Chapter 38 Maverick
CHAPTER 38
MAVERICK
I ’m glad you didn’t go all out for dinner,” Hendrix says wryly, leaning on the rail of the two-hundred-foot Galactica Star yacht.
I hand her a glass of wine and slip an arm around her waist. “Just a little something I’m thinking about buying. Consider it a test-drive.”
“Hmmm.” She watches me over the rim of her glass and sips. “You’ve fucked me on land and in the air. Now you just want this ass by sea.”
I slide my hand down to squeeze her butt. “Technically we’re on the ocean, not the sea.”
“Technically, you ’bout to screw up your chances of getting this ass at all.”
I dip to kiss the scented hollow of her throat. “We both know you lying.”
She turns her head to lightly bite my jaw. “You’re right because ain’t no way I’m missing that dick one last time before I go.”
We both start laughing so hard we almost spill our wine, and I don’t know why. It’s not even that funny, but everything is magnified with Hendrix. Passion burns hotter. The affection runs deeper. Emotions I’m hesitant to put words to take up more space inside me than anything ever has, and I’m still getting used to wanting a woman I haven’t known that long this much.
When my father asked if I would have reconsidered having kids if Hendrix wanted that, I realized I probably would. And that shook me because I’m not the kind of man who redraws my lines. My convictions, beliefs, the things I decide are right for me, are usually carved in wood, not drawn in sand. So discovering that the thing which ended my relationship with Zere is negotiable with Hendrix… I’m still processing what that means. What she means to me.
“Hey.” Hendrix cups my cheek and presses her nose to mine. “Where’d you go? Why so quiet?”
“I’ve been having a debate with myself,” I say, kissing her lightly. “Maybe you can help me.”
“What’s the debate?”
“I’m trying to decide my favorite thing about you.” I run a thumb over her lips. “Is it your mouth? I mean, for obvious reasons. But then I think it might be the curve of your neck. It looks so smooth. Or maybe your laugh, though that’s hard to pin down. Sometimes it booms, announces itself to everyone in the room. I think I prefer the low, sly one that keeps a secret.”
“You are such a sweet talker,” she says, rolling her eyes, but can’t stop that smile.
I press our lips together lightly at first, but the kiss deepens, intensifies until we’re exploring each other’s bodies one-handed, both gripping a wine glass in the other. Elixir kisses laced with stardust. My hand is up her skirt and in her underwear, seeking out her wet heat, and she is grinding on three of my fingers.
“Mmmm,” she mumbles into the kiss, pulling back and breathing hard. “I’m sure this boat doesn’t drive itself. Is there someone we’re giving a show for free?”
I laugh and nod, slowly withdrawing my fingers and leaving a damp trail down the inside of her thigh.
“You’re right. There’s like a crew of thirteen somewhere.”
She glances around the deck of the yacht. “Surely this place has a bed.”
“It does indeed. Not to mention a sundeck, swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi, and a helipad.”
“And a chef somewhere. Dinner was delicious, by the way. Thank you.”
“Glad you enjoyed. Thought I’d give Laurenz the night off.”
“It’s been the perfect last night.” Her face falls. “I’ll miss your father and Laurenz.”
“That’s all?” I tease, gathering her closer, pressing the length of our bodies together.
“Of course not. I’ll miss your twenty-four-karat gold sheets and your ocean and your yacht.” She leans forward and nibbles at my bottom lip. “And you a little. Thank you for making my last night here so special.”
“It’s not over yet.”
“I know. You mentioned a bed.” I set our glasses aside on a nearby table.
“Yes, but first,” I say, walking over to the wall and adjusting the volume so the song I’ve had on repeat can actually be heard. “We dance.”
“I thought you said you don’t dance,” she teases, hands on hips.
“I said I do under the right circumstances.” I take her in my arms as the first strains of one of jazz’s most iconic tunes floods the salt-tinged air around us. “You are all my right circumstances.”
Hendrix rests her head on my shoulder, and I sigh as the sound of the trumpet relaxes me. “What is this? I’m not a jazz girl.”
“It’s Miles Davis’s ‘Blue in Green.’ It’s one of Pop’s favorites songs. I love it, too.”
She sways against me, a soft weight and a sweet armful. “What do you like about it?”
I let the song wash over me for a few seconds, and it’s jazz, as cool as the ocean breeze.
“It was one of my mother’s favorites,” I say. “And they used to dance in the living room to it. This and ‘In a Sentimental Mood,’ or ‘It Never Entered My Mind.’ They loved jazz.”
She brushes her fingers across the nape of my neck and smiles.
“I also love the mute Miles is using on his trumpet in the beginning,” I say. “It’s this sound that could blast, could be so loud, but he restrains it, and it feels that much more powerful because he holds it back. And then Coltrane comes in with the sax, which is such a human-sounding instrument, I can almost hear the words even though it’s all music.”
“You think there are words?” She smiles at me indulgently as our bodies sway and the tiniest breeze, a breath of ocean, stirs the air.
“Yeah, I think there are words that aren’t said, but speak to the soul. That’s the beauty of jazz. You have to have a receptive soul to truly appreciate it. For it to speak to you.”
“What are the words?”
I hear them clearly, the words left like clues wedged between the notes, but I’m not sure it’s time to say them so I just shrug and press her head to my shoulder for the rest of the song.
“I’ve never danced under the moon floating on a super-yacht before.” She giggles, which is an almost frivolous sound coming from someone like Hendrix. I’d love to make her laugh that way more, like she doesn’t have a care. I want her to not have a care. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but I have one more thing.” I reach into my pocket and pull out a velvet bag. “Now before you freak out, I’m going down on my knee, but it’s not a proposal. I promise.”
“Truly, thank you for that warning because that would have freaked me the hell out.”
“Figured as much.” I chuckle, sinking to one knee and wiggling her foot out of the leather sandal she’s wearing.
“Mav, what are you…” She laughs down at me as I pull her now-bare foot onto my knee. “What is happening right now?”
I fish a chain from the velvet bag and fasten it around her ankle. The gold chain links interspersed with diamonds glint in the moonlight. What sparkles brightest is the unicorn charm dangling against the smooth skin of Hendrix’s ankle bone. All head and horn made of diamonds with sapphires for eyes.
“Oh, God.” Hendrix’s eyes zip from her foot on my knee to my face. “You got me a unicorn.”
“I know you have to find your own billion-dollar company, but this is just keeping the dream in front of you.” I chuckle, feeling like a punk. “It’s probably silly. I—”
“Shut up,” Hendrix cuts in, coming down to the floor on her knees in front of me and taking my face between her hands. “Just shut up. You should be kissing me already.”
When we kiss, it’s rapturous and ravenous, all growls and teeth and claws. We barely make it to the stateroom, leaving our clothes in a ragged trail on the floor. She takes me inside of her again, and I don’t know if I’m losing myself or growing into something more, someone better because she chooses me. Because we have each other. “Blue in Green” is an untiring serenade that floats over the entire ship as we make love, and even though I don’t say the words hidden beneath the haunting music, the words are all I hear.
I love you. I love you. I love you.