Page 96 of Mace

I pack up my stuff, my stomach heavy. I liked sleeping next to Mace, and I liked waking up with him even more. I don’t know how to explain that to him or how to ask him to stay with me without sounding stupid.

When I go to pick up my bag, Mace takes it from me, his eyes meeting mine. “Thank you,” I say.

Mace drives us back to the flat, and my thoughts are chaotic as I try to work through my disappointment of getting back to normality. He keeps his hand on my thigh, something I notice he does every time we’re in the car. I like it. It makes feel possessed by him.

When our building comes into view, the heavy weight in my stomach grows worse, and I’m nervous as he parks up.

Everything about this place feels… wrong, like it belongs to another life, one I’ve already left behind. I’m not the same Maylie I was when I left here, and I don’t know how to go back to her.

Mace squeezes my hand, bringing me out of my turbulent thoughts, and I flash him a smile I don’t feel as we head into the building all together. Mace’s steps are assured and confident, so different from mine, which feel uncertain and weary. I don’t know if Toby and Ivy pick up on the vibe, but both of them are uncharacteristically quiet as we approach the door to the flat.

My stomach sinks into the floor. It doesn’t change anything, and yet, coming back here feels like a return to a past I want to leave behind.

Mace still has my keys, so he unlocks the door and steps inside first. Toby, who is last in, locks it behind us. Link shouldn’t be a threat, but I’m glad he’s thinking about our safety.

“Wait here,” Mace orders.

Ivy wiggles her eyebrows at me as he disappears into the flat, and I shake my head at her in warning.

“Is he always this intense?” Ivy murmurs.

“Pretty much,” I say back in a low voice.

“I like him,” Toby adds as he drapes his arms over mine and Ivy’s shoulders. “He doesn’t seem like he takes any?—”

He breaks off as Mace reappears in the hallway. “It’s clear,” he says.

Ivy stifles a yawn, stepping around us. “I’m going to bed. I’m pretty tired.”

I grab her wrist before she can escape and drag her into my arms. The hug I give her is so tight and so needed.

“I love you so much,” I say to her quietly.

She clings to me, and I feel whole for the first time in months. “I love you too.”

When we break apart, her eyes are full of hope. “Go and rest.”

She heads towards her bedroom, and Toby does the same, muttering something about homework, but considering my little brother has never voluntarily completed any homework without having his arm twisted, I get the impression he’s giving me space.

As soon as we’re alone, I turn to Mace, smiling, and he holds his arms out to me. I go to him, letting him wrap me in his embrace.

“Thank you for everything.”

“You don’t have to thank me for anything,” he says.

But he’s wrong. “I know, but I want to.” I roll to my toes so I can reach his mouth and kiss him.

He holds me against him, his arms wrapped tight around me as he devours my mouth. Kissing Mace is fast becoming my favourite thing to do. I went from never being kissed to wanting to do this every moment of the day. He tastes incredible, and whatever technique he uses sends waves of anticipation through me every time his tongue tangles with mine.

“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” I ask as we pull apart, both of us struggling to reclaim our breath. I’m really hoping he says he’s free. I’m not ready to let him go quite yet.

He pushes a lock of my hair behind my ear, the intensity in his gaze dizzying.

“You want me to hang out here for a bit before we have to go to work?”

I do, but I also don’t want to seem too needy. “Youdon’t have things to do?” I hedge, trying to keep the hopefulness out of my words.

“The only thing I have to do is take care of my girl.”

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