Page 34 of I Found You (Wilder #1)

Maeve

Jane was babbling away in my back seat as we traveled to the other side of town.

She was fully recovered from her bout with viral meningitis and was full of energy and giggles.

It made my heart swell with how happy she looked, but even her precious baby cuddles and sense of wonder couldn’t completely pull me out of this funk I was in.

It had been four days since I last talked to Wyatt, that night, other than a few quick texts.

I was successfully ignoring his calls and texts until he said that he was coming by to check on Jane.

I shot him a picture of her and a quick update that she was getting better.

Then I told him I needed a little time. I even asked Jackson to watch Jane for a bit so I could meet Josie for coffee.

Jackson had told me about the garage break-in.

I couldn’t imagine how upset he must have been.

It was killing me to not be there for him, but it was going to kill me to hear him say that we were a mistake too.

I had put it off long enough though, and honestly, I missed him more than I would have thought possible.

Which was why I was on my way to see him at work now.

I could have called him or texted him, but I needed to see him. Even if it was just one more time.

Pulling into the parking lot out front, I sat in my car for a few minutes while I recited to myself everything I wanted to say to him.

We don’t need to make a big deal out of it.

It was just a onetime thing.

Don’t even worry about it. I completely understand that you don’t think of me like that. That I’m not your type.

We’re still friends, right? Hug it out — No, don’t hug it out. That would put him too close to me. Maybe just shake on it?

Ugh.

I ran my sweaty hands over my bare thighs.

My light pink dress had a sweetheart neckline, and the bodice was tight-fitting until it reached my waist, where it flared out in a full skirt.

I loved dresses with full skirts like this.

They made me feel like a princess when I twirled in them.

Feeling pretty always gave me a confidence boost, and right now, it was badly needed.

My phone dinged with a new message in the cup holder, where I stored it while I was driving. Good, something to distract me for another few seconds before I had to get out of the car. I unlocked the phone, and my stomach dipped.

Wyatt: How long are you planning on sitting in your car?

I huffed out a breath, and because my hands were jittery, I ran them through my hair, making sure everything was in place. Time to face the music.

Jane was all smiles as I took her from the back seat. I didn’t have my carrier with me, so I sat her on my hip like the big girl she was growing into and made my way into the garage .

The fluorescent lighting was harsh, and the smells of oil or grease or something that was distinctly car related permeated the air.

The place was spotless, the floors gleaming with a fresh coat of paint and the bays empty except for Jackson’s truck.

Both guys were there, Jackson on the ground under the vehicle, just his legs showing, Wyatt bent over the hood.

His head snapped up at the sound of the metal door closing.

He straightened, his broad chest rising and falling with his every breath. And with every one of his breaths, he stole mine away. His black T-shirt was pulled taut to him, making his arms look like they were going to bust it open.

“Don’t mind me. I’ll just stay right here, where I don’t have to watch you two awkwardly eye fuck each other,” Jackson said. I hadn’t even seen him get out from under the truck, but now he was on the ground again, going right back under.

Wyatt kicked his foot as he started to make his way toward me. “So, you made it inside, I see,” Wyatt said.

“I did. Can I talk to you for a minute?”

His eyes darkened, and he opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but instead, he closed his mouth and nodded his head once, gesturing to the small office space on the left.

I opened the office door and stopped in my tracks. It was completely destroyed. Papers were strewn about everywhere. The computer monitor was smashed on the floor. The filing cabinet was tilted forward; the only thing stopping it from tipping over was the chair.

Wyatt came in front of me quickly. “Yeah. I haven’t gotten around to cleaning up in here yet.

After spending days cleaning the garage, I needed a break before I started on this mess.

” He moved around the space efficiently, righting the cabinet and making a space for me to sit in the chair.

He stomped on the paperwork without a care in the world, so I did the same, acting like they weren’t even there.

He sat on the desk, looking devilishly hot, and stared down at me. I knew it was up to me to start this—I was the one who came to him. I think the expectation was that I would talk, but I couldn’t form a single coherent thought now that I was in front of him.

Just as I opened my mouth to start, Wyatt leaned forward and plucked Jane from my hands. Holding her in front of him, he whispered to her, “Hey, beautiful girl, I’ve missed you.” He kissed her on the nose and settled her onto his lap. He looked lighter, happier, with her in his arms.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said just as I said, “I’m so sorry, Wyatt.”

“Why are you sorry? I’m the one that’s sorry,” he said.

“Oh my goodness, Wyatt. You have nothing to be sorry about. I never should have jumped you like that. You were drunk, and I basically mauled you. I feel so awful.” My eyes were wet with emotion. I was trying so hard to hold it together. “I know it doesn’t mean anything to you—”

He stopped me, fire blazing in his eyes.

“I was not drunk, Maeve. I knew exactly what I was doing. I wanted to. I wanted you. And I thought you wanted it too. I never would have touched you if I didn’t think you wanted me to.

You have to know that, Maeve. I had a nice buzz, enough that I knew I shouldn’t drive, but it doesn’t matter how much I drink, there is never going to be a moment that I put my hands on someone who doesn’t want it.

I have no idea what happened afterwards, but I truly thought you wanted it too. ”

“I did want to. I’ve wanted you for so long, Wyatt.

But you can’t tell me if the situation was reversed that you would have let us go there.

If I was the one drunk and you were sober.

You know you wouldn’t. I never should have done that to you.

” Tears were streaming down my face as I made my apology to him.

I buried my face in my hands as a sob racked my body.

“Look at me, doll.” His voice held a command that my body reacted to on instinct. I pulled my tear-streaked face up to meet his. “What, on God’s green earth, would make you think I didn’t want to fuck you up against that wall?”

I shrugged my shoulder, too embarrassed to confess my insecurities to a man like him. He was so beautiful. He’d probably never had a single moment of insecurity in his entire life.

“Not good enough, Maeve,” he said, staring down at me. His face was a thundercloud of emotions. I couldn’t tell if he was hurt, concerned, or angry. Maybe all three. “What happened the other night?”

“You never took my clothes off. Like you didn’t want to see what you were having sex with,” I confessed quietly, my eyes trained on my hands in my lap.

I felt his fingers softly trail through my hair by my ear before he gripped the back of my head and pulled it toward his.

He moved to kneel beside me, Jane held against his chest. Her little fingers were grasping at his hair.

I tried to focus my attention there rather than look him in the eye, but he wasn’t going to let me off the hook that easily.

With his hand still holding the back of my head, he tilted it, angling it to right where he wanted me.

My body was like putty in his hands, following wherever he would lead.

“I would strip you bare and fuck you again right here in my office. You are stunning. Thinking about those thick thighs wrapped around my head or your full tits bouncing as you ride my cock, my fingers gripping your every curve, has me losing my mind. I lost control the other night, not because I had too much to drink but because having my dick inside of you was fucking ecstasy.”

“Oh, wow,” I said stupidly.

“Yeah, doll. It would absolutely wow you, of that I have no doubt.” His smirk was back as he shamelessly looked me up and down.

His eyes paused on my chest, and his jaw ticked.

The playfulness in his voice from a second ago was gone when he met my eyes and asked, “What else?” He must have seen the confusion on my face because he asked again, “What else made you run from me?”

“Can we not talk about this anymore? I’m sorry I freaked out.”

“No, Maeve. This is important. If I made you feel like you were in any way undesirable or if…” He paused. His Adam’s apple bobbed on a rough swallow, captivating me. “If I took something you didn’t intend to give, then I need to know.”

“You didn’t, Wyatt. Please don’t feel like you did anything wrong,” I rushed to say.

“It was all just a lot, I guess. And before I had a second to think, I was bleeding, and I freaked out. I thought you would think I was pathetic because I don’t have a whole lot of experience, but sometimes that just happens with me.

” I wasn’t used to being this honest with someone, especially not about something so personal.

But talking to Wyatt was always so easy.

Wyatt leaned his body into mine, his eyes bright as they searched my face. “Maeve, I like you. A lot. Will you please stop ignoring me and let me in again?”

I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I settled on nodding. His hand was in my hair again, pulling my face to his .

“Are you going to kiss me?” I asked.

“Do you want me to?”

“Yes,” I sighed. His lips crashed into mine urgently.

He was pure fire as he expertly claimed my mouth.

He tilted his head so the brim of his hat wouldn’t be in the way.

I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth and was rewarded with a throaty groan.

My hands moved of their own accord, one hand in the center of his chest, the other winding over his broad shoulder, trailing down his muscular back.

A sharp pain lanced my head and pulled me away from our kiss. Jane was holding my hair hostage in her tiny little fingers. Tugging on the hair she held in a death grip, I had to move my head toward her so that it would provide some slack.

Chuckling, Wyatt carefully loosened her fingers and freed my head. “Baby girl, let go of Maeve’s hair. We’ll find something for you to practice your motor skills on.”

“We should get back out there. I don’t want to give Jackson the wrong idea about what we’re up to in here,” I told him.

“I want to give him the right idea.” Wyatt winked, a sultry smile playing on his lips.

I hopped to my feet and made swiftly for the door. Wyatt followed me out with his hand on the small of my back. I loved when he touched me, when he looked at me like he wanted to devour me. But internally, I was freaking out whenever things started to get physical. What was wrong with me?

A loud ringtone started blaring from the workbench. Wyatt made his way over there to retrieve it, pausing to pass Jane back to me. He answered it on speakerphone, and I could hear his friend Wes on the other end of the line.

“I know who broke into your garage,” Wes said by way of greeting .

“What have you got? Are you sure?” Wyatt asked him.

“Two men, one twenty, the other nineteen. The twenty-year-old is Samuel Costa. Lives at 45 Derry Hill Rd., apartment 412, with his parents, no job. He’s older, but my guess is he isn’t the leader here. That would be our nineteen-year-old friend, Trevor Myers, goes by Trey to his friends.”

Jackson was standing stock-still while he listened to Wes’s intel. He closed his eyes tight and let out a quiet “Fuck” when Wes named the perpetrator.

“He also lives at 45 Derry Hill Rd., apartment 227, with his mother and younger brother. He drives a 2013 black Honda Accord. The same Honda Accord that was seen leaving your garage late Monday,” Wes finished.

Wyatt was looking directly at Jackson, and I knew why.

Jackson had been hanging around with those two for ages.

They were trouble; I’d warned him of that, but he wouldn’t listen.

That apartment complex was a magnet for ne’er-do-wells.

I would know. It was where my mother ended up, where she left us, where Jackson still lived. Apartment 204.

“Thanks, brother. I appreciate you finding out all of this.”

“Of course. How do you want to handle it?” Wes asked.

“I want my tools and equipment back, if they still have it. I’ll get them here.” Wyatt was staring lasers at Jackson, but he quirked his brow up at his last statement in a silent question. Jackson nodded back to him, a grim expression on his face.

“You tell me when. I’ll be there,” Wes said over the phone. “And Wyatt.” He waited for confirmation to continue. “That isn’t a request.” At that, the line disconnected.

The tension in the garage was thick, almost to the point of oppressive.

No one was speaking. The silence was deafening.

At least it was until Jane squawked loudly, gripping my hair as she was known to do lately, and then I squawked loudly.

Wyatt turned to face us, chuckling softly, his eyes no longer holding the fury they did a moment ago.

Instead, they were soft and full of affection.

For Jane and for me. It was a beauty to behold.

He dug into a bucket under his workbench and pulled out a rag. Crumbling it into a ball, he took out another rag, wrapped it around the now balled-up rag, and tied it with an elastic. On the wrapped ball part, he drew two small circles and a lopsided curved line in permanent marker.

“Hey, baby girl, how about you practice your grip strength on this instead of Maeve’s hair, okay?”

She immediately grabbed it in her chubby little fingers. Her very own homemade doll from Wyatt. She went to put it in her mouth, but I stopped her before she could. “No, no, not in your mouth,” I told her. Not that she ever listened, but I had to try.

“They’re clean. I always keep a bucket of clean rags around. I wouldn’t give her anything she couldn’t put in her mouth,” Wyatt said. He moved on to talk to Jackson, but the next time Jane went to eat her new toy, I let her.