Chapter Five
One Month Later
“You know, you’ve been avoiding me,” Adele said.
Freya jumped so hard, she nearly dropped the box of screws she’d been arranging. “Adele, what the hell?”
She immediately put the boxes onto the shelves, pushing some of her hair out of her eyes, and then turning toward her sister, who looked entertained by what she’d just done. “Why is that so funny?”
“How can it not be funny?” Adele asked. “You should see the look on your face. It is hilarious.” There was a snort and then Adele folded her arms. “Well, spill.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” That was a lie.
“Wow, I didn’t know Freya Parker had the ability to lie.”
She rolled her eyes and turned back toward her sister. “It’s not a lie.”
“The last four Sundays, you’ve avoided going to our parents’ house, and you’ve got no excuse because my evil bastard ex is not there anymore.”
“I’ve got no reason, and you know I’ve been busy and it has nothing to do with you.” It wasn’t quite true. She’d not talked to Adele about Maverick, and on Sundays, she and Maverick had been enjoying a lot of their own personal time together. She didn’t want to leave him to go and enjoy food with her parents. Although, her dad was giving her a lot of judgey eyes lately. She figured Mom was giving him a hard time.
Adele snorted. “Please, this has everything to do with Maverick and the fact you two are fucking each other now.”
She had a box of bolts in her hand, and at her sister’s crude words, she dropped the whole lot onto the floor. “Damn it!”
“Aha, I’m right, aren’t I?” Adele asked.
Freya glanced around the shop. The last thing she needed was for their father to hear. At least, she didn’t want him to hear what she’d been up to.
“Keep your voice down.”
“What? You’re worried about the gossip? You’re not a kid anymore and it’s not like you sleep under your parents’ roof. You got right out of there.” This time Adele rolled her eyes. “It’s a small town and people talk. You do realize that everyone, and I mean everyone, already knows about you and Maverick?” Adele asked.
She opened her mouth, then closed it and pressed her lips together. “No, they don’t.”
“Please, little sis, don’t play dumb. Trust me on this, they know, and there is no way of getting away from it.” Adele sighed and at least she didn’t have to beg her sister for help in picking up the bolts. She’d have no choice but to count them all to make sure the inventory was there. At least she enjoyed counting.
Once on their knees, Freya sat back after gathering what felt like a thousand mini bolts. “Do you think they all know?”
“Yeah, trust me, this is a small town.”
She frowned and looked at her sister. “If this is a small town, why did it take you so long to see your messed-up ex cheating on you?”
Adele sighed and sat back on her heels. “You really want to know?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“I didn’t want to see it,” Adele said.
“What? Why?”
“You saw Hank. He was this amazing guy. He was smart, funny, and of course wealthy, and our parents liked him.” She shrugged. “Also, I don’t know, I kind of liked him too.”
“You married the guy and you only kind of liked him.”
“I … we … okay, it was … I thought I might be pregnant with his kid. That’s why we ended up tying the knot, and in all honesty, I regretted it the moment we, you know, did it.”
“What?” This was news to her.
“Yeah, and trust me, the day after we got married, my cycle started. How is that for Karma?” Adele blew out a breath. “Anyway, enough about Hank and me. It doesn’t matter anymore anyway. I never fell in love with him, but I did know what he was doing. When I realized I was just setting myself up for misery and the truth was at the end of the day, when he wanted to have sex, and I couldn’t stand the thought of him touching me because of the women he’d been with that day, I knew it was over. I bided my time, got the evidence, and all of that is history you know about. Let’s not talk about me. What about you and Maverick?”
Freya sighed. “You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be mad?”
“You did date him first.”
Adele laughed. “I don’t know if you could call what Maverick and I were, dating. I mean, we hung out, and we had some fun. He was a parents’ worst nightmare, and I wanted to scare Mom and Dad. I was young, and, well, now I’m not. Also, he’s not had the best of time in recent years. You and him, I bet you’re awesome together.”
She took a deep breath. “He’s really great.” She couldn’t help but smile.
“You see, that right there, that smile, that … feeling, I’ve never felt that with anyone,” Adele said.
“I, ugh, I think I might be in love with Maverick, and it’s crazy because we’ve only been seeing each other a month, and we’ve been kind of sneaking around.”
“Well, maybe it is time for you to stop sneaking, and to let everyone else who already knows see that you’re both together. Also, bring him around for dinner with the parentals, that will be a fun day.”
****
Maverick was not having the best of days. First, he woke up with a migraine that didn’t ease at any point, and resulted in him taking a couple of painkillers that eventually numbed the pain long enough for him to work. One of the part-time students nearly exploded a damn car because he’d been too hungover to focus.
He had to deal with several irate customers, as well as a delivery of car parts that was all wrong, and then of course he had to cancel his lunch date with Freya, which pissed him off. On his bad days, knowing he was going to see his woman got him through the day. He didn’t mind that they were keeping their relationship a secret. He was already aware that the town knew about them, and he’d gladly wait for Freya to be ready.
By the end of the day, he was more than ready to close shop, go home, and enjoy an ice-cold beer. The heat hadn’t helped either. He was just heading toward the back of his office when her voice stopped him.
“Having a bad day?” Freya asked.
She rarely visited him at the shop, just as he didn’t go to the DIY store. This was her way of keeping their relationship low-key.
“It was, but it has just gotten a lot better.”
The smile on her face lit up his whole world. He took a step toward her, then another, but remembered they were out in the open, so doing anything more was out of the question.
Freya frowned and he waited.
“Fuck this,” she said, and he got his hands out in time to catch her as he pulled her in close and then took possession of her lips. She tasted so good.
All too soon, he realized they were out in the open, in his mechanic store, where anyone could see them.
“Freya?”
“I don’t care,” she said. “The whole town knows anyway, right? Why try to hide what they already know?”
Well, he did have that argument with himself, but now that she’d spoken those words for him, he didn’t see a reason to argue with her.
Taking possession of her mouth, he kissed her harder, and then he had no choice but to pull away.
“I need to close up.”
“I’ll come with.” She slid her hand into his, and he felt like he was pussy-whipped, because he loved it.
He walked with her into his office, and then closed the door. Maverick knew he should close the shop and take her back home, but he’d had such a bad day.
“Uh, Maverick?” she asked, and he pressed his face against her neck.
“Yeah.”
“I thought you wanted to close up shop.”
“I do, but I’ve had one fuckup after another, and all that got me through the day was knowing I would be with you at the end of it. I don’t want to wait.” He pulled away and smiled at her. “I want to make memories here.”
If she told him no, he’d back off, but then she cupped his face, and he truly did think she was going to push him away. But then, she pulled him in close and kissed him, hard.
Wrapping his arms around her, he moved her away from the door and walked her back toward the table, swiping his hand across the desk. He needed to be inside her.
She was already wearing a skirt, which was so convenient, not that he would have minded the struggle of a pair of pants. He was willing to do whatever it took to be with Freya.
He pushed up her skirt, and gripped her fleshy thighs. He loved the curves of this woman and he couldn’t get enough of her. She was everything. Pressing one palm to her pussy, he was happy to find her slick, and he groaned. With his other hand, he sunk his fingers into her hair, gripping the back of her neck. The only way he was going to have a good day was by starting and ending it with Freya.
He broke the kiss and trailed his lips down to her neck, feeling her pussy contract around his finger as he plunged it inside her. She gave that little whimper as he nipped at the tender flesh of her neck, and then he traced a path with his tongue, feeling her quiver beneath him.
“Please,” she said.
He loved it when she begged. And he wasn’t in the mood to make her wait. He had to feel her tightness wrapped around his length.
Letting her go, he did so, only long enough to ease his cock out of the tight confines of his pants, and then he tugged at her panties, tearing them off her body. He pocketed the evidence, and then plunged balls-deep inside her. Every time he used this desk, he was going to have the memory of claiming Freya right on top of it.
She gasped and he groaned. Pulling all the way out of her, until only the tip remained, he began to sink back into her. He watched her, loving how good she looked, stretched wide over his length. His cock was slick with her pre-cum, and he wanted to feel her orgasm on his cock.
Licking his fingers, he pressed them to her clit, feeling her body’s response instantly. His name fell from her lips, and he watched her, not teasing or making this last. He wanted her to come so he could finish off. He wanted to plant his seed deep inside her core, and the moment she screamed his name, he didn’t hold back.
He fucked her, and when the time came, he filled her womb, praying that this time, he’d been successful in making her pregnant with his baby.