Vested Interest Box Set: Books 1-3

by Melanie Moreland

  “They’ll help him settle. He’ll be fine.”

  I glanced at the closed door, desperate to be on the other side of it. Panic seized me, and I began breathing fast.

  Aiden wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pushing me into a chair. He tilted my head down. “Relax, Dee. Breathe, okay. Just breathe.”

  I struggled to get in the air. Gradually, the pressure in my chest eased and much-needed oxygen filled my lungs. Slowly I raised my head, meeting two sets of worried eyes.

  “I’m okay.”

  “Good. Maddox is going to be fine. We’ll figure it out, okay?”

  Aiden sat next to me, letting me lean against his arm. “Bent is right. One step at a time.”

  I shut my eyes. “Okay.”

  They allowed us to return after what seemed like an eternity. Maddox was awake, the bed slightly elevated. His nose cannulas were gone, the indent from the tubes still lingering on his skin. He had the blanket I had brought from my apartment draped over him. I noticed the way he had his hand wrapped around the edge, as if he were afraid to let go.

  I let Bentley and Aiden approach him, standing at the bottom of the bed.

  “Hey,” he muttered.

  They both smiled. “Mad Dog,” Aiden said, patting his leg. “Good to see you.”

  Maddox sighed. “Good to be back.”

  Bentley sat in the chair. “Do you need anything?”

  Maddox’s eyes flickered to me briefly, then he shook his head. “The ice chips are stellar.”

  Aiden chuckled. “That’s why we chose this hospital. Stellar ice.”

  “Are you hungry?” I asked.

  Maddox hesitated, then spoke. “No. I’m not sure what I feel. I still don’t really understand everything that has happened.”

  “Give it a little time, Maddox,” Bentley urged. “You just woke up.”

  Maddox nodded, then grimaced.

  I moved without thought, pushing past Aiden. I cupped Maddox’s face. “Do you need pain meds?”

  He stilled at my touch. “The nurse is bringing me some.”

  “Okay. What can I get you?”

  “Um, more ice?”

  I grabbed the cup, sliding a cube into his mouth. He shut his eyes. “Good.”

  I reached into my pocket and found the Chapstick. I ran it over his lips, freezing when his eyes flew open.

  “So they don’t crack,” I explained.

  He closed his eyes again. “I know this sounds weird since, apparently, I’ve been out for over a week, but I’m tired.”

  “Understandable.” Bentley stood. “We’ll go get something to eat and let you rest.”

  “Thanks,” Maddox mumbled.

  “Dee, you coming?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  Maddox spoke, his voice low. “I would rather you did.”

  My heart shifted, breaking a little at his words. “All right, then.”

  I stepped back, retrieved my purse, and let Aiden guide me out of the room.

  It felt as if I were leaving a piece of me behind.

  “It was Jill, wasn’t it?”

  Maddox’s voice startled me. Since he had woken, he had barely addressed me. He had accepted hugs and kisses from Sandy, Emmy, and Cami when they came in the room; spoken quietly with Aiden and Bentley; accepted a fist bump from Reid. Even spoke to Richard on the phone.

  But to me, he remained silent and distant. If I asked him a question, his answer was short and to the point. I was at a loss about what to do, but I knew I had to let him make the first move.

  I glanced over from my spot in the chair beside his bed. He hadn’t told me to leave when the others departed for the night. He hadn’t asked me to stay either. When I picked up his book that had been on his nightstand, I asked him if he would like me to read it to him.

  His terse, “Fine,” was the reply I received. In the hours that we had been alone, he’d only spoken that one word until now.

  I closed the book slowly and drew in a breath.

  “Yes, it was Jill.”

  His fingers played with the blanket. “Where is she?”

  “In jail.”

  “Good,” he grunted. “That’s all I want to know.”

  “Okay.”

  Again, there was silence.

  “Why do I have this blanket?”

  “I knew you liked it. It was softer than the hospital ones, and I thought you would prefer it.”

  He made another noise. Shifted a little. He pushed at his glasses. They were new—as close as I could get to the other frames I knew he liked. “Did you have these replaced?”

  “Yes. I know they need adjusting, but that has to wait until you can get around. Your optician was very helpful getting a replacement pair.”

  “Yeah, they’re fine.”

  “Would you like something? Some ginger ale or a juice? A sandwich?”

  “I’d prefer a whiskey.”

  I had to chuckle. I could use one myself. “I don’t think that’s a choice.”

  “Figured. Maybe a ginger ale.”

  “Okay, I’ll go get you one.”

  “Are you leaving?”

  I paused at the door. “No.”

  He repeated his question from earlier. “Why are you here?”

  “Because you are.”

  Our eyes met in the diffused light. His were unreadable, the emotions once again hidden in the depths of blue. Then he sighed and spoke. “I’m angry with you.”

  My heart ached again, but I nodded because I understood. “I know. I deserve your anger, but I’m not leaving.”

  “What if I tell you to go?”

  “Then I guess I’ll be in the waiting room. I’m not leaving this hospital until you come home, no matter how often you send me away.”

  “Still stubborn.”

  I shrugged.

  “I didn’t send you away earlier to make you feel bad. You looked exhausted, and I wanted you to eat,” he said quietly. “I knew if you went with Bent and Aiden, they would make sure you did.”

  “Oh.” I cleared my throat. “Anything besides that ginger ale?” He hadn’t eaten much earlier, barely picking at the light dinner they brought him.

  “No thanks.”

  I knew his throat was sore from the tubes. He swallowed a lot and had been sucking on lozenges. Suddenly, I remembered the box I had seen in the freezer of the small kitchen the nurses allowed us to use.

  “How about a popsicle?”

  “A popsicle?”

  “It would help your throat.”

  He contemplated it, then nodded. “Orange.”

  “Okay, one orange popsicle.”

  I leaned against the wall once I was out of his room. It would take time. My head knew that, even while my heart wished for something different. I wanted him to tell me he still loved me, but sadly, I knew he wasn’t ready to say it.

  I wasn’t sure he even felt it anymore.

  I dashed away a stray tear. He had once shown me great patience. I had to do the same for him.

  In the meantime, he wanted a popsicle. That much I could do for him.

  The next day, they removed all the medical equipment. Maddox passed the cognitive tests, and although his short-term memory wasn’t as sharp as it had been before the accident, Dr. Sampson was confident it would return. Maddox was surprisingly unsteady on his feet, and his ribs hurt a great deal. He relaxed a bit when the doctor explained how much bruising there had been from the accident, plus the surgery.

  “It’s to be expected, Maddox. You need time to heal completely.” Dr. Sampson snapped his chart closed. “I want to keep you another day or two, just to be safe. And you’ll need some help when you get home. You shouldn’t be alone.”

  “He won’t be,” I said, resolute. “I’ll be there.”

  Dr. Sampson grinned. “Your guardian angel.”

  Maddox simply stared at me. I looked away, hating the expressive look in his eyes. Uncertainty, doubt, and pain. That was all I could see.

  “C
an I have a shower?”

  Dr. Sampson nodded. “I’ll get a nurse to assist you.”

  “No. Dee,” Maddox insisted.

  My heart rate increased. He wanted me to help him? Dr. Sampson glanced at me, and I nodded. “Of course.”

  A nurse helped me get Maddox to the walk-in shower. The simple act of getting there exhausted him. He sat down heavily on the shower bench, hung his head, and dropped his shoulders. I left on my underwear, working efficiently so he didn’t get cold. He was silent as the warm water rained down his body, lifting his head as I stood behind him so I could shampoo his hair.

  “I heard you,” he said, his eyes shut.

  “What?”

  “When I was coming out of the coma, I heard your voice. I felt you touching me.”

  “Oh.”

  He frowned as I rinsed away the soap. “I knew when it was someone else touching me. I didn’t like it.”

  “I did everything they would allow me to do.”

  “I know.”

  I lathered up my hands, massaging the suds into his skin.

  He was silent for a moment. “I heard you cry.”

  “I’m sorry. Sometimes I got overwhelmed.”

  His eyes opened, and he focused on me. “You said you loved me. I heard you say that.”

  I swallowed, frozen in his fierce glance. “I did.”

  “Because you thought I was dying? You felt guilty?”

  “No, because I realized how stupid I was being.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  I inhaled and told him the same thing I had told Cami. He didn’t interrupt me. He let me talk and wash him, standing to rinse off, holding the wall for support.

  “Lori made me see what a coward I was being.” I finished and shut off the water. I wrapped a towel around his waist and helped him sit down again. I toweled-dried his hair briskly. “I know you’re angry with me, Maddox. I’m angry with myself and trying to come to terms with the guilt.”

  “Why are you guilty?”

  I lifted his face, stroking his scruff with my fingers. “Because I hurt you. Because my words put you on that street and she got the chance to get her revenge. Because of me, you’re here.”

  He wrapped his hand around my wrist. “Is that why you’re looking after me, Dee? Because you feel responsible?”

  “No.”

  “Tell me why.”

  A tremor went through me. “Because… I love you, Maddox Riley. There is no place else I can be.”

  Our eyes locked. I refused to look away, needing him to see the truth behind my words.

  “I’m tired of denying it. I love you, and even if you don’t love me anymore, I want you to know it.”

  He broke our gaze and sighed. “I need to go to bed.”

  Disappointment tore through me; the subtle rejection stung. I helped him to his feet and into a set of loose pants and a T-shirt Aiden had brought then settled him into his bed.

  “Do you need anything?”

  “I’d like a popsicle.”

  “Okay.”

  He spoke as I headed for the door. “She was going to come after me no matter what, Dee. The one thing I’m grateful for is she didn’t hurt you.”

  I looked at him.

  His gaze focused on me. “I would go through it again, and worse, if it meant you were safe.”

  He shut his eyes.

  He watched me all day. I felt his gaze even when others were in the room. When I left to have coffee with Cami and Emmy, so he could have some private time with Aiden and Bentley, he looked anxious.

  Unable to help myself, I crossed the room and ran my hand over his head. “I’ll bring you a popsicle.”

  He tugged me close. “Just you. Promise you’ll come back.”

  I felt the well of tears but fought them back. “Yes.”

  He lay back, satisfied. “Okay.”

  Later, when we were alone once more, I sat beside his bed in one of the large chairs, my legs curled under me. The room was dim since bright lights still gave him a headache. The silence between us tonight was different. Lighter. I was surprised when he stretched out his hand in invitation, letting me curl mine inside it. He drew circles on my skin.

  “Your thumb is a mess.”

  “I know.”

  “You need to stop that.”

  “I’m not sure it’s ever going to happen. I’ve done it all my life.”

  He harrumphed, then he carefully shifted, lying on his side.

  “Bentley told me.”

  “Told you what?”

  “That it was you who alerted the police about Jill.”

  Sighing, I tucked my legs closer. I hated even hearing her name.

  “Yes.”

  He stared at our hands, his voice becoming softer. “And about the blood donation. You saved my life.”

  “No, the surgeon did. I just gave him one of the tools he needed.”

  “I’m sure the blood bank would have worked.”

  “I didn’t want to wait. Besides, I wanted to give it to you. Be the one to help.”

  “I like knowing I have some of you inside me.” His lips curled at the corner. “Usually, it’s the other way around.”

  I felt the familiar heat only he could cause bubble under my skin at his provocative words. I looked down at his fingers caressing my hand and shut my eyes, as unbidden, a memory stirred.

  I pushed open the closet door, shivering a bit in the morning air. I reached for a blouse, when Maddox stepped behind me. His hard chest pressed to my back, his damp skin warm. His long fingers trailed over my arm, wrapping around my hand.

  “I like that blouse,” he murmured close to my ear. “But I really prefer it on the floor.”

  “Maddox,” I whispered. “Stop it. I have to get ready for work.”

  “You look so…tempting.” He ran his finger over the lace strap on my shoulder. “So pretty in pink.”

  His finger drifted lower. “Where are your sexy little panties, Deirdre? Are you planning on going bare today?”

  My answer came out more breathless than I expected. “No, I have to get them. I was chilly, and I thought I’d put on my blouse first.”

  Maddox chuckled low, throaty, and sexy. Just the sound made my thighs clench. I didn’t understand how he could do that. He’d already taken me in the shower.

  How could I need him again?

  “I can warm you up, Deirdre.” Reaching over, he slid the door closed, wrapping me in his arms, lowering us both to the floor. Before I could react, he hooked his legs around mine, pulling them apart. I looked away from our reflection in the full-length mirror.

  Maddox dropped his head to my neck, turning his face to my ear, his breath washing over my skin. He nudged my face forward.

  “Look how pretty you are.”

  I could only stare at the reflection of his hands. He ran them down my arms, then over my chest. I gasped when he tugged down the cups of my bra, pushing out my breasts. They squeezed together, his hands enveloping and stroking the soft mounds. He rubbed his thumbs over my hard nipples, making me squirm.

  He swirled his tongue on my neck, then dropped his hands to my thighs, running his fingers up and down in light, teasing strokes. I gasped when he cupped me, his touch possessive.

  “Watch me,” he murmured, once again nudging my head toward the mirror.

  I couldn’t look away. I was mesmerized by the movements of his hands. His long, strong fingers. The way his forearms flexed as he worked me.

  He opened me, exposing me fully to the mirror. He ran his finger over my clit, making me whimper. Slow, unhurried brushes of his thumb, fingers, knuckles. I never knew what was next.

  “Look at you,” he whispered, his voice low and tight in my ear. “Everything you hide, Deirdre, all the things that make you, you. Here only for me.”

  He began small, tight circles, rubbing my clit. Pleasure racked my body as I pushed back against him. His cock was hard and trapped between us. I felt the slide of it, the heat,
and wetness of his excitement on my skin.

  “Your girlie room filled with pillows and lace.” He bit down lightly on the juncture of my neck. “The sexy, racy lingerie under your businesslike clothes.” He slid a finger inside me, his thumb pressing on my bundle of nerves.

  I cried out his name, my hips moving, his cock pressing harder on my back.

  “And this.” He pressed his fingers deeper, his thumb harder. “This pretty, sweet pussy. Like a flower. It blossoms for me, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes,” I panted.

  His ministrations picked up, his breathing growing harsh. “Just for me.”

  “Oh God, yes.”

  “You’re going to come on my hand, Deirdre. When I tell you to. Aren’t you?”

  I could only whimper.

  “I’m going to come all over your back. You’re going to wear me on your skin all day. Think of me when your blouse sticks and remember how hard you came for me.”

  I shook, undulated on his hand, cried out his name. Gasped for air. He stroked me harder, one hand splayed across my stomach, gripping me tightly to him.

  He grunted and his body jerked. “Come. Now, Deirdre. Come for me.”

  I exploded, crying out and gripping his legs. Wetness covered my back as he clutched me close, his face buried in my neck.

  I collapsed against him.

  After a moment, he pressed his mouth to my ear.

  “Look at yourself, Deirdre. Look how beautiful you are for me.”

  My eyes fluttered open. My hair was disheveled, my breasts spilled out of my bra, my nipples red. My skin was glowing and pink. My eyes were hooded, my lips upturned at the corners. Maddox’s hand still cupped me, and I was splayed open. I was sated, sleepy, and relaxed. I looked…sexy?

  I met his eyes in the mirror.

  “You are so incredible,” he murmured. “I’ll think about you all day like this.” He laughed softly. “I’ll be goddamn hard all day too.”

  A giggle escaped, and he kissed my neck.

  “I have to go get ready for work.”

  “No. I told you. Me on your skin. Inside you. I want to be all over you all day.”

  I had to shut my eyes at his words. I wasn’t sure I should find them so sexy.

  “Maddox,” I breathed out.

  His mouth covered mine. I knew I would do as he asked.