Chapter 18 — The Masterpiece #2
“It’s the only answer there is,” Ethan retorted, the intensity back in his voice.
“Don’t you understand? When I saw his hand on your arm...
when I saw the fear in your eyes... the world went red.
Literally. I stopped hearing the music. I stopped seeing the people.
The only thing that mattered was eliminating the threat. ”
“I’m not made of glass, Ethan. I could have handled him.”
Ethan let out a bitter laugh.
“No, you couldn’t. Men like Julian Baxter don’t hear ‘no.’ They hear ‘try harder.’ They hear ‘double the price.’ He was going to hurt you. He would have dragged you into some dark corner if I hadn’t shown up.”
He leaned forward, his face inches from hers.
“And if he had really touched you... if he had done more than squeeze your arm... I wouldn’t have broken his finger. I would have ripped his throat out with my teeth right there in the middle of the ballroom.”
The ferocity in his voice made Maya’s heart race. Not from fear, but from that dark, forbidden feeling she was beginning to accept.
“You’re insane,” she whispered.
“Obsessed,” he corrected. “There’s a difference.”
He reached up with his good hand to touch her face, caressing her cheek.
“You’re not just a debt, Maya. You know that, don’t you?”
Maya closed her eyes at his touch.
“I’m an asset. A collectible.”
“No,” Ethan said forcefully. “Stop repeating the words I used to protect myself in the beginning. Look around this room.”
Maya opened her eyes and looked. The statues. The paintings. The glass.
“All of this...” Ethan gestured to the penthouse. “All of this is cold. It’s dead. The statues don’t bleed. The paintings don’t tremble when I touch them. The glass doesn’t look back at me with defiance and desire.”
He turned his gaze back to her, pinning her in place.
“I’ve spent my entire life collecting dead perfection. Preserving things that can’t change. And then... I saw you.”
He took the hand that had been holding the bandage and pressed it to his chest, over his heart, which beat strong and steady.
“You’re chaos, Maya. You’re imperfect. You have scars, you have fear, you have anger. You’re warm. You’re the only thing in this entire city, in this damned desert of neon and lies, that’s real.”
The confession hit her like a physical blow.
“I’m your masterpiece?” she asked, her voice choked. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“You’re the work I can’t frame,” he said, his voice heavy with sadness. “Because if I frame you, if I lock you away completely... I kill what makes you who you are. And tonight... when I saw you in that dress, outshining every diamond I’ve ever bought, and saw that worm trying to tarnish you...”
He stopped, swallowing hard.
“I realized I can’t just collect you. I have to protect you. Even if the greatest threat to you is me.”
He tried to pull her hand from his chest.
“You should leave, Maya. The contract... I can tear it up. I’ll give you the money. Go home. Run from me. Because I’m dangerous. What I did tonight... that’s who I am. I’m violence dressed in a suit. And one day, the blood on my hands might be yours—metaphorically or otherwise.”
This was her chance. The door was open. He was offering her the exit.
Maya looked at his hand, now wrapped in the white bandage she had applied. At his face, twisted with self-loathing.
She thought about life in Ohio. Safe. Boring. Cold. Without him.
She thought about the feeling of power she’d had walking into the ballroom beside him. Thought about the way her body reacted to his touch. Thought about the dark truth Elena had told her: The cement here is mixed with favors.
Ethan was the monster. But he was her monster.
Maya released his hand but didn’t pull away. Instead, she brought her hands to her own neck.
Ethan watched, confused.
She found the clasp of the diamond choker. Click.
The heavy necklace came loose. She lifted it from her neck, feeling the immediate relief as the weight fell away, and let it drop to the stone floor. The sound of metal and gems striking stone was loud, disrespectful. A fortune discarded like trash.
“I don’t want the diamonds,” she said. “They’re cold.”
Ethan stared at the necklace on the floor, stunned.
“What are you doing?”
Maya stood up, the green velvet flowing around her. She stepped between his legs, looking down at him.
“I’m not going anywhere, Ethan.”
He shook his head.
“Didn’t you hear what I said? I’m dangerous.”
“I know,” she said. She placed her hands on his face, holding him, forcing him to look at her. “I saw what you did. I saw the blood. And I didn’t run. I got in the car with you. I cleaned your hand.”
She leaned in, bringing her lips close to his.
“The truth is...” she whispered, the confession burning on her tongue, “...I liked it. When you hurt him. When you showed everyone I was yours. I felt powerful. I felt safe.”
Ethan’s eyes widened. His pupils dilated, swallowing the iris.
“Maya...” It was both a warning and a prayer.
“We’re both broken, Ethan. You collect dead things to feel alive. And I... I think I need a monster to feel safe. Because Prince Charmings like Kyle are the ones who sell you out the first chance they get. The monster is the only one who’ll burn the world down to keep you.”
Ethan let out a low groan, as if he were in physical pain. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her between his legs, burying his face in her stomach, in the soft velvet.
“You have no idea what you’re saying,” he murmured against the fabric. “You’re giving me permission to be the worst of myself.”
“I’m accepting who you are,” she said, stroking his hair. “Just like you accepted me when I was broken in the bathtub.”
He lifted his head. His gaze was raw, stripped of all barriers. Was there love there? Perhaps. But there was obsession, certainly. And a desperate gratitude.
“If you’re going to stay...” he said, his voice firm again, the decision made. “If you’re going to accept this... then there can be no more secrets.”
“No secrets,” Maya agreed.
Ethan stood up, still holding her waist. He looked toward the door of the locked office. The forbidden sanctuary.
“You need to know everything,” he said. “Not just about Kyle. Not just about the debt. About me. About how I started. About what I did to get here.”
He looked back at her, his gaze intense.
“Because if you’re going to love the monster, Maya, you need to see the scars he left on the world, not just the ones he carries.”
“Show me,” she challenged.
Ethan nodded slowly.
“Tomorrow. Tonight... tonight I need you to remind me that I’m still human.”
He picked her up, ignoring his bandaged hand, ignoring the diamond necklace forgotten on the floor, and carried her into the darkness of the bedroom, where the only thing that mattered was the heat of their bodies colliding to ward off the cold of the world they both despised.