Page 4 of Maverick
I shouldn’t have thoughts about his lips. And yet, I find that I do, which is more than a little bit disturbing. And perturbing.
I like looking at him, but I would never, ever do anything with him. First of all, he’s in his thirties. So there’s that, second of all, he’s… Objectively evil. Not in the sense that he’s a serial killer or anything, though if we found out anyone on the circuit was a serial killer, I would place my bets on him. He’s magnetic, not strange, and he talks to people, but there is a very firm wall around him.
Anyone who’s near him for more than a few minutes can sense it. I think that’s part of why people find him alienating.
You can talk to him, but you can never actually get to know him.
I swear, even Cloud Dancing is nervous being around him. Like she thinks he might bite, and I’m not entirely convinced he won’t.
“After tonight?”
“Yeah,” Holt says.
“I might want to sit a few rounds.”
No one points out that he wasn’t invited. He’s aware. He doesn’t give a shit. That’s part of the serial killer vibes, if I’m honest.
He doesn’t seem to care if anyone likes him. Not at all.
He wanders through every rodeo event, clearing a path around him, the dark energy he emanates attracting attention from everyone, but keeping them from getting too close at the same time.
Mind you, I’m sure he lets women close. And I’m sure it’s…
My brain blanks, a warm fizz filling my brain instead of – thank God – any illicit images of a tangle of limbs and thrusting. I can’t be thinking of all that with himrightthere.
He brings it out in me, though.
Because he’s forbidden? Maybe.
That man would be a punctuation mark on my rebellion. The exact kind of rough, crude, low-class guy my parents would never, ever allow me or my sister to be seen with. Much less sully ourselves with.
Which could explain why, when he’s around, my brain immediately wants to get down and dirty.
“All right then. We’ll see you.”
Cade is doing his best to dismiss Maverick, but Maverick is doing what he does best and electing to stick around and make people uncomfortable on purpose. I don’t know why I know that about him, with such deep conviction and certainty. I just do.
“What about you?” Cade asks.
“Yeah,” I say. “I’ll play.”
I’m not cash-rich, and I’m not being bankrolled by my parents. I have some decent winnings, but I used them to get myself a little house, and I’m trying to pay my way to more events and pay to board my horse. But still, playing poker seems like a normal thing to do, because I used to do it all the time with the guys, and Colt and Dallas to wind down after events. I feel like it’s been on pause because of Colt.
I feel Maverick’s gaze on my face. I look up at him, and he tips his black hat. “See you tonight, Stella.”
He knows my name. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say it before. In fact, I’m sure that I haven’t. I mostly keep my interactions with him to a minimum. That’s called self-preservation.
Whatever the… Attraction that I have for him is, it’s not healthy. And I don’t need to encourage it. It’s one thing to look at him from across a crowded space, and it’s quite another to actually interact with him.
He doesn’t tip his hat or do any of the other gentlemanly-type things that Holt or Cade do when they walk away. He just looks at me, a little bit too long, and I feel my whole body shiver.
The truth is, even though he makes my imagination run wild, I don’t have any sexual experience. And he exudes sex. Dangerandsex, and something about the combination just gets me.
I’m not sure what I did wrong to link the two. This is the real problem. I was hanging out with two of the hottest guys on the circuit, and I didn’t want either of them. I was open to it, I thought maybe… If it wouldn’t ruin the friendship, I could possibly get a little bit of sexual experience with one of them, because I trusted them.
Now Colt is injured, and Dallas is happily paired up with the love of his life, and…
I’m stuck here. One sad virgin.
