But I wasn’t going to think about her tonight. I trailed my fingers up and down Maverick’s spine, listening to the slow cadence of his breathing. At some point in the night, we’d kicked off the blankets, but his perky little ass was still covered by the thin sheet.
That was a damned shame. I wanted to take him in, give myself time to get used to how I felt next to him. This was still so fucking foreign to me, and I didn’t deal well when I felt like I was at a disadvantage.
I bristled when he turned so his face was buried in my pit. Even though I’d showered after working yesterday, I couldn’t imagine it was a pleasant place to rest. And then he did something that completely blew my mind, even more than when he’d pulled my jeans opened and swallowed me whole.
The wet glide of his tongue against my underarm had my eyes shooting open. He did it again, and I couldn’t help but moan. It was like there was a direct connection between the nerves there and my dick.
“Good morning, princess,” I whispered. He looked up at me and flashed a sleepy smile. The hair on one side of his head was matted to his scalp and damp with our combined sweat. Some primal part of me loved feeling like I’d marked him in some way. “Sleep well?”
“Like a baby.” He arched his back as he stretched, pressing his morning wood against my thigh. When he started to grind against me, I dug my fingers into his hips. If he didn’t stop, it wouldn’t be long before both of us were naked and rutting against one another. As amazing as that would be, I’d made him promises last night I intended to keep. “You’re no fun. I thought you said you were only staying until I fell asleep.”
“Apparently, you weren’t the only one who was tired after a long day.” And the bed in Theron’s spare room was a hell of a lot more comfortable than the thin foam pad pretending to be a mattress in my trailer. “You’re not upset that I’m still here, are you? I know it’s not what we’d agreed on.”
He wrapped an arm around my torso and squeezed me tight. “Nope. I like it. Waking up alone sucks sometimes. I think today would have been one of those days, so it’s good you’re here to save me.”
“You’re silly sometimes,” I teased.
“Yeah, but you still like me,” he deadpanned.
“That I do.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Maybe too much. I meant it last night when I said I’m in over my head here.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you if you screw up too bad,” Maverick reassured me.
I chuckled. That was one thing I was sure of already. He might be smaller than a lot of guys, and into his clothes and makeup, but he was a little firecracker. Yes, he’d been hurt the first time I’d called him princess, but he’d lashed out rather than cowering. He put me in my place, and I respected the hell out of him for it.
Maverick twirled my chest hair between his fingers, and I closed my eyes, appreciating the intimacy of the morning. Neither of us said anything for a solid minute, but we both tensed when we heard voices in the hall.
“Crap. I hope they’re not mad that I didn’t ask if it was okay for you to stay.” Hearing the distress in his voice, I wrapped my arms tighter around him and kissed the top of his head. “I don’t think they’ll be upset, but you never know. They were nice enough to give me a place to stay, I don’t want them to think I’m going to do whatever I want in their home.”
“I don’t know Theron well, but he doesn’t strike me as the type to get upset easily,” I reassured him.
As much as I’d love cuddling the morning away with him, I had to get up and going. Stephen was waiting for me out at the clubhouse, and I was already dreading the interrogation when he saw me driving onto the property.
I pried Maverick’s arms off my body and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. “Let’s go down and say good morning. If they say anything, I’ll let them know last night was totally my fault.”
“But it wasn’t. I’m the one who asked you to stay.”
I watched as Maverick stood and stretched. The little tank top I’d dressed him in last night rode up, showing me a flash of bare skin at the top of his perky little bubble butt. My cock twitched, wanting to see him looking up at me without a drop of makeup on his face and those sleepy eyes as my dick disappeared between his lips.
But that would have to wait. We were taking things slow, and I didn’t have time to sit him down and explain things before I had to hit the road.
“Do you want to hang out today?” Maverick asked as he rummaged through his suitcase. I expected him to pull out something cute, but he’d apparently decided comfort was the way to go today. He turned away from me as he pushed his sleep shorts down his legs, not realizing that I was quickly developing an obsession with his backside. My mouth watered as I watched him shimmy a pair of capri-length yoga pants up his legs. Fuck, the things I wanted to do to him… “I mean, you probably have things to do, but I thought maybe we could go out for breakfast and have that talk you’re so insistent on.”
“As much as I’d love to do just that, I’m actually in danger of running late,” I explained, hating the way the smile fell from his face. I quickly crossed the room and cupped his cheek, tipping his face up so he was looking at me. “If it was anything other than family, I’d cancel in a heartbeat. I don’t want you to think I’m blowing you off.”
“God, now I feel like I’m being clingy,” Maverick groaned. “I swear, I’m not usually like this. I don’t know why I’m fighting so hard to not beg you to stay here with me. Maybe it’s because I don’t know many people in town, and I don’t want Sam and Theron to get sick of me.”
“Sweetheart, I’m not sure anyone could get tired of having you around,” I admitted. “And I like that you wish I could stay. It tells me that I’m not the only one who’s having a hard time not pushing everything else in life to the side so I can get to know you better.”
Maverick wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head on my chest. “Thanks. That makes me feel a little better.”
Neither of us seemed to be in any hurry to break the bubble we were currently in. He didn’t hesitate when I reached for the hem of his tank and lifted it over his head. I bent down, pressing a tender kiss to each of his shoulders as I grabbed his sweatshirt off the chair.
“When can we get together and talk?” Ineededto leave, and wanted to apologize for accidentally spending the night, but I couldn’t bring myself to stop touching Maverick. My hands rested on his hips as I looked down into his bright brown eyes. They were big and round, and I had no doubt he’d quickly realize that all he had to do was bat his thick eyelashes to get me to do whatever he wanted.
“My schedule’s completely open. That might be the only upside of not having a job yet.” He grimaced, and I wanted to find a way to put a smile back on his face.
“Hey, give yourself time,” I suggested, hooking my index finger under his chin. “You haven’t even been here twenty-four hours yet. You’ll find something. Have you talked to Sam about working at the club? You’d make a killing in tips.”
