by Melody Anne
She shuddered in his arms and he had to remind himself not to lose control. With just a touch of the chocolate left, he clasped his lips onto hers and dove inside her mouth, exploring, savoring, enjoying every moment they were connected.
The sigh escaping her sweet lips fed his soul, and he wrapped his arms around her so he could lift her to the counter, his chest pressing against hers, his hips pushing inward. He rested his hardness against her hot core.
Too many clothes were between them.
But that was good. If he lost control, she might never trust him or any other man again. He couldn’t do that to her—wouldn’t—even if it nearly killed him.
“I’m going to show you what trust is all about, Lins. I’m going to give you pleasure without taking any for myself,” he whispered as he moved his lips along her jaw and brushed them across her ear.
“Wh . . . what do you mean?” she panted.
“Your voice undoes me, sugar. I want you so bad,” he sighed before sucking on her neck and inhaling her sweet, sweet scent. He paused for a moment as he pulled strength from deep inside. “I’m going to please you, sug, and then I’m going to leave so you can think about it over and over again, and you can want me. When you’re ready, we can both be pleased, but for now, all of this is for you.”
She said nothing, but her breathing deepened as he continued sucking on her neck. He took his time, not wanting to startle her as he took off her apron and tossed it aside. He slowly undid the buttons on her blouse. Moving back to her lips, he drank from them as the last buttons were freed.
Her skin was as silky smooth as he remembered it. He ran his fingers up her quivering stomach and over the lace of her bra before reaching her shoulders and pushing the shirt down off her back.
“Mav, I want you . . .” The tremble in her voice told him she was nervous. He needed her not to be.
“I won’t hurt you, sug. I promise I won’t hurt you,” he whispered before gently kissing her. He took her shirt off her arms and pushed it away. “Remember how good it is between us. Remember that I only want to bring you pleasure.”
His hands moved up and down her back as he hungrily sipped from her lips, relearning every secret hideaway of her mouth. Only when she was squirming against him again did he undo the clasp of her bra and pull it away, sending it flying off onto the kitchen floor.
She groaned into his mouth when he brought one hand around and cupped her tender breast, the nipple hard and responsive as his palm ran across it.
“Oh, Mav, don’t stop . . .” The trembling hunger in her voice pushed him, made him want to strip them both down and finish what he’d started. He had to remember this was about her, no matter how difficult that was going to be.
Breaking his lips away from hers, he slowly leaned down and kissed a path to the breast he was holding. Beautiful, so absolutely beautiful. He cupped the other one and then took a moment to savor the beauty of her full breasts spilling from his fingers as her hard cherry nipples begged for him to taste them.
Leaning forward, he did exactly that, taking one perfect bud into his mouth and sucking it deep, making her buck against him as a cry of pleasure escaped her. Her fingers wound through his hair and he felt the gentlest of tugs as she held him against her.
He took his time moving from one luscious nipple to the next until she was more than ready for him to make her come. Kissing his way back up her body, he looked into her half-closed eyelids and ran his fingers across her cheek.
“Trust me not to hurt you, Lins. Tonight is only pleasure,” he said before kissing the corner of her mouth.
She might have nodded, but he wasn’t sure she was even fully aware in her excitement. He knew how pleased she was feeling. But he wanted—needed her to know that this was only about her.
Lifting her up, he carried her into the bedroom and gently laid her on the bed, the spill of her hair on the pillow too gorgeous not to take in for a few breathtaking moments. Then he joined her and began undoing the clasp of her pants. That’s when she stiffened.
“The lights!” she cried out.
“I want to see you, sugar,” he said as he undid the zipper.
“No! Please, turn out the lights. I have scars . . .” She trailed off and he knew this was a battle for another time.
“Sugar, everything about you is beautiful, absolutely stunning. But I can look at you later. For now, I’ll just memorize your body with my fingers,” he said.
Not wanting to take too much time, he jumped up and shut off the lights, then quickly rejoined her on the bed.
She sighed as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her again while his fingers pinched and teased her nipples. When she was wiggling beneath him, panting, he moved down the bed and finished removing her pants and panties in one quick motion.
How he wanted to see her, but it wasn’t about him, it was about her.
Kissing the smooth skin of her stomach, he took his time, making his way to the sweet center of her. Spreading her thighs, he rested between them before he finally found her core.
Her sweet scent caused his head to spin as he laid a gentle kiss against her smooth folds. Her body jerked off the bed as his tongue ran up and down, lapping her juices and sucking on her tender bud.
“Mmm, you are perfection,” he growled, barely able to maintain his control.
Spreading her wide open, he devoured her. The cries escaping her as she thrashed against the bed only made him go faster as he pushed his tongue deeper inside her. When he fastened onto her swollen flesh and thrust two fingers inside her, she cried out as she began shaking and clenching at the same time.
He slowed his tongue as he lapped at her until the final throes of pleasure faded and she sank onto the bed, breathing heavily. Only then did he crawl back up her body and pull her against him, rubbing the back of her head while she shook in his arms.
“Maverick . . .”
“Shh. It’s okay, sug.” He kissed her forehead and held her. His body was on fire, but he didn’t care. All he cared about at this moment was her happiness, her trust, and her pleasure.
“But . . . don’t you want to . . . you know?” The frightened timbre in her voice told him he was doing the right thing by waiting.
“More than you can imagine, sugar. I hurt,” he said as he gently took her hand and placed it over his pants where his pulsing erection was practically ripping the material open.
“You can,” she whispered as she squeezed him the tiniest bit. He might just do it right in his pants if she moved her fingers the slightest bit more.
He took her hand away. “No. I made a promise to you tonight. I wanted to give this to you.”
“But it’s wrong,” she said.
He pulled back and twisted over so he could turn on her bedside lamp. She screeched a bit and grabbed the blanket, pulling it over her. He didn’t try to stop her, but he wanted her to see his face as he spoke.
“It is never okay for a person to owe sex to another. People make love because they need each other, they can’t breathe without the other person—without being buried deep inside them. You don’t owe me sex, just like I wouldn’t owe you if I didn’t want to give it. I wanted to give you, and only you, pleasure tonight. And knowing that I did is better than any orgasm.”
Her eyes widened as she looked at him, but he saw the appreciation in her eyes. Though he was certainly going to pay for his altruism, it was well worth it to see trust coming back to her.
He kissed her and then stood.
“What about dessert?” she asked as he moved toward the door.
She sat up with the blanket clutched tightly to her. He looked at her as if he could see through the thing. He almost could. He licked his lips as he smiled at her.
“Oh, baby, I had dessert.” Her cheeks flushed.
“Can . . . can you hold me?”
The trust and vulnerability in her eyes shook him to the core. Without hesitation, he moved back to her and climbed on top of the covers. He felt a strange
stinging sensation against his own eyes when she curled against him, her delicate fingers resting on top of the blankets where his heart thundered.
“Thank you, Mav,” she told him, her voice growing sleepy as she snuggled safely against his side.
“Anytime, sug,” he whispered as his fingers wound in her silky hair.
Lying there caressing her, Mav focused on her breathing. He didn’t move so much as a muscle over the next hour as she drifted off to sleep. He didn’t want to move, didn’t want this moment to end, but his body was still pulsing and she hadn’t invited him to stay the night.
If he fell asleep and she woke next to him, he might betray that fragile thread of trust he’d built within her. He wasn’t willing to bet their relationship on it.
When he was sure he wouldn’t disturb her, he untangled himself from her arms and stood up, gazing down at her delicate face as she frowned in her sleep, her hand reaching out toward him—or at least that’s what he chose to believe she was doing.
She needed him, especially when she let down her guard. They needed each other. He couldn’t stay any longer or he might not find the will to leave.
With hesitation, he walked from the room and straight out her front door, making sure it was securely locked behind him. He had his shirt and pants off by the time he reached the beach. He left them on the sand and didn’t stop running until he was diving into the freezing cold water. It took a good ten minutes in the Pacific before his hardness began going away. Mav had a feeling it wasn’t going to end even after he took her again.
He was that infatuated with the woman.
The obsession with her would pass when their time together ended, he assured himself as he climbed from the water, his skin covered in goose bumps. But as he walked past her place to his truck, just the thought of her lying naked in her bed had him sweating and hard all over again.
This might not pass so easily after all. She might just be the one woman in the world he refused to ever let go.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Lindsey woke up with Princess’s cold nose in her face telling her it was time to get up and take her outside. She’d woken up to find her bed empty and then she’d wanted Princess—needed the dog. Even after the incredible pleasure Mav had shown her, she still hadn’t been able to sleep without either him or the puppy there.
She’d grown attached to her dog in only a few days’ time, so much so that she couldn’t even sleep without her now. As soon as she’d called the house, Stormy had walked outside with Princess, who’d run straight to Lindsey.
Lindsey had brought her inside and the two had fallen into a dead sleep. Now it was time to get up. After taking Princess out and feeding her, Lindsey showered and got dressed, all the while waiting for embarrassment to hit, or fear.
She’d nearly made love to Maverick the night before. A few weeks ago she had thought she would never let a man touch her again. Then she was crying out in pleasure as Mav had worshiped her with his tongue and hands.
But as she made breakfast, feeling ravenously hungry, the guilt and fear never came. All she felt was sweet satisfaction. Was it because she had nothing to fear with Maverick? Was it because she was selfish? He’d walked away, getting nothing from the experience, while she’d had the best sexual encounter of her life, or one of the best. Her time with him at Stormy’s wedding had been just as earth shattering.
It was all so confusing.
When his call came during the middle of her musings, a grin spread across her lips as she looked at the caller ID. There was no hesitation in answering.
“Good morning, sug. How did you sleep?”
The soft growl of his voice was a perfect way to start her day, but Lindsey didn’t want to get too attached to it. She knew this was temporary. What she hoped was that the reprieve she was feeling while she was with him would last long after he was gone.
“I slept pretty dang well, actually. You?” she replied.
“My dreams were filled with you so I would say that’s a good night.”
“You flirt more than any other man I’ve ever known,” she said with a chuckle.
He growled into the phone, which seemed strange.
“Don’t even think of what other men have done with you while we’re talking,” he told her, a teasing edge to his tone. The tiny hint of seriousness scared her. She had to be imagining that, or wanting it to be the case.
A jealous man was a man who wanted a woman all to himself. Maverick obviously wasn’t a one-woman kind of man. But it sure would be amazing if he were hers, even if only for a few weeks. She wouldn’t ask him if he was, though. That would break this spell they were under.
“What are your plans today?” he asked when she was quiet for several seconds. His voice was immediately back to relaxed.
“I’m not sure yet. My mom has left five messages in two days, so I’m thinking I should probably call her back,” she told him.
“Yes, family is very important,” he said with a sigh.
“What’s the sigh all about?”
“I just heard some stuff about my brother the other night, and it’s been bothering me. I miss the little punk,” he told her.
“I don’t know a whole lot about Ace, just the few things Stormy has told me.”
“Yeah, I’ve been trying to talk to him for a while now. He’s not even in the country at the moment. I know if he would just sit down with all of us, he would see that things aren’t as bad as he’s made them out to be,” Mav said with a deep sigh.
“Aren’t you some fancy military guy? Can’t you hunt him down?”
He laughed that beautiful sound she enjoyed so much. “The government tends to frown upon its soldiers using special ops equipment for personal business.”
“Oh, I didn’t think of that,” she said, a bit embarrassed.
“It’s okay, I have done that actually, and my guys have helped me from time to time,” he admitted.
“Will you get into trouble?” She leaned back, her legs curled beneath her as she enjoyed the sound of his voice while she sipped coffee on the front porch.
“Family is worth getting into trouble over. I’d do anything if it meant bringing Ace home,” he said.
“Now I have to call my mom. Here I have all this family wanting nothing more than to spend a few hours with me and I’ve been avoiding them, and you are out doing all you can to find a lost brother.”
“I think spending the day with your family sounds like an excellent idea. But make sure you think of me no matter what you do. I’ll miss you today.”
Oh, the sound of him saying that sent shivers down her spine.
“It’s going to hurt your reputation of being a maverick if you’re too sweet,” she said with a laugh.
He was quiet for a moment. Only the sound of his breathing could be heard through the phone line. She wondered if she’d offended him with her little joke.
“We all have to grow up some time,” he told her. She couldn’t tell from his voice what he was thinking or feeling.
“I used to always want to grow up, and then I hit twenty-one and I was afraid of getting too old. Now, I would do anything just to feel, I don’t know, normal,” she told him.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of feeling good or bad, happy or sad, young or old. I think it’s about living in the moment. It’s too incomprehensible for any of us to think what might be ten years down the road. Time is fleeting. If we live in fear or always do what the world expects of us instead of what we expect of ourselves, then one day we will wake up completely unhappy and alone, no matter how many people are around us.”
His words struck something deep within her that she didn’t want to focus on too much. He was right, though. If she even attempted to look too long into the future, her head would spin, and thinking about the past was unacceptable right now. She was far happier living in the moment—especially when Maverick lived with her in the now.
“Thanks for calling me, Mav,” she said, feeling a little mush
y.
“Always a pleasure, sug,” he sighed, making her belly quiver.
As she hung up the phone she knew she was in pretty dang deep. But she’d been living in fear for a while now, and she refused to continue to do so. For now, at least, she felt happier being with Maverick.
If it all ended up crashing around her, then she would deal with that later. For now, she had something to do that was far scarier than unpredictable men—she had to call her mother.
Deciding she needed another cup of coffee first, she got nice and comfortable before dialing her up. This was going to be a long conversation.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Fund-raising events weren’t easy. Not easy at all. It really didn’t help trying to organize something when Lindsey was doing it with a man she couldn’t stop thinking about in all the wrong ways.
Well, she wouldn’t necessarily say the wrong ways, but in inappropriate ways when they were trying to put on an event to help people. How could she go from being afraid of people touching her to not wanting to keep her hands off one certain man?
Confusion. She was filled with utter confusion.
And now she was with Maverick—finally alone again and she couldn’t get her mind out of the gutter. She wanted more of what they’d done a few nights ago. It had been only three days since he’d made her come undone.
And now, being in his truck with him was absolute torture. Lindsey had always noticed his scent before. It was musky and raw and all man. It made her stomach do strange little flips. But after their night together, all her senses seemed to be heightened. She wanted him morning, noon, and night, and the feeling wasn’t going away any time soon.
She hadn’t been feeling sorry for herself the last few days. Yes, she was still sleeping with a light on, and yes, she was still making sure her door and windows were locked before going to sleep. But she wasn’t afraid all the time. She’d even gone to lunch with Stormy the day before. And she wasn’t flinching when she needed to shake someone’s hand. She was realizing that she was in control of her emotions. She was realizing that what had happened to her was a freak thing. The world wasn’t out to get her.