Page 55 of Maverick

She flashed a gentle smile. “He’s not worth it.”

“Maybe not, but you are. And Sophie is.”

She looked away again and took another sip of bourbon. “Anyway, he works as middle manager in the accounting department at a law firm. He’s well educated, and he comes from upper-middle class parents. He’s all the things I now know men like him are prone to be, jealous and possessive, egotistical but somehow also wildly insecure. Mean.”

“What you mean is that he’s a fucking bully.”

She nodded. “That too,” she whispered and then finished off her drink before she stood abruptly. “It’s getting late, and I need to get dinner started.”

I guess that meant she was done talking about her ex.

That was fine with me, I was done hearing about the asshole. I was ready to find him and show him what it was like to be on the receiving end of a beating.

Chapter 28

Grace

Even without being present in the room with me, Trent had managed to turn me into a hollow shell of who I was just twelve hours earlier. His note had shaken me, badly, and I still hadn’t recovered. It was so bad that I’d mostly been absent during dinner, leaving the heavy conversational lifting up to Maverick and Sophie.

I managed to pull myself together just enough to keep Sophie oblivious as we went through her bedtime routine. She was as bright and sunny as ever, full of smiles and happy chatter about the picture she made for Maverick and how much she missed Mabel. We made up a quick story, which she fell asleep in the middle of.

I rushed through my own nighttime routine before I got settled in bed. Despite having slept with Maverick, spending the night in his bed felt wrong, and I insisted on remaining in the guest room. After all I was still a married woman—though I know how messed up that way of thinking was. Every thirty minutes or so I crept to the window, peeking out the curtains to see if I could spot Trent. I knew he was there even though I couldn’t see him. He was there, watching, waiting for me to let my guard down so he could strike.

I was a mess, a big ball of nerves as I moved from the bed to the windows and back again. It was a sick and twisted choreography that I kept up for a few hours, unable to sleep because every time I closed my eyes, there was Trent, furious and violent as he held my baby, used her to leverage me into obedience.

So I avoided sleep and opted instead for the wide-eyed, crazed woman who couldn’t sit still and could only obsess about her ex for all the wrong reasons. The street outside was as normal as it always was. There were no unfamiliar cars out there—I knew because I memorized them all—and there were no men lurking in the shadows, at least that I could see. But still, despite all of that, I knew he was out there.

Somewhere.

“Grace.” Maverick’s voice was a low, deep whisper, slightly raspy and sweet from the other side of my door.

I sucked in a sharp breath and nearly jumped to the ceiling at the unexpected nearness. I jumped out of bed and opened the door, “Maverick,” I panted. “You scared me.”

“What can I do?” His expression was genuine and earnest because he was the kind of man who wanted to help, to pitch in, to do more than was required of him just to make things better.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, my voice shaky and unsure.

“Come here.” He opened his arms wide.

He was shirtless, exposing tanned skin with tattoos and a sprinkle of hair that made my mouth water. Good lord but the man was gorgeous.

His body was a dirty fantasy, and the memories of the way he’d used it on me, the way he tasted, all rushed back to me in vivid color. “Maverick.” My lips had a mind of their own as they met the springy hair over his left pec. And then his right pec.

He froze. “Be sure, Grace.”

“It’s the only thing I’m sure of,” I admitted, and pressed another kiss right to the center of his chest.

Maverick let out a low growl before he picked me up, leaving me no choice but to wrap my legs around his waist. “We’ll get through this,” he promised a moment before his lips descended on mine and he kissed me with his whole body as he carried us to his bedroom.

We fell to the bed together, his big, hard body on top of mine, pressing me deliciously into the mattress. I kept my legs wrapped around him. His cock was hard and long as it pressed against me, the only thing keeping us apart his boxer briefs and my pajama shorts. “Maverick,” I moaned. “Please.”

The sound of his low, guttural growls as his mouth left mine and kissed his way down my body was enough to soak my shorts through. “You’re so wet,” he whispered against my thigh. “I fucking love it.”

My lips tipped into a reluctant smile. “Show me,” I said, feeling bold and sexy. Free, despite everything.

In mere seconds, Maverick me had me completely naked, my feet on his shoulders so I was completely exposed to him. “So wet,” he moaned. “So pink.” He flashed me a devilish smile. “Your pulsating pussy is so hungry for me.”

“Yes,” I moaned, overcome with desire as he teased me with slow kisses to my inner thighs, small puffs of breath against my bare skin.

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