CHAPTER 14

Cricket

 

I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye, so I waited for Maverick to return. “Are they asleep?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s getting late,” I told him as soon as he grabbed a tumbler from the cabinet. “I should get going.”

“Okay.” He poured a quarter of the glass with bourbon. “How do you plan on doing that?”

It took me a second before it dawned on me that I didn’t have a vehicle. “Shit.”

“Have a drink with me. I’ll take you in the morning.”

“I can’t sleep here.”

“Why not?”

I threw my hands in the air, exasperated. “You know why, Maverick.”

“I do, and that’s exactly why I think you should.”

“What?”

He swirled the liquid and took a sip. “I can’t stay away from you, and whenever I try, the universe throws us back together. I think we need to stop fighting it and just give in.” My soul was awakening at his words, his declaration, and I thought that maybe I didn’t ruin everything to the point it wasn’t repairable. But then he kept talking. “I can’t be mean to you no matter how hard I try. I want you in my bed until we get it out of our systems.”

The truth was, I wanted him. I wanted any part of him I could have. And if he’d give me scraps, if he’d fuck me until he was done with me, I’d take it because sooner or later, he’d really be done with me, and I’d lose any chance I had. Him wanting anything to do with me wasn’t because he wanted me. It was because he wanted closure… I wanted that, too. But it was risky. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, Mav.”

“Why not? I’m single, you’re single… at least I think you are, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I’m divorced.”

He snarled. “So you’re single. I don’t see a problem.”

“Someone’s going to get hurt.”

“We’re both already hurting, Pixie. Not sure how much worse it could be.”

He had a point. Still… “What exactly do you want?”

“Sex. Exclusively with you. Which means you don’t spread your legs for anyone else while you’re takin’ my cock.”

I forgot how much I loved it when he talked dirty. “Fine.” I rubbed my ear, feeling the weight of my breasts getting heavier by the second.

His eyes followed my movement, and he squinted. “But that’s all it is, Pixie. Just sex. And if you’ve had enough, all I ask is that you fuckin’ tell me.”

“I can do that.” At least I hoped I could.

“Good.” He tossed back the rest of his bourbon. “Bedroom’s down at the end of the hall. Get naked, and I’ll be right in after I lock up.”

I blinked, then I scurried down the hallway before I let myself think about what I was doing. When I got to his room, I closed the door behind me. I needed a second to catch my breath, and as I looked around, there was an ache in my stomach at seeing his bed. My feet took me to the end of it, and I ran my fingers along the navy-blue comforter.

I’d only ever been with one other man since I left, and much to his dismay, I made him wear condoms. Knowing that while I was gone, so many other women easily took my place did something to my head and my heart.

I might have left, but Maverick was never far from me. He’d always been a part of me, and he forever would.

“What are you thinking?” I jumped when his voice came from directly behind me. His hands splayed my hips, and I leaned into him.

“Nothing.”

“You’re the only woman who’s ever been in my house, Cricket, let alone my bed.”

I spun around, needing to see his face so I could tell if he was lying or not. And then I felt stupid, seeing that he was almost annoyed. We weren’t getting back together, so he didn’t owe me anything. This was just sex. So I pushed all the shit swirling around in my head away and wrapped my arms around his neck.

The second our lips touched, I expected him to strip my clothes off and have his way with me. But that wasn’t even close to what happened. No… he made love to me. Slowly.

He kissed my lips, my jaw, and down my neck. His tongue traced between my breasts before he removed my shirt. His big hands cupped my breasts, and he massaged and kneaded and teased my nipples until they were stiff peaks. He reached behind me and pinched the clasp of my bra, and I rolled my shoulders so it fell to the floor.

My thighs were trembling and my panties damp by the time his fingers toyed with the waistband of my shorts. I wanted to beg, to plead with him to just fuck me, but this was his show, and he wouldn’t rush for anything.

He popped the button, then lowered the zipper, and before he touched me, he pressed a wet kiss just below my belly button. His hands went to my shorts, and though my skin was already on fire, it ignited at the feel of the denim sliding down my legs.

He ran his nose along the inside of my thigh, and his lips grazed the seam of my panties. My knees shook, and when he pressed a kiss right at the heart of me, they gave out. He caught me with an arm around my waist, and he lowered me to the bed and then stripped me completely bare.

And then I had him where I needed him most. His mouth, his tongue, his fingers. He worked me so good I felt like I was floating and all I could do was hold on for the ride.

He slid two long fingers inside me, and his tongue flicked my clit before he sucked it into his mouth. My back arched so hard I felt my spine crack, and I slapped my hands over my mouth while I cried out his name and came harder than I ever had before.

With hooded eyes, I watched as he shucked his clothes, and then he came over me and wasted no time lining up his thick cock and sliding inside. He ripped my hands away and linked our fingers together, and then bent down, so his lips were hovering over mine, our harsh breaths sharing the same heated air.

He dipped his chin and watched as he fucked me, each thrust somehow harder and longer than the last. I wrapped my legs around him, and my hands flexed against his when I felt my belly start to tingle again. My walls quivered around him, and I panted his name, and when it washed over me again, he slammed his mouth to mine and groaned as we came together.

It was beautiful and amazing and perfect, but it hurt my heart so much that I swear I felt it cracking wide open.

His head fell between my breasts, and I wanted him to roll us over so I was lying on top of him and could fall asleep like that. Like we used to. But he wouldn’t. And I needed to remember that all this was for him, not for me. He wanted to fuck the pain away. “Is it okay if I take a shower?”

He lifted his head and stared down at me, his eyes shutting down as they lost their lust-filled gaze. “Yeah.” He slid out of me and pulled up his boxers. “Towels are in the cabinet next to the shower along with extra toothbrushes. You can grab one of my shirts from the dresser if you need it to sleep in.”

With his back to me, he put on a pair of flannel pants and a white tank, and then walked out of his room. And I leaped to my feet and ran to the bathroom, just so I could cry beneath the spray without him hearing me.

When I got out of the shower, I brushed my teeth and finger-combed my hair. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when I got to his room, but I was hoping for an empty bed or for him to be sleeping. I got neither. He was sitting with his back to the headboard, shirtless, watching TV. “Got everything you need?” He didn’t even look at me when he asked.

“Yeah, thanks.” I refused to wear one of his shirts because I had to draw the line somewhere, so I was in my underwear and the cami I had on beneath my shirt earlier. I also had on my shorts because I wasn’t going to walk through the house in my underwear. Braving a confidence I didn’t feel, I walked to the end of the bed and smiled at him. “Good night.”

His eyes went from the TV to me. “Where are you going?”

“The couch.”

“Cricket.” He sighed my name as if I was supposed to know what he was thinking.

I stared at him and waited for him to say more, and when he didn’t, I dropped my head and started walking again.

“Get in bed.”

“It’s okay. I’ll take the couch.”

My hand was on the knob when he said my name again, but this time, he didn’t sigh it. He snapped it. “Get in bed. You’re not sleeping on the fuckin’ couch.”

“I can’t sleep in here with you.”

“Why not?”

“Because your girls.” I blamed them even though they were honestly the least of my worries.

He shook his head. “They never wake up once they’re asleep, and on the off chance they do, I’ll hear them. Get in bed. I’m tired.”

“Mav, really, I’ll just—”

“I gotta toss you in next to me?”

He would, too. Maverick always had a way of getting what he wanted, including using his strength against me… in the best way, of course. He never hurt me, and he never would. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

I turned around and padded back, then took off my shorts and crawled in. I stayed as far away from him as I could, rolling to my side so my back was to him. The voices from the TV were a good distraction, but after only a few minutes, he shut it off.

And a few minutes after that, I found myself rolled over and hauled next to him, where he wrapped his arm around my neck and rested his other hand on my waist. I knew he could feel me breathing, and I worked so, so hard at keeping my breaths even, despite my heart pounding rapidly.

“No more avoiding me, Pixie.”

I assumed he meant grocery shopping, so I just said, “Okay.” And then, because I was an idiot, I also said, “I ran into Brenda at the store tonight.”

His fingers stopped their gentle movement on my back, and I tilted my head on the pillow to see his eyes move from where they were to my face. “What’d she have to say?”

“Not much. I kind of cut her off when she started to apologize to me.”

“Good. She doesn’t deserve for you to give her the time of day.”

“Were y’all dating when she got pregnant?”

He shook his head. “Hell no. I was so drunk I don’t even remember fuckin’ her.”

That should have made me feel better, but the way he so casually threw that out there actually turned my stomach.

I tried to roll away, but he threw his leg over mine and pulled me tighter to his warm body. I felt his lips press against my scalp, and I shuddered. He trailed his lips down to my ear, stopping to pepper soft kisses along the way. “Night, Pixie.”

“Good night, Mav.”

He pressed his face into my hair and sighed. “Yeah, Cricket, it was a good night.”

* * *

It wasn’t surprising that I woke up alone since Mav was always an early riser. I allowed myself a couple of minutes to take in the joy of where I was, and before I started imagining myself waking up there every morning, I got up and ready quickly.

There was noise coming from the kitchen, and I was shocked to see everyone else already up and moving. The girls were groggy, but when I saw Mav getting ready to pour them cereal, I asked if anyone wanted French toast.

So I whipped up some breakfast and chatted with the girls while he finished getting ready. They usually took the bus, but they wanted to come with because Mav had to head into town to take me home.

I was grateful to them for being with us because it helped avoid any awkwardness there potentially could have been between Mav and myself. He dropped me off first, and I said goodbye to everyone and waved at the girls before I went inside.

Luckily, I was supposed to be down to cook early, so I rushed through a shower and headed to the kitchen, where I thankfully was too busy to think about much else until several hours later.

The company that Brody and my bodyguard Lincoln worked for had actually built a new facility in Warrenville on land that Mack had sold to them. Brody was in charge of it, and because of that, I figured he just somehow knew that I hired Lincoln back in New York. He hadn’t said anything to me the couple of times he was in the diner, but by the looks he gave me, I knew he knew.

I only had to hope that he didn’t tell Maverick what happened because it wasn’t something I was ready to talk about… I honestly didn’t know that I’d ever be able to talk about it. I just wanted to forget it ever happened and move on with my life.

So because Warrenville was becoming home to a division of Royal Ace Security, it wasn’t unusual for us to see fit, muscular men in workout clothes or suits in the Pickled Pig. In the weeks I’d been home, there had been an influx, and if I wasn’t still madly in love with Maverick, I’d actually find myself blushing at how hot some of these guys were.

I had just served a table of three, who were all wearing tight black T-shirts with the same shield logo on it, their biceps bigger than my thigh, when I looked up and saw Lincoln walking in. He was wearing his usual black suit and observant scowl, and when he caught my eyes, he lifted his chin at me.

He was there yesterday as well, and I was startled to see him, but he explained that he was moving here to train the new guys.

I wiggled my fingers at him and went back to the grill. Summer put in another couple of orders, and I kept plenty busy, ignoring the buzzing in my pocket. When I finally had a second, I grabbed my phone and unlocked the screen, and when I saw a text from Tate, my fingers shook.

Tate: I miss you. I want to see you.

My blood ran cold, and I don’t know how Lincoln got to me so fast or how he even knew something was wrong, but one second, I was standing in the kitchen, and the next, I was being ushered through the back, my phone no longer in my hand. “It’ll be okay,” he assured me as he looked at the message.

“Do you think he’s going to try to come here?”

“Can’t say. You’ve got a restraining order, so he’d be a moron to try, but I’ve seen idiots like him do much dumber things.”

“Should I respond?”

He shook his head. “Absolutely not.”

“What should I do then?”

“Nothing right now. Let me look into some things. In the meantime, if he tries to contact you, don’t engage. If you need me for anything, just call. Better yet, I can stay with you for a while.”

I took my phone back and put it in my pocket. “Do you think you need to?”

“I’ve no doubt in my mind you’ll be safe during the day. He’s too much of a pussy to make a scene in public, but while you’re alone at night and vulnerable, I’d prefer to crash on your couch.”

It wasn’t until Tate shoved me to the ground and strangled me that I was afraid of him. Something about being back home made that fear go away, but knowing he wasn’t completely out of my life made me anxious. Still, I didn’t want Lincoln staying with me. That would spread around town in a heartbeat. I didn’t want people to misconstrue things, and I didn’t want to have to explain. “No, I don’t want that. I’ll let you know if I change my mind, but I think I’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” He wasn’t happy with my answer but respected my decision.

“Thank you for everything, but Lincoln, can I ask a favor?”

“Of course.”

I stepped closer to him and lowered my voice. “Can we please keep this between us? With my relationship with Brody’s wife’s family and just… if I need to pay you to reinstate the NDA again, I’ll do that.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll keep it confidential.”

“Thank you.”

He opened the door for me. “Don’t mention it.”