The truth is that I’ve been miserable without her, too. I missed her, and just being in the same room with her again is warming me from the inside in a way my cold heart has been missing since she left. It’s falling over me, that wave of emotion that I’ve been pushing out with her gone.
I want to be with her. I don’t want to play games. I want a life with her. I want to feel things. I want to feeljoyagain.
I never thought I wanted to be a husband again after the horrific way my first marriage went, but with Everleigh, it feels like anything is possible.
I twist my lips, quiet a few beats before I say, “You think I’m mean?”
Her lips quirk up into a smile. “I saidsometimesyou can be kind of mean. Just…aggressive, I guess.”
I frown a little, and then I reach around her waist and haul her to me. “I’ll show you just how aggressive I can be when I get you naked.”
Her breath hitches, and her eyes are on mine. She looks almost nervous. “You mean…right here in Mr. Dalton’s office? Now?”
I can’t help it. I smile. Igrin. It’s wide, and it’s just for her. Only for her. “I don’t think my boss’s office is the ideal place for makeup sex, do you?”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Who said anything about makeup sex?” she asks, her voice sassy. “I was just offering you my services.”
A little chuckle erupts out of me, and I realize this is happiness. True happiness. Joy. It’s that concept I was missing, and it’s back with her here. “Services? Is that what we’re calling it now?”
Her eyes search mine as she cracks a smile. “Oh, shut up and kiss me already, would you?”
I’m hit with her beauty as she stands here in my arms, her hands resting on my biceps, her eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiles at me.
Who am I to deny her what she wants?
My mouth crashes down to hers, and her hands move to tangle in my hair as our tongues dance together to make up for lost time.
I missed this woman.God,did I miss her, and holding her here as we kiss reminds me just how much I need her in my life.
My first love story didn’t have a happy ending. But I think this is the one that’s going to last the rest of our lives.
CHAPTER 47: Everleigh Bradley
She Offered Me Her Services
He’s kissing me, and I’m falling apart from his touch, about to get naked as suggested here in his boss’s office, when he pulls back, leans his forehead to mine, and says, “Your place or mine?”
We hear a knock at the office door and jump apart just as it opens. “Everything okay in here?” Jack asks.
We both nod, and I know we’re caught just from glancing at how red and swollen Maverick’s lips are. But I don’t really care. A man who looks like Jack Dalton has certainly been there before.
“Did we come to an agreement?” he asks.
“Yeah, she offered me her services, and I decided to take her up on them,” Maverick says, and there’s a hint of teasing in his tone. “On one condition.”
I think my heart stops for a minute.
We didn’t talk conditions.
“What?” I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.
“I’d like to connect players in need of companionship with an animal shelter where I volunteer.”
Tears spring to my eyes at the notion of it.
He’s found his path, and he figured out in a split second how to connect his secret passion project with his new legacy.
Jack clears his throat as he nods. “I think that’s an incredible idea. Lily and I are working out logistics, but there’s an office on the first floor not far from the conference room that the two of you could share.” He nods at Maverick. “You can do your mentoring in there, as it’s a quiet, safe space, and if you bring a pup around here every once in a while, I don’t think anyone would complain.” He looks at me. “And when Maverick is practicing or in the weight room, you’re welcome to use the space for whatever work you need to get done. Do you think you can share?”
