Page 70 of Mad Love

23

Blaise

Iwake up drenched in sweat. The room is dark. There’s no light. Of course there isn’t. I’m not in my room at Maddox’s penthouse. I’m at Cillian’s sprawling estate, tucked inside one of the master bedrooms. Outside my door is Hale, my personal bodyguard.

Swell.

Needing a glass of water, I climb out of bed, open the door, and pad to the kitchen in my satin tank top and shorts. Hale follows close behind me.

We’re alone, but not. Cillian says there aren’t cameras inside his place. Only on the outside. There might not be cameras, but I can feel the other guards’ gazes following my movement. Do they think I’m a freak too? If they do, I doubt they would ever voice that thought. Otherwise, my father will dole out swift punishment.

It happened earlier. One of the servers gawked and stared a little too long for my father’s comfort. The guy was fired, then escorted out. It’s no wonder Cillian has so many enemies, and the reason he is feared.

Inside the kitchen, I reach for the glass way up high. Does a giant live here that everything is placed high above the reach of my arms?

A body brushes up against mine and grabs the glass for me. His warm breath coasts over my hair. His arm is muscular, wrapped in a tight, black long-sleeve shirt. Hale fills the glass with water from the tap and puts the glass in front of me. His fingers are bare.

“Thank you.” I take the glass from him, holding the glass from the bottom. I don’t have my gloves on. “Please step away from me,” I say over my shoulder. “I don’t like to be touched.”

He does as I say. I slowly turn around, my parched mouth forgotten. Hale peers down at me through eyes hooded. I glance up at him. He’s taller than Maddox by at least three inches. My gaze never leaving his, I take a drink of my water. What’s with the intensity in his eyes?

After I drain my glass, he sticks his hand out, palm up. I raise a brow. He smiles and dips his head at his palm.

“You want me to set the glass there?”

He nods.

Why didn’t he just say so? Irritated, I hold the glass by the rim and set it on his palm. He puts my glass on the counter and does something else that irks me. He points at the bedroom door.

I cross my arms and tip my chin at him. “Ask nicely, please.”

He does something with his hands. Huh? Then it hits me. He’s signing.

“You’re mute?”

He nods. Smiles. Hale reaches into his back pocket. In his hand is his cell phone.

“Oh, you want my number so we can communicate?”

Another smile and a nod from him.

Everything makes sense now. And here I thought the other guards didn’t talk to him because they didn’t like that Hale’s eyes were glued to his cell phone the entire time Cillian and I talked over dinner. He wasn’t not doing his job. He was—checking messages from the other guys. What were they texting back and forth about?

I step around his large frame and walk over to the bedroom. I find my small clutch and fish out my cell phone. Grabbing my phone by the bottom end, I hand it over to Hale. He dials, and his phone rings. He hands me back my phone, being careful our fingers don’t touch.

He’s a fast learner and a gentleman, though I wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley. His dark hair is cut high and tight. What Granger would call a military cut. His brows are thick and frame intense brown eyes. His lips are on the fuller side, making me wonder if his mouth would be as soft as Maddox’s.

Goodness, why am I having these thoughts? I shouldn’t be thinking of another man. I’m married. Except what Maddox and I have is a business arrangement.

My phone chirps. I glance at the screen. It’s a text message from an unknown number. One word.

“Hi.”

I type back a response. “Hey there.”

Hale’s phone dings. He glances at the screen and smiles.

We text back and forth.

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