Page 23 of Within Shadows

“Knox.” My name is whimpered from her lips, and the sound is so sweet I nearly lose all sense.

She isn’t having a nightmare, not from the way she rolls her hips, breath coming in shallow pants as she moans.

My cock springs to life so quickly, I’m afraid I’ll knock both of us off the couch.

I remind myself that she needs her sleep, and waking her up to my face buried between her thighs might not do much in the trust department.

“Please, Knox. Don’t go.” Her face morphs from ecstasy to fear as she clings to me.

“I’ll never leave you, little muse,” I say, pressing my lips to her head as I seal my words with a kiss.

My phone chimes, an alert for the security cameras I have around the entire house, but I ignore it.

Nothing can take this moment from me—well, almost nothing.

The window behind me shatters, raining glass over us as I roll us onto the floor and shield Maeve with my body.

She startles awake and pushes against my chest in confusion.

“Knox? What the hell?” I don’t say anything as I quickly look her over for any serious injuries.

“Are you okay?” I ask, and she scrunches her brow but gives a tentative nod.

“Good, crawl to my room and lock the door behind you. There is a baseball bat next to the bed and a gun in the top drawer of the nightstand. Go hide, and don’t come out until I tell you.

” I raise up, using my arm to brush as much glass out of her path as I can, hardly noticing the stinging cuts as I peer through the broken window.

Maeve is still looking around, putting the pieces together too slowly for my sanity.

“Thalia, now. Go. ” I nearly growl the words, but it does the trick, and she quickly crawls away, only glancing back at me as she gets to the door.

I force myself to look away, finally taking a breath when I hear the click of the door closing and the lock sliding in place.

I snatch my phone and turn the brightness down, peering at the cameras.

How long has that prick been hiding out there?

A familiar, red car is parked out front, and rage clouds all logical thought as I launch to my feet.

Oliver is a thorn in my side, and I’ve had enough of his existence.

I stop at the front door and rummage in my jacket, pulling the small handgun out as I intently watch my screen.

I can see the shadows shift next to the car and snort at how obvious he is.

Slipping through the house, I keep low to avoid being seen through the window until I duck through the back door.

While pulling my hood up, I click off the safety on my gun and stop at the side of my house to take a deep breath.

With the tap of my phone screen, I activate the floodlights across the front of my house and sprint into the trees along the fence line of my property.

Just as I expected, Oliver is scrambling to hide in his car, and the engine rumbles to life.

Steadying my aim, I peer down the barrel as his car recklessly tears down the road in front of me and squeeze the trigger.

Glass explodes as the driver's side window shatters and the car violently swerves but continues down the street, and I curse under my breath.

“Knox!” Maeve hisses, peering around the back of the house as she waves her arm to get my attention. She really has no self-preservation whatsoever and is actively shaving years off of my life. I jog up to her and grab her upper arm, wrenching her back inside before I lock the door behind us.

“I told you to stay hidden until I came to get you.” My tone is sharp until I see the gun in her trembling hand and the baseball bat in the other.

I shake my head as I gently take the gun from her and realize the safety is still on.

Before arming her, I should have made sure she could use the damn thing, but I didn’t exactly have time for that.

Maeve grabs the front of my shirt and jerks me from side to side, eyes roaming over every inch.

“What are you doing?” I raise a brow, and she throws her hand out, motioning to the front lawn.

“I heard gunshots, Knox. How could I just fucking hide under the bed with you out there getting turned to Swiss cheese?” Her voice rises and cheeks turn pink as she tries to hold my stare.

I lean close, gripping the countertop on each side of her to pin her in place with a grin.

“Were you worried about me, muse?” I tilt my head and watch as she tries to look angry, but I can see the way her eyes shimmer.

Maeve was genuinely afraid for my safety.

I grip her chin and force her head back.

“Never put yourself in danger for my sake ever again. Do you understand me?” I ask, eyes flicking between hers.

Maeve tries to slap my hand away, but I snatch her wrist and spin her, pressing her hips into the counter as I grind against her ass.

I keep my hand firmly pressed to her throat until she has to bow her back.

“No, I don’t understand.” Her voice is confident as she spits the words, but she trembles against me. A cold gust of air rushes across us, and I peer into the living room.

“I need to board that window up. Can you stay out of danger until I’m finished with that, at least?

” I ask, kissing the soft skin beneath her jaw and relishing the way her breath catches in her throat.

Swinging my hand down, I swat her on the ass hard enough that she lurches forward.

The soft little moan that slips from her doesn’t go unnoticed as she huffs, giving me a heated glare from the side of her eye.