We stayed like that for what felt like hours, relishing in the feel of our bodies pressed so close. His face stayed buried in my neck and my arms stayed wrapped around him like a lifeline. His chest rose and fell, uneven with my own as we finally met each other’s eyes, and he slowly released me from his punishing grip.
With delicate movements, I stood on wobbly legs, running a hand through my hair and then adjusting my ruined panties. Maverick did the same, kicking his pants off the rest of the way before grasping my hand and squeezing. “Come on, beautiful.”
For a moment, I faltered. Thinking he wanted me to leave. But he squashed my trepidation as he grabbed my waist and pulled me close, tracing his nose along my cheek.
“I’m taking you to bed. Malibu has to go for a quick walk, and then I’ll be back. I’m not even close to being done with you.”
I nodded, biting my lip and looking up to meet his eyes. They were filled with adoration, contentment, and something I couldn’t decipher. But figuring it out wasn’t important. What mattered was us. This.
And as Maverick turned to the hallway and squeezed my hand again, I knew he agreed.
Chapter 29
“We won thePendergast deal off Market Street,” Miller said, walking into my office and tossing a half-finished bundle of wires and bulbs on my desk. “But I’ll needyour help with the filaments for the fixtures they want. Some days, I hate our showroom.”
“I was fine with the space staying a conference room,” I murmured, not looking away from my computer screen. “Brooke always kept a bowl of fancy fruit on the table for when we had meetings. And if I remember correctly, it was your idea to remodel, so you and Magnum would have a place to display your designs.”
“Yeah, and our profits are up twenty percent year-to-date because of that room.”
“Exactly. So why are you complaining?”
“Ugh. Maybe I miss that fancy fruit as well. Remember when we were all stuck eating that strawberry-citrusy one for a week?”
“Soursop?”
“Yeah. That’s it,” Miller said, snapping his fingers.
“It was one of the better options, wasn’t it? Remember when she got that one that smelled like dirty socks?” I asked, stretching my back until it made a satisfying pop.
“Oh yeah. I could barely stomach the smell, let alone try to eat one. I didn’t care how good Simon said they were.”
“Yeah. Glad we left it to Simon to enjoy that one.”
Tito and Port raised their heads from Malibu’s large dog bed in the corner. She’d stayed at home today so I could spend one-on-one time with the pups, and they had no problem taking over the space. Their tails wagged, and they yipped as I laughed then cleared my throat as Port stood and stretched, trotting over to Miller to demand pets. He obliged, dropping to one knee and scratching behind her ears. Not to be left out, Tito followed suit as Miller chuckled, giving him the same attention.
“You two hooligans be good,” I chastised as Tito put both paws on Miller’s thigh and attempted to crawl into his lap. Keeping those two rascals in line was more work than sharing my house with manic chipmunk roommates. Tito looked atme with those big brown puppy dog eyes and whined, but I stood firm, pushing away from my desk and crossing my arms. Reluctantly, he backed up until all four paws were on the floor.
I nodded and looked at Port. “Don’t you get any ideas.” But she only shook her head and scratched behind her left ear with her paw, content to wait her turn for pets.
“Couldn’t you ask Magnum for help with whatever that design is supposed to be? He’s the one who added those fixtures to the showroom last month, right? The sparkly ones that landed us the Lincoln kitchen remodel?”
“I could ask him, sure. But I remember how much you used to help me with the tinkering. The lights at Mom’s house are all you, bro-tato chip. So are the designs at your place. Not that I’ve been invited over in the last few weeks,” he quipped, batting his eyelashes like an idiot.
“Save me the guilt trip, would you? My door is always open. And I wasn’t the one who missed poker and fishing last month.”
“Now, that’s not fair. You know we were visiting Emma’s family. Meeting the girlfriend’s parents overrides poker night.”
“Sure. Sure.”
“Don’t give me that shit,” Miller said, sitting down fully on the carpet with a groan and letting Tito crawl into his lap. He rested his head on my brother’s knee and yawned, stretching out his front paws.
“Fine. I refuse to get into a pissing match with you, anyway. So, tell me. How do you think my helping you with these finicky fixtures will work out? Me attempting to remember something I haven’t done for five years, only to get frustrated and accidentally break the damn thing?”
I tapped my chin and then dropped my hand beside my chair where Port had trotted to, patiently waiting. She leaned into my scratches, and her tail thumped on the floor as I chuckled before finally looking fully at Miller.
He sported purple smudges under his eyes and several days of scruff, but it was his rumpled appearance that caught me the most off guard. His jeans had several grease stains that looked days old, and his polo had more wrinkles than an old man’s forehead. I picked up Port and settled her on my lap before pushing my readers to my forehead and really taking in his appearance.
Haggard was the most positive thing I could think of, and that had me pushing everything else from my mind.
