Page 78 of Dark Endures

That’s definitely Maddox’s voice, which means—I let go and the head pulls away.

No.

No.

No.

“How are you feeling?”

Mortified. Completely and thoroughly embarrassed. If my mother saw this, I would have been disowned. Or killed on the spot.

Maybe both.

Maddox smiles at me.

What does that mean?

Has he decided I’ve gone nuts?

What has my life come to that the scariest man I know is smiling at me like you do a wild dog that you’re trying to entice with treats? “I’m fine.” That’s a total lie. My body wants to go back to sleep for a week. “Where am I? How long have I been asleep?”

“You’re in my office. And you’ve been asleep for a little over eight hours.”

EIGHT HOURS! I sit up and try to orient myself. “Why did you let me sleep so long? I need to get to work. How am I going to catch up? No. No. No. This isn’t happening. I don’t have time for this. I need to work. Don’t worry. I’ll get the snakes all taken care of.” It’s going to take all night. How am I going to recover from this?

“No, you won’t.”

Maddox’s hard voice pulls me out of my panicked state.

“What you’re going to do is eat dinner and relax for a little bit. Then I’ll drive you home.”

Eat? Relax? There’s no time for that. “I can’t. There’s no way I can make up the hours. And the snakes need their cages cleaned.”

“All the cages are taken care of. And there’s no need to make up hours.”

But I need to get paid. I can’t afford to lose all that money.

“What I just said isn’t optional. It’s what you’re going to do.”

“And if I don’t?” Why did I say that? Every fiber of my being wants to eat whatever it is that’s sitting under those domes and sleep for another ten hours.

Maddox leans back, giving a clear view of all those luscious, rippling muscles under his henley.

A girl could catch herself drooling if she isn’t careful.

“If you try to work, I’ll toss you over my shoulder and bring you to Louisella’s house. After she’s fed you, put you to bed for a week, and told you what’s what, you’ll beg me to take you back.”

He wouldn’t. Would he?

Maddox looks dead serious. Like he’s just waiting to throw me over his shoulder.

Not going to lie, that part sounds kinda sexy, the rest, though, is completely terrifying. “I could eat.”

“Glad you saw it my way. Do you need me to carry you over to the table, or can you walk?”

Temptation sits in front of me, urging me to let the sexy man carry me. To revel in the feel of his arms around me. To pretend even for a moment that there’s a man that loves me. “I can walk.”

“Okay then.” He stands up and takes a single step back.

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