Chapter 50 Hunted
After that intense kiss that kind stole her breath and her reasoning. Maverick returned to his cold, unreadable calm. Not a trace of the desperate man who kissed her like he was drowning. The fear she had tasted on his tongue was buried so deep she thought it might have been a dream.
Now he rode in silence. Rigid. Controlled. Unbothered. As though he hadn’t just kissed her like she was the only air he needed to breathe.
Heaven stayed exactly where he had placed her on Baximus, thighs spread wide over his, back arched against his chest, her body molded against his like a second skin.
The hard ridge of his arousal grinding shamelessly against her lower belly with every jolt of the horse. His arms were a cage around her: one hand gripping the reins tightly, the other locked around her waist like a restraint.
Maverick wanted her close.
Close enough to feel her heartbeat thrumming against his chest.
Close enough to know when she inhaled, exhaled, trembled.
Close enough to make sure she would never step in harm’s way again.
Heaven’s face burned.
Her thighs tightened involuntarily around him with every movement of the horse.
And she could feel him hard, solid, unmistakably aroused pressing right against her lower stomach every time Baximus took a heavy step.
Her breath was shaky. She prayed he didn’t notice.
He noticed.
He always did.
The forest swallowed them in green shadows as they rode.
Rosalia followed quietly behind, loyal and patient, as if she knew her mistress had been claimed by a force she couldn’t fight.
For a long moment, only the sound of hooves filled the woods.
Then his voice cut through the quiet low, cold and unexpectedly casual.
“Is there something you want to become?”
Heaven blinked.
“Huh?”
Her spinning mind couldn’t catch the meaning.
Maverick didn’t give her time to piece it together.
“Eva told me you read paintings,” he said, his tone unreadable. “That you can read them. Do you want to own an art gallery?”
The question stunned her.
Her own art gallery?
Her?
She had never… dreamt that far or even have the luxury to dream. She had finished high school when her family was in debt, they only had enough to send Summer. Heaven had been the one to stay back.
And now she was trapped here, a young widow in a massive house, monitored by her mother in law, powerless, carrying a secret sin that threatened everything.
If Maverick opened a gallery for her..
if anyone found out…
It would be a scandal.
Disaster.
A betrayal Eva didn’t deserve.Her stomach twisted painfully, the guilt mixing with the forbidden truth of what they were doing.
“I… I never thought of having something like that.” her voice barely above a whisper.
Maverick slowed Baximus just enough so he could look at her fully. He angled her chin upward with two fingers until her eyes met his.
“Then what have you thought of having?” he pressed, voice flat but eyes sharp.
Heaven held his dark and unblinking gaze , even though his eyes felt like they could peel her open and see every secret she had locked inside.
“I’ve… never thought of anything.”
What could she possibly think of having, her whole life was paused in time with Boyle.
Then Maverick said the words that made her breath leave her chest entirely.
“I don’t want you suffocating here, mourning for the rest of your life.”
His voice dropped, dark and certain.
“And I don’t plan on you being anywhere but here.” His grip tightened on her waist. “With me. In the Richard household. Forever.”
Her heart stopped.
“So,” he continued, voice dropping to a dark purr, “you’d better think of something.”
His hand slid lower, fingers splaying over the curve of her hip. “Or I will.”
The words chilled and heated her all at once.
He said it calmly.
Like it was the most natural thing.
Like eternity with her wasn’t a threat… but a promise he had already carved into stone.
Maverick had thought about this, about Eva’s comment, concerning her future, her boredom in the Richard Estate and instead of ignoring it he planned to anchor her closer.
To him
To the Estate
To this forbidden, suffocating connection he refused to let go of.
The thought of remarrying or leaving the household was out of his picture. She could choose anything but that he would give her.
He was going to plan her future for her with him in the picture.
“As long as you stay where I want you… I’ll give you anything.”
His meaning was clear.
Stay his.
Stay silent.
Stay here.
And Heaven felt her heart tremble in her chest, because she didn’t know whether that promise was protection or captivity.
She decided to speak about her worries, he was married and she was in mourning.
“What… about your wife?… What if everyone finds out? Maverick,…Eva doesn’t deserve…”
Mavericks jaws flexed. “You let me handle that. All you do is tell me what you want to be.” His tone was quiet, lethal.
“You don’t have to tell me now, I will give you time.” Before Heaven could retort back.
His eyes shifted from her to the distance.
A mature antelope grazed on the far ridge.
He dismounted Baximus with one fluid motion, one arm still holding her, lowering her lightly onto the ground beside him.
He pressed the rifle into her hands
“Shoot it.”
Heaven froze.
“I don’t know how to.” she whispered, the weapon foreign and heavy.
He stepped behind her, his closeness causing heat to flow through her, his chest pressed against her back.
Her heart thundered.
“Hold it firmly,” he murmured, his lips brushing her ear. His hands came over hers, large and warm.His calloused fingers adjusted hers on the stock, the trigger guard.
“If you hold it too tight, you’ll shake. If you hold it too loose it will bite.”
Her breath hitched. His heartbeat thudded against her spine steady, strong, she felt his breath fan on her neck.
“Feet apart,” he said, nudging her boots with his.The rifle dipped; he caught it, steadying.
She yelped softly, unable to think.
“Eyes on the target,” he said calmly, one hand sliding to her waist, fingers splaying possessively.
“You aim. Focus where you want to hit.”
She squinted through the iron sights. The antelope grazed, oblivious.
His finger pressed over hers on the trigger.
“Breathe in.” His voice dropped to a husky whisper. “Hold it… squeeze in three… two…”
BANG!!!
A deafening crack ripped through the forest.
The force jolted them both.
Birds exploded from the trees.
Baximus and Rosalia reared.
The antelope bolted.
Heaven squinted, confused.
They hadn’t fired.
“For last night…” Maverick said quietly, voice low. “I’ll make it up to you.”
Was that him apologizing? Heaven turned to look at him, she met his eyes.
His body shook.
He fell forward into her.
The rifle dropped from her hand.
Heaven’s arms flew up to catch him and then she felt it.
Warm.
Wet.
Spreading across her fingers.
Her whole world froze.
She lifted her trembling hand blood.
The shot hadn’t come from them.
Someone…
had shot Maverick