Chapter 31 Hendrix
CHAPTER 31
HENDRIX
M orning, Gorgeous.”
I pry my eyes open to find Maverick beside me in bed, propped on one elbow and leaning over me wearing nothing but a cocky grin and a pair of boxers.
I peruse the sculpted wonder of this man’s body. He’s sun-bronzed brown, corded with muscle, striped with sinew, dusted with just the right amount of hair in the places I like, and little to none in the places I don’t. I’ve never obsessed over a man’s chest, but his pecs have me kind of riveted.
“I feel very objectified right now.” Maverick laughs. “Don’t mind me trying to hold an actual conversation while you ogle me from head to toe.”
I force my eyes above his neck to meet his amused stare.
“I was just thinking it’s a shame I didn’t get to fully explore all this,” I say, gesturing up and down his long body. “Since last night was the last time we’ll ever have sex.”
His smile drops and his brows jerk together.
“What the hell, Hen? If you’re having regrets, we can talk about—”
“Oh, my God! Your face! I’m joking.” Laughing, I drag myself up to rest my shoulders against the headboard, tugging the sheets up over my breasts. “But I get it. My pussy has that effect on people.”
He leans forward to cup my jaw. “I don’t want to hear about the effect you have on anyone but me.”
I lift my brows and let out a throaty chuckle. “So this is happening again and it’s exclusive?”
He pulls himself up to sit beside me, his shoulders against the headboard and pressed into mine. He threads our fingers together to rest on the sheet in my lap. He kisses my knuckle, eyes fixed on mine.
“I guess I assumed… if you felt any of what I did last night… Shit.” He runs a hand over the back of his neck, the uncertainty on his face out of step with his usual self-assurance. “I’m not doing a good job of this, and you’re right. I can’t assume anything, so I’m saying to you very clearly I want to make love to you as many times as humanly possible. I only want to do it with you and I would appreciate it if you would consider only doing it with me.”
My heart melts around the edges. This supremely confident man, who has achieved more in forty years than most will in a lifetime, humbling himself this way humbles me .
And that is no mean feat.
“I’d like that, too. Both of those things, but,” I say, holding up a hand before we skip past some important steps, “we have to tell Zere.”
We stare at each other and the implications of what we’ve done suck some of the air from the room.
“Do you want me to talk to her?” he asks. “Do you want to? Should we do it together?”
“Not together. I think I should talk to her alone first, but let me think about it some.”
He nods, leans in, and drops a kiss on my lips. Splaying one big hand over my throat, he moves to deepen the kiss, slipping his tongue into my mouth. He tastes minty. I do not.
I pull back and ask, “You found the spare toothbrush?”
“Yup.”
When I stretch the sheet falls around my waist, and he’s looking at my breasts like they’re drenched in syrup and butter. “Now who’s ogling?”
“Guilty.” His voice is husky. “When can we fuck again?”
I guffaw at his blunt question. “Wow. Just put it out there, huh?”
He crawls over me, settling between my legs. He presses into me and my breath whooshes out, the pleasure stealing me even with the sheet between us. His hands crawl under my hips and he drops his mouth to one breast, sucking and licking in rhythm with gentle squeezes of my ass.
“Food,” I moan, pulling his head up because two more seconds of this and we’ll be going at it again. “Somebody crashed my Soft Girl Sunday and I never got to eat.”
“I should feel bad, but I don’t.” His smile is tender and affectionate. “I saw eggs and stuff.”
“You been up snooping around my place?”
“I’m an early riser. I’ve been up for like two hours.”
“A morning person?” I huddle back into my pillow and tug the sheet over my head. “This isn’t gonna work.”
“Oh, yes it is.” He snatches the sheet back down. “Can I make you breakfast?”
“Yes, please.” I can’t hold back the grin that breaks through the last shreds of my reserve. “And thank you.”
I haven’t felt like this since maybe tenth grade. Kind of giddy. Like everything is fresh and new and blossoming. I became jaded with men early on. Cheating on me in high school and college. Leaving when it became clear I refused to compromise my desires for their own. They showed me over and over again that most of them couldn’t be trusted or relied on, and many weren’t secure enough in their own shit to deal with how secure I am in mine. It’s not that I’m naive again, but that I feel safe enough with someone to allow myself these feelings. To allow myself to hope.
“I’m gonna shower,” I tell him. “While you serve me.”
He gives me a wry look. “You’re pushing it.”
“Am I?” I ask coyly.
His smile fades to a soft affection. “No.”
He sits on the edge of the bed and pulls me down onto his lap, caressing my hip through the decadent silk of the sheet.
“Can I ask you something and you promise not to freak out on me?” He dusts kisses along my jaw and down my neck.
“Do I need to focus to answer this question, because that’s not helping.”
He chuckles and pulls back, but keeps me in place. “When is your aunt’s surgery?”
I frown, slightly thrown by the change in conversation. It’s been easy to forget the outside world existed for a few hours, but my responsibilities come rushing back.
“In two weeks. I’ll move in with them a little before the surgery to get settled and get a sense of their routine before Aunt G goes in.”
“And you’ll be doing what until then?”
“Working.” I shrug. “The usual.”
“Could you work from anywhere? Or do you need to physically be in Atlanta?”
“Where do you physically want me to be?” I ask, an involuntary smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.
“With me,” he answers simply. “Spend a week with me at my place in Malibu. My dad has a house up the beach. You met him briefly, but I’d love for you to get to know him. And I can teach you how to surf.”
“Surf?” I give a breezy laugh to cover up the fluttery feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Um… not sure about that. I didn’t realize your father lived so close to you.”
“He used to live in Vegas, but after my mom passed,” he says, his expression shadowing, “he was in a really bad place. We both were, so I got him a house not too far away. A walk up the beach actually. We needed to be close, but also needed our own space. It seemed like a good solution.”
I’m in a relationship with a man who buys his father an oceanside Malibu property “to have him close.” And he wants me to get to know his dad. And he wants me to spend a week at his home. And he wants to teach me how to surf.
Wait.
I’m in a relationship.
“Just somewhere together before you’re gone for six weeks,” he says, interrupting my internal meltdown.
“All right.”
“This,” he says, waving a hand between us, “is very new. I want a little time before you have to lock in at your mom’s. I know that’s going to carry some stress. I’d love for you to have some time to relax before that happens.”
He cups my face and drops a kiss to my lips. “Before you have to take care of her, let me take care of you a little.”
This is what most women dream of. A handsome billionaire to sweep them off their feet and whisk them away. I’m equal parts thrilled… and slightly terrified. I went from not even sure I’d give him a real chance last night to us spending the next week together? This is fast. Not just our plans, but what this feels like. How solid and anchored things seem between us already. My heart pulls me forward, racing ahead with a recklessness that kind of scares me. My head says slow things down.
Manage expectations. Measure the risk. Weigh the consequences of giving him so much so fast.
“Can I think about it?” I ask.
He smooths over his disappointment quickly, but not before I catch it in the way he hoods his eyes and tightens his mouth. “Of course. I just thought if we—”
“It’s a good thought,” I rush to say. “But I want to make sure it’s the right thing to do right now. For me. Is that okay?”
His expression softens with what I hope is understanding. “Yeah. I don’t mean to rush you. We found each other at a weird time. I was barely out of my relationship with Zere when we met.”
“Yeah.”
“I know in some ways it feels like bad timing, but it’s the best.” He lifts my chin with one finger so our eyes meet. “I can’t imagine meeting you when I was still with her. Now that would have been messy because I’ve felt drawn to you from the moment we met. I would not have cheated on Zee, but I don’t think I could have ignored what’s between us.”
I’ve never been one to cheat, to steal another woman’s partner, but the temptation would have been so strong. I’m glad we weren’t tested that way. The test that still lies ahead of us is bad enough.
“You think about it.” He stands. “And I’ll go get breakfast started.”
He heads downstairs, and for a few seconds after he leaves, I just sit there. Thinking of going to his house for a week, I’m so conflicted.
“What should I do?” I ask the unhelpful, empty room.
I’m supposed to be showering, but I grab my phone from the nightstand and fire off a text.
Me: Hey, bitches. I need some advice.
Soledad: This is my specialty.
Yasmen: Sol, you don’t even know what she needs yet! LOL! What’s up, Hen? And how was the party?
Me: Can we video chat?
Soledad: Oh, this is gonna be good!
Yasmen: I have 15 minutes before I need to go. We have this Black business brunch thing.
Me: We’ll be quick.
As soon as the three of us are on, I dive in.
“Hey,” I say. “Like I said, I need your advice.”
“Aren’t you still in New York?” Soledad asks.
“No, I’m home.” I make my eyes as wide as they’ve ever been in my life. “And Maverick is here. At my place.”
“Um… Maverick Bell?” Yasmen’s brows furrow. “Did I miss something?”
“Ohhhh, you actually did,” Soledad says. “I was at Hen’s helping her choose a dress for the party and we decided maybe she should give Maverick a chance since he came over to her house and they dry-humped on the couch.”
“What?” Yasmen’s eyes saucer on-screen. “And I’m just now hearing about this?”
“Okay, sorry,” I say. “There’s been a lot going on. Maverick was in town and expressed a desire to… pursue something.”
“And then came the humping,” Soledad inserts helpfully.
“Sol!” Yasmen and I laughingly say in unison.
“Sorry.” She has the decency to look contrite, though she’s fighting a smile.
“Where does Zere fit in this equation?” Yasmen asks.
“Did you see the post with her new boyfriend?” Sol demands. “Zere’s moved on. So can Maverick.”
“Okay, I saw that,” Yasmen concedes. “I know Maverick is the total package, but it’s still complicated. We are acknowledging that, right?”
“How is his package, by the way?” Sol asks with a mischievous grin. “Did you find out last night?”
“Sol! Oh, my God,” Yasmen squeaks, but then pauses. “I mean… Did you?”
“Let’s just say,” I offer, tongue in my cheek, “I have no complaints.”
“ You have no complaints?” Soledad practically screams. “Hen, you always have complaints. The guy’s got ashy ankles, or he used the word ‘conversating.’”
“Remember the one she wouldn’t give a second date because he carried his own toothpicks?” Yasmen adds.
“Toothpicks!” I try to hold on to my straight face, but my lips twitch. “Now y’all know that’s some serial killer behavior.”
“I’m just saying it’s always something with you,” Yasmen continues. “So no complaints… Wow.”
I chuckle and shrug. “I’m not saying Maverick is perfect, but he feels…”
Perfect for me.
I don’t say it, but maybe something on my face does because both of their smiles dissolve. Never in the time they’ve known me have I asked for this kind of advice. I’ve never needed it. Wasn’t even tempted to go this far with anyone. They both sought counsel on love, and I never held back the best advice I could offer. Now I need them to do the same for me.
“He wants us to spend the next week together at his house in Malibu,” I say. “Before I have to go to my mom’s when Aunt Geneva has her surgery.”
Both of their jaws unhinge and fall open.
“I know.” I chew my thumbnail. “It’s a lot and it’s fast.”
“Does it feel too fast?” Yasmen asks. “You have always had the best gut instincts of us all, Hen. You know yourself. What does your gut say?”
I’m almost afraid to voice what I feel at a molecular level is the right thing for me to do. Not for Zere. Not for Chapel. Not for my business. For me . Maverick feels right for me and it is absolutely terrifying.
“Go,” I whisper. “My gut says go.”
“Then you go,” Soledad says, “but mitigate the fallout. You gotta talk to Zere before it goes any further.”
“I know.” I huff out a sigh and search their faces. “Did I break girl code?”
“The technicalities of whether or not you broke some unspoken code won’t matter if Zere is hurt or angry,” Yasmen says, sympathy in her expression. “You have to be prepared for the fact that she may see this as a betrayal, even though technically it’s not. It won’t matter if you win on a technicality if she no longer feels she can work with you because you’re dating her ex-boyfriend.”
Dating? Shit. I’m ’bout to be dating?
“Are you prepared for that?” Yasmen presses.
Am I?
“And is he worth it?” Soledad asks.
I lick suddenly dry lips. The implications don’t just affect me, but Chapel, too. That’s another conversation I’ll need to have if Zere decides to dissolve our business partnership.
“Oh, hi!” Soledad squeals, her wide eyes trained over my shoulder.
I whip around so fast I almost fall off my bed.
“Whoa,” Maverick says, catching my elbow and carefully righting me. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I say, a little breathless. “I didn’t hear you come in. We… well, we—”
“I’m Yasmen,” she cuts in, beaming on-screen. “Nice to meet you, Maverick.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you.” He smiles easily as if he’s not bare-chested and wearing only briefs. Fortunately the phone’s camera is aimed up . “And you must be Soledad.”
“I am,” she says, her grin stretching from one corner of her face to the other. “It’s really nice to meet you.”
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he says, resting his palm with casual possessiveness at my nape. “Food’s ready.”
“Okay. I’ll be down.”
“Nice to meet you both,” he says, shifting his gaze back to the screen. “Hope to see you in person soon.”
He walks out and we wait a collective beat before they both release whisper-screams.
“Gurhhhhlllll.” Yasmen fans her face. “We gotta work this out. You waited all this time and Father God sent you that ? Sis, you deserve .”
“You do, Hen.” Soledad blinks rapidly.
“Sol, are you…” I lean closer and take in the light skin flush of her cheeks and the way her nose is reddening. “Are you ’bout to cry?”
“I’m just so happy for you,” Soledad sniffs. “You’ve waited for someone who could truly be your match, and I feel like he could be, Hen.”
“Lawd! Y’all some hussies. Were you this confident before you saw how fine he is half naked?” I ask dryly.
“My confidence definitely shot through the roof at that point,” Yasmen says, cackling. “When a man like that wants you, and you want him, you better have a damn good reason to not go for it.”
I search my heart, my mind, my gut. All the places that have unfailingly steered my decisions over the years. Do I have a good enough reason not to pursue Maverick Bell?
I don’t think I do.