Emotions bubbled up inside me, unfamiliar and overwhelming in a way I didn’t understand. In a way I didn’t quite know how to name. There was a deeply rooted sense of security and home when I looked at him. The kind I’d never really had. When I was around him, the world settled into a peace I couldn’t achieve any other way. The constant noise in my head—the expectations, the anxiety, the weight of everything I was supposed to be—it all faded into something more manageable.
Was this love?Was this what it was supposed to feel like? Because it didn’t feel like the rush people talked about. It wasn’t overwhelming or consuming in the ways I’d always been told itwould be. It wasn’t a high I just had to chase until it overtook my whole life.
No, this felt… calm. Safe. It was quiet and reassuring in a way that didn’t demand anything from me other than just to exist and be whoever I wanted to be.
Some part of me—the part of me not riddled with anxiety and worries—just knew that he was my person. It was the part of me ruled by all my stress and anxiety that doubted it. That questioned it. That made me second-guess everything I felt.
“Are you coming to bed, princess?” Maverick mumbled, interrupting the slowly spiraling thoughts in my head. “I’m not real keen on people just staring at me.”
“Did I wake you?” I asked. Peeling off my shirt and slipping off my pants, I hurried to undress down to my briefs.
“Nah,” he replied around a yawn. “I’m a light sleeper. And you didn’t slam the door, so I knew you weren’t Aidan.”
My chest tightened at that admission. I didn’t need any more of an explanation than that. I was all too familiar with walking on eggshells as a way of life.
“Move over,” I told him softly. He grunted but didn’t move. Instead, he patted a hand on his lower belly. I frowned as I said, “I have no idea what that means.”
“Sit,” Maverick ordered. The deep timber of his voice, combined with that single word, sent a shudder rolling down my spine.
“What do you mean?”
“Did I stutter, princess?” The arm covering his face came down, and, even through the dark, I could feel the weight of his gaze. He repeated, “Sit.”
My cheeks burned hot all the way to the tips of my ears as I did what he wanted me to, straddling his waist. My hands splayed over the broad planes of his chest, and I was instantly fascinated by the flex of his muscles with every breath he took. His palmssmoothed over my legs, and his thumbs traced lazy circles on the inside of my thighs. The callused pads scraped against my skin and sent a jolt of pleasure straight to my dick. I shifted, my balls dragging against the rough denim of his jeans, and the rigid outline of his cock made my own twitch.
His hands rounded my hips, and his fingers dug into my skin. His heart thudded steadily under my palm, a stark contrast to the wild race mine was having.
“What time is it?” Maverick asked, his voice rumbling against my hand and vibrating through me.
“Just after two.”
“Couldn’t stay away?” His tone was low and teasing, but there was a hunger to it that made my nerves hum.
“No,” I whispered. The little sound he let out confused me. I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad or what, and I sucked in a sharp breath. A heartbeat passed between us—one that had me waiting for some kind of rejection.It was really forward of me to just show up here after saying I wasn’t going to stay.
His grip on my hips tightened to an almost bruising intensity. He yanked me forward with a sharp pull, and my knees slid across the mattress slightly, my body collapsing onto his. His mouth claimed mine in a kiss that swallowed every doubt. His tongue swept over mine, tasting like stale toothpaste, and his teeth nipped at my lower lip. My dick was trapped between us, and a wet spot grew on my briefs as precum leaked from my slit, building with every desperate rock of my hips.
“Good,” he said gruffly against my lips, his. I could feel the satisfied turn of his smile as I kissed him slowly. I breathed in the little content sigh he let out.
His hands slid down, cupping my ass. His fingers kneaded into my skin and spread me slightly with each squeeze. He thrust up against me, his cock dragging against mine in an explosion of sensations that pulled a whimper from me.
He rolled his hips again, slower this time in a deliberate drag. My balls tightened, and my breath stuttered in my chest.Oh, fuck…. I could actually come just like this.Was that normal? His fingers dug deeper into my skin as he guided my rhythm over and over.
Kiss for kiss, breath for breath, touch for touch. We fell into a steady rhythm, transferring control back and forth in an exchange that left us both panting. Tension wound through him tighter, his muscles coiling under me. Liquid heat surged down my spine and coiled dangerously hot in my core. I was a livewire with every nerve screaming for relief.
“Fuck.” Maverick’s head fell back on the pillow as he let out unsteady pants, his chest heaving against mine. “You’re killing me, princess.”
“I’m sorry,” I replied instantly, the words tumbling out on instinct, even as confusion knotted in my stomach.Though I wasn’t sure what I was apologizing for.He seemed as into it as I was.
“Don’t be,” he said with a slight laugh. “But I’m trying to be respectful.”
“As opposed to…” I prompted. My lips brushed lightly over his pulse, eliciting a low groan from him. The sound sent a thrill through me that settled in my balls. The way I wanted him was intense and all-consuming.
“You’re going to have to stop that, Harley,” he told me, his voice strained. I sat upright as I frowned. With a warning growl, his hands pinned my hips in place.
“What’d I do wrong?” I asked and tried to keep my thoughts in careful order—tried not to get ahead of myself.
“Nothing. You did nothing wrong,” Maverick reassured me. His hands came to rest lightly on my thighs, rubbing gently. “But as much as I respect going slow to let you figure things out, Ineed you to respect that I can’t just turn my dick off, either. There have to be some boundaries until you’re ready.”
