Knock Down, Drag Out / Book One

Chapter Ten

Maddox waited until he and Darcy were alone after dinner, cuddled up under the blankets of their shared bed, before allowing himself to acknowledge the fear that had been silently ripping him apart since she had gotten the last box from her stalker.

Della's cat had been ripped apart, his internal organs and blood coating everything in the package except for the note the stalker had placed on top. Darcy had tried to look and Maddox had refused to let her, didn't want her to know that her stalker had crossed such a huge line.

He had been able to protect her from the truth for a while, until Damion had come in with the news of Della's murder, and now she knew. Knew her stalker was killing because he couldn't get to her.

Maddox slid his hand under Darcy's shirt, spreading his fingers across her stomach so he could feel it moving with every breath she took. So he could remind himself that she was still safe, still this angry ball of determination that complained when she got upset or scared and wanted to fight to get her sense of freedom back.

Darcy pressed further back into his chest and he dropped a kiss to the back of her head, slowly moving his fingers so he could pet her skin. He wanted so badly to wake her up, to tell her that he wouldn't let anyone or anything get her ever again and that she was safe as long as he lived; but he knew she was exhausted.

The hand on her stomach slid upwards, his fingertips brushing the swell of her breast. He traced around the side of it until he held it in his hand possessively, her nipple pressed into the center of his palm.

It wasn't about sex, although the feeling of her resting in his hand was making his cock grow hard in his boxers, it was about staking a claim. It was about him hating the thought of losing her when this was all over and wanting to remind himself that she would only disappear into the wind if he let her.

Maddox brushed his thumb back and forth over her soft skin and Darcy let out a sigh, pressing even further back into his body. Her ass made contact with his cock and his hand clenched a little before he could breathe through the sensation.

He felt when she woke up, the easy rhythm of her breathing changing under his hand and her body going taunt for a moment while she stretched her legs out. He let his hand slide out from under her shirt when she rolled in the bed to face him, throwing one leg over his.

"What's wrong?" Darcy murmured, rubbing her face against his chest like a cat before looking up at him with her sapphire eyes. Maddox was still secretly happy that she had ripped one of her brown contacts and couldn't wear them anymore.

He brushed her hair out of her face and traced the black coming back in at the roots with a finger, thinking that she would have to bleach her hair again if they didn't take care of her stalker soon.

"Just thinking about how long I get to keep you," Maddox whispered, dropping his hand so he could slide it back under her shirt and rest it against her stomach. Darcy clenched her eyes shut and snuggled closer to his chest so he wouldn't see the tears that escaped from under eyelids.

She wanted more than he could offer her, wanted forever and then some, but she would take what she could get. She didn't know when she became so pathetic, she wasn't the type of woman who was okay with loving someone so much it hurt to breathe without them when they didn't even return one tenths of those feelings; but Maddox was different. Loving him was different.

She rubbed her face against his chest one more time and prayed he couldn't feel the tears she was trying to dry. He let his hands fall away when she sat up and straddled him, placing them on her hips once she got comfortable.

Darcy wasn't wearing any pajama bottoms and he could feel how damp she was through her panties and his boxers, making him even harder. He rubbed his thumbs over her hips and let out a soft groan when she started to rock against him.