“I’d expect nothing less from the daughter of this man,” said Moon, jerking an elbow toward Ambrose as he tried to relight his puffed-out cigar.
Maeve stood and turned to her father. “I only wanted to say goodnight, Daddy. It’s getting late for me,” said Maeve with a yawn.
There was a knock at the ajar door. She turned. Mal and Abraxas, Reeve and Eryx filed into the room. Others behind them. Important people Abraxas made sure had the opportunity to meet Mal on a personal level, over drinks and cigars.
“Goodnight,” said Ambrose as he kissed her cheek.
Maeve walked past Mal. He snagged her arm gently. “Stay,” he said.
“Oh no,” she gazed up at him. “It’s past my bedtime. They’re all yours.”
He smiled softly and brushed his thumb across her lip. For a moment, they forgot where they were. They forgot Ambrose and the others.
“Goodnight, Little Viper,” he whispered.
“Goodnight, My Prince.”
Mal’s chest rose dramatically and then fell, his breath cool down her face and neck. He dropped her arm.
And they remembered they weren’t alone.
And for the first time, neither of them cared.
“Goodnight,” she said to the rest.
She closed the large, rounded door behind her and headed back down the hall. Her fingers lingered across her bottom lip. His touch was captivating. Addicting.
His fingers were scared with death and yet she trusted them completely. She craved them.
She made her way down the back set of stairs and down the long corridor to the third-floor landing when a voice came from behind her.
“I was beginning to think I’d never get just a moment with you again.”
Alphard Mavros emerged from the darkness, staggering slightly. His wild hair down to his shoulders. Maeve smiled.
“Well, lucky for you, here I am,” said Maeve. “Unlucky for you, though, I am heading to bed.”
“Need any company?”
Maeve’s face fell flat at his comment. He wasn’t provoking her. She wasn’t the butt of a joke, like Reeve’s crass comments. Alphard was serious. And he was disgustingly intoxicated and inebriated.
“Mal’s got you all wrapped up, huh?” He slurred his words.
She looked back at him with a raised eyebrow in complete confusion. “What are you talking about?”
Alphard stepped in towards her, and before she could stop him, he kissed her.
Maeve jerked away. “What are you doing?” Maeve pushed hard on Alphard’s chest.
“Don’t-don’t pull back from me now,” said Alphard.
“What?”
“I’ve missed your touch, your lips-”
“Hush,” hissed Maeve.
She placed one hand on his chest, keeping distance between them, and looked him dead in the eyes before choosing her words carefully. She studied him. Her eyes darting back and forth between his own.
