I lift Maddie up from where we stand, cradling her in my arms and taking her back over to the bed. The clock on my nightstand reads one in the morning, and she most likely has class in a few hours, but the only thing she needs is some sleep. I settle beneath the blankets with her tucked safely against my chest, unwilling to let her go.
My hand cups her delicate cheek until she looks at me. There’s an entire lifetime of pain hidden behind her eyes. She tries to wear her strength like armor, but if you care enough to look closely, you’ll see the cracks.
“You’re stronger than the demons you keep locked up inside your head, Princess. Whatever you’re fighting, I’m going to fight them with you. You aren’t alone anymore.”
She tries to hold herself together, but the longer she looks at me, the more the walls she’s built begin to crumble. Fresh tears fall silently down her face, I brush them from her eyes and press a gentle kiss to her lips before pulling her close again. Maddie rests her head on my chest and I trail my fingers up and down her spine until I hear her fall into a deep sleep, and I slowly fall right behind her.
It’sway too fucking early to be driving right now, but Maddie insisted I take her back to the dorms by six this morning so she could shower and get ready for her nine o’clock class. I told her several times that she could shower and eat at my place, but shewasn’t having it. The girl has a weird ass routine, and nothing I said was going to convince her to break it.
We pull up to the dorms and Maddie immediately grabs her bag and tries to get out of the Jeep.
“Oh, no you don’t” I catch her wrist before she can escape gently tugging her back in and kissing her deeply. She moans into my mouth,my cock instantly hardening at the sound. Fuck, I’m going to have to take the coldest fucking shower when I get back to my apartment. She’s going to drive me insane.
Gripping her hair in my fist, I tug lightly as I tease her mouth with my tongue. She opens up for me, her tongue tasting like the coffee she drank before we left and I’m beyond intoxicated by it.
She pulls away from my kiss and I groan in protest.
“If you don’t let me out, I’m going to be late!” she laughs, still trying to pull away from me.
I ignore her protests, lifting her easily into my lap. A surprise squeal escapes her before she’s laughing harder, that gorgeous smile—the one I’m absolutely addicted to—spreading across her face.
“Fuck your class,” I murmur against her neck, pressing a kiss to the spot I know makes her melt. “Let’s just go back to my place. Stay in bed all day so I can keep you all to myself.”
Her laughter softens as she cups my cheek, looking up at me with those damn eyes that undo me every single time.
“I can’t. It’s barely the second week of the semester. I can’t start missing classes now. But...” she trails off, smiling as she brushes her lips against mine, “you can be selfish this weekend. All yours. No distractions.”
An entire weekend with Maddie locked away in my apartment? My dick twitches at the thought of all the ways I could worship her body without interruptions. She feels it and smirks before kissing me one last time, slipping out of my lap and grabbing her bag.
“Stay safe,” I call after her, waiting at the curb until I see her disappear safely inside the dorm. Only then do I drive off, heading back to my apartment for a quick shower before my eight o’clock class.
On the way home, I call my uncle. It’s a little after three in the afternoon where he currently lives in Paris, so I know he’s awake. The line rings three times before he answers, his smooth, irritatingly casual voice filling the line.
“Miles. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I say bluntly, already regretting the decision to call. “Listen, I need your help with something.”
There’s a pause before a low chuckle comes through the line. “Anything for my favorite nephew.”
“I’m your only nephew, Benny,” I snap, my grip tightening on the steering wheel as I navigate through traffic.
Benjamin Thornton. The charming, brilliant, pain in the ass uncle I never fucking asked for. He is my father’s brother, the younger sibling who always wanted more. More money, more power, more control. When my parents died in a car accident, Benny swooped in, playing the role of the grieving brother and concerned guardian while secretly plotting how to use me to his advantage.
For the first few months after the funeral, I convinced myself he was just eccentric. At first, I thought his obsession with computers was just him trying to give me direction. After losing my parents, he constantly pushed me toward technology, cybersecurity, and programming. He told me knowledge was power. That the person who controlled information controlled everything. I thought he was preparing me for a career. I didn’t realize he was preparing me for his world.
Benny wasn’t just good with computers. He was a world-class hacker. His name carried weight in circles most people didn’teven know existed. The kind of circles where information was currency and secrets were used as leverage.
Once I understood who he really was I realized hisencouragementhad never been about my future, it was about preparation. He wanted to shape me into a version of himself, to teach me how to do the things he didn’t want his grimey little hands attached to.
I didn’t buy into it. I went to college and built my own life. I stayed as far away from him and his world as I could.
Mostly.
Because the truth is, no matter how hard I try to distance myself from Benny, there was always a part of me that wanted to understand him. Maybe that’s the worst part. I knew better than to trust him. I learned that a long time ago, and yet I’m still here, calling him when I need a favor.
“What do you need?” he asks now, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I need information on someone.” I admit reluctantly. “Will you help me?”
