Maeve presses her lips together, seemingly unable to move. Part of me wishes she would, just so I wouldn’t be able to feel the warmth radiating off of her. The other part wants her closer. "Why are you here?"
"I wanted to make sure you were all right,” I say flatly. “I was… worried about you.”
Something flickers over her face, but in the moonlight, it’s difficult to try to parse it out. "By sleeping in my armchair?"
"I didn't mean to fall asleep. I was just..." I trail off, not knowing how to explain. "I wanted to make sure you were really all right."
She bends to pick up the blanket, and I notice she's favoring her injured arm. The bandage is visible beneath the short, fluttery sleeve of the nightgown she’s wearing. The fabric is thin and silky, and a jolt of lust ripples through me, my cock twitching and pushing against the fly of my jeans. My body wants more of her, but I refuse to give in to it.
"Let me." I take the blanket from her, and our fingers brush.Fuck. It’s as if she ran her hand over my cock. A throb pulses through me, and I grit my teeth.
We're standing too close. I need to get out of this room, away from her, from her bed, from anywhere that I could do something I’ll regret later.
I swallow hard. “You should go back to bed.”
Maeve nods. Her tongue darts out to wet her lower lip, and a pained arousal stabs through me, my cock fully hard now.
“Good night.” I grit it through my teeth, and I catch a flash of confused hurt on her face as I turn away. She probably thinks I’m angry with her again for some reason, when the truth is the furthest thing from that.
The truth is that I feel like, if I stay here another moment, I won’t be able to keep my hands off of her.
I see her retreating to her bed out of the corner of my eye as I step out of the room, closing the door firmly behind me. And, as I walk back to my own room, I promise myself I won’t imagine her in that bed, once I’m back in mine.
But I’m pretty sure that’s a fucking lie.
13
SEAN
In the morning, Flynn is outside talking to Jack before breakfast has even been served, which makes me feel confident in my decision to ask him to come here. I can see an expression of irritation on Jack’s face, probably at being given someone new to answer to, but Flynn is as cool and casual as ever, the smirk on his face hiding what I know is a man capable of getting things done.
“Flynn.” He looks over when I call his name and nods to Jack, stepping away to meet me. “How are things?”
"Sean, you bastard," he says, clapping me on the shoulder. "Marriage looks good on you. You seem even more murderous than usual."
“Fuck off.” I roll my eyes. “Have you gone over things with Jack?”
"Where's the blushing bride?" Flynn asks, ignoring my more pertinent questions for now. "Hiding from her terrifying husband?"
I shoot him a look that would make most men shut up. Flynn just grins wider.
"That bad, is it?"
"I asked you to come here to help with security," I say flatly. "Not to provide commentary on my marriage."
"Can't I do both?" He leans against the side of the mansion, studying me with sharp green eyes that miss nothing. "You look like shit, by the way. When's the last time you slept?"
“Last night,” I snap, which isn’t entirely true. I did getsomesleep, but it wasn’t until late. Not until after I’d jerked off twice trying to get Maeve out of my head, and then the sleep that finally came was fitful at best, broken up with dreams of her in my bed and me in hers. I woke up hard as hell again, and feeling like I’d been run over by a city bus. But Flynn doesn't need to know that. "I'm fine."
"Right." Flynn doesn't believe me, but he drops it. For now. "So you need me to help them beef up security. Whip them back into shape. Who was running this place before you?”
“Maeve’s brother,” I say shortly. “And before that, her father. Both of them are dead, so I only have Jack to give me information on how things were being run. But after yesterday, I want everyone to understand the consequences of failure. Clearly someone wants my wife dead. She was shot at while on a fucking trail ride. So I need more security here, and I need them sharp.”
Flynn listens intently as I run over the number of guards I want hired and the qualifications, his lighthearted playboy demeanor shifting into something sharper and more focused. It’s why I trust him, beyond just our longstanding friendship. For all his flirting and bullshit, Flynn O'Malley is one of the best in the business.
“Got it,” Flynn says when I’ve finished going over it all with him. “And what about breakfast? I tried to head into the kitchen to get something for myself, but the housekeeper ran me back out. My charms don’t work on that one, not a bit.”
I almost crack a smile at that. “We can head in and get something to eat. Maeve will probably be up soon. Was your room fine last night?’
