“I got you. Don’t you worry about a thing.”
Water ran from her hair and body, soaking into his shirt and dripping down his arms, but he didn’t care. He turned out of the bathroom and carried her down the hall, past the guest bedroom to his own room. Because fuck the guest bedroom. If the two of them were going to make a run at doing this thing again, they were doing it in his bed. Their bed, now.
Alexa wasn’t a guest to him. She would never be a guest to him. Because this house was where she belonged—and always had. They’d both just gotten lost for a while. But that was all fucking over.
In his room, Maverick settled her on the edge of the bed and pulled back the covers. He kicked off his boots and shrugged off his cut, then settled his gun on the nightstand. “Climb in, Al.”
Her breath hitching, she squeezed at the length of her hair with the towel. “But I’m wet.”
“You’re perfect. Climb in.”
She moved to the center and slipped her pretty, long legs under the covers. Masculine satisfaction roared through him at seeing her there, but he had to rein that shit in. Hard. After what’d happened to her today, he wasn’t touching her until she indicated that she was ready. Anyway, despite his hard-on, what he needed more than anything was to help Alexa feel safe. Fuck, he needed that more than his next breath. To protect her, to comfort her, to be her shelter in the storm.
Maverick stretched out and pulled her in tight against the side of his body.
Meow.
He looked to the doorway to find Lucy standing there, eyeballing them in her skull sweater.
“Come on, Luce,” he said. “Your mama needs us.”
The cat padded across the room, hesitated at the side of the bed, then jumped up. She sniffed and stepped, sniffed and stepped, until she stood on his stomach within reach of Alexa’s petting hand. And then Lucy curled up on his belly and fell asleep while Alexa stroked her ears.
And Christ, it was probably stupid, but protectiveness roared through Maverick like a demon. Because this felt like his little family. His woman. Their weird-ass cat. Their house.
“Fall asleep if you want to,” Maverick said, running his fingers through the loose waves of her damp hair. “I’ll wake you up every so often to make sure your head’s okay.”
“I don’t know if I can sleep.”
“You can.”
She shook her head in a small movement that was just barely perceptible. “I’m afraid.”
Her words were like getting sucker punched in the heart. “Don’t be,” he managed. “Slater’s in jail. I’ve got my gun sitting right here. Nothing’s going to hurt you, Alexa, I promise.”
“You’ll stay awake . . .”
He heard what she didn’t say. You’ll stay awake just to be sure?
“I’ll stay awake. You sleep. I’ll keep you safe. Count on it.”
She drifted off in maybe five seconds, and that had satisfaction roaring through him, too. She was scared, she felt vulnerable, and yet his words and his body had given her the security she needed to let go. The trust and belief that represented staggered him. Just nearly knocked him stupid.
And it made him realize he’d do anything not to break his word.
The conversation with Dare came back to him. Yeah, Maverick would be smart. He wouldn’t be the one to start shit. But if Slater came after her again, he sure as hell would be the one to finish it.
CHAPTER 28
Despite being woken up over and over again, Alexa opened her eyes to the early morning sunlight and felt . . . better. Stronger. Freer. For the horrible things Grant had tried to do to her, he was now in jail. And the more she thought about what’d happened yesterday, the more she realized that she’d been stronger and braver than she had in a long, long time. She hadn’t caved in to him. She hadn’t cowered and fallen apart. She’d schemed. She’d run. She’d fought. And she’d recounted every bit of it to the authorities.
That was more than she ever would’ve done before.
“Hey. You awake?” Maverick’s voice was low, gravelly, sexy.
She shifted to see him better. Dirty blond hair that he’d clearly been running his hands through. Scruff covering his jaw. A face full of hard angles. God, he was beautiful to her. “Yeah. You must be exhausted, though.”
He shook his head. “I’m fine. How you feeling?”
Alexa still had some achiness, and she couldn’t deny the small throb in the side of her head. But all of that would go away. And she’d still be free of Grant—and that made her freaking ecstatic. “Actually, I feel pretty decent. Nothing some ibuprofen can’t fix.”
He arched a brow, his gaze running over her face like he was analyzing her words. “Really? I was thinking you could rest here and I could take care of moving your mom. You’d be safe. Dare offered to come hang.” He gestured to his cell sitting on the nightstand next to his gun.
She pushed up on an elbow. For a long moment, she just soaked him in. The thoughtfulness of his words shot right to her heart. The raw emotion in his dark blue eyes wrapped around her and made her feel so cared for and safe. And his scruff made her want to feel it against her thighs.
She cupped his face in her hand, settling for feeling the beginnings of his beard against her palm. For now. “That’s not necessary, but thank you. I feel a lot better. And honestly? I’m done feeling bad over Grant Slater. Today is all about new beginnings, starting with moving Mom. And I want to be there for her.”
His eyes searched hers. After a moment, he nodded and pressed a kiss to her palm. “In case it needs to be said, you handled yesterday like a champ. It about fucking killed me to see—” He shook his head. “But you called us and you ran and you were fighting. When we got there, we saw you. I was terrified but proud of you, too. And I know you’re hurting right now but you survived, Alexa. You survived that and you survived him and even if there’s other bullshit to deal with, you’re out the other side.”
His fierceness built her up and bolstered her resolve. “You make me stronger, Maverick.”
“You’re strong on your own.” He kissed her palm again. “Don’t forget it.”
She swallowed hard, love and need for this man shooting through her fast and urgent. Alexa shifted her naked body on top of his, her knees settling on either side of his hips. “I won’t. And you can remind me if I do.”
“Better believe I will.” As he peered up at her, his eyes flashed hot. His hands landed on the outsides of her thighs. “You sure?”
She ground against the bulge of his cock. “Of this? Of you? Always.” Bracing her hands on his pillow, she leaned down and kissed him.