I stomp on his foot.
“Dammit!” he shouts, releasing his hold on my wrist.
I burst through the glass door into the chilly night and sprint around the corner. I chance a peek over my shoulder. No Maverick. Good. Maybe he didn’t see the direction I went in. I hide in the doorway of the next building. Shit, I’m stranded. I could call my mom, but I don’t want to interrupt her date. I’ll catch an Uber. I dig my cell out of my purse and click on the app. How did he know where to find me? Maybe he’s stalking me. I wouldn’t put it past him. Fucking psycho. Maverick appears out of nowhere and snatches my mobile.
“Hey, give that back!” I reach for it, but he holds it above his head. I curse my short stature.
Maverick turns on his heel and I have no choice but to follow him across the parking lot to his Jeep. I attempt to retrieve my property along the way. He opens the passenger side door.
“Get in,” he demands.
I quirk an eyebrow. “That’s an absolute fucking negatory.”
“Then you’re not getting your phone back.”
“Where are you going to take me?”
“Home.”
I eye him skeptically. “Really?”
“Yes, now get the fuck in. I’m being polite, but I could always force you.”
“This is you being polite?” I grumble and climb inside.
He closes the door and walks around the vehicle, then hops into the driver’s seat.
I hold out my hand. “Phone.”
“Not yet.” He stuffs it into his jacket pocket.
“Give it to me!” I claw at him.
Maverick seizes my throat and hauls me over the center console.
“You’ll get it back when I’m ready to give it back,” he snarls.
I slash my nails down his face.
Maverick squeezes my neck harder, but watching him bleed was well worth it. I attack again and he applies more pressure. Neither of us is conceding; we’re both too stubborn to. In the next instant, my head is slammed against the dashboard, then darkness envelops me.
A banging noise pierces my muddled brain. My body is on fire. What’s happening? Where am I? I groan, blinking my eyes open. It takes a few seconds for my vision to focus, then memories come flooding back. The movie theater. Being choked. Then darkness. Maverick is on his knees, pounding into my moist folds. My legs are hoisted over his shoulders, both arms wrapped around my thighs to hold me steady for his assault. We’re in my bedroom. I’m naked and my wrists are tied to the headboard, which beats a rapid staccato against the wall with each merciless thrust. I’m sore. How long has he been fucking me?
“Maverick,” I moan.
His eyes are vacant, as if he’s under a spell. Sweat pours down his muscular chest in rivulets to drip onto my heated flesh. He’s beyond reason. I doubt he even hears me.
I can only hope to survive his violent onslaught in one piece. The inferno blazing within me peaks and my gushing pussy spasms. A silent scream lodges in my throat. Maverick gnashes his teeth and plunges into me relentlessly. My wooden bed frame cracks and the center of the bed sinks in.
“Cocoa,” he murmurs, jarring the depths of my soul, then collapses on top of me.
My name is an entreaty on his lips. For what… I have no idea. His heart is beating so hard it vibrates to the tips of my toes. Something profoundly irrevocable is occurring here, shifting the dynamics between us.
This is bad.
Maverick lifts his head and stares into my eyes, sending goose bumps racing along my damp skin. I avert my gaze, afraid of what he’ll discover. Finally, he pulls out of me and leaves the bed.
“Untie me,” I whisper.
