Page 30 of The Maverick (WaterFyre Rising #7)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

ATTIKUS

I sat inside my office, staring at my computer and wondering what Vanessa was doing. Was she asleep or unpacking?

Today had revealed a lot of profound things. So many emotions packed into one day didn’t serve me well.

My meeting with Detective Farmer had placed me in a sour mood. The research into Ashton Lindor had become complicated. How was he linked to my high school principal?

Despite the stress tugging at me, when I got home and found Vanessa waiting for me in my kitchen, it did something to me. Her presence changed the energy in my home and transformed everything around me.

It was as though she brought a fresh perspective that illuminated my portrait in a new light.

Picking up a pencil, I twirled it around my finger and grinned, remembering what I’d overheard when I went to her suite after I took Detective Farmer’s call. I wanted to inform her I’d be out, but then I heard her mention me to someone.

Anyone would pause and listen if they heard themselves mentioned in a conversation, right? It was a natural reaction. Though she had closed the door, I could hear her perfectly. I hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help it when she admitted her attraction to me.

After I heard that, I walked away with a smile and a plan forming in my head. What would it take for her to admit she wanted me?

I loved the way she blushed, trying to hide her attraction.

You have a contract with her. Respect it.

But I wanted her to break a rule. When that happened, I’d propose something else to her.

A strange sensation overcame my body. It was something I hadn’t felt in years—not since that day when hope became a tiny ember in the ashes.

Tingles rushed down my fingers as I held the pencil. The desire to sketch coursed through me. My right hand shook from this profound revelation. This was the new beginning I hadn’t thought was possible.

I took out a new sketchbook and pressed the pencil to the paper. Magic occurred, and I immersed myself in that bubble. Two hours later, I stared at Vanessa’s beautiful face.

She had inspired me to sketch again.