Page 15 of Wretched Heart
Returning to the bedroom, I collect up the discarded bottles and plates and wheel the trolley out into the corridor. Mace is sitting on the floor again, staring at his laptop.
“Well, that was–”
“It never happened,” I cut in. And before my brother can challenge me, as I know he intends, I add. “For Maddie’s sake.”
He shrugs. “It never happened,” he repeats. “And before you ask, this Hugo is turning into an even bigger shit with every rock I turn over. Most of his accumulated debts are in his wife’s name, and it looks like he’s even falsified his daughter’s date of birth to get loans in her name too. I don’t know what his end game is, but it makes no sense why Barrett would go anywhere near them.”
“Keep digging,” I say. “And you don’t need to stay. I’ll take it from here.”
Mace gets to his feet and closes his laptop. “Hunter, please don’t make this any messier than it already is.”
“I hear you,” I say, but I doubt either of us believe the lie.
When I return to the room, I’m relieved to hear the shower running. Maddie hasn’t got anything to change into when she gets out, and I’m disappointed that a Moncrief hotel doesn’t supply bath robes. I’ll be taking it up with management.
Dropping onto the bed, I rest my back against the headboard and let my eyes close. As I listen to the sound of running water, I picture Maddie’s naked body being pummeled by the powerful jets. My cock thickens, but with my brother’s warning ringing in my ears, I build another image in my mind. This one is of Maddie standing at the altar next to Barrett Emerson, eager and willing to give herself to him. That goes some way to dampen my desire,but the sound of the shower fights for my attention. How long is she going to be in there?
It could be that I’m looking for an excuse to sneak a look, but I pad over to the closed bathroom door. I test it to see if Maddie locked it behind me, but it clicks open. I only need to shout out to check if Maddie needs anything, but I hesitate. There’s no harm in stealing a glimpse first, but when I poke my head through the door, the shower stall is empty except for a cloud of steam.
My eyes dart from one corner of the windowless room to the other. Maddie’s done another disappearing act. “What the fuck?”
I briefly consider the possibility that Maddie slipped out while my eyes were closed, and my mind was on my aching cock, but I’m never that distracted. I turn back to the shower stall, and drop my gaze. There are skin tones mixed with condensation and white floor tiles.
As I approach the screen door, I speak up. “Maddie?”
There’s no movement and when I open the door, I find her kneeling on the floor. Her body is folded over and her arms cover her head. Her shoulders are shaking.
“Leave me alone!” she cries out.
Ignoring her plea, I strip down to my boxers and step beneath the jets of water. I smash a fist against the controls to cut off the shower, then crouch down low. There’s no mistaking the sobs wracking her body. “Not going to happen,” I tell her as I try to work out which part of her I should touch.
Maddie’s peachy ass is facing me, but before carnal thoughts tempt my cock back to attention, the shadow running along her spine turns my blood cold. I grab a washcloth and stroke her back. She flinches at the touch, but she lets me continue. I can’t tell if she thinks I’m trying to sootheher, or knows I’m wiping off the makeup that I’d mistook for fake tan earlier.
The white washcloth turns flesh-colored at the same time my soul turns black. Anger thrums through my tensed muscles as the bruising on her back takes form.
“Who did this to you?” I demand.
Maddie continues to hide her head beneath her arms, but she manages a shake of the head. I toss the washcloth to the side and take hold of Maddie’s hips. I go to pull her up, but she remains in a curled position. I’m too angry to be as gentle as I would like, and I force my hands around her waist, separating her knees from her body. After a little more tussling, I get Maddie to stand, pressing her back to my heaving chest.
“The bruise, Maddie,” I insist. “How did you get it?”
She sniffs back tears and pulls her hair from her face. Her breath hitches. “I fell out of bed.”
Her lie infuriates me further. After everything she now knows about Barrett, she still wants to protect him. “You fell out of bed and just happened to land on a man-sized boot?”
“It’s not–”
“Don’t you dare fucking lie to me again,” I hiss. “I’ve been in enough fights to know what it looks like after someone stomps on your back.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she says clearly. The long soak in the shower seems to have sobered her up.
“Tough.”
She sinks against my chest, her head resting on my shoulder. “Please, Hunter.”
The sound of my name on her lips for the first time takes the edge off my anger. My mouth comes to rest on her hair. She smells of hotel brand shampoo and I find myself missing the scent of wild mint and lemon. “Fine.But we’ll have this conversation again tomorrow,” I promise.
Her arms come to rest on top of mine, which are still roped around her waist. Her fingers feather along my forearms, and I’m done for. I should get out of the shower right now. I should tell Maddie to dry herself off and get some sleep, but my cock is very much awake.
