I really enjoyed having the time to get to know Allie better. She was so easy to talk to, and her eyes sparkled when she told me about the youth center that Guardrail was building for her company. Now that it was almost complete, she was planning a huge grand opening celebration. Between that and her upcoming wedding, I couldn’t imagine her being any happier.
“I have my final fitting for my dress next week. Would you mind going with me? Tell me what you think? I really need an honest opinion,” Allie asked.
“I’m sure it will be perfect, but I would love to go with you.”
“Great. I’ll let Kane know so he can get it worked out with Maverick.”
“He’ll want to send the cavalry along with us. Hope you’re okay with that,” I warned her.
“Girl, I’m used to it. I’m lucky if I can go to the grocery store without someone tagging along. But after everything that happened with Tony, I like knowing that he’s looking out for me,” she explained.
“Actually sounds kind of nice when you put it like that,” I confessed.
“When you find someone who loves you enough to put your life before their own, there’s nothing like it in the world. I never thought I would find it, but now that I have, I’m going to hold on to it.” I could see the love in her eyes as she spoke of their relationship. I found myself wanting that kind of love.
When we pulled through the gates of the clubhouse, things were oddly quiet. After making plans to meet Allie after lunch tomorrow, I headed inside. I couldn’t figure out where everyone had gone. Usually the place was humming with the guys moving about and music blaring from the bar. I considered myself lucky to have a quiet night and headed to my room for a hot shower.
When I turned the doorknob, I heard a strange rustle behind my door. Thinking maybe someone was in there, I quickly swung my door open. Before I could move out of the way, a gazillion packing peanuts came barreling into the hall, covering my feet and ankles in white. I stood there frozen, stunned by the mountain of styrofoam pieces that filled my room. There wasn’t a place where I could look that wasn’t covered.
“What the hell?” I screeched as they continued to cascade down through the doorway.
My attention was instantly drawn over to a dark corner at my left when Maverick purposefully cleared his throat. Gloating, he stood with his arms crossed, wearing the sexiest smile I have ever seen in my life. Just looking at him, with his childlike expression of pure satisfaction, made me want to wrap my arms around him. I should’ve been pissed. I should’ve wanted to scream and yell at him, but seeing that look on his face was worth every single little piece of styrofoam in that room.
“You did this?” I asked laughing as I pointed towards the huge mess in my room.
He nodded, still smiling with pride.
I looked back at my room for just a brief moment, making sure that I wasn’t dreaming. Styrofoam crunched beneath my feet as I walked over to him and said, “You’re pretty proud of yourself, aren’t you?”
“Yep,” he snickered.
“I have to admit,” I said, motioning towards my room, “that is pretty impressive.” He remained silent as I continued, “I mean that took some time. I bet you enjoyed planning this all out. Thinking of the perfect way to get me back and waiting for just the right time.” I stopped talking when he took a step closer to me.
“I did.” His voice was raspy and deep as he inched closer to me. My knees trembled ever so slightly as the warmth of his breath caressed my neck. “All the time it took to get those damn things shoved into your room. It was worth every second to see the look on your face when you opened that door,” he whispered.
My eyes drifted down to his perfect round lips. Unable to stop myself, I leaned into him and pressed my mouth against his. His arms immediately wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer to him. A light moan vibrated through my chest as his tongue gently ran across my bottom lip. I couldn’t hide my attraction to him any longer, not from him, not from myself. His hands slowly reached up to the sides of my face as I opened my mouth to him. The kiss became demanding, sending an involuntary shudder down my spine. This man had consumed my thoughts, my dreams, my very existence for weeks, and now, in this moment, he was consuming my heart. His scent, his touch, the heat of his body next to mine. I wanted all of him. My hands roamed across his broad chest, feeling his muscles tighten as he continued to claim me with his mouth. I wanted to remember everything about this moment. The feel of his hands against my body. The taste of him against my tongue. Every miniscule detail about this moment would be locked away forever in my memory. Without me even realizing it, Maverick had claimed my heart, and I couldn’t help but wonder what he would do with it.
With my back pressed against the wall, he pulled back, releasing me from our embrace and repeated, “Worth every damn second.”
Chapter 13
Maverick
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