To care enough to think about my apartment being so bare that she thought I needed something to brighten it up.
A gesture that to her probably seemed small… but to me? It somehow feels monumental.
Maisie sighs into my mouth, and I sweep my tongue through her lips, tasting the sweet flavor of her coffee and the gloss on her lips combined.
So fucking sweet.
Always so goddamnsweet.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-NINE
MAISIE
I’mat the arena to pick up some T-shirts that the Hellcats athletic department had made for the upcoming fundraiser event with their sponsors on them.
Just a quick stop, I tell myself, between English lit and my library sciences class.
So quick that I didn’t even tell Wilder I would be here.
After last week’s impromptu “meeting” with the whistle while on a video call, I also told myself that as exciting as that was, I am going to be on my best behavior and make sure that he is too.
I don’tactuallywant anyone to find out about us sneaking around. And that was a little too risky.
Yes, it’s a tiny bit thrilling to imagine someone discovering us while he’s doing dirty things to me, but thatreallyhappening is a whole different scenario. A very bad one.
It’s more just the thought of it that got me hot. Thepossibility.
I’m walking down the eerily quiet hallway at the arena, looking down at my phone at a text that Lennon sent with a picture of her and Saint doing a face mask.Saint Devereauxdoing a freaking face mask… clearly on the floor, letting her step all over him kind of down bad for his woman.
Cute.
Suddenly, a hand slides over my mouth, and before I can even scream, I’m being yanked inside a darkened room.
My heart is beating so hard I feel like I might throw up or faint. Or both.
Everything inside is so dark that I can’t see anything, just pitch-black nothingness.
I freeze in fear… but then I get a whiff of what’s quickly becoming one of my favorite smells. His familiar, warm, woodsy, masculine scent envelops me, and instantly, my panic subsides.
I feel heat along my back as he steps closer, and then I feel lips brushing against the shell of my ear. “Not sure if I should be worried or turned the fuck on that you didn’t seem the least bit scared.”
God, his voice is like velvet whispered against my skin, the words low and hoarse as they caress me.
It’s been a few days since I’ve seen him, and I had no idea that I’d miss him this way. It’s impossible not to when I feel like I come alive the second he’s close.
“Mmm. Maybe a bit of both?” I respond with a grin, the words breathless.
His chuckle ghosts along the back of my neck. “Then you’ve got the self-awareness of a fucking cat, baby.” His lips press along my skin right at the curve, and a shiver sprints down my spine. “And clearly, I’m turned on by it.” I feel the press of his hips against me, and he’s hard and thick against my lower back.
Baby.
I’m not sure he even meant to call me that the first time it happened, but once he did… it’s like he can’t go back now.
I don’twantto go back.
Some girls may think thatbabyis too generic or boring, but it’s the best word in the world when it’s aboutyouand comesfrom the man’s mouth that you’re obsessed with.
