Page 95

31

Blaise

When we arrive at Cillian’s estate, ending our time at the party promptly after my disastrous and short interaction with my husband, Cillian congratulates me and Hale on our engagement, but never once questioned me about my pending divorce from Maddox.

After news broke of my kidnapper’s confession, news of my divorce from Maddox circulated on various news sites as well as trending on social media. Cillian would have to be somewhere without service in order to have missed the breaking news.

Does he hate Maddox that much?

What’s worse is he’s set us up in the guesthouse that’s on his estate. The place has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. We’ve been living in the guesthouse on Cillian’s estate for a week now. I hide from the media storm. For Hale, it’s business as usual.

At night, I lock my bedroom door. Hale, for now, leaves me alone. He conducts business for Cillian during the day. On some nights, he pulls extra shifts as a bouncer at Cillian’s nightclub, the Venus. It’s on one of those nights that a visitor pays me an unexpected visit.

There’s a knock on my window. I stop reading, and holding my breath, I listen again. Another knock. I set the romance book down. Reading is my escape. Otherwise, I’ll bawl my eyes out, replaying in my head my time with Maddox and how badly it ended.

I exhale softly and wait for more knocking. Or some other noise. Nothing. Irked, I gather my satin robe around my nakedness and pad to the window with an aluminum bat in my hand, courtesy of Granger. He dropped by with the large package yesterday for in case I have unwanted visitors. This knocking at my window counts.

Who the hell is knocking on the second-floor bedroom window? Why didn’t they ring the doorbell?

Standing off to the side, I free the latch on the lock and lift the window, giving the person room to climb inside. I lift the bat over my head. Am ready to slam it down across the person’s shoulders, when the person lifts his head and I’m staring into the most beautiful blue-green eyes.

“Maddox, what the hell are you doing here?” I put the bat down.

“Shh.” He places his finger over my lip.

My insides quiver from his nearness. I long to lick his finger like a lollipop. Take the length in my mouth and suck and suck until he groans and demands I go down on him before he goes down on me. After he makes me come, he’ll slide his length and thickness inside my heat and make me come while kissing me breathless. Except, he doesn’t want me. He told the world that.

I step back, away from his reach and his heat. He drops his hand to his side.

“No one’s here except me. Why didn’t you ring the doorbell?”

“Didn’t want to show up on the security cameras.”

“You snuck into Cillian’s place? He’ll kill you.”

“Good. I might as well be dead if I can’t have you with me. I’ve been miserable this past week, baby.”

“And drinking way too much. You reek.”

“I haven’t showered either, babe.”

He’s slurring his words. He stinks to high heaven. But what sticks out is he misses me as much as I’ve missed him.

“Maddox, why are you here?” I sit on the bed. He takes a spot next to me. Scrubs his palm over his face. He hasn’t shaved either, and my girl parts are singing at seeing his unshaved face. Goodness, he’s sexy as hell.

“I came for the truth after a shit ton of thinking on my part. You see, when Kris left me, I conceded to her wish that I not contact or follow her to Massachusetts. I thought conceding and compromising was my road to heartache. It’s not. What I did was give up. Did a disservice to myself when I didn’t demand an answer. How can anyone have closure when the answers are kept from them? I love you, Blaise, and refuse to give up on you unless you don’t love me back.”

“How can you say that when you’re still in love with that Kris woman? When you spend the night with Evie?”

“Wait, what? What gives you that idea?”

“Hale showed me a picture of you at the diner with your first love. Said you stayed at the same hotel Evie was at when she was in town.”

“Shit.” He rests his elbows on his knees and holds his head in his palms. “I had agreed to meet Kris thinking you would be okay with it. You told me to get my closure. I got my answer, Blaise. My father paid for her graduate degree in exchange for breaking things off with me. He told her love was a distraction I didn’t need. What I needed was to make loads of money.”

“Oh, Maddox, I’m so sorry.” I comfort him the best I can. I slip off my glove and interlace our fingers.

“I should’ve run the plan to see her by you first. I’m sorry. As for Evie, yes, I stayed at the same hotel as she, but in a different room. Nothing happened. I walked her to her room, then went to mine. I couldn’t go home knowing you weren’t there, Blaise. I missed you, babe.” He looks up at me with earnestness in his eyes. “Do you believe me?”