Page 5 of The Stunt
God, this is so embarrassing. “Uh-uh,” I say, shaking my head. I may as well just lay it out on the line for him. He’s going to find out sooner or later. I exhale, trying to build up the courage to tell him how pathetic my life is, despite what the world thinks. “I’ve never had a boyfriend. And I’ve only kissed one person. He’s one of my dancers and I’m pretty sure he only did it because he felt sorry for me.” I look down, picking at my fingernails. I can’t look at him. He probably thinks I’m such a loser now.
“Well, that won’t do,” he says.Yep, he thinks I’m a loser.I wait for him to tell me this won’t work between us. That my inexperience isn’t something he’s willing to work with. But instead, he grabs my hand, prompting me to look at him. He brings his other palm to my face, gently cupping my cheek. “Is it okay if I kiss you?”
My eyes go wide. “What?”
He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and I can’t help but follow the movement. I want to put my lips on it. I want to taste his skin. “You deserve to know what it’s like to be kissed by someone because theywantto kiss you.”
My breath hitches. “You want to kiss me?”
“Really fucking bad,” he says, eyes on mine as he moves in just slightly.
“Okay,” I whisper, leaning into his palm.
A second later, he presses his lips to mine. My eyes are closed, but fireworks explode behind them as his tongue ghosts over my bottom lip. I let out a soft moan as I open for him. His hand slides back into my hair, holding my head still as he pushes his tongue into my mouth. That sets something off inside me. I reach forward, fisting the soft fabric of his Henley as we deepen the kiss even further. I can feel his hard muscles flexing under my hand and my panties become almost unbearably wet.Who am I?If this is what kissing him is like, I can’t imagine how good it would feel to have sex with him. Not that I’ll ever find out.
My thighs clench together on their own accord, trying to dull the ache that’s growing between them. Just as I start to debate climbing him like a tree, he ends the kiss, nipping at my bottom lip once before sitting back. “You taste incredible, Bella,” he rasps.
Oh Lord Baby Jesus, help me.
I’m speechless as I bring my fingertips to my lips, finding that they’re swollen and tingly. I can say with one hundred percent confidence that none of this happened when I kissed Darren. If anything, I felt regret with him. But with Maverick, I want more.
He looks down at me. His hands are fisted in his lap, and I can see the muscle in his jaw tick with how hard he’s clenching it. Fuck. Maybehe’shaving regrets.
“I’m sorry,” I rush out.
His brows pinch. “What are you sorry for?” he asks.
I want the floor to swallow me whole. My eyes return to my abused nail beds, and I swallow, trying to moisten the dryness in my throat. “You didn’t like it. I’m not a good kisser.”
His cheeks fill with air before he forces out an exhale. “Is that what you think? That I pulled away because you’re abad kisser?”
Yes. No. I don’t know. I may be a grown woman, but I’m new at this.
“You just look like you wish you could take it back,” I whisper. “Your body language. It?—”
“This is me restraining myself, Bella. I’m trying to be a gentleman. I’m trying to stick to the plan. You’ve been here less than an hour and I’m already thinking of all the ways I want to make you scream for me.”
My brows shoot up. “Oh.”
He sits up straight, grabbing my hands to stop me from picking at them. “Look at me.”
I obey his command, snapping my eyes up to his. His expression has softened, making all the nervousness and tension in my body slowly melt away. How the hell have I just met this guy, yet I feel safer with him than I have with anyone else in my whole life? This is bad.
It’s not real, Bella. It’s a PR stunt.That’ll be my mantra until after the big game. It’s the only way I’ll be able to keep my head on straight.
“I know this is supposed to be fake,” he says. Oh, good. We’re on the same page. “But maybe it wouldn’t hurt to keep practicing. You know, for appearances and stuff. Nobody’s going to believe we’re together if we kiss like two dead fish.” He smiles, looking down at our joined hands before bringing his gaze back up to mine. “Plus, I really like kissing you.”
Mustering up all the confidence I can, I lean forward and kiss him again. This time, it’s completely unhurried as we exploreeach other. I just about come off my seat when he uses his tongue to massage mine. God, he’s good at this.
Just then, a loud screech fills the air, making us pull away from each other abruptly. Maverick fishes his phone out of his pocket and reads the alert to himself before relaying it to me. “There’s a severe thunderstorm warning in effect until ten a.m. Freezing rain, high winds, and dangerous travel conditions.”
Shit on toast.I hate thunderstorms. And I’m supposed to be on a plane back to New York in a couple of hours.
I sigh. “I think I’ll have to get a hotel room for the night. I’m sure they aren’t letting people fly out in this.” I cringe as I realize what a spectacle this will be. The last time I had an impromptu overnight stay in L.A., one of the workers livestreamed me getting on the elevator. There was a mob outside within minutes. Some of them even got arrested for trespassing. I have a team of bodyguards, my driver being one of them, but this would be too much for them on short notice. Plus, only one of them made the trip. Carlo is probably at a nearby café waiting for me to text him to come pick me up.
“I don’t know how I’m going to do this without people finding me,” I say.
Seeing my discomfort, Maverick turns to me. “You could stay the night,” he offers.
