Page 114 of Beneath the Quiet

“I don’t mean that in a bad way.” She leans her head over my heart. “Or maybe you’re more like Mr. Rochester, who ought to know better than to sweep Jane off her feet. Poor girl.”

I bark out a laugh, toe the door open to her bedroom, and place her carefully on her bed. I toss a quilt on the floor, only tucking the duvet around her to make sure she doesn’t end up too warm.

“I thought you didn’t read the classics.” I sit on the side of her bed and grin down at her.

She rolls to her side, facing me, only her eyes are already closed. “I don’t, but I remember the stories from when I was at school.” She talks around a loud yawn. “I’d rather be eaten by the big, bad wolf. Much more fun.” Sighing, she shifts, her mouth turning into an adorable pout. “I bet you’d like to eat me, too.”

I shake my head at her feverish nonsense and lean down, my lips close to her ear.

“I always love eating you. Go to sleep, Mae,” I whisper and swipe my fingers through the hair curling in a soft S across her lips. “Rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Hm.”

I pull out my phone and send a text to my mother but try not to give too much away.

ME: I ran into a sick Maeve, so I took her back to Rose Hill. I’ll stay here for a few hours, make sure she’s comfortable. I don’t like her being on her own like that. Tell Katie for me when she gets home?

I don’t have to wait long before she answers back.

MUM: Of course. Poor girl. We’ll take Katie home for the night. Let me know if you need me to bring her anything.

ME: Thank you. I will.

I put the phone on silent and look back at Maeve’s sleeping form. The rise and fall of her deep breaths keep me company for a while. In the end, though, I drag my eyes away and carefully get up from the bed. I walk down the stairs to her kitchen and start looking in every cupboard, in search of her glasses.

It doesn't take me long to find them, and I pour two glasses of water and then make sure all the windows are closed and secured, then turn on the lights over the kitchen sink in case I have to come down later for something more for Maeve.

I don’t have the alarm code to Rose Hill cottage but make a mental note to ask for it when Maeve’s better, and after I’ve taken off my boots in the hall, I walk back upstairs.

Maeve hasn’t moved an inch since I left her. I put the glasses on the dresser standing up against the wall on the opposite side of her bed and remove the rest of my clothes, but I keep my boxers on. I glance back at Maeve before I head into her bathroom to relieve my bladder and wash my hands quickly. I walk back into her bedroom and stop at the foot of it, once again captivated by her. I curl my hands around the foot of her bed and take in her sleeping form. Her knees are up to her chest, one of her hands underneath her chin, the other curled into a tight fist close to her chest. Her flushed skin and freckles kiss almost every inch of her face, her deep breaths, and the small frown marring her forehead…everything about her screams at me to leave her alone. To let her be just like most people have done all her life, and yet…

I can’t. I won’t walk away.

A wave of confusion passes through me. I don’t know what to make of it, and I know full well that I’m breaking one of her rules right now, but I can’t just leave her as she is.

Alone.

Vulnerable.

I’m stuck here, my body glued to her side, until she gets better.

I push away from the bars, move to her side, and tuck the duvet away before I slide in next to her, turning my front to her back. Her skin still burns hotter than I’d like, so I put some distance between us. I tug the duvet off her back and part of her legs, too, and because I can’t seem to stop touching her whenever she’s close, I wrap my hand around hers.

The sense of peace that washes over me when I hear her sigh sends alarm bells ringing, but I push them as far away as I can.

Instead, I put my other arm under my head, giving me the perfect view out of her floor-to-ceiling windows and watch as the sun begins to set. Little by little, the daylight fades, the only company the steady breath of the woman asleep next to me, and the longer I listen to the monotone sound, the heavier my body grows. She shifts her legs, her feet touching mine, and I can’t stop grinning when I feel her soft socks against my calves.

Fucking adorable.

And then I drift off to sleep.

“Don’t leave me.”

I jerk awake, my arm tightening automatically around Maeve, and attempt to blink the grogginess from my eyes.

“Please…” She lets out a sob, the sound so broken that it wrecks me.

I scoot closer to her back, nuzzling into her neck, and place a lingering kiss on the part of her shoulder not covered by the old T-shirt. As I do, she relaxes, but when her buttocks rub against my cock already standing at half-mast, I bite my lip.