“All set.” I climb under the covers, and Maverick pulls them over my shoulders.
“Will you sleep with me?” I ask him. “I swear not to jump you.”
“Hannah…” He sounds like he’s in pain.
“What?”
His tense expression relaxes, and he brushes the back of his hand gently across my cheek. “Nothing. Of course I’ll sleep with you. Be right back.”
Ten minutes later, I’m already half-asleep when Maverick slides in behind me in the queen-sized bed. His strong arm covers my body, and he pulls me back against him.
His lips brush the shell of my ear. “Goodnight, Hannah.”
“Goodnight, Mav.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Maverick
I keep my arm wrapped around Hannah as her breathing evens out. My dick is hard as nails right now, and I’m trying like hell to keep my lower body separated from hers.
As she sighs in her sleep, she presses her ass against my groin.
I barely suppress a groan as I slowly withdraw my arm from her warm, soft body and shift onto my back.
Fuck, I’m hot. I strip off my t-shirt, leaving me in just my boxers.
I take deep, calming breaths, willing my dick to get under control.
Hannah’s request for sex didn’t come as a surprise, exactly. I’m used to women asking for a night of mutual pleasure. But I’m not used to a woman like Hannah.
She was…different in her approach. More real. And the thing about it is…I want her. I’ve wanted her from the moment I saw her even though she was off-limits.
If I’m completely honest with myself, I want her for more than just one night.
But I can’t go there. Not once, not twice, and not endless times like I crave.
Because despite what she said, I already know that letting Hannah Walsh go at the end of this road trip will be far from easy.
I need easy right now. Football is going to be tough as hell. Supporting my three brothers until they’re old enough to stand on their own is going to take an all-out effort. I do that by staying healthy and staying focused on my career. One injury, and I lose everything. And supporting my dad, who sacrificed so much for me, is a gift I’ve wanted to repay for years.
So, my love life needs to stay on the back burner. Meaning, Hannah and I can’t get involved.
She turns again in the bed, and this time, she flings an arm and a leg over my body.
Christ. Still on my back, I scoot farther to the left in the bed, but she follows me like an octopus clinging to its prey. Her heavy breathing lets me know she’s still sound asleep, so I give up fighting her unconscious advances. I lift my hand and place it gently on her head.
And then, I run my fingers through her thick, midnight hair. She’s still got an elastic band wrapped around it, and I gently undo the elastic until her hair is loose and flowing.
She sighs in her sleep and burrows into my chest.
The ache I feel there isn’t physical. But I don’t want to analyze what it is. That would mean I’d have to take a closer look at what this road trip is turning into, and I’m not prepared to do that.
Because no matter how much I like my copilot, when the trip ends, so does whatever this is between us.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Hannah
