Page 47 of King of Pride

“I’ll pay for it,” she said. “What do you want?”

Maverick’s gaze briefly dropped to her knee before returning to her face.

Rose hesitated, her fingers curling nervously at her sides. She drew in a slow breath, gathering her courage before finally blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

“How about I sleep with you one more time?”

The instant the words left her mouth, Maverick’s expression changed.

The amusement disappeared, replaced by something darker and far more difficult to read. He released her knees and reached for the back of her head, drawing her toward him as he leaned over her on the couch.

The sudden movement startled her.

Before she could gather her thoughts, his lips crashed against hers.

Rose’s breath caught.

The kiss was intense enough to leave her struggling to keep up with him. When he finally pulled back, his hand remained cradling the back of her head. Rose breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling as she stared up at him.

Maverick raised an eyebrow, his face still inches from hers, but the sudden tension in his jaw and the dark, possessive look in his eyes made it clear he was pissed off.

“Did you compensate Ivan like this?”

Rose could barely gather her thoughts.

“We never did anything more than hold hands,” she managed. “My family is conservative, and Dad forbade me from sleeping with anyone before marriage.”

Maverick’s expression changed immediately.

A slow, satisfied smile spread across his face.

“Your father is a very smart man, Mrs. Bishop.”

The way he called her ‘Mrs. Bishop’, so intimately and rough, sent another shiver through Rose.

She stared up at him, trembling slightly beneath the intensity of his gaze. For a moment, she thought he might kiss her again.

Then he seemed to reconsider and pulled back just enough to give her room to breathe.

Rose barely had time to steady herself before he leaned toward her again.

His lips brushed hers, and the familiar warmth immediately brought memories of the previous night rushing back. She instinctively tensed, but he kept her close, lingering against her lips before slowly moving away.

His mouth traced along her jaw and toward her neck.

Rose’s breathing grew uneven as his lips lingered against her skin, each slow kiss sending another shiver through her. He moved from one side of her neck to the other, completely absorbed in the reaction he was drawing from her.

She knew there would probably be more visible marks on her skin by the time he was finished—enough to make her face burn if anyone noticed them.

She struggled to catch her breath, and a soft sound escaped her lips.

“Ah…”

His lips grew more urgent. One hand gripped her jaw, tilting her face upward as his mouth descended on her neck with a hunger she’d never known. He sucked and nipped at her skin in rough, greedy strokes, tongue slipping over bruised spots before biting again. Beneath Maverick, she became a trembling, breathless mess.

When she could barely gasp, he shifted his focus to her shirt. As if unwrapping a long-awaited gift, he unbuttoned it one stud at a time in swift, eager motions. The fabric fell away, exposing skin still marked by last night’s kisses. Without missing a beat, he returned to those bruises, his mouth trailing fresh heat across them before gliding down her ribs and collarbone.

At her breasts, his gaze darkened with desire. She sought his eyes but found only his ravenous attention on her curves. Shame rushed her cheeks, and she lifted her hands to hide herself. He caught her wrist, pinning it above her head, thumb brushing her palm, and whispered raspily in her ear: “Keep your hands there. They won’t stop me from kissing you. If they do, I’ll have to tie you up—and I won’t be this gentle.”