Page 57 of Resilient Rhythms
“Take me home, Mav,” she murmurs. “Let’s finish celebrating there.”
Jesus, fuck, my beauty is going to kill me. Half standing from my chair, I flag Sabrina down for our bill.
Everything is different now. The air of the brownstone when we step through the door. The moonlight streaming through the kitchen window. The creak on the stairs as we scale them, giggling, our hands touching, our glances longing.
“Need you,” Mckenna whispers as I press her against her closed bedroom door.
“Up,” I command, tugging on the hem of her shirt.
She lifts her arms and I peel the fabric upwards until it clears her frame. Her eyes hold mine, bolder than I’ve ever seen them. She knows what she wants and it’s the sexiest thing I’ve witnessed.
My hands drop to her hips and she bucks into me, twisting the hem of my shirt and drawing it over my head. I help her out, tugging the collar and discarding the shirt.
She sucks in a breath, her eyes tracking my shoulders, my bare chest, and the ink that unspools over my skin like every bad decision and best victory. All spelled out for her to dissect and yet, her eyes shine with more than acceptance.
They swell with love, and it kicks behind my breast plate, my heart somehow in rhythm with hers. Beating in tandem with everything that she is, that we are.
Her hands slip over my shoulders, her touch centering. She licks the center of her bottom lip and I nearly groan from the visual.
“I love you,” she tells me seriously.
I shake my head. “I don’t know why.” The words slip out, an admission I didn’t mean to make in this moment and yet, the truth of them is unmistakable.
She frowns, her teeth raking over that bottom lip. “I do. You’re resilient, Maverick. And hopeful. Deep down, I know you never stopped believing in me.”
“Never.”
“I pushed you away and yet, you came back. To me.”
“I’ll always come home to you,” I admit, my voice gravelly.
Mckenna’s frame relaxes, her fingers clasping behind my neck. “Promise?”
I nod solemnly, holding her gaze so she can see everything I feel in this moment. And fuck, it’s a lot. “I swear it.”
A soft smile trails over her mouth and then, she presses up on her toes and crashes into me. We come together instantly—like two magnets drawn together no matter the force trying to keep them apart.
This year, Mckenna and I have been through hell and yet, when I sink into her, losing myself in her touch, finding myself in her eyes, it’s a homecoming. And it’s so much sweeter and steadier than I could have hoped for.
I’ll always come home to you.
FOURTEEN
MCKENNA
“Thank you,”I say, accepting the cold bottle of water the lawyer’s assistant hands me.
I lean back in the chair, glancing around the sterile, practical conference room. The air conditioning is blasting and I welcome the cold. Twisting the cap of the water bottle, I take a long pull.
“You good?” Mav asks.
I nod, giving him a tight smile. On my other side, my dad leans forward, his phone pressed to his ear, to peer at my face. Satisfied with what he sees, he leans back in his chair and continues his conversation.
“You got this,” Mav murmurs.
I nod again. I know I do.
Last night, Mav and I had a beautiful date. I was able to push Bran as far from my mind as possible, given the situation, savor the feeling of having the bar exam behind me, lose myself in Mav’s touch, and find myself in his embrace. It was one of the best nights of my life.
