Page 69 of Best Part of Me

With my eyes still closed, I wish that to be true more than anything I’ve ever wished for.

* * *

When I wake,it takes several purposeful blinks until I realize the sun has gone down. It’s nearly dark, and the air is cool. Even though mine and Maverick’s limbs are intertwined, goose bumps skitter across my skin. The sensation of pins and needles shoots down my arm squished at my side and against Maverick’s ribs.

As much as I don’t want to move, so afraid if I do, we’ll never get to experience this again, I free my arm from its prison. Maverick jolts awake and shifts next to me. His sleepy eyes find mine, and when they do, I’m transported to just a short time ago when he held them hostage while he thrust into me. A wave of heat rushes through my veins.

“Sorry. Guess we fell asleep,” he says groggily. He presses a kiss to my bare shoulder.

“I think that hike wore me out.”

“Are you sure it was only the hike?” he teases, lips curved in a delicious smile.

“That did take some skilled exertion.”

He chuckles and shifts onto his elbow, gazing down at me.

I shiver under his intense stare. “What?”

“Just appreciating the view.”

I’m self-conscious for the first time all day as I lie before him on display, completely naked. I’m not sure if it’s the way he looks at me or if I’m worried this position of being in the cramped hammock isn’t flattering. Either way, he looks like he wants to eat me up. I suck in a breath, the anticipation of that thought making my core tighten. He can eat me up any day. He’s so good at it.

“Guess you better appreciate it while you can,” I say.

I intend for it to sound teasing or playful. But he stiffens next to me, and his jaw ticks. The regret of my words compresses in my gut.

Yet he seems to erase them because he says, “Believe me, I intend to.”

He drags a finger down my cleavage, sliding it over my ribs and belly button, and doesn’t stop until he’s reached my pussy. I clench at his touch. He’s going to unravel me again. And he knows it. An amusing smile slips onto his lips.

A burst of courage frees itself from me. “Do you like what you see?”

His eyes darken, and his finger teases once over my clit before gliding back up the way it came, stopping at my belly button. “Are you fucking kidding? Your body is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

He’s lying, I know. He’s probably seen over a hundred naked women. Strippers, trained dancers, women from the gym, models, and women with boob jobs. I’ve eavesdropped on enough conversations between him and Jones to know about Maverick’s sex life.

But it doesn’t stop me from melting at his praise and, at the same time, going wet all over again. My body vibrates at even the smallest touch from him. I’m craving more of him. More words of affirmation. More body contact.

“What do you like about it?”

“What’s not to like,” he reflects. And at first, I think he’s going to take the easy way out, skip over the talking and go straight to physical. So he surprises me when he continues. “These tits are so perky.” He rubs a thumb across a nipple, and I shudder. “This innie belly button is so cute and lick-able.” He draws circles around my belly button. “These hips are strong enough to thrust against me, and these legs are long enough to wrap around my waist. And this pussy”—he pauses, his tongue darting out of his mouth and sweeping across his lips—“it tastes so sweet.” His finger traces the same pathway as before. When it reaches the point of no return, no surprise, it finds me soaked. He glides his finger up and down, teasing and tormenting me just enough to flip the switch, and I’m craving him once again.

“Then look at me,” I demand.

And he does, first locking eyes with me and then breaking contact to admire each body part he’s touching, tantalizing, massaging, pleasuring.

“Sunshine, I’m not looking. I’m admiring. I’m studying. I’m fucking devouring.”

“Good. Admire away. Memorize it.”

“Not a problem there. In ten days, I will have the mental picture of your beautiful, naked body burned into my memory.”

It’s sexy as hell. But it’s sad too. My heart aches, and my body craves him all at once.

A phone rings, the blaring interruption almost sounding like it’s in the distance. But Maverick stiffens, and I’m suddenly aware it’s his phone.

“Shit. Sorry. I should probably get that. Could be work.”

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