To my surprise, when the song ends, Maverick doesn’t let go. He keeps me there in his arms for two more songs until the tempo changes to something more upbeat and we finally draw apart. Glancing around, I realize at least half of the guests have already left. Exhaustion hits me like a Mack truck.
“Do you want to call it a night?” I ask, and there’s no mistaking the relief on his face.
“Yeah.”
We make quick work of saying goodnight to Heidi and Max, then make our way back to our cabin. The moonlight on the water and the soft sounds of music and laughter from what’s left of the reception make for one heck of a romantic moment,but I keep my hands to myself and a foot of distance between Maverick and me the entire walk.
When we reach the cabin, neither of us says a word, simply orbiting around each other as we take turns in the bathroom. I emerge in my pajamas to see him wearing the same thing he did last night, a T-shirt and shorts. Grabbing a pillow from the bed, I move to one of the chairs and settle in, tugging a blanket over my legs.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
I look up to see Maverick glaring at me. “Going to bed?”
“Like hell you are, not in that chair. Get in the bed.”
I cross my arms and glare right back. “No. Don’t think I didn’t notice how much pain you were in this morning after sleeping on the floor. It’s only fair, you get the bed tonight, and it’s my choice to take the chair, not the floor.”
“For fuck’s sake, Sadie. You’re not sleeping in a goddamn chair.”
“Um, yes, I am.”
His nostrils flare as we stare at each other in some weird standoff. Then suddenly, he strides over to me and yanks the blanket off.
“Maverick!” I shriek as he chucks it on the bed. I jump up, planning to get my blanket and return to the chair, but Maverick moves to stand in front of me.
He scoffs, still glowering down at me. “You want a blanket, get in the bed. You’re not sleeping on the chair.”
“Well, you’re not sleeping on the floor.”
We stare at each other for another second before a yawn overtakes me. “Fine. You know what, this will be fine. We’readults.” I climb into the bed, moving all the way over to the edge. “You stay on your side, I’ll stay on mine. Everything will befine.” To make my point, I flip over, facing the wall away from Maverick and screw my eyes shut. Another minute passes before I feel the bed dip and Maverick lying down beside me. I hold myself perfectly still, not wanting to move an inch.
After a while, he shifts and settles, turning off the bedside light and plunging the cabin into darkness. Only then do I let my eyes open and try to remember to breathe normally. Until he speaks again.
“What was it you said about that wordfine? It never means what you want it to mean, does it, Specs?”
Chapter fourteen
Maverick
I don’t want to wake up. For once, I feel comfortable, warm, and relaxed. My brain is oddly quiet and peaceful. But it feels as if there’s a weight on my chest, which probably isn’t a good thing for bruised ribs that are only just healed. Except when I try to move, it doesn’t go away.
Wait.
I slowly blink my eyes open. Silky red hair is spread across my chest, and the soft sounds I couldn’t place are coming from the woman draped over half of my body.
Like a goddamn koala, Sadie has her arms wrapped around me and one leg over top of mine. As I come fully awake, I’m aware of another major problem, other than the pressure on my ribs. My semi-hard dick is trapped underneath Sadie’s thigh, and the heat from her body is making the problem worse.
I’ve got to get out of here, and fast. Before she wakes up to find my dick pressing into her leg.
If the little snores are anything to go by, she’s still deeply asleep. It’s not easy, but I manage to shift her leg off mine first, then slowly slide out from underneath her. She makes somesnuffling sounds that are fucking cute as hell, but once I’m out, her breathing stays steady, and she simply curls in on herself.
Fuck. I stand there watching her, telling myself it’s just to make sure she’s asleep, but the reality is, I can’t look away. She’s beautiful. Peaceful. And I have to admit, I didn’t hate the feeling of her wrapped around me.
Which is why I make myself turn around, grab my runners and a cabin key on my way out the door, and head out into the warm morning for a run along the trails I found yesterday.
The rhythmic pounding of my feet on the ground does a little bit to help ease my confusing frustration. And I try to lose myself in the exercise, focusing on my breathing, on my steady pulse, and on how my body feels as I push it just slightly more than I have so far since the accident. Anything to put some distance between me and the tempting redhead I apparently just spent the night cuddling.
A short while later, the five or so kilometer route I took brings me back to the cabins, and I slow to a walk as I approach ours. Maybe she’s still asleep and I can sneak into the shower and rub one out before she wakes up. Because after my run, I’m still hard underneath my shorts, and I can’t fully blame it on the usual morning wood.
