But it wasn’t supposed to happen. Arthur made it clear that he wouldn’t sleep with me because he couldn’t deal with the idea of sharing me. He warned me that I had to stop him. I had tried my best to respect his decision. It wasn’t my intention to take him out into the desert to break his will. This had been his decision. I’d just accepted it, accepted him.
What does this mean for us? Does it mean that Arthur is going to be part of my…harem?
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
MAEVE
BEEP BEEP, BEEP BEEP.
I pulled one eye open. My back spasmed in protest. I gritted my teeth as I waited for my sleepy eyes to adjust to the golden light.Where am I? Am I inside a fire?
But no. That golden light was a glorious Arizona sunrise splashed across the horizon. Violent fuchsia and orange hues streamed across the sky. The fact that I knew the colours were caused by molecules in the atmosphere scattering the directions of light rays from the sun being close to the horizon didn’t detract from its beauty. Knowing the science behind it only enhanced my enjoyment, as it did with so many things.
Right now, the only thing disturbing my calm was the rumbling, snorting snore emitting from the blankets beside me.
Yikes. Flynn wasn’t kidding about the snoring.I shook Arthur. He gave a loud snort and rolled over, dragging half the blanket with him.
This calls for a frontal assault.
I grabbed Arthur’s right nipple and twisted it. Arthur woke with a start, his head snapping up and a fist raising in front of his face to block an incoming attack.
“Who’s there? I’m armed and dangerous.”
“Calm down, Aragorn. There’s no one here except us.” I pointed to the time on my phone. “But we should probably think about putting clothes on. Kelly gets discharged in a few hours, and I’d like to be there to tell her the good news.”
I had a lot of good news for Kelly, some of which I hadn’t even told Arthur about yet. But I wanted to keep it to myself for now in case he tried to talk me out of it.
“Right.” Arthur bundled up the blankets, reaching for his pants that were draped over the front seat. “And then it’s back to Briarwood.”
Back to Briarwood.
It was weird. Being back in America made me realize how much I’d changed in the short time I’d lived in England. Our house, Ruby’s and Happy’s diners, the memories of Andrew and Kelly and my parents, the life I had here – it was all in the past. There were parts of it that were amazing and parts of it that were awful. I never wanted to forget any of it, but I didn’t want to go back.
“Do you miss the others?” I asked Arthur, trailing my fingers across his chest.
“Not even a little.”
Damn.
“I miss them all. Arthur, last night was amazing. Seriously, I wish you’d been here every night for scientific observations instead of Andrew.”
“But?” he lifted a bushy eyebrow.
“But…three days ago you made it perfectly clear to me that you didn’t want me because of the others and what we were doing. What changed your mind?”
“I never said I don’t want you.” Arthur sat up and pushed a cushion behind his head. “I said, I didn’t want to be part of your harem.”
“But then…?”
“I wanted to be the only one, Maeve. I wanted to be the guy to sweep you away and heal your pain. But being here with you, I realised that maybe I could still be that guy. I don’t have to compete with the others. I don’t have to win. Because having you in my lifeiswinning.” He stroked his beard. “So, even though you want to keep doing stuff with the others, you can be my girlfriend, if you want.”
“You mean it?”
“I may not be able to do the…group thing,” he said. “At least, not yet. But I want you in my life, Maeve Moore. And trying to resist your charms was eventually going to burn down the castle, so this is the most logical course of action.”
I wrapped my arms around him, my heart lifting. “Well, if logic is involved, I have to agree. I accept your offer, Aragorn. From now on, you can call me your girlfriend.”
After Arthur’s announcement, we got a little distracted.
