Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 70661 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70661 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
He took a drink then licked his lips. “I’m starving.”
The sight of blood had killed my appetite. “I don’t see how you could be…”
His fingers rested on his wineglass as he stared at me across the table. He was oddly calm about the whole thing, just as indifferent as he was before we left. He swirled his wine then set the glass on the table again. “It’s over. Time to move on.”
“But you could have died—”
“But I didn’t. Everything worked out. Kamikaze is gone.”
All I should feel was grateful in that moment, but I was still shaken up about the entire thing. It would take me weeks to get over it. It was the most gruesome thing I’d ever seen. I would rather be raped a million times than let Maverick shoot a bullet into his own skull. “You were so calm… Did you think you weren’t going to get the bullet?”
“No.”
“So, you thought you were?”
“On my last round, I didn’t know what was going to happen.”
And he still acted totally normal? That was a sign of strength I’d never seen in my life. “How could you feel the cold metal of the barrel against your temple without panicking? How could you experience that moment without drowning in terror?”
He drank his wine again. “There are worse things than death.”
“But not many things…”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Abigail came into the room with the hot dish and set it in the center of the table with two serving spoons. She also brought a salad and a basket of fresh bread. She looked at Maverick the same way she had just a moment ago, like she was so happy he was home. She excused herself quietly then left the room.
I watched Maverick dish the food onto his plate, pretending this was a normal night. He brushed off the event like it wasn’t traumatizing, like it was something everyone experienced at some point in their lives.
I wasn’t hungry, and I wasn’t in the mood to pretend nothing happened.
I rose from my chair and felt his gaze move to my face. “I’m going to bed.” I left my glass of wine behind and turned my back to him, letting him eat alone. I wasn’t ungrateful for what he did for me, but I wasn’t in the mood to pretend I hadn’t almost just lost my husband. The evening was emotional for me. I’d lost both of my parents, and now Maverick was all I had left.
What would I do without him?
I stood in the shower and let the warm water soften my stiff muscles. Strands of my wet hair stuck to the back of my neck, and I entertained myself by watching the rivers of water run down the tile to the drain below my feet. Blood felt caked onto my skin, stuffed under my fingernails. I needed to get clean, needed to wash away the guilt I felt in my stomach.
Maverick almost died because of me.
I admired him for being so strong and dignified about the whole thing. I used to be that way, logical and pragmatic about all situations in life. But now I was an emotional woman who became distraught over her husband’s well-being. I shed tears so quickly, and my heart was always on the verge of collapsing. Life was so much easier when I didn’t care about anything. But now I cared so much about that man.
I cared about him more than anything else in this world.
He changed me in so many ways…and not necessarily for the better.
Distracted by my thoughts and the warm water, I didn’t notice Maverick entering the shower until the door clicked behind him.
I pulled my hair over one shoulder then turned to look at him, seeing his fit body and tanned skin. His old bullet wounds were noticeable because they contrasted against his perfect skin…but they also made him more beautiful. Those scars were a part of who he was, the battles he’d won and lost.
The indifference finally disappeared from his gaze, and he looked at me with the affection I craved. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. His warm chest pressed into my back, and he tightened his arms against my stomach.
I let him tug me into him, let myself fall back into his hold.
His lips placed a soft kiss against my neck. Another one was placed behind my ear. He bent his neck down to get my shoulder, to give me a kiss with a subtle bite.
I closed my eyes and got swept away in his embrace.
His hard cock pressed into my back, and he draped his arm over my chest so he could keep me in place. Then his kisses turned more aggressive, the edge of his teeth slightly scratching me as he kissed me harder and harder.