Page 40 of Tainted Tempos

“You handled those paparazzi like a champ,” Mav says as he passes me the bar of soap.

We’re in the steamy shower, washing off after what is undeniably one of the best days of my life.

“Oh, them?” I flick my wrist, giggling. “That was nothing.”

“Look at you; you’re a natural.”

“Well, I’m trying.”

Mav smirks but his eyes are serious when they meet mine. He brushes my hair away from my face and bends his knees a littleto bring us eye level. “You don’t have to try, baby. You can lean on me if it gets to be too much.”

“I know,” I admit. “But fame is a big part of your life. And if we’re going to be together, I need to manage that too.”

“Yeah,” Mav agrees, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “I’m proud of you, Mckenna.”

I sigh. “I wish we could stay here forever, Mav.” I step closer to him, and he wraps a strong arm around me, pressing our naked, soapy bodies together. “Just the two of us.”

“Me too, beauty. I’m scared of the reality that awaits us.”

I pull back. “Because of our marriage?”

A cloud passes through his sky-blue eyes. He shakes his head. Works a swallow. “Because of…”

Understanding dawns and I know he doesn’t want to say Bran’s name.

I rest my palm on Maverick’s chest. “Don’t be. We’ll handle it—him—together.”

“Promise?” Mav asks, and I realize how much this affects him too.

“Yes,” I say. “I didn’t realize… I never asked. How are you doing, Mav? With…everything?”

“Don’t worry about me, beauty.” He tries for levity, but he can’t quite grasp it. Instead, he repositions us under the hot spray of the showerhead.

“Tell me.”

Mav sighs. “I don’t want you to worry about me. Not when you have so much on your mind.”

“We need to communicate,” I remind him.

He regards me for a long moment, before closing his eyes and tipping his head back. The water washes the shampoo from his hair, and I give him a few minutes. We both finish showering.

Mav flips off the showerhead and wraps me in a big, white, fluffy bath towel before he shrugs into a robe.

“My head’s all over the place,” he admits in a quiet voice. “I fucking hate that he hurt you. I hate that anyone hurt you, put their hands on you, fucking took something from you that you weren’t offering.”

“I know you do.” I touch his arm. “And it means everything to me that you know the truth. That you’re on my team.”

“I’ll never not be on your team.”

“I know that too.”

He wraps his arms around me and hugs me to his chest. “I’m scared about when we get back to Boston too. I don’t know where we go from here.”

“Today was wonderful,” I admit. “When I’m with you, Mav, I feel...”

“What?” He pulls back to look at me.

“Whole. Not broken.”

---