Chapter 42 #3
“We will, but not right now. It’s daylight and there are too many eyes. Now, tell me what just happened. Where’d you go, Evie?” he asks softly. Worry furrows his brow and his jaw ticks. I want to reach up and soothe away the tension I’ve caused. “If I did something wrong?—”
“No!” I shake my head. “You didn’t do anything.”
“Then what is it?” he pushes. “You can tell me anything, Everly.”
My bottom lip trembles. “I know I can. I just… After all of this, I can’t stand the thought of you seeing me in a different light again.”
“I won’t. There’s not a damn thing that will change my opinion of you. I swear it,” Maverick vows.
My stomach rolls, threatening to send up the few bites of apple I managed to eat earlier.
I should tell him everything. There’s no point holding anything back.
Unable to do this while staring into his handsome face, I pull out of his touch and step back.
I turn to stare at the plants around us, trying to focus on them and not the words that spill out.
“You know the bargain I struck with Rowan and Braum? Well, they’ve been making good on that.
Just this morning we… the three of us…” Heat flares up into my face as I choke on the words.
Rather than force them out, I move past it.
“It just feels wrong to finally be able to fall into your arms while I can still feel their touch all over me and… inside me. They’re your enemies, and I’ve slept with them. ”
I begged for it.
Maverick makes a sound, almost like he’s choking. I wrap my arms around myself, wincing.
“It’s not just that,” I admit, my shoulders dropping. “Do you remember when we were younger how I never went swimming in your pool or wore dresses or shorts like the other girls?” I swallow. “Maverick, I… I have marks on my skin I’m not proud of.”
Shame forces my throat to close. My head drops to my chest, and I stare at the mosaic tiles on the floor. Even their beauty can’t detract from the ugly confessions I’ve shared.
“Marks… left by your father?”
My head jerks up and I whip around to find Maverick still standing where I left him. He’s staring at me, his expression indecipherable. So Father really did tell him what he did to me. How mortifying. Unable to speak, I simply nod.
One minute he’s standing there a few feet away, in the next I’m in his arms and he’s carrying me.
“Mavie! What—Ooph!”
We don’t go far. He takes us over to the fountain then abruptly sits along the wide lip of it, taking me with him.
He shifts my legs so they lay horizontally over his and hooks an arm around my back to support me.
His other hand tenderly cups my cheek as he bows his head to rest his forehead on mine.
“My Little Evie,” he murmurs. “I know what you’re doing for me.
The deal you struck with two devils makes me fucking ill but not for the reason you’re thinking.
It is my fault you’re trapped with them and every time they force you to your knees or to spread your legs…
” he gulps. “Every time they leave a bruise on your skin, it’s a reminder of how much I’ve failed you. ”
“Failed me?” I frown then shake my head. “No, Mavie. I?—”
“You have done everything possible and then some, Everly.” He says, cutting me off gently.
“But I haven’t been doing the same. My and Peter’s job has always been to look after you, to protect you from the world.
I took that job seriously because you were always going to be mine, Evie.
” He scoffs. “But look at where you’ve ended up.
Look at what you’ve endured because of me. I’ve done everything but protect you.”
A hard shudder rushes through Maverick. I can feel every inch of it, sitting on him like this.
“Mavie, it’s okay. We’re?—”
“It’s not okay, Everly.”
The way he says this, like a growl between clenched teeth, causes the hairs on the back of my neck to rise.
Lifting my eyes so that our gazes meet once more, I can see the dangerous creature the scientists created.
It’s a monster of epic proportions and its malice glitters in the depths of Maverick’s dilated pupils.
Instantly, I shift in his lap. I don’t know if I can stop the monster from coming forth but I’m going to try. I straddle Maverick’s lap and reach up to cup his face, hoping he still sees me and not the Everly he hates.
“Let’s leave the past behind us, okay?” Leaning forward, I kiss the tip of his nose. His hands come up and hold my hips to steady me. “It can only hurt us.”
Maverick’s hard glare softens as I give him another kiss on the nose.
When I bend forward to kiss it again, he lifts his chin and captures my lips with his.
A blazing fire shoots through my veins, charring and turning to ash all my insecurities that kept me from diving in before.
Maverick’s still with me, willing to look past the things I can’t quite stomach about myself.
If he can do that, there’s no reason to hold back any longer.
I open my mouth, inviting him in, and Maverick doesn’t hesitate.
His tongue slips into my mouth, and he devours me.