by Evan Grace
When the check comes, Maverick and Troy do the whole “I’m the alpha I pay” thing. In the end, Taylor slipped the waitress her card. I shake my head, watching them both pout while glaring at my sister.
We all head out and after kissing my sister bye, I climb into Maverick’s Jeep. As he pulls out of the parking lot I spot Troy leaning in close to Taylor by her car.
“Tell me about Troy. Should I be worried about him? I mean, I know he’s a little wild, but he won’t hurt her, will he?”
Maverick shakes his head. “No, he’s a good guy. We’ve been best friends since the day I started at Sunnyville PD.”
“Where did you live before?”
“Albany, then I was a cop in Oakland. I got shot during a domestic disturbance and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I know crime happens everywhere, but the first time I came here I fell in love with the place. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.”
I turn my head, my eyes wide. “You got shot? What the fuck, Maverick. Where did you get hit?”
He grabs my hand in his, pulling it up to his lips, and kissing the back of it. “Baby, it’s not as bad as it sounds. It was a clean shot, right through my bicep.”
I watch him for a moment, and he doesn’t seem to be bothered by it, but still that’s crazy. He’s so nonchalant about it.
I turn my head to look out the window, smiling as I look at the passing scenery. My town is so beautiful and the perfect place to live and start a family. “When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to leave this place—now, even though I’ve been to some of the most beautiful places on earth, I miss this place when I’m gone.”
Maverick pulls into his driveway and I jump down, meeting him at the front of the vehicle. He surprises me by grabbing my hand and holding it as we walk into his house.
While he lets Butch out I kick off my flip-flops and grab a glass of lemonade. I stand at the sink, drinking it down when two arms wrap around me.
“Mmm… you smell good.” I turn my head to look up at him, pushing up on my toes to kiss him. “You taste good too.”
Maverick lifts me up and sets me on the counter. He leans in to kiss me again, but I yawn, loudly. He laughs and then wraps his arms around me. “Why don’t you go get ready for bed. We’ll do another movie in bed night.”
He helps me down and then kisses me. “I’ll meet you in bed,” I say as I walk away from him. In the bathroom, I brush out my hair and quickly braid it. My tan is still pretty dark so I didn’t bother with makeup.
I strip down to a tank top and my panties before climbing into his bed. Once I get the pillows stacked behind me, I settle in. I’m flipping through the movie channels when Maverick comes in with Butch.
My buddy hops up onto the bed and he lays his head in my lap. “Hi baby boy,” I say in a high-pitched singsong voice. “You’re so sweet. I give you kisses.”
I look up and find Maverick in just his boxer briefs, smiling at me. He gets on the bed and crawls toward me, not stopping until he’s covering my body with his. I wrap my arms around his neck. I kiss his jaw and then grab it with my teeth.
He pulls back. “Don’t tempt me. You need sleep.” Maverick kisses me chastely before leaning back against his pillows. He puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me to him so my legs tangle with his, and I lay my head on his chest.
Maverick is like my own personal sleeping pill because in no time I’m asleep.
Fourteen
Gwen
I step into my parents’ house and find my dad sitting on the sofa. He smiles when he sees me. “There’s my girl.” Dad stands up and comes toward me, pulling me into a hug. “How was your trip?”
“It was good. I’m glad that I went.”
He looks at me closely. “You’re not sleeping.”
The truth of the matter is I only seem to sleep well when I’m in bed with Maverick, and if I wake up while in bed with him, he usually knows how to get me falling back asleep. I haven’t seen him in a week. He’s been working crazy shifts, and I didn’t want to be in his way while he was trying to sleep in between shifts.
Maverick asked me to watch Butch and occasionally walk him while he’s working. I love that freaking dog and we’ve spent a lot of time together. He even went with me and my brother hiking the day before and goes with me on runs in the morning.
We’ve talked some, but not as much as I’d like. I hate to admit that I’ve missed him and every night we’ve slept apart, I wake up at some point and can’t fall asleep again. Luckily I’ve been able to hide it from my parents by staying at the apartment at Wings Out.
Not wanting to get sucked into the abyss of using TV to fall asleep, I’ve started writing about my travels and doing it on a budget. The most expensive part of my trips is always the airfare.
I let Dad lead me into the kitchen. He grabs us both some water and we sit side by side at the kitchen counter. “You look tired.”
“Wow, thanks Dad.” I knew I should’ve used the concealer before I left.
Dad shakes his head. “No, I’m sorry I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. You’re beautiful and have been since you were a tiny baby.” He brushes my hair back from my face. “Your mom and I are worried about you. I know you’re spending a lot of time with Maverick. Do you think that’s a good idea? He’s got a reputation.”
I shake my head. “If the stories are true, the Malone brothers had a bit of a reputation too. You have nothing to worry about. Plus, we’re just friends. He took care of me when I thought we were gonna die.” I say that last part quietly.
He pulls me into a hug, holding me so tight it is almost suffocating, but I know he needs this. “You’re my baby girl. I’m always going to worry about you.”
My eyes begin to burn, but I blink it away. The truth is that I don’t know how I feel about Maverick. If I think about it or him, everything gets jumbled in my brain. “I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
Marcie and I sit at a table at Lulu’s Diner for lunch. My bestie grabs my hand from across the table. “I’ve missed you. I feel like I’ve barely seen you since you’ve been home.”
“I know. I’m sorry—things have been so crazy since I’ve been back.”
She smiles. “Don’t be sorry. I’m just glad we were able to do this.” Marcie is a nurse anesthetist and is on call a lot since she doesn’t have kids yet. When she and Chad decided to get married right out of high school, we thought her parents would be happy because they loved Chad, but instead of that, they kicked her out of their house. They told her she was ruining her life and they weren’t going to support her.
My parents love her like she was born a Malone—they tried talking to her parents, but it didn’t work. That was when Marcie moved in with us until she and Chad got married. Mom babied her, trying to give her the love of a mother.
“We may have found a house.” Marcie holds up her phone and shows me a picture of an adorable bungalow. The siding is gray-blue with red brick and flowery shrubbery on both sides of the steps.
“Oh my God, I love it. It’s super cute.”
She spends the next twenty minutes telling me about it and showing me pictures of the inside. I absolutely love the open floor plan, the laminate flooring and the huge bedrooms.
After lunch, instead of having Marcie drop me off at home, I decide to walk. I stick my earbuds in and turn on one of my workout playlists. As Britney sings “I’m a Slave 4 U” I start walking down the street. The Sunnyville Police Department is up ahead and Dad should be there, so I decide to stop and say “Hi.”
Inside, I find Mandy behind the front desk. I do not like her—she’s hit on my dad on numerous occasions, right in front of my mom. Of course Dad would never do that to Mom. I’ve made it known enough times that I don’t like her or the attention she gives him, and if she tries to touch him, I’ll break her face.
“Mandy,” I say as a greeting as I walk right on by, not even bothering to get the okay. I know it’s snotty, but it’s better this way.
“Gwen, you’re looking… tired,” she says with a saccharine sweet smile when I glance at her.
I ignore her and head through the doors into the back. It’s not the bustling precinct like you see in movies. Well, that’s if they’re not working on a big case, which doesn’t happen a lot here.
My uncle Nate, he’s not really my uncle, but he and my dad used to be partners and are best friends. He spots me and smiles. “There’s my girl.” I step into his open arms and he gives me a huge hug. “How are you, sweetheart?”
“I’m great, I just had lunch with Marcie and was going to walk home and I decided to stop by.”
He wraps his arm around my shoulders and leads me to my dad’s office. “Grant, look who I found wandering around, she decided to come see her dad.”
Dad smiles when I step inside his office. “Hey honey, is everything okay?” He steps around his desk and comes toward me, wrapping me in a bear hug.
“Of course. I just had lunch with Marcie and decided to stop and say hi.”
“I’m glad you did.”
Nate pulls me into a hug. “I’ll let you visit, but good seeing you, sweetheart.” He kisses the top of my head before disappearing out of Dad’s office.
Dad grabs a file off of his desk. “Have a seat, I’ll be right back.”
I move around Dad’s desk to look more closely at the pictures on his desk. He’s got several pictures of us kids and Mom, of course, but the family picture of the six of us, including Marcie is one of my favorites. Mom and Dad took us to Colorado to go whitewater rafting.
It was exhilarating, amazing, and scary as fuck. We’re all in the raft, holding our paddles up over our heads. I look down at Dad’s desk and see a stack of photos. Normally I wouldn’t look at Dad’s stuff, but upon further inspection I see that it’s photos from the accident—photos that I’ve never looked at.
I should put them back and walk away, but I’m stubborn and that is not what I do. What I do, do is look at the first one and my hands begin to tremble. The embankment was steep. The front end was completely gone and in its place was a large boulder.
Somehow when we stopped, it was with the back end up against the embankment. Each picture makes my stomach turn because it was a wonder we survived it. There’s a picture of them pulling me out on a stretcher. I drop to my knees and promptly vomit in the garbage can.
“Jesus, Gwen, are you okay?” Dad takes the pictures out of my hand. “Is that the first time you’ve seen them?”
I nod. “Yeah. I guess I wasn’t sure what to expect if I ever saw them.” Dad hands me some tissue. “How did we survive, Dad?” I ask before I open his desk drawer, grabbing a peppermint and pop it into my mouth.
“I don’t know, baby. Maybe God, maybe a guardian angel, or maybe just pure luck was on your side.” He kisses my forehead. “I really think it’s time you talk to someone. I hear you at night when you’re at home, pacing the house.”
“It’s always the same thing. I hear metal crunching and I jerk awake. Afterward, I can never find sleep.” I won’t mention to him that sleeping with Maverick is the only time I can fall back asleep, or stay asleep.
“I have the number of a therapist who deals with trauma. The department uses her, and I think you should call her and meet. See what she has to say, see if you like her.” He grabs a business card out of his desk. “Call her and if you want Mom or me to go with you, we will.”
I wrap my arms tightly around him and give him a squeeze. “Thanks Dad. I love you so much.”
He has a meeting, so I take my leave. As I step out of the station, I hear my name being called and turn to find Maverick walking toward me in his uniform and fuck me, he looks hot in it.
“Hey you,” I say as I walk toward him. Once we’re close enough, he holds out his arms and I walk right into them.
Maverick hugs me. “What are you doing here?” he asks when I step back from him.
“I had lunch with Marcie and then came to see my dad. He wants me to go talk to someone about the accident. I saw the pictures and… threw up in the garbage can. Maybe I should because I don’t sleep well, unless I’m sleeping with you, but I can’t be depending on you to sleep. I’m sure you have a life you want to get back to.”
Maverick looks at me closely and then pulls me into another hug. He places his lips against my ear. “I like sleeping with you. As a matter of fact I want you in my bed tonight.”
I pull back and look up at him. “Are you sure? I don’t want to be in your way.”
“Baby, this was a crazy week and I just want to chill at home with you and Butch,” Maverick says.
My belly warms thinking about spending another full weekend with him. “That sounds good.”
“Great, go pack a bag and get your ass to my place. I’ll call you when I’m done, and we’ll decide what I’ll pick up for dinner.”
I nod. “Okay, that sounds good.”
Maverick surprises the shit out of me when he grabs my face, kissing me softly on the lips. “I’ll see you later.”
He turns to walk away and I watch his ass because it’s a fucking great ass. Then I head home to pack a bag and then head to Maverick’s.
Fifteen
Maverick
I grab onto Gwen’s hips as she bounces up and down on my cock. She’s a fucking vision, with her strawberry blonde hair hanging down wildly around her. Her hands rest on my chest.
I reach up, grabbing onto her tits, tweaking each nipple. Her moans are music to my ears and the desire to come hits me hard. Gwen’s so fucking wet right now, her arousal is drenching me. “Are you going to come for me?” I grunt.
She does this little swivel of her hips and she reaches between us, rubbing her clit. I begin to thrust up into her and again I grab her by the hips. “Baby, hold on to the headboard.”
Gwen leans over me to hold on and it puts her nipples directly above my mouth.
I wrap my lips around the hardened tip. She moans and grinds down on me. When she begins to come, she throws her head back. I flip us over and use my legs to spread hers wider, sinking deep inside of her. I use the headboard for leverage as I begin to fuck her without abandon.
When my balls draw up, I thrust once then twice, coming deep inside her pussy. For a second I see stars, like I’m gonna black out. I slow my strokes as we both start to come down. The only sound filling my room is our panting breaths.
I lean down, kissing her lips. When I pull back, I whisper against her lips, “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No,” Gwen says while shaking her head. She pulls me down to her, kissing me. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the size of your cock.”
I kiss her lips. “My cock is the perfect size for your pussy, baby. You were made for me.” I slip out of her and roll us to our sides. “I’ll be right back.” I bend down, kissing her flat stomach.
After getting rid of the condom, I wash my hands and then let Butch out one last time. Back in my bedroom, I find Gwen curled up on her side, her naked back on display for me. I slip in next to her and wrap my arm around her, pulling her into my side.
She does what she always does in her sleep, rolls to me and wraps around me like a spider monkey. I never thought I’d like sleeping like this, but with her, I do. Gwen’s breath tickles my neck as she sleeps.
Earlier when I called her on my way home, we decided on Peking’s Palace for dinner. We pigged out on Mongolian beef, egg rolls, crab Rangoon, and sizzling rice soup.
We sat in my bed and watched John Wick while we ate. Butch sat in between us, begging for bites of food. After the movie, we took him out back and played with him for a bit. Gwen smiled when she tossed the ball. “Go get it, boy.”
When Butch was worn out, we went back inside, and we ate white almond cupcakes that she brought with her. Then we proceeded to eat cupcakes off of each other. I almost embarrassed myself when she sucked frosting off my cock. I’ll never look at cupcakes the same again.
This past week has been
hell. I picked up some extra shifts to help out. All I did was work, sleep, and repeat. When I slept, I dreamt of the girl in my arms. I’d love to say that they were all dirty, but the one I had last night was bad. It was the accident. Gwen was lying next to me with her eyes open. In the dream I shook her, screaming her name, but she was already ice cold.
I jerked awake and once my heart quit racing, I was able to find sleep, it just wasn’t good sleep. As I lay there shrouded in the darkness of my room I realized that Gwen was starting to mean something to me. Yes, we survived something intense, but I just like spending time with her. She’s funny, kind, good with my dog, hot, and fucking phenomenal in bed.
Before her, I’ve never wanted to explore a relationship, but I’m looking forward to it with her.
Now I kiss Gwen’s forehead and she snuggles deeper into me, smiling in the dark as I close my eyes as exhaustion pulls me under.
The smell of bacon hits me, pulling me from my sleep. I climb out of bed, throw on a pair of basketball shorts, step across the hall to use the bathroom and brush my teeth.
In the kitchen I find Gwen at the stove in a half shirt and panties, frying up bacon. I fit myself against her back and kiss her neck. “You ruined my surprise,” she says softly.
“Were you making me breakfast in bed?”
“I was and now you don’t get any.” She sticks her tongue out at me and turns back to the bacon.
I grab her chin, pulling her back so I can kiss her mouth. Her tongue meets mine and in no time my dick is hard.
Gwen pulls back. “Get that thing away from me.” Her grin is cheeky and adorable. “Get some coffee and sit while I finish this up.” Once the bacon is done, she scrambles some eggs and makes some toast.
She carries our full plates around the breakfast bar, sitting next to me. “This looks delicious babe, thank you.”
We’re both quiet as we eat. I watch as she grabs the syrup and pours some on her eggs. She shrugs and then scoops a wad of them into her mouth. After we finish eating, I kick her out of the kitchen.