Teasing: Chapter 18

She wants a love she’s scared to believe exists in this world.

—Emmie’s Secret Thoughts

“Do you see, Emmie?” Rosie points at the big-screen TV as the first half of the Kings game ends. “Camden keeps standing next to Daddy.”

“I do see.” They started Camden at the beginning of the game and have pulled him on and off the field since. I hope it’s a good thing. That they’re seeing what works for him. But I’m holding my breath because I also know starters don’t get a lot of playing time during preseason.

“I bet it’s cause they’re friends.” She nods her little head, agreeing with herself, and I kind of hope she’s right. “Look. Uncle Ryker and Uncle Jamie are there too.”

“Yes, they are, my little rose. Now they’re all going to the locker room for halftime. And you know what that means . . .” I stand and hold my hand out.

“But I wanna see Daddy play,” she tries to plead, but it ends up coming out on a yawn.

“Your daddy isn’t going to play tonight, toots. So bed it is. Come on.” With my hand still out, she looks from it to me and back again before finally taking it.

“Fine. But can I get two stories?”

Always negotiating.

But what can two stories hurt?

“Baby . . .”

Mav’s voice is soft and gravelly as his warm breath fans my face, and if this is a dream, I never want it to end.

“It’s not a dream, il mio sole.” His lips press against my throat, and I open my eyes as I’m lifted against his arms.

“You’re home,” I murmur and lay my head against his deliciously hard chest.

“That’s not the only thing that’s deliciously hard,” he growls, and I push back the last layers of sleep as reality sinks in.

“Oh God . . . Maverick, put me down.”

“I will.” He walks us into his bedroom and kicks the door shut with a molten heat in those navy-blue eyes. His pupils are bigger than I’ve ever seen. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted you here, Em?” He lays me on the bed and pulls a folded blanket up to cover me, then stands and stares. “So fucking long, Em. So fucking long.”

Maverick reaches behind his head and pulls his t-shirt off, and my eyes bug out of my head. Holy hotness carved out of stone. This man is perfection wrapped in muscle and ink, and my mind spins as I take it all in for the first time. I crawl to the edge of the bed, and he takes a step back. “What are you doing?”

Oh yeah . . . that was definitely a pout, and I am not ashamed.

“You’re going back to sleep, and I’m going to take an ice-cold shower.” His hand moves to the black leather belt buckle on his expensive jeans.

“You should never wear a shirt again,” I murmur as I lift up on my knees and reach for him, wide-awake now. “Shirtless in jeans is a top-tier look on you, Cujo.”

“Emmie . . .” He warns as my nails drag over his beautifully defined pecs. Tracing the intricate lines of his ink. Following the lines as they curve and shade around each muscle. “I’m trying to do the right thing here. I’m trying to be the good guy.”

My hands scrape down to the beautifully cut V that disappears beneath his jeans before I wrap my fingers around his belt. “Em . . .”

“I didn’t fall for the good guy, Mav. I didn’t fall for some perfectly well-mannered, douchey hero.” I pull him back toward the bed, fully aware that if he didn’t want to move, he wouldn’t. Lucky for me, he does. “I fell for the jerk who demanded my camera to protect his daughter.” I unbuckle his belt, then lock my eyes on his. “I fell for the jerk who yelled at me after he saw my bras hanging in the bathroom and told me I was going to get murdered.”

“Jesus,” he groans, his face strained as I pop the top button on his jeans. “I really am an asshole.”

I nod and lick my lips as I lower his zipper. “You really are. But you’re mine, aren’t you?”

The last words come out a scared whisper as the weight of them threaten to crush me. “You’ve called me yours, Maverick.” I hate the way my voice shakes. “I’ve never been anyone’s before. I’ve never let it happen, but you somehow snuck around those walls.”

Maverick smiles, and the warmth of it blankets my entire body. “Pretty sure I ran through them. They never stood a chance.” He finally moves close enough that his chest presses against mine, and he takes my face in his hands. His thumb traces my bottom lip as his eyes hold me captive. “Hell, I never stood a chance, Em. I’ve never wanted someone the way I want you. In my life. In my bed. Next to me. I don’t just want you, I need you. But I need you to want the same. Not the name or the things that come with it. Just the man and his kid—because we’re a package deal.”

“Promise you won’t leave?” I flatten my hands between us, desperate and scared. Ready to lose my mind and scared to lose my heart.

“Neither of us leaves, okay?” He tilts my face up and presses his mouth against mine. He’s opening up. Exposing his vulnerability and letting me know I’m not alone. It’s a heady combination, and I swear to God, if he doesn’t touch me soon, I’m going to combust.

“Neither of us leaves,” I whisper, and Maverick’s smile is absolutely predatory. Strong arms lift and drop me on the bed with a bounce.

I can’t help the giggle that leaves me, but Maverick just shakes his head as he shucks his jeans, leaving me struggling to breathe as I stare at all the exposed skin. “Gonna have to be quiet, baby.” He presses a knee to the bed, and my breath gets caught in my throat as his rough palms slide up my bare legs and along my heated skin before he pulls my black linen shorts down in one incredibly sexy move.

“I’ve imagined this for months, Emmie. Fucked my hand for two fucking months, thinking about you. I can’t wait another minute.”

His words are a soothing balm to all the jagged edges of my tired soul. The fissures I’ve been fighting to hold together. And I let go of everything else.

The fear.

The hurt.

The heartbreak.

I let it all go and focus on Maverick.

I focus on this moment and this man and shut out all the rest of the noise constantly assaulting me.

My arms twine around his neck, and I run my fingers through his soft dark hair as I drag him down to me. Clinging to him. Molding my body to his until I can’t tell where I stop and he starts.

“Then show me what it means to be yours, Maverick,” I gasp as his thick fingers trail under my shirt and over my ribs, tracing my tattoo.

“Every day, Em. I’m gonna show you every day . . .” His tongue invades my mouth and catches my moan as he cups my breast.

My nipple aches, hot and heavy, as his thumb brushes over it, sending tingling sensations straight to my core.

“Maverick . . .” I beg as I spread my legs and cradle him between my knees. His hard cock presses against my core, and I whimper with need.

He pushes my tank over my head and sucks in a breath when he sees my sheer, black lace bra. “Fuck, baby.”

Mav’s mouth circles my nipple, and I moan.

“Shh, you’ve got to be quiet, Em.” The look he gives me is so sexy, I think I’d agree to anything he said. He sucks my nipple between his lips, then bites down and tugs. “Think you can do that?” One hand slides down my body. Tracing my curves. “Can you be a good girl, Emmie?”

I bite down on my lip, more turned-on than I knew was possible, and nod as his fingers dance along the edge of my panties. Mav pushes them aside and drags his fingers through my sex, sending me spiraling through the stratosphere. I open my mouth and silently scream as my body arches into him.

“Your pussy is drenched, baby. Is this for me?”

His voice is deep and dark and so quiet, and my God.

It caresses my already hypersensitive skin.

“Yes,” I whisper, our breaths mingling while my clit throbs in time with my heartbeat.

I bite down painfully on my bottom lip to keep from crying out when he finally slips one thick, blunt finger inside me. Then another. Stretching me. Filling me. “Fuck, your so tight, Emmie. Gonna feel so good wrapped around my cock.”

The room spins. His filthy words wrap around me, and his rough thumb rubs circles around my clit, teasing me. Coming so close to giving me what I want. Touching me where I need it, but not. Teasing me. Torturing me. Until I don’t know what’s up or down.

Every breath we take is amplified by the silence.

Lost in the moment. In each other.

Chills of anticipation break out over my heated skin as his fingers work me into a quiet frenzy. Pushing me higher and higher until—“Oh, God”—I cry out barely above a whisper as his fingers curve to hit a spot so deep inside me, no man has ever touched it before, sending off stars behind my eyes.

My core tightens as chills stroke my skin.

Maverick licks into my mouth, silencing me. “Shh, baby. No sound, remember?”

“Yes,” I whisper back, lost in the heavy-lidded heat of his navy-blue eyes.

“That’s my girl.” He pulls his fingers out, and my eyes fly to his, immediately devastated by the loss of him.

Desperate for more.

For everything.

But Mav’s lips pull into a devastating grin, and he traces my lips with his fingers, pushing them onto my tongue. “Suck.”

Oh hell . . . why is that hot?

Who am I kidding?

I don’t care as long as he doesn’t stop.

I lick and suck his fingers clean. Swirling my tongue around them. Showing him what I’m dying to do to his cock as my own tart taste coats my tongue.

Maverick’s pupils grow as a muscle ticks in his jaw.

He slowly lowers himself down my body, holding eye contact, and throws my legs over his shoulders as he settles between them. He doesn’t bother pulling off my panties, just drags his flat tongue up the length of my sex right over the lace. Hooded eyes look up at me with a wicked gleam, and I lose all sense of right and wrong and get lost in this moment. A moan works its way up my throat, but I quickly bite down on my lip to silence it.

“Good girl.”

Those two words fan the flame already licking up my body, and my chest shakes as I try desperately to catch my breath.

I’m lost in the sinful sight in front of me and don’t care if I’m ever found.

Shoving the lace to the side, Maverick drags his tongue slowly through my pussy. Over and over and over again. Lapping at me. Building me back up to even higher heights.

He growls against me . . . actually growls like a feral animal, sending vibrations through my body, and it’s the hottest thing anyone has ever done.

I throw my head back as Mav covers my mouth with his hand and presses his fingers down on my tongue, leaving me vaguely aware I have to muffle my cries. I should be mortified. I’m soaked and desperate. My heels dig into his shoulders, and my hands tug at his hair, but please, dear God, don’t let him ever stop.

His tongue spears inside my pussy before he adds a finger, and I lose the ability to form a cohesive thought. I’m one big ball of senses, all on high alert.

Strung tight, dying for release, as he plays my body like a guitar he’s played his entire life. Making me sing for him in ways I didn’t know possible.

He sucks my clit as his fingers tease me. Bringing me to the brink over and over until darkness sets in at the corners of my vision and the room comes into tight focus, like the tip of a pin. And finally, when I’m positive I’m going to pass out—that I can’t possibly take anymore— Mav’s teeth finally scrape over my pulsing clit, and the world around me explodes.

My toes curl as my back arches off the bed.

Completely lost in the moment. In euphoria. In this man.

I come hard and fast in rolling waves.

Soundlessly.

Breathlessly.

Heavy breathing fills the silence between us as Maverick drags his tongue through my drenched sex again and again, absorbing the aftershocks racking my body until it’s too much. Until I’m pushing him away and pulling him closer.

I reach behind my back and unclip my bra, then drop it to the floor as Maverick rips the lace from my hips.

Damn. That was hot.

My nails scrape at his boxers. “Maverick,” I plead quietly. “I want to feel you.”

“You’re going to feel me for fucking days, Emmie.”

The muscles in his arm stretch and pop as he leans over and grabs a condom from his nightstand, then stares at me with so much need in his eyes. “You sure, baby? You say no, and we stop now.”

I grab the condom out of his hand and rip it open with my teeth. “If you even think of stopping now, I’ll wake up the whole house.”

A slow, sexy grin spreads across his handsome face, and he shoves his boxers down.

I look up at him, a little less sure once I see his massive cock.

Sweet Jesus. Is that going to fit?

Mav takes my hand in his and helps me roll the condom on.

He wraps an arm behind my back and presses me against him as I drag my tongue along the length of corded muscle wrapped around his shoulders and up his neck, then scrape my teeth over his ear. “Don’t be gentle.”

Mav’s eyes flash so hot, I get lost for a moment before he lays me back down.

“Quiet, right, il mio sole?”

I nod and hook my legs around his waist, anticipation humming hot and heavy through my veins.

Mav drags the thick head of his cock through my cum-drenched sex, coating himself in my wetness. Driving me crazy as he slides up and down, teasing me.

“Maverick . . . I need,” I gasp as he smacks the head of his cock against my clit.

My mouth opens to scream, but calloused fingers grip my jaw as his mouth devours mine. “I know what you need,” he groans into me, biting and licking. Each stroke of his tongue sending me higher. Each teasing brush of his dick so close to being inside me but not . . . makes me crazier until I’m teetering on the edge of sanity, not sure how much more I can take. My hands fist the sheets as I thrash, ready to scream, when he finally pushes inside me—stretching me to the point of pain. Filling me until I don’t think I can take any more. Overwhelming me. Leaving me gasping. Agony and ecstasy battle for control while I feel like I’m going to split in two.

I cling to him until there’s not a hair’s breadth of space between us.

“Mine,” he growls into my mouth, and my body sings.

“Mine,” I whisper back, my voice full of need.

With each achingly slow stroke, Maverick’s body worships mine.

My muscles slowly adjust and contract around him. Stretching to take him deeper. My nails clawing to get closer.

Strong calloused hands hold my face still while our tongues tangle and move in savage harmony. It’s rough and honest and makes me feel alive in a way nothing ever has. And when he finally seats himself fully inside me . . . when there’s no more space to move, or breathe, or think, I’m wholly consumed by him.

“Maverick . . .”

He drags his lips down the length of my throat, dragging his teeth over my rapid pulse, and lifts his eyes to mine. “Tell me what you feel, baby.” Maverick snaps his hips against mine, and my eyes roll into the back of my head.

“You,” I gasp. “I feel you and the way you’re filling me.” I drag my nails over his ass and dig in, silently begging him to move as I lift my hips and grind against him. “I feel full. So full. So good. Jesus,” I pant. “Nothing has ever felt like this. Like us.”

Mav’s smile is sexy and evil as he slowly pulls out, then slams back in. “You want it harder, Emmie?”

I pant and nod, and I claw at him, unable to form words as he sets a punishing rhythm with every hard snap of his hips against mine.

His big body dominates mine. Controlling me. Fucking me harder. Fanning the flames higher until they threaten to destroy us both.

Maverick picks me up so I’m in his lap. Every move of our bodies bringing us closer. My clit pulses with each thrust, and my head threatens to explode as white-hot heat licks up my body and pressure builds in its wake.

Feeding the already-burning inferno.

“So close,” I mewl, our breaths mingling as our bodies brush against each other. My nipples scraping against him with each thrust as he slams into me over and over.

“That’s it, baby. Come on my cock the way you came on my face. Give me what I want, Em.”

Mav’s hand tugs on my hair, forcing my head back and giving him access to my nipple as he fucks me harder. Faster. Until I can’t think or speak or see. Until the fire engulfs me and a burst of colors brighter than the aurora borealis explodes behind my eyes.

Maverick’s lips capture mine in a punishing kiss, swallowing my moan as shudders rack my body, and my walls clamp down on his cock, milking him.

A warmth washes over me as my name falls from Mav’s lips in a guttural groan, and the only thought I can muster is mine as we collapse into a mess of tangled limbs and sated bodies.

He pulls me close, until my head is pressed to his chest, right over his heart.

His fingers run through my hair, and I close my eyes as oblivion threatens to pull me under. “Mine,” I whisper as I feel sleep wrap around me.

But not before I think I hear, “Yours,” whispered back.