35. Sophie
35
Sophie
I awoke to the light touch of Maverick’s fingers tracing my face, his movements slow, almost absentminded. His warmth seeped into my skin, a comforting contrast to the cold bed I fell asleep in. I was reluctant to leave the cocoon of his arms, where I felt shielded from the chaos of my own mind.
“Morning,” I whispered, my voice thick with sleep.
He turned his attention to me, a softness crossing his features that contradicted the hard lines of his jaw. “Hey,” he murmured, and it was like the entire room exhaled, the tension slipping away for a moment.
“Sleep well?” I asked.
“Surprisingly, yes,” he replied, the corner of his mouth tilting up in a half smile. It was our unspoken dance, this push and pull between what we said and what we meant. That while we were completely open with our bodies, we were still not completely honest with our feelings.
I stretched languidly, still caught in the remnants of sleep, my movements causing the sheets to slip down just enough to remind me of the nakedness beneath. His eyes darkened, a silent acknowledgment of the raw desire that simmered constantly between us.
“Got plans today?” I ventured, running a finger along the veins of his tattooed arm.
“Work,” he grunted, the word coming out like a curse. But then, wasn’t it always? We were always bound by our individual duties. Even if it meant compromising time together.
“Sounds thrilling,” I teased, trying to lighten the mood, but the gravity of our reality was a persistent shadow. Especially the dark thoughts creeping in on the edges of my mind. Being alone didn’t sound too appealing.
“Always is with you around,” he shot back, the glint in his eye telling me he appreciated the effort.
But it all felt… off. Solemn.
I nestled closer to him. Despite the grogginess clouding my senses—a side effect of ignoring Maverick’s request to eat last night—I felt an awakening within me, a determination to face whatever lay ahead. With him, I was more than just a piece in a game of power; I was a queen on the chessboard, fierce and unyielding. I just needed to grasp onto that and harness it.
“A girl could get used to this,” I admitted quietly. In his arms, I could be both the weapon and the woman, the strength and the softness. I just… needed more time with him.
“Good,” he said, his hand finding its way to the small of my back, pulling me impossibly closer. “Because I’m not letting you go.”
The declaration hung in the air, a vow wrapped in steel and tenderness. And for a moment, as dawn crept through the curtains, I believed in the possibility of a future where love wasn’t just a casualty of war, but the very thing worth fighting for.
We fell into each other, our kisses starting off soft and slow, as though we were trying to express everything we couldn’t put into words, before it took a heady turn. Maverick turned me over, and while our sex was typically wild and passionate and rough, I could only describe what we did next as making love. Drinking from each other’s lips, intimate eye contact, soft breathing and quiet moans, roaming hands and bare skin in the golden glow of the sunrise.
We didn’t need words as we came together, our bodies seamlessly aligning in a dance as old as time. There was a reverence in his touch, a tenderness in the way he moved within me that whispered of emotions too deep to articulate. The world shrank until it was just us, the ebb and flow of our connection blurring the lines between fierce want and tender love.
Love.
A word I hadn’t allowed myself to truly feel in eons. An emotion so vulnerable and terrifying only because I knew what it was like to love someone and lose them forever, to hold them as they lost their life.
Afterward, lying entwined in the rumpled sheets, the morning light filtered through the curtains and cast lazy stripes across Maverick’s bare chest. I watched them rise and fall as his breathing evened, my head resting on his shoulder.
I let myself consider the possibility of a life with him—a life where lifestyle differences and rival families could be balanced by quiet moments like this. Leave Newark and all its bullshit behind. Could I really take back the empire and cleanse it of its past sins? With Maverick at my side, it felt possible… tempting, even.
“Hey,” he said softly, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “You’re frowning. What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”
“Change,” I answered honestly, still grappling with the enormity of it all. “Thinking about the future—and what I want it to be.”
“Whatever you decide,” he assured me, pressing a kiss to my forehead, “I’m with you. All in.” It was as if he knew the battle I was facing inside. Maybe he was feeling it, too.
After several minutes of silence, he said, “Today I have to oversee the final touches on the new addition on the top floor. It won’t take long.”
“Sounds like you’ll be busy.”
“Only for a few hours,” he murmured, his hand sliding down the curve of my hip. “Then I’m all yours.”
“Promise?” I teased, but the flutter in my chest was real—as real as the fear that crept into my thoughts when considering the future.
“Always.” His eyes locked onto mine. And in that look, I saw something more than lust; I saw a depth of feeling that mirrored my own.
Before he left to attend to his business, he set a sleek black credit card beside my empty coffee mug.
“Make sure you eat something, Soph,” he reminded me.
“Will do,” I lied through my fucking teeth, because the thought of food turned my stomach. He’d be gone, and I was having an existential crisis, so why did it matter anyway?
“Enjoy yourself while I’m gone. Shop, relax—just remember to have fun. It’s Vegas, baby.”
“Fun,” I echoed, watching him grab his wallet and phone, preparing to step back into the role of a man with responsibilities that reached far beyond the bedroom.
“Exactly.” He leaned down to give me one last searing kiss. “Don’t worry about the cost—just indulge.”
“Indulge,” I mused aloud after he’d gone, my gaze drifting to the credit card. A sense of freedom mixed with discomfort took hold as I contemplated spending his money. This wasn’t who I was, but it would be a nice distraction while he was busy, so why not at least see what was in those glittering stores downstairs?
I sighed, willing myself to the shower.
***
I’m not a gold digger, I reminded myself as I pushed through the doors of the onsite luxury shops, surrounded by the opulence of high-end brands. Indulge, he’d said, and so I found myself caught up in the fantasy of it all. I was on vacation, with a limitless credit card from a man who was everything a woman could ask for. He had told me to go shopping last night, so here I was.
I perused the stores, which were draped in silks and adorned with the finest accessories, and embraced the rush—the excitement of choosing whatever my heart desired. Something I’d never had the luxury of doing. Sure, my dad had left behind a sizable fortune, but that only floated us until my sisters and I were on our own. It wasn’t for mindless use. And now my mom worked to make ends meet, and I was on a cop’s salary. And yeah, my overtime made for nice paychecks, but I lived in a big city in the northeast, and it wasn’t exactly cheap.
My arms slowly filled up with bags. A silk top from one store, a nice pantsuit from another, some hand-selected lingerie. My inner girly girl freaked out every time I swiped his card.
I paused outside of a jewelry store, captivated by the glittering diamonds and gemstones. I’d never been in a jewelry store, but I’d always wondered…
My feet carried me in before I could stop myself. The two saleswomen sized up the bags in my arms, their eyes growing hungry with the hope of a sizable commission.
“Looking for anything in particular?” one woman asked, her dark red hair twisted into a sleek chignon.
I shrugged when my attention snagged on a pair of white gold teardrop earrings and a tennis bracelet next to them. I pointed at them. “I’d like to try those on, please.”
“Certainly.” She unlocked the case, and I ate up the attention as I tried them on and looked in the mirrors, obsessed with the blinding sparkle against my skin.
“I’ll take these,” I said, carefully putting them back on the small mat on the counter. As the saleswoman cleaned the jewelry, I spotted something I most certainly did not come in here for. I paused, mesmerized by the midnight blue ring encircled by diamonds, the color reminding me so much of Maverick’s eyes.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” the other saleswoman remarked, noting my lingering gaze, then pulled it out of the display case.
“Stunning,” I breathed out, slipping the ring onto my finger and watching it catch the light. It fit perfectly, like it was made for me. Like how I felt he was made for me. Like how I wanted this with him more than I’d ever wanted anything.
Fuck, I really needed to figure my shit out.
Reluctantly, I removed the ring, handing it back to the saleswoman. She gave me a knowing smile as I turned back to the counter, the image of the ring on my hand haunting me.
I added two necklaces, now feeling borderline rebellious and bratty for not caring about the cost. I wondered what Maverick might do to me for taking his request to indulge and have fun a little too seriously.
“Ma’am, this is quite a significant purchase,” the saleswoman hesitated, eyeing the credit card’s name before picking up her phone and dialing a number with trembling hands.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Who are you calling? The credit card company? This isn’t the 90s.”
She flashed me a curt smile before turning away. I heard her murmur, “Hi, Mr. Mercer, it’s Gwen down in Crown & Carat. I have a young woman here making a rather large purchase using your credit card.”
I rolled my eyes. Great.
Her eyes flicked to mine, then down to the boxed jewelry. She meandered further away from me, still speaking quietly, before returning a moment later.
“All good?” I said with a smirk.
She cleared her throat. “Yes, of course. I just had to be sure. Mr. Mercer has never shopped for a woman here before.” She paused, her cheeks warming. “He told me to let the love of his life buy whatever she wants.”
I felt the blood drain from my face, feeling woozy all of a sudden. “Thank you,” I managed, my voice a mere whisper. “But I-I need to go.”
I half ran out of the store, ignoring their shouts about not completing my purchase, which I left behind along with Maverick’s credit card. I needed a minute alone. I felt off-kilter in so many ways, my legs wobbly as I wandered aimlessly through the casino before going back to our suite.
The love of his life.
Fear returned, clawing at my insides—an awful fucking reminder that falling for someone like Maverick was as dangerous as it was inevitable.