by Melody Anne
Why not?
He’d known from the beginning that it wasn’t going to be permanent. His life had been so much simpler before he’d decided to make it his mission to help Lindsey.
“Are you with us, Mav?”
Looking up, he noticed both Cooper and Nick staring at him. How long had they been talking? Who knew?
“Yeah, I’m here. What’s so important that I had to drop everything and come over here?” he asked, not even trying to cover up his bad mood.
“Is there something you want to share first?” Nick asked him with a smirk on his face.
“What in the hell is that supposed to mean?” Mav snapped.
“You’re in a pissy mood. Not getting laid enough?” Nick said with a laugh.
Mav shot out of his seat and thought about pounding on his brother for a few seconds. He even had his fists clenched as he took a menacing step in his direction. When he saw the delight on Nick’s face, he knew he was overreacting and needed to back off. He changed directions and went back over to the liquor cabinet.
“What I do or don’t get is none of your damn business,” he mumbled as he threw back a shot before mixing another drink and going back to his seat. As much as he’d love to knock his brother around, the liquor was beginning to kick in.
“I thought you wanted to box with me?” Nick said, leaning back as he grinned at Maverick.
“Nah. I’m good now,” Mav said. “Just a lot on my mind. Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Damn. You sure go hot and cold, brother,” Cooper said, sitting back and watching the show.
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Maverick was beginning to wonder why he’d been in such a bad mood in the first place.
Then the doctor hitting on his woman flashed through his mind, and he remembered all too well, making his blood pressure rise again. Nope. He pushed that image right out of his head. Lindsey would be much better off without him in her life in the long run. Still, their time wasn’t quite over yet. They weren’t finished planning the fund-raiser, and he just wasn’t willing to let her go. Whatever his reasoning, though, he was still holding on when he shouldn’t. Maybe it was really him who needed her and not the other way around.
“Get on with this. I have an early day tomorrow,” Mav said, wanting to get out of his own head. He was tired of being in there.
“Our guy has new information on Ace,” Cooper said.
That stopped all movement in the room.
“What’s he got?” Nick finally asked.
“Ace isn’t flying anymore. That’s for sure. He’s also placed a lawsuit against the family for his trust.”
Mav let the words flow through him over and over again as he tried to process the words.
“Why in the world would he want to do that? We all had enough of our own money when Father made that stipulation in his will. Did he blow through it all?” Nick asked.
“I don’t know why he’s doing what he’s doing,” Cooper said with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.
“Will he win?” Mav asked.
“Does it really matter? The money is his. Do we actually care if and how he gets it?” Cooper asked.
“It’s the principle. All three of us have grown up, gotten careers, done things to better our lives,” Mav said.
“He won’t win unless we all grant it,” Cooper told them.
“And what do you want to do?” Nick asked.
Maverick really couldn’t tell what his brother was thinking. It was obvious that Cooper didn’t care if Ace got the money or not. Nick seemed on the fence. Maverick just wanted his brother back. Now he was worried that if he came back, he wouldn’t want to be around the man he’d turned into.
“I just want to talk to him,” Cooper said.
“I echo that,” Maverick told them.
“And if we fight him, do you think he’ll ever come home?” Nick pointed out.
“He might get the money and disappear all over again,” Cooper said.
“We can’t control him,” Mav said with a sigh. “We don’t have the right to control anyone.” That was a lesson he really needed to learn.
“What has he been doing? Where’s he living? What’s going on in his life?”
“Maybe I can answer some of those questions.”
The boys turned to the doorway and looked at Sherman, who was standing there looking in on them. His expression was sad as he moved into the room.
“Uncle Sherman?” Coop said.
“Is there something we’re missing?” Nick asked.
“There’s a lot your mother and I have kept from you,” Sherman said as he moved over to an easy chair and sat down.
“Maybe it’s time you tell us, then,” Maverick said.
Sherman sighed. “Your brother was always different, right from the beginning. He was a hothead, but he does have a heart of gold inside. It’s just buried deep down. He feels like he’s been betrayed and he’s not going to listen to any of us.”
“Why does he feel betrayed? We were all in that room when Dad’s will was read. We were pissed, but we got over it,” Cooper said.
“It goes beyond the reading of the will, boys. It hinges on something before that. Some things happened that we didn’t tell you about.”
“Well, now would be the time to tell us,” Nick thundered.
“I won’t speak of things about Ace without him here to defend himself. But about a year before your father passed, there was an incident. I don’t know if you saw the changes in him then, but that’s when it started. It also solidified your father’s decision to do what he did regarding his will,” Sherman said.
“Why are you even starting this if you aren’t going to tell us anything?” Cooper snapped.
“I just want you to know that it isn’t black and white. There’s a lot of color in there—a lot of hurt. I’ve been trying to reach out to Ace for years. He’s protecting himself and he seems to see us as the enemy.”
“None of this is making sense. You’re talking in riddles,” Mav said, his mood growing more sour.
“I think your brother is in serious trouble. I think he’s been there for a while, and I know he needs you boys. He’s just too stubborn to admit that even to himself.”
The statement made the room go silent as the three brothers looked at each other.
“He knows all he has to do is ask and we’ll be there for him immediately. But he doesn’t want our help. He wants to be on his own,” Maverick said.
Sherman gave them all the look he used to give them when they were younger. It was a look that had quickly put them in their place. Just because they were technically adults didn’t mean he wasn’t still their uncle, didn’t mean they didn’t respect what he had to say. They hung their heads as they tried to figure out what to say next.
“We don’t just love our family when the going is easy. We love them through the darkest hours. It’s our job to show Ace he will never be alone. That’s what will make him come home,” Sherman told them.
“We can love him and still give him the space he wants,” Nick said.
“I know space isn’t truly what he wants. I think it’s what he thinks he needs, but the reality is that he needs his brothers. You’ll want to be there for him before it’s too late.”
“Then tell us what to do,” Mav said.
“You’ll know. Just be ready when he calls.”
With that, Sherman stood up and left as quietly as he’d entered. Mav looked at his brothers and no one spoke. They still felt as lost as when they’d first entered the room.
By the time Mav left, he realized he hadn’t solved a single one of his problems.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Night was falling as Maverick stepped up to Lindsey’s door, his heart thundering for some odd reason. He held a single red rose, a bottle of her favorite white wine, and chocolate-covered strawberries, which she had admitted were her guilty pleasure.
He’d been trying to pull away, to make the end of their re
lationship so much easier to bear, but he couldn’t seem to do what had to be done. He cared about her—but more than that, he was drawn to her. It was beyond a physical need—it was an obsession.
After the reading of his father’s will, he’d sworn he would never marry. Heck, he’d had no desire to wed long before that reading. But since being around Lindsey, the word forever had been creeping into his mind more and more. That wasn’t what he wanted. At least he didn’t think so. Still, there he was, standing on her doorstep, thinking of no one other than her day in and day out.
Tonight he was letting some of that go. Tonight he was going to make her feel special, cared about, give all that he was able to give to her, possibly even leave a piece of his soul behind with her. That’s all he could do in saying good-bye.
Maybe he shouldn’t draw it out. It might be better to just cut it off clean, but he didn’t think that was the way to do it with Lindsey. If he showed her what she meant to him, then it shouldn’t hurt so badly in the end. The transition would be smooth.
He would convince himself leaving her was right.
And the sex was just sex. Sure, it was heavenly—unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. But he was sure he’d had that same thought before. He might not be able to remember having that thought, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t felt it. His mind was just muddled from being with Lindsey for a while now.
Taking in a long, soothing breath, he knocked, telling himself he was a fool to feel as nervous as he did. It was just one more night the two of them were together—no different than any other time in the past month.
The door opened much more quickly than he’d been expecting. Maybe she too felt something different in the air.
“You’re early,” she said, a touch of uncertainty in her eyes. It broke his heart a little. She could feel the shift between them. It was more than obvious.
“Because you are a sight for sore eyes. I needed to see you,” he said, without even thinking about it. She was wearing a red sweater with lipstick to match, and a long black skirt with a slit up the side, a bit of her thigh on display. His mouth was watering. “Beautiful. You are so damn beautiful.”
Her big brown eyes widened before she smiled at him in that way that made him lose control. She opened the door wider to invite him in.
“You look pretty suave yourself, Mav. I don’t often see you wearing a tie,” she said as he stepped through her doorway.
“It’s our first time going to a nice place. I wanted to show you I can be civilized—though I’d rather not do it too often,” he told her with a wink before holding out his gifts. “Let’s have a toast before we leave.”
“That sounds nice,” she said, accepting the rose, lifting it to her nose, and inhaling before moving to the counter and grabbing a small vase to put it in. “This smells divine. Thank you.”
He hadn’t been planning on buying her flowers, but he’d passed an outdoor stand and saw the containers with red roses. The flowers had reminded him of her lips, and he’d just grabbed hold of the one and couldn’t put it back.
He had a picture in his head of trailing the velvet petals across her smooth skin. And just like that, he was hard and wanting. It was a good thing they were leaving the cottage. His hunger for her was insatiable.
“Sit down. I’ll pour us each a glass,” he told her, surprised when she actually listened and moved over to the small living room. She took a seat, watching him as he fumbled with the wine opener.
Were his hands shaking? No way. That was impossible. After a couple of tries, he got the corkscrew to line up and then managed to get the cork out of the wine. He poured them each a glass. He brought them over to her along with the strawberries before taking a seat next to her.
“Where are we going tonight?” she asked as she took a sip of the wine and sighed.
“Italian.”
“Yummy.” She reached forward and picked up one of the strawberries. She nibbled on its sweetness and let out another sigh. “You’re spoiling me, you know.”
“Hardly. I want to give you the world, and this doesn’t even touch that,” he said, realizing he actually meant it. There really wasn’t anything he didn’t want this woman to have—including himself.
Why did he have to complicate it? And why did he have to have a timeline on their romance? Wouldn’t it be so much easier if he just went with the flow and let things progress naturally?
It probably would. But then he might get so involved he wouldn’t know how to stop. And though everything seemed nearly perfect at the moment, it wouldn’t be in a few months—that was a given.
He pushed those thoughts away as he looked at the beautiful woman next to him. She was perfectly content to sip her wine and delicately eat her chocolate-covered strawberry. He held up his wine glass.
“There are challenges in life, some of which are harder to get up from than others. But you are beautiful, talented, kind, strong, and sexy. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life,” he said as he reached the glass toward hers.
“Thank you for helping me to feel like me again. And for showing me that it’s okay to live and not just exist,” she said before clinking her glass against his and taking a sip.
There was a slight sheen of tears in her eyes that made him want to reach across the small space dividing them and pull her close. But she looked down for a moment and took a few breaths. When she met his eyes again, the telling sparkle was gone.
“Are you ready for a night of romance?” he asked, suddenly in a hurry to get away from the cottage. The intimacy was too great.
“Romance, huh? What about excitement?” she asked with a smile.
“I have more than one layer to me. I’ve taken you on exciting adventures. Sometimes it’s also nice to slow down,” he said as he stood and held out a hand to help her up.
The moment her fingers laced with his, his good intentions of leaving for dinner were pushed aside. He pulled her into his arms and tasted her sweet lips. Before he could devour her whole, he pulled back. He moved over to her closet where he grabbed her jacket.
Standing behind her, he helped her put it on, unable to stop himself from leaning forward and running his lips across the smooth skin at the base of her neck. Her scent made his knees tremble.
“I want to take you into the bedroom and kiss every inch of your skin,” he whispered before running his lips across her ear.
He felt her shiver against him as she sighed and leaned back.
“I’m not all that hungry,” she said.
“Oh, I’m certainly hungry,” he replied before turning her and taking one more taste of her lips. “But I promised you a night out first.”
With that, he took her hand again and opened the door. When she stepped out and saw the limo he had waiting for her, the smile on her lips made his agony of waiting to touch her worth the wait.
“What’s this?” she asked as she tugged on his hand and stepped toward the car. The driver quickly opened the back door.
“I want to spoil you tonight,” he replied as he helped her inside.
“You’re off to a really good start.”
They got comfortable in the backseat before he poured them each another glass of wine. He leaned back, enjoying her look of joy as she faced him. She was too far away, but he figured that was probably the safer position at the moment considering his libido was revved up.
“How do you always know what to do each and every time?” she asked, a glow in her cheeks from the good wine.
“I seem to know how you’re feeling and what you need,” he answered. It was odd, but true.
“And how am I feeling right now?” she asked in a teasing voice.
His pants tightened as he grew even harder looking at her. The outfit she was wearing didn’t hide much from him. Her ample chest was rising and falling as her breaths came out in excited little pants. Her legs were shifting as she squeezed her thighs tightly together.
There was a glow in her eyes, and her lips we
re moist. She was as excited as he was.
“You’re anticipating the night ahead and counting down the minutes until I can strip away that sexy outfit you’re wearing,” he responded before drinking down the rest of his wine. He needed a lot more to keep his libido in check.
“I guess you are pretty observant, then,” she said, her cheeks heating a bit more as her eyes drooped the slightest bit in her aroused state.
They arrived at the restaurant just before he lost control and leapt across the seats to devour her whole. His desire for this woman was relentless, and he feared he would never feel this way again about another.
To let her go seemed so foolish, but she wasn’t his to keep—no matter how much he might want to change that fact.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
The place Maverick had chosen was small and intimate, the tables lit from above with dim chandeliers, accented by flickering candles as centerpieces. He and Lindsey were led to a table in the back corner, where they would have even more privacy.
He could most likely take her right there or, at the very least, slip his fingers beneath her skirt and make her moan into his mouth without anyone being the wiser.
The thought of doing just that had him walking funny as they were led to their table.
Pulling out her seat, he waited until she was comfortable before he moved to the other side of the table and sat, shifting around until he was somewhat comfortable. Until he was deep inside her body, he wouldn’t achieve anything near relief on this night, though.
“Your wine, sir,” the waiter said as he broke the silence between them.
“I’ve ordered ahead if that’s okay,” Maverick told her as he sipped the wine and nodded his head.
She took a sip of the new bottle and smiled. “It’s even better than what we had in the limo,” she told him. “I guess you do know what I like more than I do. I don’t know if I should be afraid of that or not.”
“A man who pays attention to a woman is a smart man indeed,” he told her.
