Page 54 of Forgiveness
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Flux
By the timeFlux had gotten a few sips of whiskey into Maggie and had her tucked into bed, some of his rage was now a simmer instead of a full rolling boil. When they’d arrived back at his motel room, she’d asked him to join her in the shower, and a huge amount of relief spread through him at the request. Maggie had turned the water on full blast and maximum burn-your-skin-off temperature, and Flux had washed every inch of her from top to bottom—twice at her insistence. When he’d wrapped the towel around her, all of her skin was baby pink except for her face, which was still pale and haunted.
Without saying a word, he’d given her one of his shirts and a pair of sweatpants he never wore to bed, tucking her in as if he knew how to do the caretaker bullshit. Every five seconds he kept asking her if she was okay and if she needed anything. He figured he was annoying the hell out of her, but he couldn’t help it.
“You need to sleep, baby,” he’d said in a low voice.
Maggie had nodded but kept her gaze pinned on the hunk of junk TV on the scratched-up dresser. There was some kind of musical on—an old one in black and white, but he didn’t watch much of it because he couldn’t take his eyes off her for a single second.
Flux stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets, fishing around for some coins and dollar bills. “I’ll be right back,” he said as he opened the door and looked at her. She didn’t say a word or give him a glance, her eyes stayed fixed on a skinny dude whirling a pretty girl around a dance floor.
Flux stepped out into the cool air and made his way to the dented vending machine around the corner. He bought a hot chocolate and a small bag of M&Ms, and anything else that was chocolate and candy coated. He hurried back, not wanting to leave her alone for more than a few minutes. Flux closed the door and put the purchases on the nightstand next to her then went into the bathroom to wash his hands.
When he came back into the room, Maggie sat up in bed, surrounded by wrappers and clutching her Styrofoam cup. He glanced at her death grip and a ball of tension settled in the pit of his stomach.Shit. I don’t know how to make it better for her, and it’s fuckin’ killing me.
“Flux?” Her voice was hoarse as she snuggled down into the pillows.
“Yeah, Duchess. Whaddaya need?” He peeled himself off of the wall right next to her bedside. “Is your drink cold? You want another one?”
“Will you come sit with me, please?” she whispered.
Fuck, he wasn’t used to this small, vulnerable voice coming out of his sassy, shit-kicking Duchess; it nearly ripped him in half. Flux cleared his throat and took a seat on the edge of the bed on top of the covers. He didn’t want to overwhelm her right now, and if she needed more than that, he hoped she’d ask for it.
When Maggie’s arms opened for him, he scooted next to her without hesitation and curled around her body angling her head on his chest. They stayed like that for a long time, and every now and then, she’d sing a line or two with one of the actors on the screen. Flux ran his fingers through her hair over and over again mostly to convince himself that she was there—that she was safe.No one’s ever gonna touch you again, Duchess, or I’ll fuckin’ kill anyone who tries.
Sighing and wincing, Maggie rearranged herself so she looked up at him from her nest in the pillows.
“Are you okay? Am I hurting you?” he asked, unable to keep the concern from his voice.
“No, it’s okay.” She ran her fingers down the front of his T-shirt. “I realized something today.”
“Oh yeah?” Flux leaned his head on his hand, resting his elbow against the bed as he looked at the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life. “Tell me.”
“I love you, Flux. I’ve tried not to because I know it makes things all kinds of complicated between us, we agreed we’d be casual and—”
“Duchess,” he cut her off and then a huge-ass grin spread across his face as he grabbed one of her hands. “I love you too. You’re what I’ve been waiting for. You brought me back to life again. And I don’t care if it breaks our fuckin’ agreement. You wanna know something, darlin’? You had me from the second I saw you swaying your hips by the jukebox and you gave me a whole lotta sass. I didn’t want to admit to myself how serious I could fall for you until it was too late.”
“S-so, wait …” Maggie stuttered, slightly brightening as her hand squeezed his back. “You mean?”
“I want you in my life, Duchess, and not as a fuck buddy. I want you to be mine, and nothing made that clearer than when I saw you in that fuckin’ room.” Pricks of anger burned through his veins.
“It’s okay,” she said softly.
“I think you’re the sexiest, most beautiful, and most genuine woman I’ve met in a damn long time, Duchess.” He locked his gaze on hers. “You make me want to be a better man.”
Maggie’s lips twitched as a flush crept up into her cheeks. Groaning softly, she hid her face in the pillow.
“It’s so fuckin’ adorable when you get bothered, Duchess. Every part of you is amazing and if I ever stop appreciating you, you have my full permission to deck me in the damn face and rip my fucking balls off, got it?”
“Noted,” Maggie said, her face still buried in the pillow.
“Glad that’s settled. Now for starters, you’re gonna stay with me while we’re in town.”
“Kind of like moving in together?” she asked, this time bringing her head up, her brows drawn down low.
“Fuck, yeah. You staying two doors down from me is bullshit, but if you don’t want—”
