by Shealy James
I nodded. “Be right back.” I quickly dodged the crowd to get to the bar, and more importantly the man who at that moment desired my attention, but I didn’t get far.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t my MIA gal pal, Kit Kat.” Only one person would dare to call me by that nickname, and he’d been calling me that since I wore pigtails and knee socks.
“Maddox!” I turned and was picked up in a tight hug. “Can’t breathe, Mad.” He put me back on my feet but remained close enough to talk without yelling.
“Where’ve you been? I’ve been worried sick.” He was teasing me, but I could hear a hint of true and unnecessary concern in his tone.
I threw my hands on my hips and gave him a look that told him I knew better. “I’ve been here, actually. I’m dating the owner. What are you doing here?”
“Nolan said the band’s good. He wanted me to hear them. You look different Kit Kat, happy or something.”
I smiled and hugged him again. “It’s good to see you too, Mad.”
He held onto me and spoke quietly above my ear. “You know you could see me more if you called me back once in a while. I don’t think I’ve even talked to you since the art show.”
I pulled away and gave him an apologetic look. “Sorry. I’ve had stuff going on.”
“I see that.” His eyes flicked above my head just as I felt someone press against my back and a hand wrap around my waist. If I hadn’t already been sure of who was behind me, the arm that wrapped around me would be unmistakable.
“Katherine,” Maverick said while eyeing Maddox. I almost laughed out loud. Maddox was a good-looking guy, no doubt. He was all angles and lean muscles. The man had a gene pool that wouldn’t quit, but there was no reason for Maverick to be jealous. Maddox was the Anderson Cooper of Seattle. He wasn’t buying what I was selling, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t enjoying the possessive side of Maverick. In fact, I would say I liked it more than I probably should have. No man had ever done the whole alpha, caveman thing for me before. It was invigorating.
“Hey, Maverick.” I leaned back and kissed his jaw since his eyes were still trained on Maddox. “This is my friend, Maddox. Mad, this is Adam.”
Maverick’s other arm came around me to shake Maddox’s hand. “Actually, we’ve met.” I looked between the two men confused. When had they met? Where would they have met? Blythe’s art show?
“So, you’re the Adam?” Maddox said with humor. “Penelope and Victoria mentioned you, but I had no idea they were talking about Adam Vaughn. How’s it going, man?”
“Wait. How do you two know each other?” I asked, flicking my eyes between a pair of dark, angry eyes and a pair of playful blue ones. I’ll give you one guess which hot man had the dark, angry pair. I suspected they had a hint of green by the possessive hold he still had on me.
“He went to Brantley,” Maddox explained. “He was a year ahead of Grant and me, but you left freshman year, right?”
“Yeah,” Maverick agreed without explaining. His stare never left Maddox’s face.
“How did you not mention this?” I asked Maverick.
“You don’t remember him, Kit Kat? He was on the basketball team with Grant and me. You may be too young.” He would have been four years ahead of me, but I thought I knew everyone who went to my school. Maddox turned back to Adam. “It’s good to see you. How are things?”
Maverick kept his arm wrapped tightly around me and for some reason was still not warming up to Maddox, who seemed to be genuinely happy to see him.
“Doing well. You and Katherine are still friends?”
“Katherine?” Maddox raised his eyebrows at me as if he was surprised that I let someone call me by my real name and not an animal nickname. “Interesting. I haven’t heard anyone call you Katherine since Mrs. Smith caught Dan trying to sneak you into the boy’s locker room.”
I rolled my eyes and glared at my childhood friend who I suddenly had the desire to kick in the shins. “Wow. Thanks for bringing that up. What are you doing here, again?”
“Ha. Good memories. Good ol’ Dan showed up at the gala last weekend. Somehow, you missed it, though…” Maddox was baiting me, but I wouldn’t let him. He knew damn well what was going on now that he’d seen Maverick. Unfortunately, he was like a dog with a bone.
“Did I?” I asked, knowing full well that I missed the gala because I was busy with Maverick.
“You know you did, Kit Kat.”
“Perhaps.” I looked around and prepared to change the subject again. “Where’s Nolan?” Maddox had a knack for bringing up uncomfortable topics that didn’t need to be discussed. And I had my own special way of deflecting said topics.
“Right here, gorgeous,” Nolan, the deflection himself, announced. He was such a fashionista. His blond hair was perfectly coiffed, which complemented his thick-framed glasses, collared shirt, sweater, and bowtie combination. He was always such a charmer in his preppy clothes.
I reached out to hug Nolan and felt Maverick’s hands drop from my body. “Maverick, this is Nolan, Maddox’s partner.”
Understanding dawned on Maverick’s face and then relief. He then reached out and said in a much happier tone, “Nice to meet you, man.” His attitude toward Maddox brightened as well, telling me that his animosity from moments ago was, in fact, jealousy as I had suspected. When his hand returned to my hip, it was more of a “can’t keep my hands off you” gesture than a “you touch my girl, I’ll punch you in the face” one.
The four of us talked for a few minutes before Dee called Maverick back to the bar. He looked down at me and frowned before turning back to Maddox and Nolan. “Back to work. Nice to meet you guys. Come to the bar in a few, Duchess.”
“Sure thing,” I said and watched him walk away.
“Damn, girl,” Nolan said. “You landed yourself a hot one.”
“Standing right here,” Maddox joked and pointed to himself.
“No worries,” Nolan patted Maddox’s arm. “That man is head over heels for this kitten right here.”
“You think?” I asked, looking back at Maverick who was pouring shots at the bar. He glanced up and winked at me when he saw me looking his way.
“I know,” Maddox agreed. “Our little pussy sunk her claws into him.”
“Okay. Enough with the kitty crap. And never refer to me as the p-word again. You know I hate that.”
“Still can’t say it, huh?” Maddox jeered.
I cringed. “Ew. No. Worst word ever.”
“I thought the worst word was ‘moist.’”
“Ew! Stop!” I slapped Maddox’s arm for that one.
“Rawr,” Nolan teased.
Maddox laughed, giving me a one-arm hug, and then turned serious. “What’s been going on, Kitty? Why’d you just disappear on us for the last couple of weeks?”
“I told you. I have some stuff going on. I’m taking a break from my father.” Two sets of eyebrows shot up in surprise, and I knew they were itching to know what finally made me crack. “Why don’t we meet for lunch this week? I’ll fill you in then.” Now wasn’t the time to talk about everything, but if I was going to trust anyone to help me figure out what to do once my dad cut me off, it would be Maddox. He had to figure it out for himself once too.
“Let’s do it. I’ll call. You answer.”
“Will do,” I saluted playfully. “I’m going to go see what Adam wanted.”
“Sure. We’ll see you in a bit. Glad to see you’re okay.” I hugged him and Nolan and went to find my man at the bar. As soon as he saw me waiting for him, he said something to Dee, then dragged me into his office. The kiss he planted on me was possessive and gave me an undeniable fluttering deep in my gut. This man knew how to work me.
“What was that for?” I asked when he pulled away and rested his forehead on mine.
“I haven’t been able to get you alone all day.” He lifted his head from mine and looked me in the eye before adding, “And I don’t like seeing other men all over you.”
“Even gay men
who I’ve known since I was five?”
“When did he go gay? Last time I saw him, he had quite the reputation for being a player…for playing women. Now he has a partner…a male partner?”
“First of all, he didn’t ‘go gay.’ He was always gay but didn’t want to admit it. He once told me he tried fucking the gay out of him. Long story, but he didn’t want to disappoint his dad. Turns out, he is who he is, and we all adore him for it. Not to mention, he brought Nolan into my life. He’s amazing for Maddox and for womankind as well.”
“I see,” he said as he considered what I had said.
I ran my hand up his chest using the tips of my fingers to feel the ridges of his lean muscles under his t-shirt. “Were you jealous?”
The damn smirk made its first appearance of the night. “Perhaps. I want to be the only one who gets to feel you up. That okay with you?”
“Definitely, but for the record, Maddox would rather die than feel me up.”
“He doesn’t know what he’s missing,” Maverick said with a quick kiss. I wanted to say Maddox did know what he was missing, because he tried kissing me once. The kiss occurred mere seconds before he told me he was gay, but I didn’t think that would help this situation. Besides, it wasn’t my finest moment. No girl wants a guy to tell her he’s gay right after she kisses him. That was an ego deflator, for sure.
“You’re such a sweet-talker,” I teased instead.
“Only telling the truth, Duchess. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.” He gently tapped my head and added, “And all this to go with that beauty, it’s almost too much.” He was too much. How dare he say such wonderful things to me! How was a girl supposed to resist?
“You are making it hard to resist you, Maverick.”
“Good.” He looked down at me tenderly and held my face in his hands. “You know, when I first met you, I thought you’d be entitled and difficult, but—”
“Oh, I am,” I interrupted.
He pressed his fingers to my lips to quiet me. “No. You’re smart and funny, and I feel like the luckiest son of a bitch that you would even consider spending time with me…” He kissed me gently on my neck then continued, “Share my bed,” kiss, “laugh with me,” another kiss. “The best part is you have no idea, and I can see the disbelief all over your face, but that’s okay. I wouldn’t mind spending every day showing you how lucky I feel to have you in my life.”
My heart was exploding. I was sure it was about to beat out of my chest. My body was hyperaware of all the places he was touching me, and when he kissed me, I was sure that was what melting felt like. After a moment, he pulled away, and I immediately felt the loss of his lips.
A frown crossed Maverick’s lips when he whispered, “I have to get back to work.”
“Too bad.”
“I’d rather take you upstairs, but Landon and Rachel both called out tonight. Saturdays are too busy to be down a bartender and a waitress.”
“I understand. Go do your thing. I’m going to go listen to your brother hit on me some more.”
Maverick growled. “I’ll kill the bastard.”
I laughed and started to walk back to the bar. “No, you won’t. He’s your favorite.”
He pulled me back against his chest and kissed me like I was water and he was a man dying of thirst. “No, you’re my favorite. He’s the thorn in my side I can’t live without.” I had to get my breathing back under control as he led me down the hallway back to the bar. “Be good, Duchess. No more rubbing on other men, gay or straight.” He gave me one last kiss before slipping behind the bar.
“Does Hank count?” I joked, referring to his dog. He just shook his head with a smile on his face and went about taking orders from the thirsty patrons surrounding the bar like we hadn’t just had the most romantic moment of my life.
Back at the table, Ana had seemed to drink her weight in alcohol while I was gone. Of the handful of times we had hung out, this was the second time I had seen her get completely sloshed. Having never been too interested in alcohol, drinking to the point of oblivion on a weekly basis didn’t appeal to me. Hailey wasn’t much better, either. She was up dancing around Brock, who remained in his chair with his eyes firmly planted on his girlfriend. Jack was laughing and hooting at her interesting dance moves.
“Wow. How long have I been gone?” I asked once I had returned to my seat and fully assessed the situation.
“Katherine! I’m so glad you’re back!” Ana shouted drunkenly. “Wait! Did you go bang Adam? I will be so jelly if you did. Corbin never bangs me at work,” she pouted. “I tried to get him to take me in the bathroom once. I’ve never had sex in a bathroom. Is that what you did?”
“Umm…no. I ran into a friend of mine then talked to Adam for a bit in his office.”
“Yeah. Talked,” Jack said with a waggle of the eyebrows.
“You had desk sex! I want desk sex!” Ana shouted.
I laughed at her outrage. “Oh, my. What’s gotten into her?”
“Horny while drunk,” Brock said flatly. “Happens every time.” He shook his head and rolled his eyes then turned back to watch Hailey’s dancing with a slight grin on his face.
“Someone should get Corbin. He should get to take advantage of his wife like this before she falls asleep,” Hailey slurred as she shimmied then dropped her rear to the floor and slowly stood back up.
“Brock should take advantage of you,” Jack told her pointedly.
She waved him off and kept grinding her hips against Brock’s lap. “Pssh. I’m not drunk.”
I felt like I was intruding. Jack must have felt something similar because he looked away when she started seductively stroking Brock’s chest. “Okay,” Jack muttered sarcastically.
Finally, Brock had enough of the lap dance. Either that or he realized that Jack and I were not enjoying the show as much as he was. “Sit down, babe, before you hurt yourself,” he said as he pulled Hailey into his lap where she happily snuggled up to him.
“Shots!” Jack shouted suddenly, causing me to jump and Ana to clap wildly. “We have something to celebrate!”
“Yeah!” Hailey agreed.
“What?” I asked.
Jack looked at me like I was crazy. “You, girl. Adam said you got a big job.”
“Oh, it’s no big deal.”
“Yes, it is. Come on, Hailey. Let’s go get shots!”
“I wanna go!” Ana shouted. The three of them left the table, so Brock and I remained. He sipped his beer while I twirled the stem of my champagne that I had ignored and was now warm.
I was a little jealous of how close they all were. I never had a group like this. I never felt like I could be wild and crazy. It must be nice to feel that safe and free. “They’re really great, you know,” I told Brock honestly.
“Yeah, they seem to really like you, as well.”
“But you aren’t so sure?” I said his unspoken words aloud.
He hid the slight lift of his lip by sipping his beer. “You’re cool. I just don’t want Adam to get screwed over. I’ve never seen him like this before.” A slight raise of my eyebrow was enough to encourage him to continue. “Don’t get me wrong. I think you’re in this, but if you don’t feel the same way about him, get out now. The guy doesn’t need any more shit in his life.”
“What does that mean?” I asked but never got the answer because Jack and the girls came back with a tray of shots.
“We got lemon drops! Hailey can’t handle hard liquor,” Ana announced in her typical excited, drunken shout.
Jack passed one out to everyone. “Brock, you have to take the girly shot. We’re celebrating our newest friend, Katherine. May her job be awesome, and may she finally realize she’s with the wrong Vaughn.”
“No!” Hailey gave Jack a little shove. “May her job be awesome and time with Adam be forever long.”
“Yeah. That one,” Ana piped in.
“Fine, but next time you’re buying your own shots,” Jac
k said dryly. We clanked glasses and downed our shots together. As it turned out, lemon drops were delicious. I could see why they drank so many. “Another!” Jack shouted as he slammed his glass down.
“Dude, slow down,” Brock admonished with more emotion than I had ever heard from him. His forehead was wrinkled in concern, but his eyes looked angry and quite intimidating. It was a far cry from the bland expression he usually wore.
“Quit being such a bore, babe.” Hailey ran her fingers through Brock’s short hair in an attempt to get his attention back on her.
“No, he’s right, Hailey,” Ana slurred. “Jack isn’t supposed to drink so much.”
Jack looked annoyed with his friends and slightly embarrassed, if I wasn’t mistaken. Of course, I wanted to ask what was going on, but it wasn’t my business. Instead, I did my best to diffuse the tension that had settled over the table. “Yeah, I need water. I can’t keep up with you guys. Anyone want some?”
“No, let’s dance!” Ana called out, grabbed Hailey’s and my hands, and led us to the dance floor, leaving Brock and Jack at the table to hash out their issues.
After spending the rest of the night on the dance floor, I made my way up to Maverick’s loft after last call. I wanted to wait up for him, but the alcohol caught up with me before Maverick made it upstairs. When Maverick found me, I was snuggled with Hank on the huge sectional. Maverick kissed my cheek, waking me with a quiet laugh as he lifted me from the couch.
“What am I going to do with you two?” he asked as he carried me into his room.
I wanted my body to wake up, so I could have some time with Maverick. I had spent all night with his friends when I would have much rather danced with him. “I’m awake. I can walk.” I spoke the words, but my body didn’t exactly cooperate considering my eyes remained closed and limbs stayed limp.
He kissed my lips gently. “No, Duchess, you’re going back to sleep in my bed.”
“I’m in my clothes.”
He laughed quietly. “I think I can take care of that.”
And he did. He took care of my clothes and me before we both fell asleep snuggled in a heap of limbs and sheets. There was no hanky panky that night, but falling asleep tangled with Maverick without it was in no way disappointing. I reveled in the feeling of his arms around me and fell asleep more soundly than I ever did alone in my own bed.