by Laura Kaye
Aw, sweet, sweet man. She tossed back the medicine and washed it down with a big sip of the salty broth. “It’s perfect, Mav.” She took another sip, and another, hoping the soup would warm the icy chill that filled her chest. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
“I’m not worried about me right now,” he said.
“Well, I am.”
“Don’t be.” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “As long as you’re good, I’m good.”
“I don’t know if I’m good or not.” Sip.
“You don’t have to know right now. But you’re here and you’re safe and Slater’s behind bars. So that’s a start.” His eyes blazed a dark blue intensity that seemed to peer into her soul.
The fierceness of his words chased off a little of that chill, like he was wielding a pickax and chipping away the pieces of Grant that her ex had left behind inside her. It was a terrifying, nauseating image and immediately chased away her appetite. She set the mug on the coffee table.
“How can I help?” he asked.
She tried to give him a smile. “You already are.” Finding it hard to hold his gaze, she ducked her chin and stared at her lap, at the navy capris and sheer patterned blouse over a tank that she’d worn to work today. Knowing Grant had touched the clothing repulsed her. “I want to take a shower.”
“Yeah. Okay. That sounds like a good idea.” He gave her a hand up and walked her to the bathroom. Worry poured off of him like a waterfall, the force of it too intense and soothing at the same time.
“I won’t be long,” she said, peering at him around the door.
“However long you need.”
Nodding, she pushed it closed. Avoiding her reflection, she undressed. Balled up her clothes and stuffed them in the little trash can. Turned on the water. Waited for it to heat. Got in.
She cleaned herself mechanically, barely feeling the spray against her skin. Her soapy hands found a bruise on her hip. One on her ribs. One on her shoulder. And each little jolt of pain chipped away more pieces of Grant. A bruise on her forehead. On her wrist. On her elbow. Chip, chip, chip.
Each piece of him that sloughed off exposed more of her, raw and vulnerable and unbearably sensitive.
It was suddenly like someone had plugged Alexa back into her body. Because all the pieces of her snapped into place in one instant so that she felt everything. Every bit of it. The fear and the pain and the despair and the disbelief and the shock. Her head throbbed. Her aches were a pulsing agony. It was too much.
Toomuchtoomuchtoomuch.
A sob ripped out of her, and Alexa clapped a hand over her mouth as it folded her in half and finally forced her to her knees. She slid into a ball on the slick bottom of the tub, hugging her legs and burying her face into her knees as she cried. Grant was like a poison inside her she had to release, and every tear cleaned her, disinfected her, set her free.
So she gave herself over to it. One last time. Just until Grant was completely gone from her psyche the way he was from her life. And then she’d never let him have a piece of her again.
“I DON’T KNOW how I didn’t kill him,” Maverick said into his cell phone. “I probably fucking should’ve.” Rage and regret were like viruses in his blood, running rampant through him and laying waste to everything in their paths. Damnit. He’d known Slater could do something like this. He should’ve pushed Alexa harder not to go to work. He should’ve stayed at the house himself. He should’ve done so many things that might’ve kept this from happening.
It was failing his mother all over again, only worse.
“I get that,” Dare said, “but going after Slater only leads to one result that matters—you locked up. Do I have to worry about you staying smart?”
Pacing the living room, Maverick blew out a frustrated breath. “No. I called the cops and did it by the book. And now he’s the one spending a night behind bars, the fucker.” The drumming of the shower water sounded out, and Mav had to resist the urge to go to Alexa and reassure himself that she was really there, in his house, safe.
“Good. Because this is probably gonna get messier for her before it gets better.” Dare’s voice was gruff, tired.
“That much is clear,” Maverick agreed. “I’m going to talk to her about filing a protective order in the morning.” Though, given who Slater was, who knew how well local law enforcement would follow through on actually, you know, enforcing it. Still, it was better to have the legal paperwork in place. And it would be damn satisfying to imagine Slater getting served.
“Worth doing,” Dare said. “But don’t count on that to resolve the situation.”
“I won’t. Not even a little,” Maverick said. He stopped in front of the big window that looked out over the backyard and the sunlit pond beyond. He couldn’t quite make out the fire pit where he’d made love to Alexa—and where she’d made love to him—he believed that into his very bones. But he didn’t have to see it to feel the impact of what they’d shared and what he felt for her.
Everything.
And damnit, he wanted to tell her. That he loved her, that he wanted her for his own, that he wanted forever. With her. But he also didn’t want the memory of those declarations to be mired in the pain that Slater had caused. Fuck, he wasn’t sure which was the right way to play it.
“Did you hear me?” Dare asked.
“Shit, no. Sorry.”
“I asked how she’s doing,” Dare said.
Maverick shook his head. “I’m not sure. She’s mostly holding it together, but I think she’s in shock. He slammed her to the ground pretty good, so she’s also hurting. Got bruises on the side of her face and some other places.” Afuckinggain. “She’ll be okay, but she’s still processing.”
“Yeah,” Dare said. “Christ. I’m sorry, Maverick. And Haven is, too. She asked me to let Alexa know that she’s here for her.”
“Thanks. I’m sure she’ll appreciate hearing that.” And he did, too, the way everyone was embracing Alexa again. It meant a lot to him. A long pause, and everything building up inside him demanded some form of release. “Shit. I’m . . . I’m fighting for her, D. I’m all in. And I’m not letting anything stand in the way this time.”
A satisfied sigh, like maybe Dare had been holding his breath, came down the line. “About goddamned time, my brother. About goddamned time.” Someone called to Dare in the background. “Listen, I gotta go. Dinner’s on. Assume you all aren’t coming.” It wasn’t a question.
“No,” Mav said. “And we shifted moving her mother until tomorrow morning, so I won’t make it to help finish setting up until later in the day.” Maverick wasn’t sure whether to regret the carnival’s poor timing or hope that it might provide Alexa with a welcome distraction. Either way, the Ravens needed it, and they needed it to be a success.
“We’ve got it covered. Phoenix pulled this shit together like a boss.”
“Yeah, he did,” Mav said. “Catch you tomorrow.”
“Wait. Mav?”
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Don’t you dare blame yourself for this.” Dare’s voice was gruff, stern, and Maverick could easily imagine the expression that went with it. He’d seen it on his cousin’s face a million times. “I know Alexa’s situation is probably screwing with your head given what Bunny went through, but this isn’t your fault. Wasn’t then and it isn’t now.”
But Maverick couldn’t get there. Not yet. Not when Alexa wore fresh bruises he might’ve prevented. “I hear ya, D.” They hung up. Maverick stood there for a long moment, his ears latching onto the sound of the running water once more. Was it just him being an anxious, impatient fucker or had Alexa been in there a long damn time?
Something in his gut twisted, pushing him in the direction of a long damn time.
He made for the bathroom. Knocked. No answer. Knocked again.
His gut went on a free fall.
Maverick opened the bathroom door. Steam hung thick in the air. “Alexa, you okay?”
And that was when he heard it
. Crying.
The sound lashed at him and lanced urgency through his blood. He was at the tub’s edge in an instant and pulled back the curtain. Seeing her in a tight ball on the floor nearly broke his fucking heart.
In a flash, Maverick turned off the water, grabbed a towel, and draped it around her shoulders. “Come here, baby.” He slid his arms under her knees and around her back.
Crying harder, Alexa wound her arms around his neck, making it easier for him to lift her from the tub. “Maverick,” she cried, her wet face burrowed into his neck.
“I got you. Don’t you worry about a thing.”
Water ran from her hair and body, soaking into his shirt and dripping down his arms, but he didn’t care. He turned out of the bathroom and carried her down the hall, past the guest bedroom to his own room. Because fuck the guest bedroom. If the two of them were going to make a run at doing this thing again, they were doing it in his bed. Their bed, now.
Alexa wasn’t a guest to him. She would never be a guest to him. Because this house was where she belonged—and always had. They’d both just gotten lost for a while. But that was all fucking over.
In his room, Maverick settled her on the edge of the bed and pulled back the covers. He kicked off his boots and shrugged off his cut, then settled his gun on the nightstand. “Climb in, Al.”
Her breath hitching, she squeezed at the length of her hair with the towel. “But I’m wet.”
“You’re perfect. Climb in.”
She moved to the center and slipped her pretty, long legs under the covers. Masculine satisfaction roared through him at seeing her there, but he had to rein that shit in. Hard. After what’d happened to her today, he wasn’t touching her until she indicated that she was ready. Anyway, despite his hard-on, what he needed more than anything was to help Alexa feel safe. Fuck, he needed that more than his next breath. To protect her, to comfort her, to be her shelter in the storm.
Maverick stretched out and pulled her in tight against the side of his body.
Meow.
He looked to the doorway to find Lucy standing there, eyeballing them in her skull sweater.
“Come on, Luce,” he said. “Your mama needs us.”
The cat padded across the room, hesitated at the side of the bed, then jumped up. She sniffed and stepped, sniffed and stepped, until she stood on his stomach within reach of Alexa’s petting hand. And then Lucy curled up on his belly and fell asleep while Alexa stroked her ears.
And Christ, it was probably stupid, but protectiveness roared through Maverick like a demon. Because this felt like his little family. His woman. Their weird-ass cat. Their house.
“Fall asleep if you want to,” Maverick said, running his fingers through the loose waves of her damp hair. “I’ll wake you up every so often to make sure your head’s okay.”
“I don’t know if I can sleep.”
“You can.”
She shook her head in a small movement that was just barely perceptible. “I’m afraid.”
Her words were like getting sucker punched in the heart. “Don’t be,” he managed. “Slater’s in jail. I’ve got my gun sitting right here. Nothing’s going to hurt you, Alexa, I promise.”
“You’ll stay awake . . .”
He heard what she didn’t say. You’ll stay awake just to be sure?
“I’ll stay awake. You sleep. I’ll keep you safe. Count on it.”
She drifted off in maybe five seconds, and that had satisfaction roaring through him, too. She was scared, she felt vulnerable, and yet his words and his body had given her the security she needed to let go. The trust and belief that represented staggered him. Just nearly knocked him stupid.
And it made him realize he’d do anything not to break his word.
The conversation with Dare came back to him. Yeah, Maverick would be smart. He wouldn’t be the one to start shit. But if Slater came after her again, he sure as hell would be the one to finish it.
CHAPTER 28
Despite being woken up over and over again, Alexa opened her eyes to the early morning sunlight and felt . . . better. Stronger. Freer. For the horrible things Grant had tried to do to her, he was now in jail. And the more she thought about what’d happened yesterday, the more she realized that she’d been stronger and braver than she had in a long, long time. She hadn’t caved in to him. She hadn’t cowered and fallen apart. She’d schemed. She’d run. She’d fought. And she’d recounted every bit of it to the authorities.
That was more than she ever would’ve done before.
“Hey. You awake?” Maverick’s voice was low, gravelly, sexy.
She shifted to see him better. Dirty blond hair that he’d clearly been running his hands through. Scruff covering his jaw. A face full of hard angles. God, he was beautiful to her. “Yeah. You must be exhausted, though.”
He shook his head. “I’m fine. How you feeling?”
Alexa still had some achiness, and she couldn’t deny the small throb in the side of her head. But all of that would go away. And she’d still be free of Grant—and that made her freaking ecstatic. “Actually, I feel pretty decent. Nothing some ibuprofen can’t fix.”
He arched a brow, his gaze running over her face like he was analyzing her words. “Really? I was thinking you could rest here and I could take care of moving your mom. You’d be safe. Dare offered to come hang.” He gestured to his cell sitting on the nightstand next to his gun.
She pushed up on an elbow. For a long moment, she just soaked him in. The thoughtfulness of his words shot right to her heart. The raw emotion in his dark blue eyes wrapped around her and made her feel so cared for and safe. And his scruff made her want to feel it against her thighs.
She cupped his face in her hand, settling for feeling the beginnings of his beard against her palm. For now. “That’s not necessary, but thank you. I feel a lot better. And honestly? I’m done feeling bad over Grant Slater. Today is all about new beginnings, starting with moving Mom. And I want to be there for her.”
His eyes searched hers. After a moment, he nodded and pressed a kiss to her palm. “In case it needs to be said, you handled yesterday like a champ. It about fucking killed me to see—” He shook his head. “But you called us and you ran and you were fighting. When we got there, we saw you. I was terrified but proud of you, too. And I know you’re hurting right now but you survived, Alexa. You survived that and you survived him and even if there’s other bullshit to deal with, you’re out the other side.”
His fierceness built her up and bolstered her resolve. “You make me stronger, Maverick.”
“You’re strong on your own.” He kissed her palm again. “Don’t forget it.”
She swallowed hard, love and need for this man shooting through her fast and urgent. Alexa shifted her naked body on top of his, her knees settling on either side of his hips. “I won’t. And you can remind me if I do.”
“Better believe I will.” As he peered up at her, his eyes flashed hot. His hands landed on the outsides of her thighs. “You sure?”
She ground against the bulge of his cock. “Of this? Of you? Always.” Bracing her hands on his pillow, she leaned down and kissed him.
The groan he unleashed seemed connected to her clit, because desire suddenly had her aching there. Aching with need and lust and longing. She sucked on his tongue, and his hands went to her hips and ground her down harder against his erection. The rough denim rubbed maddeningly against her clit, making her gasp into the kiss.
“Want you,” she whispered into his mouth. “Want you so much.”
“Fuck, baby. Lay on your stomach.” He helped her push the pillows and covers out of the way, and then she stretched out in the center of the bed. He climbed off and tore his shirt over his head. She watched as he undid his jeans and shoved them down his lean hips, his cock jutting out hard and thick. Looking at her like he wanted to make a meal of her, he wrapped his hand around the base and stroked, once, twice, three times. “Christ, you’re beautiful.”
“I need you inside of me,” she said, licking her lips at the sight of him. Inked and rough and hard. For her.
He came over her, his knees on the outside of her thighs. “You’re gonna be so fucking tight like this.” His hand slipped between her legs, and she arched her back to give him better access. “Feel that,” he said, his fingers finding her wetness, sinking deep. “So wet for me.”
“Yes,” she said, her voice breathy and needy. “Now, Maverick.”
Holding her ass cheeks open, his head lined up with her core and penetrated her pussy inch by mind-blowing inch. A moan spilled out of her as he bottomed out, his hands bracing on her lower back, forcing her to arch further.
“Christ, Alexa, feel that.” The arousal in his voice spiked her pulse.
“It’s so good. But I need you to move. Oh, God. Fuck me. Please.” Her words were almost shaky with need.
He withdrew and thrust, withdrew and thrust, slow, dragging movements that had her panting and pushing back against him and aching for him to go deeper, harder, faster. “My cock looks so goddamned good sliding in and out of you.”
She felt herself get wetter around him, and it ratcheted up the urgency of her yearning. “More. Give me more.”
“More of what, baby?” He came down on top of her, his whole weight covering her, his cock buried deep.
She looked over her shoulder. “More of you. More of everything. Don’t hold back, Maverick.”
“Al—”
“Everything.”
“Fuck.” He claimed her mouth in a short, searing kiss. “Everything,” he gritted out. And then he did just as she asked. He wrapped his arms around her head and shoulders for leverage and took her like a man possessed. Like a man taking what was his. And that’s what she wanted more than anything. His hips flew and slammed against her ass. His cock deliciously battered a spot inside her that had her moaning nonstop. His body covered and claimed every part of hers.
It was the most amazing thing she’d ever felt.
“Christ, I’m gonna come,” he rasped.
“Come,” she said, wanting to feel him pulsing inside of her. “Come in me, Maverick.”
