly baby-faced. I’d be surprised if either one were older than twenty. They both had an anxious twitchiness to their movements as they slowly crept through the plants, trying (poorly) not to make a sound. No nerves of steel from these two. They didn’t even notice my presence, as I was standing in the shadows of the pines, completely shrouded by darkness.

So, this is what the extra security was on alert for.

With their obvious haplessness, I can’t say I found myself particularly worried.

And even if they had seemed more capable, two human men were no match for one witch.

Especially when that witch was me, as my mother would have been quick to point out.