Chapter 11

Maxim

I knew I was taking a chance, letting Riley use my computer and letting her order whatever she wanted, but it was important to me to show her that I wasn't like the other men in her life.

I was different.

I didn't know why that was important to me, it just was.

I didn't care about the money. Five hundred bucks was chump change for a man like me. In fact, I wish she had spent more, but after glancing over her order, I went back to the website she ordered from and bought her more clothing just like it. I doubled her order and then some with a smile on my face as I did it. It would arrive tomorrow.

I wanted her to feel happy and taken care of.

It upset me to know what she had endured up till now. Her life was marked by instability and neglect, something no one, especially not someone as young and spirited as Riley, should ever have to go through.

It pained me to think of her spending her childhood without anyone there to support her, always adapting, always surviving, never just being a little girl in this great big scary world.

Honestly, by all accounts, she should have turned out much worse. Sure, she played the part of a bad girl from time to time, but I knew the truth.

At her core, Riley was a good girl.

And I wanted her to realize that about herself.

The decision to buy her clothes was trivial in the grand scheme of things, but it was at least a start. A way to show her that she deserved to have things of her own, choices of her own.

Everything, really.

In my heart, I hoped to give her not just material things but also a family she could rely on. I wanted to be that steady presence she had lacked, to show her that not everyone in her life would be another open and shut door like all of them had been so far.

As I closed the laptop and leaned back, my mind was already racing with plans on how to integrate her into the safety and warmth of my world. How to prove to her that she was worth every effort, that she was no longer alone.

I wanted her to feel happy, truly taken care of, perhaps for the first time in her life.

Above all else though, I wanted to give her a home.

With a soft sigh, I ran my hand over my jaw.

For a long while now, this house had felt empty, even since my daughter had moved in with her husband.

I never really paid much attention to the silence that rang through its walls.

Until now.

Now, the quiet felt lonely.

But Riley, her laughter, her smile, her stubbornness—her mere presence was changing all of that and I never wanted that joy to leave.

Riley was a drug.

An absolute addiction and I wanted another hit.

I stood up from my desk and walked out of my office. I meant to head up to my bedroom, but I found myself wandering the halls until I was standing outside of her bedroom door.

I paused for only a moment before I opened it.

I wanted to see her.

Needed to see her.

The door creaked softly as I pushed it open, the hinges groaning quietly in the silence of the corridor. Inside, the moon cast a silvery glow through the window, bathing the room in a ghostly, tranquil light.

Riley was fast asleep.

The moonlight glinted off her cheek, highlighting the gentle curve of her jaw and the soft flutter of her eyelashes. She really was so beautiful.

She would make another man very lucky someday.

My upper lip rolled at the thought. The thought of another man touching her sent a surge of possessiveness coursing through me.

I wanted to be that man.

No.

I couldn't.

Right?

She was too young. Too inexperienced. But fuck, the thought of wrapping my arms around her lithe little body and taking care of her every need as she screamed my name was almost more than I could bear.

As if she could hear the turmoil of my thoughts, her brow furrowed, and her head tossed from side to side on the pillow. A soft moan escaped her lips, growing louder, more distressed. Her hands clenched the sheets, pulling them tightly around her as if trying to shield herself from whatever chased her in her dreams.

Then, with a sharp gasp that cut through the silence like a knife, she screamed—a sound so raw and terrified that it chilled me to the bone.

Instinctively, I rushed to her side, my heart pounding with a mix of fear and urgency.

"Riley," I whispered as I reached out to gently shake her shoulder. "Riley, wake up. It's just a dream."

Her eyes flew open, wide and unseeing, and she screamed again, this time in shock at my touch. But as her gaze slowly began to focus, recognizing me in the dim light, her expression transformed from terror to relief. Her body visibly relaxed, though her breath was still ragged, her eyes shining with the remnants of fear.

"It's okay," I murmured, sitting down on the edge of the bed and reaching for her hand. "You're safe, Riley. You're safe."

She looked up at me, her eyes searching mine for reassurance. "Maxim," she breathed out, her voice shaky. "I—it was just so real."

"I know, but it's over now," I assured her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm here. You're not alone."

The tension slowly left her body, her shoulders dropping as she let out a long, steadying breath. She managed a weak smile.

"Let me tuck you back in and then you should try to go back to sleep. It's late," I whispered.

"Wait," she pleaded, her soulful eyes looking straight up into mine.

"What is it, Riley-girl?"

"Stay here with me. Don't leave," she asked quietly, and my heart nearly burst out of my chest.

"I can sit over there and wait until you fall asleep," I offered, not wanting to scare her any further.

"No. Not that. Please. Hold me."