Veiled Silence by Eve Black

Author:Eve Black [Black, Eve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Goodreads: 242116668
Published: 2025-12-13T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

When she’d walked out of the home she shared with Gideon that night, what felt like a million years ago, she never expected what unfolded.

He’d chased her; not only that, but he’d also caught her, and then he’d opened up to her in a way she never thought possible.

She’d learned things about him as a child she only ever speculated about—she and Cora knew the basics, had chatted about it quietly at family dinners, but Kendra had never known the true extent of the trauma that had shaped a young Gideon Maddox into the formidable, cold, decisive man he’d become.

Abandoned by his mother during the most important years of his life, left to raise his three younger brothers under the pressure and cruel ridicule of a heartless father, and then expected to shoulder the responsibility of keeping the Maddox empire afloat and grow it into the juggernaut it was today…daunting to even think about. But Gideon had lived it, he’d conquered every hurdle in his life with a chilly precision that made everyone bow to him.

But under all those tailored suits, expensive watches, calculated risks, untold rewards, and the unspeakable power…was a little boy who’d lost his mother and was forced into a role he wasn’t ready for.

Oh Lord, the mother in her was weeping for that little boy, the woman in her was proud of the man her husband had become through his own hard work and determination. The neglected, manipulated, heartbroken wife…well, she was still pissed, but she was listening.

She was sitting in his lap, her chest against his, her hands on his face, and—even after three years of marriage—she’d never been in that position before.

She liked it…a little too much.

Unless it would lead to sex, she and Gideon never…snuggled. She’d lean against him in the car on the way back from an event because she was exhausted and he had the best shoulders. He’d wrap his arm around her in public—that whole wholesome couple image he wanted to portray on display for the cameras. She’d put her legs over his when they were both in the informal living relaxing—a rare occurrence—her with her books or streaming binges, and him with his bourbon and Brazilian jazz.

But never, not once, had he ever initiated close, intimate, non-sexual contact.

Something inside her…smoothed out, like a once vibrant rose, savagely crushed in his hands, but now slowly blooming, it’s devastated petals healing, quietly unfurling. Not yet fully vibrant again, but the potential was there.

If he didn’t crush her again.

God, am I just a weak idiot waiting to be completely destroyed?

His ragged voice cut through her thoughts.

“It was fear,” Gideon finally answered, his voice like shards of regret, like the words had been ripped from his very soul. “You terrified me.”

At that, Kendra’s mouth dropped open. “What?” she blurted, her voice high-pitched with offense. “I terrified you? Are you serious?”

Kendra nearly fell off the couch when Gideon Maddox’s ears turned red, his face growing pink as he dipped his chin as if to hide from her scrutiny.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.