Page 28 of Within Shadows

Knox

My eyes fly open, and I nearly lurch from the bed; the only thing that stops me is the woman sleeping on my chest. I can still hear her scream from my nightmare, echoing in my ears with every panicked heartbeat.

Oliver had her and stabbed her over and over as I was forced to watch the life bleed from her.

My stomach rolls as the memory from my dream replays a nauseating amount of times.

Maeve shifts, face scrunching in her sleep as she rolls away, and I watch every slow breath she takes.

Forcing myself out of bed, I tug on a pair of sweats, taking one last look back at her before I leave. Al is sitting at the breakfast nook, glaring at me over his cup of coffee as I walk past. He usually has a case of resting bitch face, but this is somehow worse.

“Problem?” I ask, pouring Maeve and I each a cup of coffee.

“You fuck like wild animals, run around without pants on, abandon the cat, and ask if I have a problem?” he huffs, and I wave a hand at the pants I’m very obviously wearing now. And the cat curled up happily on the couch in the living room.

“Jess wasn’t here last night, so you’re pissy with me because you didn’t get laid?

At least you didn’t sleep alone.” I shake my head, hiding my smile as I sip my coffee and pull out eggs to fry up for breakfast. I load the toaster as I wait for the pan to heat and turn, giving Al my attention.

He looks almost defeated beneath the anger.

“Somebody told her about Jasmine.” The cold, dejected tone he uses is something I’m familiar with when she is brought up.

Jasmine was Al’s fiancée, at one time. Before she tried to kill him when he caught her cheating and dumped her.

She wrecked his car with both of them in it, but Al was the only one to survive the crash.

“So?” I ask, waiting for him to continue. He rubs a hand over his head before resting his chin on his folded hands.

“They told Jess that I killed Jasmine, and because I had never told her about the whole thing, she thought there was more that I could be hiding or lying about.” Al is hurting, and seeing Maeve forgive me so easily only rubbed salt in the wound.

I crack open a few eggs, careful not to drop shells into the bowl as I watch him from the corner of my eye.

I spent countless hours in a hospital chair, watching Al fight for his life, only to see him relive that night over and over again.

It almost broke him, and now somebody has dug up dirt on him and told Jess, for what reason?

“Who told her?” I ask.

“No clue. Doesn’t matter, it wasn’t me. But I should’ve told her.” He shrugs, leaning back to stare down at the scars on his arms.

“Yet you were riding my ass about hiding things from Maeve, somebody was projecting,” I mutter, and Al groans, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Is she always super jumpy? Should I start wearing a helmet?” Al changes the subject, and I shake my head.

“Not normally, I think she was just on edge being in a new place.” But it felt like something more.

She pulled the curtains shut in my room and asked me to make sure the doors were locked more than once.

Had she seen something that we didn’t? Or did Detective Hard-On get in her head?

The sound of my bedroom door opening cuts through my thoughts, and I turn, a smile tugging my lips as I watch Maeve shuffle out, rubbing her eyes with a sleepy yawn.

“Go talk to Jess in person and explain everything,” I say quietly, holding my arm out as Maeve walks up to me. She leans into my embrace, wrapping her arms around my waist and burying her face in my chest.

“Good morning, gorgeous,” I say, kissing the top of her head and offering a cup of coffee to her. She moans, taking the cup in her cold hands.

“I think I love you,” she breathes the words and freezes, both of us holding our breath.

“Thank you,” she stammers, turning on her heel and plopping down across from Al. He regards her, looking over her arm, and lets out a soft sigh in relief. He was feeling bad about grabbing her, but I was grateful that he saved her from getting more glass in her feet.

She glances out the window in the kitchen again, biting her lip before she starts drinking her coffee, and I frown but let it go when the toast pops up.

Atticus trots in, hopping into her lap as he lets out a yawn.

I plate enough breakfast for the three of us and sit next to Maeve, sliding her up to me and draping one of her legs over mine.

Atticus stretches out, happily accepting the extra lap space.

Maeve huffs, but I see the smile she tries to hide, and Al looks like he wants to stick his fork in my hand when I wrap my arm around her.

We eat in relative silence until Al’s phone rings, and he nearly flips the entire booth, leaping up and racing for the door.

Maeve gives me a questioning look, but I just shrug it off and gather our empty plates.

While rinsing the plates and loading the dishwasher, Maeve tries to creep up behind me.

I peer over my shoulder, raising a brow at her, and she wraps her arms around me, propping her chin on my back with a shy smile.

Trying to focus on dishes with her cute face pressed to my back is difficult, especially when all I can think about is bending her over the counter and—

“Ouch,” I grunt, frowning back at her, but she doesn’t look up. She stops biting me and prances off without a damn care in the world. I kick the dishwasher shut and lean against the counter, clearing my throat.

“Oh, muse,” I call out, stopping her in her tracks.

“You should start running.” That’s all the warning she gets before my feet pound across the floor and I chase after her.

Maeve squeals, running straight for my room and tries to shut the door, but I’m faster than she expected and barrel through it.

The impact causes her to trip backwards, and I lunge forward, wrapping my arm around her waist and catching her.

She’s breathing hard, and even with the wide-eyed look on her face, she’s still smiling.

That smile, the one that she saves for me, is the most beautiful sight in the universe.

I settle her on her feet and cradle her face in my hands, kissing her softly.

My phone chimes as a bell rings from the house, and I groan.

“Is somebody at the door?” Maeve steps closer, her hands resting on my sides.

I wrap an arm around her as I pull out my phone and show her the camera at the gate.

The screen shows a driver, tapping his foot as he stares through the bars of our fence.

I tap a button on the screen, and the gates swing open as I stroll to the front door.

Maeve is sitting on the floor, staring wide-eyed at the small pile of lace panties. I ordered her all different styles, in every color available, with the word ‘Knox’ on them. She turns a baffled stare in my direction, and I wink at her.

“The matching bras have your name on them too,” she says incredulously while staring at the mounds of undergarments. I shrug and wave a hand dismissively.

“I thought you would enjoy matching sets. You still have a few boxes of clothes to sort through. Like I said, keep everything you like, and whatever you don’t, we can send back.

” I flip my knife out, splitting the tape on another box to pull out miscellaneous shirts, pants, skirts, and an exciting amount of mesh clothing.

“This is too much, Knox. I’ll never be able to pay you back,” she groans, but I can see the subtle excitement in her eyes.

“Your undying love and eternal devotion will more than suffice. This,” I wave my hand, encompassing the boxes, “is something you’ll get used to.” I walk over and press a kiss to her head, snagging the navy blue thong and bra to drop in her lap.

“I just request that you wear these first.” I drop onto the bed, propping my head on my arms to watch the way her face reddens.

She begins picking through the clothes until she finds the right ones and scurries into the bathroom, giving a defiant smile as the door closes.

I’ll let her win this one, just so that I can spend the day knowing that she’s strutting around with my name printed over her pussy.

If I see it now, we won’t be leaving this bedroom anytime soon, and I have important plans.

Nearly half an hour later, Maeve emerges from the bathroom and nervously holds her hands out to the side, twirling to show off her outfit.

I stop in the doorway to the closet, where nearly all of her clothes are proudly hanging, aside from the drawers I filled in my dresser.

Her hair is slicked back in a high pony with long bangs framing her beautiful face; the orange ends curl softly while she nervously bites her lip.

She’s wearing a tight-fitted black tank top tucked into ripped black jeans that hug every curve and a sheer white top with flowing white sleeves hanging past her fingertips.

The front of the white top plunges low, showing the perfect curve of her cleavage, and I nearly fall to my knees to worship the goddess standing before me.

“You are stunning, my sweet muse. What have I done to deserve you?” My voice is low, and the blush that I adore flares up her neck as she fidgets under my burning gaze.

I drop the dress I was in the middle of hanging and stride towards her, scooping her up as I spin her.

Maeve wraps her arms around my neck, legs locking around my waist as she giggles.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” she asks, fixing the collar of my black button-up shirt when I set her back on the ground. I take her hand in mine and walk away, whistling to myself without giving her an outright answer. I’m taking my girl out and showing her off.