AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He’s found me.
The spell—or whateverthis is—has been broken and I can move again. I lift a weary arm, my breathing ragged. He’s still holding me, cradling me. My fingers slowly drag over the black sheet preventing me from seeing his face.
I don’t believe I’ve wanted anything more than to see all of him at this very moment. To watch him watch me. To feel his lips press softly against mine.
“You saved me,” I rasp quietly.
He doesn’t say a word.
Only runs a gloved finger gently over my neck as if needing to know I’m okay. His touch is intimate, and I suddenly have the urge to burst into tears for a significantly different reason than why I was crying before.
Then he lets me go.
Releases me from the safety of his arms, and settles me onto the bed.
He steps away.
I peer up at his veiled face, the hard curve of his jaw molding against the black sheet.
I hope my desire for him to stay is visible on my face.
He skates a hand over my hair and then caresses my cheek.
The silence is loud. I can’t compete with it. So I stay quiet.
I watch him distance himself from the bed and walk out of the room.
Chapter 14
Hazel
Loud bangingoutside my door rips me out of my errant thoughts. It’s as if I’m startled awake. I realize I’m standing in the middle of my hotel room.
How did I get here?
The banging hasn’t ceased, and I give my head a small shake before quickly moving to the door and unlatching the chain.
“Maeve?” I say, slightly stunned by her appearance.
Tear-stained cheeks.
Red eyes …
“Is that a rope burn on your neck?” I ask in horror.
“You said you’d protect me!” Her voice is a mosaic of fear and pain, and panic. She shoves me in the chest, and I stumble back as she storms into my room. “You said you’d protect me,” she repeats, now a lot more wary, her brown eyes brimming with tears.
Only a few hours have passed since we last spoke … What could have possibly happened?
“I did — I am,” I say, slightly bewildered. “Maeve, what happened? Where have you been?”
I try to approach her, but she takes a step back, pointing a shaky finger at me. “Your hotel is trying to kill —”
The gust of cold wind is so strong that my gaze immediately flicks to the balcony doors. They’re closed. My body breaks out in goosebumps. When my attention hurriedly returns to Maeve, her gaze appears vacant, her finger still raised up.
My nape prickles as if sensing something else with us in the room. I’ve felt this presence before. Many, many times before.
Maeve blinks. Her arm falls to her side.
