“Precisely.”
“Precisely?”
“There has to be a reason.You say she hates you, so why not let you leave?Isn’t that what she wants?Instead, she kept you locked in your room while making comments about you marrying Brock.Based on what you told me, they’re most likely in a relationship, so it doesn’t add up.”
Of course I know all about sex, but it’s not something I’ve ever spoken about with another person.“Do you think they are…” I let my sentence trail off.
“Fucking?Yeah, I do.”
I’d wondered the same, so it’s nice to know I’m not the only one.“See, it’s weird.”
“Oh, it’s weird, but they’re after something, and it’s more than Brock wanting you.I’m sure that added fuel to the fire of resentment your stepmother has for you.”
“I don’t have anything she wants,” I point out.Besides that, my stepmother is beautiful.
“You might think that, but that doesn’t make it true.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I mutter.
“It does, and I’m going to find out what they’re up to.”Maverick is serious in his conviction, and it’s refreshing that someone wants to take a stand for me.The part that makes me feel guilty is that it shouldn’t have to be him.
“You don’t need to worry about that.You’ve done enough.I’ve already pulled you into this mess with Brock shouting across your gym.I’m sorry.”
I go to stand up, but Maverick takes my hand and tugs me back down beside him on the couch.This time our bodies are touching, and I can feel every single point of contact.It’s like being burned but in the best way possible.When I open my mouth to say something, he shakes his head.
“No, Juliet.No more apologies.”His hand squeezes mine as he leans closer.“I’m in this with you, and you’re not going through this alone.”
“Why?I’m nobody,” I hurry to say, and Maverick’s jaw flexes.
“That cunt has gotten inside your head and filled it with her poison.”
Hearing him call her that name makes me let out a small laugh.“She is a...you know.”
“Cunt,” he says again and smirks.“Come on, you can say it.”
“She’s a”—I pause and lick my lips—”a cunt.”
“There you go.”He sounds proud of me, which is only going to make this all the harder when I leave.
CHAPTERTWELVE
MAVERICK
We talked for a little longer in the office before I got paged to come help with some equipment.Juliet came with me, and we went back around the gym so I could finish introducing her to everyone.After that, we watched a few rounds of sparring before we called it a day and went upstairs to my place.
Juliet insisted on cooking dinner, so I agreed if she’d let me wash dishes afterwards.That was the plan, but since she didn’t know where a lot of things were, we ended up cooking together and even washing dishes together at the sink side by side.Something about being with her and doing the mundane things as a team made it all feel really special and important.Normally I eat out or order in, and it’s generally just because I have to.But cooking with Juliet felt like a chance to learn new parts of her.The longer I’m with her, the more I crave to know every little detail.
We’re in the living room with the television on, but neither one of us is watching it.I offered to put on a movie, and she picked something at random, but two seconds in and we were talking over it.It’s like there’s so much we both want to say, and every time she tells me something, it opens a new conversation.
I’m sitting next to her on the couch with my arm draped over the back.She’s subtly gotten closer as the night has gone on and the room has gotten darker.It’s late, but I have no idea what time it is, nor do I care.
If I’m honest, there’s a tiny part of me that feels guilty because I didn’t tell her about the fight on Saturday.I could pretend like I don’t know why, but it’s because I let Brock get under my skin.He baited me into a challenge he knew I wouldn’t turn down.How could anyone turn down a chance at winning Juliet?
“Are you tired?”I say after a stretch of silence.
Juliet turns her head to look up at me, and when she does, she presses her body into mine.“Not really.”
The way she bites her lip when she’s shy makes my cock ache.“You sure?You got up pretty early.”The gym opens at five in the morning, but she was up when I got out of the shower.
