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I didn’t want to move or talk or even breathe in that moment because I didn’t want to disturb the perfect simplicity of it.
But the silence was shattered in more ways than one when Eli whispered the words I’d never thought I’d hear in my entire life…and wasn’t sure I’d ever wanted to.
“I love you, Mav.”
Chapter Sixteen
Eli
I woke up when I heard Mav’s phone ring, but I didn’t move from my position when I felt his arms release me so he could answer it.
“Hello?”
I couldn’t hear what the other person was saying, but whoever it was spoke for a long time before Mav finally said, “Where?”
I felt the bed shift and finally turned over to see Mav sitting on the edge of the mattress. The blanket had fallen away to reveal his lower back and ass and I resisted the urge to reach out and run my fingers over the snakes that I was perversely coming to think of as mine.
“Yeah, okay,” Mav murmured and then he hung up the phone. But he didn’t put it down and he didn’t move from his position. His shoulders were hunched and his hair was a tangled mess.
Probably from the several times we’d made love again throughout the night.
I could tell from the light filtering through the curtains that it was morning and a quick glance at the nightstand clock showed it was almost eight. Baby was lying quietly along the foot of the bed. Since I hadn’t let him in, I could only assume Mav had. After I’d destroyed the perfect moment we’d had last night after I’d told Mav I loved him, there’d been a subtle shift in Mav. He’d kissed me and continued to hold me until our bodies had settled, but there’d been a strange distance that had grown between us – but it wasn’t something I could clearly put my finger on.
We’d ended up showering after that and then I’d cooked Mav the enchiladas I’d promised him while he’d taken Baby for a walk. We hadn’t spoken much as we’d eaten. Mav had suggested watching a movie on TV and I’d been thrilled when he’d pulled me in his arms so that I was pressed against him as we’d sat on the couch and watched. But still, there’d been something missing. He’d started kissing me during a slow part of the movie and when he’d finally turned it off and pulled me to my feet, I’d been more than ready for what was to come next. He’d made love to me slow and deep the first time and he’d actually made me come twice before he’d come himself. In the pre-dawn hours, he’d woken me up by slipping inside my body from behind. He’d brought me to another intense orgasm before taking his own, then we’d showered again. But as soon as he’d gotten done washing me, he’d lifted me into his arms and shoved into me with little warning or preparation. I’d wrapped my legs around him as he’d held my ass open with his big hands, his body pinning mine against the wall and I’d just held on as best I could for the brutally rough ride. My ass had felt like it was on fire from all the fucking we’d done, but I’d still come just as hard as I had all the other times we’d come together.
And still I wanted more.
When Mav didn’t lay back down, I sat up and pressed myself against his back. I wrapped an arm around his waist and skimmed my lips over his cheek.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
Mav was quiet for a long time and I felt a chill go through me when he didn’t respond to my touch in any way. He almost always touched me back in some kind of way, whether it was with a kiss or just to close his hand over mine. But his back was stiff and unyielding and he actually shifted a little as if trying to escape me even though he didn’t get up.
“Um, yeah…I have to leave town for a few days to take care of something. I’ll have Ronan take you home.”
Mav tried to stand, but I quickly shifted so I was sitting next to him and held on to his hand. “Wait, what is it? What happened? Who was that on the phone?”
Mav wouldn’t look at me as he studied his phone. But his expression was completely blank. “The ME’s office in Newark. They need me to come ID and claim my mother’s body.”
I sucked in a breath and covered my mouth with my free hand. “Mav…”
Mav stood before I could hug him like I had planned. He tugged his hand free of mine. “Get dressed. I’ll call Ronan,” he said as he went around the bed and began scooping up his clothes. I scrambled off the bed and stopped him before he could escape into the bathroom like he intended.
