Page 9 of Deserving Maisy
“I won’t hurt you,” she soothed. “I’m going to do everything I can to help you. To get you out of this.”
His eyes closed, and it seemed to Maisy that he calmed. His head stopped thrashing and he stilled on the mattress. But when she went to stand, his hand shot out and grasped her forearm.
She gasped in surprise, but his hold didn’t hurt. She’d gotten so used to Jason grabbing her and squeezing hard that she automatically recoiled anytime someone touched her. But Jack’s fingers around her arm, while firm, weren’t causing any pain.
“Stay,” he whispered. “Please.”
Maisy settled back down on the mattress. “I’m here,” she told him softly.
His fingers relaxed around her arm, but he didn’t let go. Maisy watched him sleep and wondered what his story was. Where Jason had found him. If he had friends who were worried about him. If he had a family, a real wife.
At that thought, she frowned. What if he was already married? When Jason submitted the marriage certificate,would that come up somehow, despite the fake last name? If his marriage to her couldn’t be registered with the state, he was as good as dead. Because there was no way Jason would simply let him go.
Surprisingly, the thought that this man belonged to another woman made a pang of jealousy spear through Maisy. It was irrational. She didn’t know him and he didn’t know her. He might be the kind of man who would beat his woman. Or maybe he was an asshole.
But from the little shedidknow of him, Maisy didn’t think so.
“Please don’t be married,” she whispered. She hated to think of a woman out there frantic because her husband was missing.
Even if Jack wasn’t married, he had to have people who would notice he was gone. Someone as charismatic as Jack seemed to be wouldn’t live in a bubble like she did. They’d eventually discover where he was and come for him. And when that happened, Maisy vowed to do what she could to aid them. It was the least she could do. Jack had somehow crossed paths with her brother, and she might not have done anything for poor Martha, but she could do something now.
However, as much as she hated to admit it, the best thing for Jack right now was to go along with her brother’s plan. It was the best way to keep him safe. She just prayed he didn’t regain his memory in the next few days. Or at least until she could come up with some way to get them both out of this mess.
The second she signed that marriage certificate, the countdown clock would start. As soon as Jason had hermoney, both she and Jack would be expendable. Shivering at the thought, Maisy took a deep breath.
The longer Maisy sat next to Jack as he slept, staring at his fingers around her arm, the more she understood this man’s fate was entirely in her hands.
CHAPTER THREE
Jack woke up when something brushed against his face. Opening his eyes, he was confused for a moment, but then he inhaled and his memory returned. Not that he had many memories in his head at the moment, but the woman sleeping in his arms wasn’t something he could forget anytime soon.
He was on his side and Maisy’s back was to his front. He had his arm around her waist and his nose buried in her hair. She smelled like…apples. The sweet red ones. And she felt absolutely perfect against him. Jack hated that he didn’t have any memories of their life together. How they’d met, how he’d convinced her to give him a chance—because he was absolutely sure she could do so much better than him.
What she sounded like when he made her come.
The thought of sex with Maisy had his cock lengthening, but he didn’t make a move to act on his arousal. He was content to hold her while she slept. She was still fully dressed, while he wore only a T-shirt and boxers. Heinhaled again, the scent of apples burying itself into his psyche.
Time ticked by, and Jack had no idea how long he lay with Maisy sleeping in his arms, but eventually she began to stir. He could just see the sun rising outside the window, indicating that he’d slept away the evening and through the night. When Maisy had joined him, he had no idea, but he loved the thought of her coming to him while he slept.
It was obvious when she realized where she was, because she tensed in his arms. Not liking that, Jack scooted back and rolled her toward him until she was on her back. Then he came up on an elbow and hovered over her. His gaze ran over her face, trying to memorize her features. Her cute, pointed nose, the scattered freckles. The dark circles under her eyes, which bothered him.
“Morning,” he said after a long moment.
“Hi.”
“Sleep well?”
She stared up at him for a beat, before nodding. “You?”
“Like a log. Must’ve been because I was holding my wife all night,” he joked.
But she didn’t crack a smile. Instead, she looked even more worried.
“I’m okay,” he told her, thinking she was concerned about his accident.
“Have you remembered anything?” Maisy asked.
“Nothing,” Jack said with a shrug. “But my head hurts a little less this morning, and I woke up with the smell of apples in my nose…I can think of a lot worse ways to wake up,” he said, trying to make her smile.
