Page 25 of Within Shadows

Knox

A chill across my legs has me reaching out, searching for the blankets, but I find something so much better.

My hand lands on a soft, beckoning mound of flesh.

Maeve’s quiet snores falter as she moans, grinding against me while I grip her ass.

She’s nearly naked, lying completely on top of me, and my rock hard dick is nestled right between her thighs with just a shirt.

She is more tempting than a glass of water to someone on the brink of dehydration, but I am a man of my word.

Before I can untangle myself, she stirs, rubbing her eyes, and I slow my breathing, pretending to still be asleep as she lifts up.

I peer through the slit in my eyelids as she wipes a hand over her mouth; every movement has her rubbing against me, and my cock didn’t get the memo that we are supposed to be asleep.

She slowly peels herself away and stares at the bulge that I’m dying to bury inside of her.

Her eyes nervously flick to my face, and she watches carefully as her hand inches between her legs.

She slowly moves her hand, mixed with the way she pants and biting her lip to stay silent, makes my cock jerk.

She sucks in a quiet breath, moving to twirl her fingers around her clit, and I wait, watching as she draws closer to the one thing she needs.

The way she tenses next to me while biting back those sweet sounds is unbearable.

I launch myself sideways, ripping her hand from between her thighs and pinning it to the bed next to her head.

Maeve lets out a startled shriek; wide eyes lock onto my face as she catches her breath. Even now, with flushed cheeks and messy hair, she is the most stunning woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.

“What is wrong with you?” she bites out, mouth pursed in irritation. I lean close, brushing my lips along her cheek as I keep moving until I wrap my lips around her wet fingers. Maeve gasps softly, shivering as I savor the taste of her, pulling back once I’ve licked her fingers clean.

“You are divine, muse. I’m a man blessed to bow at the feet of a beautiful woman. What could be wrong with that?” I ask, raising a brow. She rolls her eyes, but I notice the way her lips curl.

“That was cheesy, even for you.” She tries tugging her hands free from my grip.

“Trying to escape me again?” I brush my nose against hers, relishing in the way our breath mingles in the inch separating our lips.

“I need to use the bathroom,” she admits sheepishly. I sigh, sitting back on my heels. Before she can escape, I clasp a hand over her pussy, grinding my heel against her sensitive clit to draw a gasp from her.

“That’s a sound I’ll never get tired of hearing.

” Reluctantly I withdraw my hand, motioning that she is free.

Maeve nearly tumbles from the bed as she scurries out of the room, and I happily watch her ass bounce with each step.

This woman owns me; I would rip my heart from my chest and lay it in her palm if she asked me to.

I check my phone while waiting and see a text from Al, and my jaw aches with how tightly I clench my teeth.

Al: Checked her house like you asked. Power was cut, cameras are offline, and somebody is parked nearby watching. Her cat is locked in your room, he already used our couch as a scratching post.

I was afraid Oliver wasn’t done yet, and I was right.

He’s ramping up the antics and getting bolder, which makes him less rational and more dangerous to Maeve.

I asked Al to swing by and check out her house last night and to grab her cat just to be safe.

I wouldn’t put animal cruelty beyond Oliver’s capabilities, and I won’t risk it.

Maeve won’t be going home anytime soon, and staying here doesn’t feel safe anymore.

Maeve is fuming in the front seat, arms crossed as we drive out of town. I’m only half paying attention to her under-the-breath grumbling as my eyes flick to the rearview mirror. A discreet black car is still there, far enough back to avoid suspicion but still following every turn we make.

“I can’t just stay in your clothes all the time, Knox.

I need my stuff.” Maeve tries a gentle approach this time, less demanding than the last twenty attempts for me to take her home.

My mind is racing through a dozen options of how to lose whoever is tailing me without scaring Maeve.

I dig my phone from my pocket and hand it to her.

She takes it and stares at it like I’ve just handed her a potentially explosive device.

I roll my eyes and push it closer to her.

“The passcode is your birthday.” Maeve snorts a laugh but types it in.

“Coming on a little strong there, big guy,” she mutters. I smirk but keep my mouth shut, choosing not to profess my undying love for her in that moment. Part of me is very curious what she thinks of the baby names I’ve got in mind for when we have our own perfect little blend of the two of us.

“What am I looking for?” she asks, hesitant to snoop.

“My emails.” I wait patiently, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel as I speed up and swerve through traffic, trying to lose the tail behind us.

“You have an online shopping addiction, obviously. Somehow I’m not surprised. Wait, what the hell?” Maeve swipes through, finally catching on.

“Did you buy stuff from my wishlists? Knox, how much did you spend? And when did you go through my phone?” Her voice slowly rises, and I struggle to bite back my smile.

“You sleep like the dead. Even with a masked man leaning over your bed, you snore so sweetly and softly. It’s cute and mildly alarming.

Wrapped in my arms, nothing could wake you.

I just wanted to spoil you, to be honest, but it worked out.

So you only have to struggle through wearing my clothes for one more day.

” I flick my gaze to the rearview as a disgruntled driver lays on their horn, waving their hand as the black car cuts them off.

The man following us is close enough that I can see him, making out a blur of his features.

Maeve cranes her neck, looking into the rearview mirror.

“People drive like idiots on the freeway,” she says absently.

Tension is rippling through me as I switch lanes again, barely squeezing between a truck and compact car.

The little car taps their horn at me, but I don’t give them another thought as the black car pulls up next to us.

“That was a little close, don’t you think?

” she huffs, gripping the door. “We need to have a conversation about boundaries; don’t think I’m just letting this slide. ”

Maeve looks out her window and turns back to me, phone in hand, but stops, her head snapping back to look out the window.

A man in his forties is staring at us, and Maeve hisses a breath between her teeth in recognition.

His dark brown hair is speckled with gray and tugs at something in my memories.

Maeve sinks back into the seat but doesn’t look away, knuckles turning white from how tightly she holds my phone in her hand. The truck in front of me switches lanes, and I slam my foot down, lurching the car forward as fast as I can safely weave us through traffic.

“Stop speeding, Knox,” Maeve whispers, and I lean closer to hear her, pulling my foot off the pedal by an inch. “That black car, has it been following us?” Her voice is thick, and it sets me on edge to know that whoever this is, she’s afraid of them.

I open my mouth to answer her, but the flash of lights followed by a shrill siren cuts behind me. Maeve shakes her head, breathing faster as she turns to me.

“That’s the little worm's father, isn’t it?

” I ask, the steering wheel creaking from how tightly I clench my fist around it.

Maeve nods, not even questioning how I know so much.

I glance at the car behind me and run through our options.

This is no coincidence, Oliver has obviously run crying to daddy that he’s not getting his way.

Covering up for his pathetic son is one thing, but to hunt us down?

My time frame for dealing with them is getting slimmer.

“I can try to lose him or pull over,” I say out loud, letting Maeve decide. She takes a shuddering breath, shaking her head as if to clear it.

“Pull over. He would have everyone under his orders after us.” She closes her eyes, obviously trying to calm her nerves.

I reach over the console, taking her hand in mine and give it a comforting squeeze.

She’s exactly right, and I slam on my brakes a little harder than necessary while pulling off to the side, smirking as I watch him curse as his tires squeal.

“These brakes are a little testy,” I say to Maeve, winking when she looks at me.

The fear in her eyes is different than the one I draw from her.

Even in the woods, before she knew who I was, that fear was mingled with excitement.

My chest tightens as I hold her gaze until a knock on my window makes her jump.

“You’re okay, just trust me.” I press a kiss to her hand, keeping our fingers laced tightly as I lazily drag my gaze to the pissed off detective standing at my window. Rolling it down halfway, I tilt my head and raise a brow.

“Behind on quota, officer?” I ask, taking satisfaction in the way his face reddens.

“Why don’t you step out of the car?” he suggests, leaning closer to peer in at Maeve. I sit forward, stretching as I block his view and yawn.

“Why don’t we start with you telling me why you pulled me over?” I fire back. He frowns, glaring at me as he crosses his arms. The attempt at intimidation is almost funny. Almost .

“Speeding, not maintaining a safe distance, and a list of reckless driving maneuvers. But above that,” he leans down, resting his arms on my window.

Maeve physically recoils, and my lip curls in disgust. “Oliver said he’s been having some problems lately, Maeve.

You don’t know anything about that, do you?

Seems like you’ve been busy. Someone who looks eerily similar to you was at a haunted house recently, and the darndest thing happened.

” He pauses, obviously waiting for Maeve to take the bait.

“What?” she grits out, still pressed against her seat like she’s trying to sink into it.

“A scare actor was murdered. Do you know anything about that?” he asks. Well, that’s a pain in the ass. Maeve’s eyes widen for a split second, shock registering before she cools her features and a glazed look slips over her features.

“That’s really unfortunate, but I didn’t see anything.” She holds his stare. I have to bite back my smile, my girl is clever with her words. This obviously pisses him off, but he does a decent job of shaking it off.

“Officer…?” I pause.

“Crew Haldon. Detective Haldon, to be exact.” He proudly flashes his badge and I raise a brow, completely unimpressed.

“Wow, your parents didn’t try at all with that name, did they?

Well, Detective Hard-On, if you’re going to write a ticket, you should probably jump on that.

” I nod, motioning for him to back away.

His cheeks redden and his chest puffs with irritation as he stands there, trying to come up with a decent reason to rip me from this car and throw me into the back of his.

Haldon points a crooked finger at me, shaking slightly.

“License, registration, and proof of your insurance, you snide little shit.” His attempt at intimidation almost has me laughing.

I pop the glove box open and motion for Maeve to hand me the envelope inside.

I toss it through the window and snicker as Haldon struggles to catch it before he stomps away.

“Are you trying to make him arrest you?” Maeve hisses, leaning closer with wide eyes.

“No, I’m trying to get under his skin and make him react irrationally,” I say, shrugging as she stares at me with a look of fear mixed with irritation.

Maeve snaps her mouth shut as she sits back, watching the rearview mirror to keep an eye on Haldon.

After a few minutes pass, he walks up with a triumphant smile and thrusts my papers through the window, dumping the contents onto my lap.

“I’m letting you off with a warning, but you’re in our system, and I’ll be keeping an eye on you.” With that, Haldon turns and struts away with his head held high.

“Knox, what address does your I.D. have?” Maeve is tense as she asks. I give her a sidelong glance and, without answering, pull out onto the road again once there is an opening. Haldon already had his phone pressed to his ear, glaring after us.

“The funeral home a few miles outside of town.” I grin, tapping my finger on the plastic license that I pass to her. It has a fake last name and address, and Maeve frowns while staring at it.

“But wouldn’t it show up as a fake when he ran your information?”

“He was just looking for my address, which also happens to match on the false insurance cards and registration I gave him. You wound me, muse. You doubt my ability to think ahead?” I ask, shoving the papers back into the glovebox before I take her hand in mine again.

The warmth of her hand in mine relaxes me, and I bring her hand to my lips so I can kiss her.

“You really are just a big softie.” Her soft snort makes me raise a brow.

“Remember your words when I have you bent over my knee, edging you until you can’t stand, only to leave you begging for my cock.” I squeeze her hand, relishing the way she squirms in her seat.