AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mad, wake up. Mad!
Maddox’s eyes snapped open, yanked abruptly from the nightmare that was so painstakingly familiar. But it being familiar didn’t lessen the tumble of emotions, willing him to lash out. When a hand touched his shoulder, he gripped it hard.
“Mad—”
Ruby made a startled sound, but he pinned her weight with his and silenced her. He struggled with his breath, felt like he was drowning, and ended up relying on her warmth to get him out of the tunnel of darkness he was trapped in. Hands wrapped around him, allowing him that comfort until the darkness dissipated. In the aftermath, he felt just how close she was to him, a savior in his time of need.
“Mad?”
“Yes. Give me a second.”
Her body yielded softly and made him wonder if it would grow softer under further touching. He took in her lips, inches from his, and parted, building a longing that he hadn’t felt in a long time. When he looked into her eyes, that longing shifted into desire, one that punched him in the gut and wrung him violently.
He had seen those eyes before—Ruby’s, when she watched him with an intensity that threatened to chip away at the armor he wore dutifully. Perhaps it had already chipped away. There were times when there was nothing that he wanted to do than haul her over his shoulder and take her to his home. He wanted to do all the unspeakable things that hung in the air between them. She didn’t shy away from his gaze, her hand reaching up to cup his cheek.
“Hey. You had a nightmare. You are okay.”
“I’m okay,” he repeated, realizing he was no longer even thinking about the nightmare.
“I’m here. It’s me.”
“I know it’s you.”
“Maddox…”
Maddox, not Mad. The full name in her husky, sleep-ridden voice jolted back the image of her moaning in his arms while he led her to the throes of their climax. His cock hardened. Lust thickened his blood, throwing caution to the wind. Damn his armor. Damn the warlock in love with her and her potential feelings for the man. Damn it all to hell because only one truth rang now: he might have still loved one woman from the past, but Ruby was the one he wanted in the present.
“Ruby.”
A shaky sound glissaded off her lips when he grazed them.
And then the door opened.
Chapter 8
He was going to kiss her. That was the only thought that sank into Ruby’s mind, empty because of the way he touched her and vulnerable because of the emotions she felt from him when he had woken up from his nightmare. She knew of his past and the toll it took on him, but witnessing how it haunted him first-hand felt like her heart had been squeezed tight. Then it changed into something else, his blue-black eyes looking at her as if seeing her for the first time.
“Guys?”
Perhaps it was good luck that Moon had called out first before actually popping his head in, giving the two time to jump off each other and assume a sitting position—at least, Maddox jumped. Ruby was still dazed, her body tingling all over, and her mouth crazed from what it almost tasted. She sat up more slowly, just in time to watch Moon step inside and not say a word.
“What is it?” Maddox asked.
Moon still didn’t speak, shifting his weight from one foot to another. Then he peered at them with pleading eyes, voice small.
“Can I sleep in here? I’m not comfortable being surrounded by strangers.”
Sympathy filled her, understanding he probably felt the same in Broom’s Isle. But at least the many uncharted forests on that island gave the boy the freedom to roam around and discover his potential without anyone interfering. She opened her mouth.
“Sure,” Maddox replied before she could. “There’s plenty of space. You can sleep between us.”
Her head swiveled, trying to catch his gaze. But the man who had almost kissed her just a minute or two ago refused to look at her now, and what she assumed was an intimate moment turned awkward. Had he tried to kiss her, or had it been all in her imagination? If it was the former, had it been to get over his nightmare and nothing else?
His face revealed nothing. Moon shimmied in the space Maddox eagerly made in the center, so she swallowed her misgivings and offered the boy a smile.
“Just like old times?”
“You and I had a separate cabin in the pirate ship. You because you were a female guest and me because I was the only teenager.”
