Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
MAVEN
Maven
I didn’t go straight home for the simple reason that I didn’t want him to come and find me.
I have cameras installed outside, so I always get notifications of movement.
And it isn’t until a few hours later that my camera alerts me as I sit watching the running water below.
Someone is at my front door. He knocks a few times, and when he doesn’t get an answer, he looks straight at the camera, as if he can see me, then produces a key and unlocks the door.
I can’t see him once he enters, but it isn’t long before he exits and then walks right up to the camera and taps it with his finger.
“I know you’re watching. Get home, wife. I have things I need to discuss with you.”
I don’t answer, even though I could if I wanted to.
Instead, I turn my phone off and sit on the edge of the bridge as I look down over the water.
I’ve killed a lot of people in my time, but I can honestly say I’ve never thrown someone off a bridge or even dumped a dead body from one before.
But as I sit here and stare down, I wonder about it.
It’s getting pretty cold at night now, and the water would probably be frigid if they didn’t die on impact, so maybe they would die from the cold.
I stay there until my stomach begins to grumble. Cars whiz by behind me, but I pay them no attention. They aren’t able to see me from where I’m sitting anyway. Carrie and I used to come here as teenagers. We’d sit here for hours on end, just talking about how we wanted our lives to go.
I never thought for one minute my job would be to assassinate people, or that I would marry a detective.
But the thing is, he’s not just a detective.
He’s a corrupt one who also takes pleasure in killing people.
And I know he’s hiding some demons—I see them flicker in his eyes.
I also don’t think he’s the type of man to divulge anything he doesn’t want to share.
He’s very closed off, but I respect that because not everyone should have all the pieces of you at once.
Standing, I hike up my dress and make my way home.
When I return, I find him out front in his car.
It’s been hours since he showed up at my apartment.
When I reach the car, I glance inside to find him asleep.
I knock on the window, and he slowly opens his eyes, locking them on me in an instant.
After a few breaths, I step back, and he opens the door and gets out.
“Where have you been?” he asks, and when I don’t respond, he steps closer and raises his hand to cup my jaw, causing my pulse to race. “Where have you been?” he repeats.
“Out.” I shake my head because I don’t want his hands on me. They make me feel things I shouldn’t want.
“Where?” He shoves his hands into his pockets.
“What does it matter?”
He glances down at my shoes.
“You don’t have your killing heels on, so I hope I don’t get a call about a body soon.” I hate that I told him that. Carrie was the only person who knew that fact about me.
“The day is just beginning,” I quip with a grin as I attempt to push down whatever feelings regarding him are trying to surface.
“Wrong heels,” he reminds me, and my heart stutters, betraying me.
“I can change.”
“I’m hungry. Come for a drive. Unless you ate?”
“I didn’t. Your party sucked.” I notice he’s still dressed in the same clothes from last night. He removes his jacket and puts it over my shoulders, getting too close for comfort.
“It did, and I still need to discuss something with you.”
“What is the hunt?” I blurt, remembering what Cressida said.
“Where did you hear that?”
“Marcus was talking about it on the phone that night. What is it?”
“Food first. Then we can talk.”
“Do you plan to kidnap me?”
“Only if you make it necessary.”
He walks around the car and opens the passenger door for me, and I get in. Once he settles back behind the wheel, he starts the engine and then pulls away from the curb.
We pass a few cafés, and I say nothing. That is, until he drives into a parking lot and parks right in the middle of it. Behind us is a large building, and in front of us is a river. The very same river I was looking out over not that long ago.
“This is not a café,” I deadpan.
He unbuckles his seat belt, then turns to me. “You cannot kill any more Forsaken members; do you understand?”
“What?”
“Everyone you met tonight is a part of a secret society.”
“Including you?” I ask.
“Yes, including me. Tell me you understand.”
“Why can’t I kill them?”
He huffs in frustration, then takes a deep breath, eyes closed, as if he’s gathering himself. His eyes open, and he locks them on me. “Do not kill any more members.”
“Why are we married?” I ask. “You tell me why we’re married, and I’ll answer you.”
He groans. “It was either marry you or kill you. Would you prefer I’d taken the other option? Because right now I’m contemplating it.”
“Why would you have to kill me?”
“Because what you did carries a sentence of death, not just by my rules, but the Forsaken’s as well.”
“You could have just let me go. And if someone worked it out—”
“If someone worked it out, trust me, a prison cell is not where you would end up.”
“Where would I end up?”
“Dead! As I said, you killed two members of the Forsaken Society, that I’m aware of at least.”
“I never confirmed two. You only know of one for certain.” I grin.
“Dynamite,” he grumbles.
“Fine, two,” I say with an eye roll.
“Thank you. Now, if the Forsaken had found out what you did, they would have done worse and then killed you.”
I lean in close to him. So close that I hear his intake of breath. “Want to know something interesting about me?” I ask, not waiting for an answer before I share, “I’m harder to kill than most.”
“I’m aware. I know about all your training. How skilled you are.”
“Thank you.” I preen.
“The Forsaken wants to hire you,” he tells me.
“What?”
“It seems a couple of members being murdered has upset everyone. So they want to hire an assassin to find the murderer and kill them.”
“So they plan to hire the killer to find the killer?” I can’t help but giggle, then I start laughing in earnest. “This is going to be fun.”
“Reject the contract.”
“No way. What if they hire someone else to try to find me?” I try to stop laughing but can’t. This must annoy him because he grips my jaw and turns my head so I’m facing him. “Reject it. I’ll handle it.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do. Obviously, you haven’t come to understand that yet,” I grit out. “And how is marrying me protecting me?”
His gaze bounces from my eyes to my lips, like he’s fighting some battle I’m unaware of.
“Wives are off-limits,” he says, giving me that little tidbit of information. Ohhh, that makes sense. But why would he want to save me?
“I can’t reject jobs. It doesn’t work like that. Carrie puts them through a lot of vetting before they even come to me.”
“Then tell Carrie to reject it,” he insists, his hand still on my face.
“I can’t; she’s in rehab, remember.”
“I’m sure she can find a way. If they find out it’s you…”
His words confuse me. Didn’t he just say I was protected?
He shakes his head, and before I can say another word, he leans forward and kisses me.
This time, he does it as if he’s testing the waters to see how I’ll react.
His hand is still gripping my face, holding me in place as I kiss him back.
I’m not sure what we are to each other, or what we will be, but I really do enjoy it when he kisses me.
I tell myself it’s just physical, that this is nothing more than that.
But as my breathing goes uneven, I can’t help but think I’m deceiving myself.
I grip his shirt tight as I open my mouth, and he takes the opportunity to slide his tongue inside so it can dance with mine, stealing my uneven breaths.
He breaks the kiss, unbuckles my seat belt, and has me straddling him in no time flat.
He pushes his seat back, shoves my dress up, and caresses my bare skin.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” I whisper.
He doesn’t speak, just stares at me with those eyes that I know see so much.
I reach down between us as he leans forward and starts kissing the side of my neck.
His tongue drags across my skin, like he’s tasting me, as I undo his zipper and his cock springs free.
It’s huge. I wrap my hand around it and start to stroke it, telling myself this is nothing more than sex.
He bites my neck, then sucks on it as I stifle a moan that wants to escape me. He slips a hand between my legs, discovering that I’m not wearing any panties. They didn’t go with my dress. He growls as his fingers slide through my folds and straight to my very wet pussy.
He rubs my clit, and it’s incredibly sensitive. I moan, and he pushes a finger inside me. I lean down and press my lips to his, and he kisses me back with possessiveness. I release his hard cock, then start to lower myself as he removes his fingers from me.
“Dynamite,” he whispers against my lips.
“Hmm?” I hum as I feel him at my entrance.
“This is going to change everything,” he says, but I’m too lost in the feel of it all. All I can do is nod as I take him inside my body. I don’t want to think of the ramifications of this, of how I think a part of me has already fallen.
He groans as he enters me. The fingers of one hand dig into my hip, while his other hand pulls my breast free so his mouth can cover my nipple.
He bites the hard, little peak, and I sink farther down on him, getting comfortable with how we fit together.
He fills so much of me, though, that I have to catch my breath before I can take more of him.
He releases my nipple as I start to ride his cock.
My hands go to his shoulders, and my nails dig in, holding on for support.
He pulls my head down so our mouths collide once again, and I kiss him back, not once breaking the rhythm of my movements. I feel the pressure building already, and it doesn’t help that he reaches down between us and touches my clit, rubbing it in slow circles, while his mouth devours mine.
So many things are happening to my body right now.
“That’s it, ride my fucking cock, Dynamite,” he says against my lips and then continues to kiss me. Fuck, I love the way he kisses. Even if my mind can’t concentrate fully on that because my pleasure is about to explode. “Don’t you stop,” he commands, pulling back from my lips.
He starts rocking me, and my head falls back, my hands finding his knees behind me.
My back hits the steering wheel as my hips keep moving.
I hear him mutter more words, but they’re lost on me as my body comes alive and my release soars through me.
I feel him everywhere as it does. My nipples are on fire from where he bit them.
My clit is sensitive, and I feel so fucking good.
He slows as I come down, rocking me ever so gently until I feel the warmth as he spills inside me. Straightening, I look down at him, and we just stare at one another.
“We’ll be doing that again,” he states after a few quiet seconds.
“Feed me,” I say, and try to climb off of him. He helps me back into my seat and then leans over and buckles me up. When that’s done, he puts his cock back in his pants and then starts the engine.
I can’t help but think, what have I done?