Maddox sighed, and his breath tickled the back of my neck. “Evan?”
“Shh. I’m pretending this dough is a certain tart-faced brothel wench.”
A light laugh feathered more breath across my nape. “Just when I believe I’ve seen all sides of you, you manage to surprise me.” He skimmed his lips up into my hair. “My murder muffin.”
“I’m glad you find this so funny.”
“Only because there’s nothing for you to be upset over.” Maddox turned me to face him. Love shone in his eyes, so profound that it made my resolve to stay irritated crumble. “I was dragged to the brothel by Quincy and Baden. They said I’d been working too hard and needed to unwind. I had no desire to go but went along to stop their whining.”
I scoffed. “It must’ve been so horrible seeing all those beautiful, naked women, I’m sure.”
“I didn’t sleep with any of them,” he said. “While Quincy and Baden found women to spend the evening with, I stayed in the front parlor and drank. Alone. I turned down every man and woman that approached.”
“Why?”
He shrugged and caught a strand of my hair between his fingers, tucking it behind my ear. “No one appealed to me. The only thing on my mind was getting back to the stack of paperwork on my desk and finishing the new training regimen. The alewasnice, however, so I allowed myself to indulge in a mug or two. That’s when Isabel found me.”
“She works in a brothel?”
“No. She… well, she was there for the same reason Quincy and Baden were. To unwind and have a good night.”
I cocked my head.
“When I met her, she had a woman on each arm,” Maddox continued. “She offered one to me, and I declined before standing from the armchair and leaving. Well, stumbling. I’d drank a lot more than I’d meant to, which is why I said the story is embarrassing.”
“So Isabel…”
“Prefers the company of women.” He touched my jaw. “And I prefer the company of adorably jealous muffins with murderous intent toward bread dough.”
“I’m sorry, Maddox. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”
“Don’t be sorry. I understand your reaction.” That lovesick gleam didn’t leave his expression as his knuckles brushed my cheek. “But know this. Before you, Evan, I hadn’t been intimate with anyone in quite a while. Lovers. Relationships. They were unnecessary distractions. Then, you stumbled along and kindled a fire in my soul. You made me crave more. My body. My life. Myheart. Everything I am, everything I have,is yours.”
Yep. The frustrated prickles lifted, and I was putty in his arms. “Mine and Briar’s. You love him too.”
“Aye, I do.” That love in the blue pools of his eyes deepened. “Yet, both the physician and I place you above all.”
“Evan?” Lake entered the kitchen in a panicked state. By the tousle of his silver hair and sleepiness in his purple eyes, I suspected he’d just woken from a midday nap. He reached me in seconds and dropped to the floor, touching the knees of my trousers. “I smell blood. You’re hurt.”
Blood? That’s when I felt a sting in my kneecap and remembered my dramatic little moment on the way home. The ache in my wrist flared stronger too. My angry kneading of the dough hadn’t helped any. “Oh yeah. I fell earlier. I’m fine though.”
Lake whined low in his throat before rising from the floor and scooping me up with ease.
I hooked my arms around his neck and let him carry me. Fighting him on the matter was useless. He placed me in a chair at the table before dashing over to the faucet to fetch water, then a cloth, wrappings, and the salve Briar had crafted especiallyfor me and my clumsy moments—which happened pretty much daily.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said as he returned and knelt in front of my chair. “I’m okay. Really. It’s just a scratch.”
“It needs to be cleaned. Even scratches can become infected.” Lake pulled up my torn pants leg and dabbed at my knee. I winced at the sting, and his wolf ears shot upward before lowering again. Although soft, another whine sang in his throat.
“I’m okay,” I repeated. “I’ve had worse. Remember the evil thorn bush? Sometimes I wonder if he’s still roaming the forest at night searching for me.”
Lake’s lips twitched.
Victory.I didn’t want him worrying about me, especially over something as small as a little scrape.
Once my knee was cleaned and my wrist wrapped—because the minor swelling hadn’t gone unnoticed by my wolf either—Maddox gently moved Lake out of the way and picked me up. I laid my head on his shoulder as he carried me toward the parlor. Lake followed and got the fire going in the hearth. Maddox placed me on the couch and plopped down beside me.
“Don’t you need to go back to work?” I asked.
