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“I thought they were going to find out. They can’t find out,” she said between strained sobs. “They’ll make us stop seeing each other.”
“No, they won’t.”
“Yes, they will,” she maintained sadly. “You know they will, or you wouldn’t have been as panicked as I was when they showed up.”
“Maci, I had you naked in my bed,” I reminded her as I grabbed her chin, waiting for her to look at me. “But it isn’t up to them if we see each other.”
“They’ll make us stop, Connor.” The assuredness and devastation at her voice tore through me, slow and critical, because I knew she was right.
I knew they would try.
But in the end, my friendship with her brothers wouldn’t be the thing that ended Maci and me. There were other darker things waiting to do that.
“There’s always a choice, Maci,” I said somberly, brushing at the tears slipping down her cheeks. “They can say what they want—we don’t have to listen.”
With a brush of my lips across hers, I climbed off the bed as I laid her down and reached for her pants. Once I had them off and they were on the floor, I slid my hands up her waist and underneath my shirt she was wearing. Unclasping her bra and gently working it off before I let it fall as well.
As I took off my pants and pulled on a pair of sweats, I took my time studying her like this. Nothing but my shirt and her underwear. Fucking perfect.
Grabbing the comforter from where most of it rested on the floor, I crawled onto the bed and covered us both. My heart pounding out this unforgiving beat when Maci burrowed in close, fitting against me so damn perfectly.
“I’m sorry for crying.”
“Don’t be.” Pressing my lips to her forehead, I held her tight as the last of her shaking slowed to a stop. “Get some sleep, sweetheart.”
With the mental exhaustion from being up so long—working and closing out a new case—and the physical exhaustion from the hours with Maci, sleep came quick. But the last thought on my mind was how I was ever supposed to let her go.
CONNOR
Waking up with Maci in my arms was quickly becoming one of my favorite and most dreaded things. The dizzying assault of wanting to pull her closer and make the moment last, to stay there with her forever, always clashed with the blaring reminder that I was another morning closer to losing her.
I’d jolted awake a few minutes before, covered in sweat like every other morning. My frantic breathing stirred the quiet air, but Maci just shifted closer without ever fully waking.
Keeping my trembling hand far from her, I searched every exposed part of her body as my heart threatened to beat out of my chest. Once I was sure she wasn’t hurt, I carefully untangled myself from her and climbed off the bed. Getting as far as I possibly could in the room as I struggled to calm myself from the too-real scenarios my dreams played out.
Just another morning. Same type of nightmare I’d had my entire life.
Only lately, they included the girl in my bed.
My hands around Maci’s throat as she clawed at my arms and struggled to breathe. Blood rapidly dripping from her hairline and over her busted face. Her arms covered in varying stages of bruising.
I squeezed my eyelids tightly shut and scrubbed my hands over my face as I forced the onslaught of images away. Repeatedly reminding myself she was fine—I hadn’t touched her. But it didn’t take away the fear that, one day, it could all be real.
I can’t do this to her. I can’t do this.
But I’m not ready to let her go.
Opening my eyes, I studied her unmarked skin again and inhaled deeply. Letting her sweet scent wash over me until my breathing returned to normal. But by the time I was calm and had fully assured myself she was okay—for now—the clock behind Maci served as another reminder that our time was up.
At least for the morning.
Climbing onto the bed again, I kept my movements so damn careful as I pushed her wild hair from her face and brushed my knuckles across her cheek. Leaning in, I kissed the corner of her mouth and felt my pulse pick up for an entirely different reason when she curled closer to me and dug her head against my shoulder.
This. I wanted this.
With another glance at the clock, I suppressed a sigh and whispered, “Wake up, sweetheart.”
A hum of protest sounded in her throat and prompted a soft laugh from me as I trailed my fingers down her spine.
