Maverick (Carter Brothers Book 5)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  “Ood,” Hope squeals and I laugh before turning my attention back to the table, feeling eyes on me.

  Maverick sits opposite, staring holes into me while the rest of them talk amongst themselves, seeming to give us a wide birth.

  My eyes once again find Maverick’s. When his darken, I have to look away, squeezing my thighs together.

  How can someone be such a jerk, yet still manage to turn me on? It’s not fair. He doesn’t play fair, and it makes me want to throw a tantrum and demand he talk to me. He could at least be an adult about it. But I don’t think it’s worth arguing over. Not if he’ll treat me like this every time we spend a night together.

  Then why does it feel like my heart is breaking?

  “When do you go on your honeymoon?” I ask Denny, breaking the uncomfortable silence. I also want something to distract me from Maverick’s burning stare.

  “We leave tonight for two weeks.” Denny grins giddily.

  I smile softly. “Where are you off to?”

  “We’re going to Spain. I can’t wait. The last time I went abroad, I was nine or ten. Mason hasn’t even been on a plane.” She giggles, looking at her husband.

  “Neither have I. I’d be scared shitless. I mean, what keeps something that heavy up in the air? The speed? Because if that were the case, wouldn’t racing cars fly? It reminds me of fast rides. I hate them. I don’t think I could do it without throwing up or something,” I ramble nervously.

  Food is set in front of me, snapping me out of it. When I look up, everyone is hiding their amusement whilst Mason looks at me with a pale and panicked expression.

  “What?”

  “Way to make him feel better about flying, T,” Max chokes out before booming out a heavy laugh.

  My head snaps to Mason and I wince. “My bad.”

  He nods, understanding, still looking pale before he turns to Denny. “We’ll google that shit later, before we go.”

  “Yeah, baby,” Denny giggles again and I feel my face heat.

  In all fairness, I’ve only known them all of five minutes; how was I supposed to know he had a fear of flying?

  “Bacon,” Faith squeals, clapping her hands when a plateful of food is placed in front of her. “Thank you, Nanny Joan.”

  “Nanny Joan?” I mumble to my daughter. She’d said the same thing earlier, but I’d been too busy having a stare-off with Maverick to question it.

  “Hope you don’t mind. I did try to get her to call me Grandma like Harlow does, but she said Nanny sounded better,” Joan says, smiling adorably down at Faith.

  “No, it’s fine.” To be honest, I didn’t think it would take them this long to ask Faith to call them Nan. Joan was first, obviously, but it won’t take long for Mary to order Faith to call her the same thing.

  *** *** ***

  Breakfast went pleasantly. No one mentioned me or Maverick again, but it didn’t stop them watching us with a careful eye, or stop me from wanting to leave. Which reminds me…

  “We really do have to be going. Whosever these clothes are, I’ll bring them back freshly washed and ironed. I promise,” I tell the room, since I don’t know whose they are.

  “They’re mine.” Kayla smiles. “And it’s fine. Keep them, throw them out. It’s no big deal.”

  “Thank you.” I smile in return.

  Kayla is the quietest out of the group and is a perfect fit for Myles. The two are a match made in heaven. She’s such a lovely girl.

  “My pleasure.”

  “I’ll give you a lift home,” Maverick says, moving to get up.

  My head snaps in his direction. “No. I’ll get a taxi, thank you. Wouldn’t want you putting yourself out for me, now would we?” I bite out, and the atmosphere in the room tenses.

  “You’re not putting me out.” He narrows his eyes on me.

  “I’ll get a taxi, thanks. I know what I’ll be getting, then.”

  “Ooohhh,” Max says, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Shut up, Max,” the whole room snaps at the same time, and my face flames.

  “Come on, baby. Let’s get your coat,” I tell Faith, and she looks between Maverick and me in confusion. Instantly, I feel guilty. I know if we argue she’ll get seriously upset; she’s fallen in love with him already.

  “Are you and Mummy not friends anymore?” she asks him softly, pouting.

  Maverick’s face pinches together like he’s in pain, but somehow he manages to soften his expression for my daughter.

  “Of course we are,” he answers, smiling.

  “I’ll call you a taxi,” Max snorts.

  “No, I’ll take her,” Maverick says, glancing quickly at his brother.

  “Thank you, Max. That would be great,” I tell him, ignoring Maverick.

  He stands up, ready to make the call, but Maverick shoots him a warning glare and he sits back down.

  “I said I’m taking her.”

  I sigh, glaring at Maverick. “And I said no, you’re not.”

  “Why not?” he says, throwing his hands up in frustration.

  “Why? Why?” I screech. “Maybe because I don’t want to―” I notice Faith looking between us, her eyes wide, so I lean over and cover her ears before turning back to Maverick. “Maybe I don’t want to sit in a car with a J.E.R.K for ten minutes,” I whisper-yell.

  He glances to Faith before turning back to me. “Let me take your crazy ass home. I’m still your landlord.”

  I scoff. “Yeah, because landlords take all their tenants to weddings, spend the night with them and don’t even bother to talk to them the next morning.” I hiss in a breath when I realise what I just revealed in front of everyone. They’re all trying not to look―okay, Max is point-blank staring―but the damage is done.

  “Teagan,” he starts, looking frustrated and a little annoyed, but something else flashes across his features that I can’t quite read. It just makes the entire situation even more humiliating.

  “Don’t. We’re going to get a taxi. You can stay here and finish your breakfast or whatever it is you normally do on a Sunday morning,” I snap, taking Faith’s hand in mine. We walk out and thankfully, he doesn’t try to stop me.

  I’m grabbing my phone out of my bag to call a taxi when the door opens behind me and Harlow and Malik walk out.

  “We’ll give you a lift back,” he says gruffly.

  Tears spring to my eyes. “It’s okay. We can grab a taxi.”

  “We’ll give you a lift,” he repeats, then shocks me when he reaches down, takes Faith into his arms and starts walking. He only pauses when he checks to see if Harlow is following him.

  “C’mon, it’ll be okay,” Harlow whispers, taking my hand.

  I sniffle, wiping my nose with the back of my free hand. “Okay.”

  The word tastes bitter in my mouth because I don’t think I can ever trust myself or him again. The second person I sleep with and it’s not in a relationship or as special as I thought it was. I could have dealt with a one-night stand if I knew it meant something, but I was just another notch on his bedpost.

  I want someone in my life who wants me for me. I want what Denny and Mason have, what Malik and Harlow have―hell, what Max and Lake have. Something that special, unique and rare, is something I’ve always wished for. The kind of love that only comes once in a lifetime.

  I was stupid to think Maverick might be that for me. Even for a split second.

  CHAPTER TEN

  MAVERICK

  Frustration doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling right now. For two weeks Teagan has successfully avoided and ignored me. And for those two weeks I’ve done nothing but lose my ever-loving mind over a girl I spent one night with.

  One night.

  One night where I let all my self-doubt and rules fly out of the window.

  I let her touch me, kiss me―something I’ve never let any other woman do when I fuck them. It’s too intimate, too personal, and reminds me too much of my past.

  But worse, I made love to
her. Something I said I’d never do. I’d been half asleep when I felt her warm, naked body pressed against mine and I’d become instantly hard. Her skin was smooth and soft as I snaked my hand over the curve of her hip before sliding my fingers through her silky folds. Fuck, she felt so good, but it was the pleasurable mewing sounds she made when I circled her clit that had me losing my mind.

  But what made me pause, what made me take her slow and gentle like she deserved, was the content, sleepy look she gave me when I entered her. I’ll never be able to get her expression out of my head, or the way she whispered my name in a soft plea.

  The whole night fucking scared me, and not because I made love to her. I’d slept for the first time since I can remember without waking up from a nightmare and covered in my own sweat.

  When I woke up with her in my arms, I smiled, my heart squeezed by an emotion I’ve never felt before. It was like I’d woken up and everything from my past, my present, had all but gone, and the only person who mattered was the woman in my arms.

  That’s when I froze. I woke up, looked down at her sleeping form and I got scared. For the first time since I was a child, I got fucking scared. And because of that, I ran and acted cold towards her. It’s what I do when things go wrong; I deflect what I’m really feeling and hide behind a cold facade. I acted like a complete prick to her, all because I was in defence mode.

  She didn’t deserve waking up to that. And I’ve been paying for it every day since, kicking myself for treating her like she was nothing. No matter what I’ve tried to do to fix it, nothing has paid off.

  She’s been ignoring me and dodging me at every turn. She’s not answering her phone or her door, and now I’m out of options. Hell, when I’ve gotten lucky and the door has been opened, it’s only been slammed in my face seconds later. Tish, her crazy-ass friend, was the worst. She literally slammed the door into my face, causing a nose bleed. Twice. I’ve learnt to step back since.

  I groan into my hands, needing to figure out a way to get her to speak to me. I shouldn’t have been such a dickhead, I realise that, but I wish she’d give me a chance to explain. Explain everything. I’ve never wanted to talk to someone as much as I do when I’m with her.

  “You look like shit,” Evan tells me from the doorway of my office. He walks in without invitation and I give him a dry look.

  “Come on in,” I reply sarcastically.

  He grins at me, shrugging. “Don’t mind if I do.”

  I watch as he drops himself into the chair directly opposite me, all cocky and smug.

  I really don’t need to be dealing with any more bad news, not today. I’ve got enough occupying my mind right now; anything more and I’ll explode.

  “Get it over with. I’ve got a kicker of a headache and I just want to get home.”

  “Translation: I fucked my tenant, fucked it up with her, and now I don’t know how to make it right with her. Did I miss anything?” he asks, smirking.

  With narrowed eyes pointed solely on Evan, I sit forward in my seat. “Never talk about her like that, ever!” I warn.

  He raises his eyebrows at the seriousness in my tone but doesn’t seem vexed or irked by my behaviour. If anything, he looks smug.

  I groan. I’m usually good at controlling my emotions, but yet again, Teagan is unravelling me. I’m losing it.

  “We need her,” he says, all joking aside. He’s all business now and it has me straightening.

  “Teagan?” An unsettling feeling hits me in the stomach.

  “Yeah, man. Another body was found last night. And although the police can’t prove he got the drugs from here, the symptoms were the same. They’ll probably be around sometime tomorrow for the CCTV footage. When they do, you’re going to want to have something to please them.”

  “Fuck! She isn’t even talking to me, and I’m not sure I want her involved in this shit, anyway. There’s too much at stake and it’s getting worse. She’s got a kid.”

  “I know, man, but what other choice do we have? It’s the perfect setup.”

  “But she won’t talk to me,” I groan.

  “Maybe asking her to do this for you will give you a chance to make it up to her. She seemed like an all right chick to me. And you seemed different with her,” he says, catching me off guard.

  “You gonna start spilling your feelings?”

  He laughs. “No. But get your head out of your ass. It’s obvious she likes you and you like her. I don’t see what the problem is.”

  I want to say “me,” that I’m the problem, but having a heart-to-heart with my sister-in-law’s brother? Yep, not going to happen.

  “What am I going to do?”

  “Go fucking talk to her. Grovel. If that doesn’t work, then make up some sob story. Fuck, just tell her about the case. That will get her talking to you.” He shrugs.

  “Yeah, because she’ll want to hear all that shit,” I reply dryly.

  He rolls his eyes and gets up. “You’ve got until tomorrow to think of something to tell the cops. They’re getting anxious, and there’s even word of them closing you down,” he reveals and I stand up, shoving my chair back.

  “What the fuck! You couldn’t fuckin’ start with that? They can’t close this place down. It’s paying for two fucking houses and a set of renovations. Malik has twins on the way. If this place gets shut down, we lose business and if we lose business, I can’t fucking keep up with house payments,” I growl, my chest tightening.

  “Then get something set up to find the assholes who are doing this. It would’ve been over by now if we had someone on the inside.”

  “You don’t think I’ve tried?” I roar. I grab the beer bottle off my desk, throwing it across the room. It smashes against the wall, tiny shards of glass flying all over the place.

  “Fuck, man. I didn’t think. I just…. I want this sorted out as much as you do.” He sighs. “I have a mate who works at the local police station. I’ll have a word with him and see if there’s anything he can do for it not to happen. I’m sorry,” he says and I nod, running a hand over my face.

  “I’m gonna go talk to her now. But I swear to God, Evan, I’ll go fucking apeshit if this place closes down.”

  “All right, man.”

  I walk out with him through the back exit. I wave him off before running up the stairs to Teagan’s place. It’s late, but not late enough that she’ll be asleep. I hope. It also gives me a chance to tell her what I need to without Faith around, listening in.

  I knock, but instead of taking a step back like I’ve learnt to do in the past week, I stay close.

  The door opens quickly, surprising me, but it’s the look Teagan gives me that nearly has me taking a step back. It kills me, more than I care to admit, but also because I know I deserve her hatred.

  The second I see her decision to slam the door in my face, I step forward, putting my foot in the doorway.

  “Teagan, please. Just hear me out,” I plead, staring into her eyes and letting her see how desperate I am.

  She sighs and steps to the side to let me in, not looking happy about it. “Why should I listen to anything you have to say? You treated me like a whore.”

  She stands up straighter, appearing unaffected by my presence and coming off cold. It doesn’t suit her. And as much as she wants to pretend she doesn’t care, I know she does. I see the pain and hurt in her eyes, the anguish I’ve caused her. I wince, ashamed of myself for causing her so much stress.

  “Look, that morning―”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” she snaps, not looking at me. “I get it. I was just a hookup, an easy one-night stand for you. You don’t need to explain anything, and I don’t want your pity, so you can go now.”

  “Fuck.” I start pacing in the living area. “Look, there are things about me that you don’t know about. Things you wouldn’t understand. I was raised by an abusive father and the shit he did, what he made me do, it would turn your stomach.

  “I was never shown love, not from anyone b
ut my brothers, for most of my life. The love I was shown… fuck! It was sick, twisted. It wasn’t love, but back then, I was young, naïve and it was the closest thing to kindness I was shown.” I don’t even know why I’m telling her all of this; I don’t even talk to my brothers about it. I just know I need her to understand because seeing her now, I realise what a huge mistake I’ve truly made. I want her, have from the very beginning, but I let my insecurities get in the way of that. I’m desperate for her to see me, the real me, not the jerk I was to her that morning.

  “I’ve fucked a lot of women, sometimes once, sometimes twice. I’ve always been upfront about what I want, and I’ve never once promised them tomorrow. But I’ve never gotten close to any other female. None apart from my brother’s girlfriends and even then, I couldn’t trust them at first. I’ve never gone on a date before, ever. Hell, I’ve never even taken a woman to meet my family before, much less take one to my brother’s wedding. I’ve never kissed while I’m fucking and I’ve never, not once, let anyone touch me while I’m fucking them either, but with you, it was different. I was different,” I rush out, still pacing. I turn to face her, to see her reaction, and I find her watching me, her eyes filled with unleashed tears.

  “Why are you telling me all of this?” she whispers.

  “Because… because I need you to know why I acted like a jerk. I was fucking scared.”

  “Why? How did I scare you?” she asks, shaking her head as she moves to take a seat on the sofa. I stay standing, needing some higher ground since I just spilled my guts and she isn’t saying anything about it.

  “Because kissing to me is personal, intimate. I swore I’d never kiss or let anyone kiss me while we were fucking, early on in life. You scared me because you touched me….” I trail off, feeling like I’ve cut myself wide open for the woman in front of me. The woman I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since I chased after the mugger who was hurting her. She’s consumed me, day and night, and I barely know anything about her.