Page 26 of Dirty Empire

“Sure,” I say, trying to sound relaxed.

He doesn't ease himself in as I did. No, he runs to the edge of the pool and flings himself into the water. I laugh as the water splashes around me.

“That was dramatic.”

He smiles at me. “I like to make an entrance.”

Like how I entered his bathroom and just stood there? Maybe I should just put it all out in the open, and we can get over it. I open my mouth, but the words aren’t what I was expecting to come out.

“Did you sign the paperwork for your company?” I ask. Maverick getting out of the illegal business put me a bit at ease. I know I can trust him, but an activity like arms trafficking would always come with danger. Even if things don't work out between us, for whatever reason, I still don't want him to be in another dangerous situation. The image of him lying on the floor of the house covered in blood flashes through my mind.

He swims closer to me, and I can feel his body heat radiating off him. The smell of chlorine surrounds us. My fingertips wrinkle from the water.

“I did. The warehouse is bought, and the LLC is established. Now I can move forward with construction and planning.”

The smile on his face is contagious. The business must be why he’s in such a playful mood. I like this side of Maverick. He doesn't show it often.

“That’s amazing.”

“How was your day?” he asks with a raised eyebrow as if seeing if I’ll bring up the bathroom incident.

“It was good. I hung out with Isabella a lot. We went to the market together. She told me about how you harassed her until she agreed to work for you.”

He chuckles. “I liked her cooking.”

“Does she live on the property?” I ask. She’s always here when I wake up and sometimes late into the night.

He shrugs. “Not really. She has a room that she uses sometimes, but she usually goes home at night. She’s pretty close to her family.”

“Hmm.” I move my hands across the water, causing it to ripple under my touch.

Maverick takes a step toward me, and his eyes focus on mine. I’m lost in the sea of his dark blue gaze. Every inch of my body reacts to him. “Anything else you want to talk about?”

I flatten myself against the concrete wall of the pool, and he cages me in with both arms. I guess I’m not getting out of this awkward conversation. Can’t he just let it go and act as nothing happened?

“I’m sorry about walking in on you this morning,” I rush out. I want to close my eyes and hide away. Heat fills my cheeks.

A small smile stretches across Maverick’s face. “You can watch anytime, just let me know beforehand so I can put on a show.”

My mouth drops open in shock, and I splash him in the face with water. “Pig!” He grabs me around the waist and lifts me out of the water. “Maverick! No, stop!”

Like I weigh nothing, he throws me across the pool. I hit the water with a huge splash. When I come back up, Maverick has an eyebrow raised at me.

“Oh, it is on,” I say.

I charge at him as fast as I can in the water before trying to push his head down underneath. It’s a pathetic attempt, and he just laughs before throwing me across the pool again. This time, instead of coming back up, I swim underwater and come up right in front of him. His eyes widen for a fraction of a second before I splash him with water.

We play in the pool for what felt like hours. I felt like a kid again as we slung water at each other, and Maverick continued to pick me up and throw me like I was light as a feather.

“Go to Mexico with me,” he says, catching his breath as we stand across the pool from one another in battle mode.

I cock my head to the side. “Why are you going to Mexico?”

“To celebrate. I have a place there.”

The last time I’d been to Mexico was when I went to Cancun for spring break during my undergrad. I’m sure this trip with Maverick would be a lot different.

“Yeah, okay, let's go to Mexico.”

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