Chapter 21
Maya’s hand is warm under mine. This woman—who I’ve treated so poorly—just sits with me.
Not to get a story out of it, but to calm me.
She really does care about me. I can see it in her eyes.
This is not an act. She cried when I sent her away.
She tried to hide it, but I saw. I squeeze my eyes shut as the guilt rattles through me. She has been nothing but good to me.
Even now. I haven’t said a word to her, but she stayed. In silence. Making me tea in my own house. How do I deserve her company after all that I said?
I feel a line forming between my eyebrows.
When I open my eyes to look at her, she is already staring at me, concerned.
I lick my lips to speak, and she shifts in the chair.
Maya straightens her spine and turns toward me even more.
Our thighs press against each other and I feel her warmth spreading through my body.
“What is it?”
Her whisper is soft, and her voice sounds frail around the edges. Her eyebrows are drawn together in a small frown and the look she gives me would be adorable if it wasn’t so heartbreaking.
“Why are you here?” I breathe.
There is no malice in my voice. Not this time. I just need to know why she came. Since when did you get this insecure? Maya doesn’t startle, but instead gazes at me, her eyes searching for something in mine. It’s almost hesitant.
“I couldn’t bear the thought of you being alone after… after today.”
She drops her gaze to our hands. For a moment I fear she is going to retreat and I grasp her tighter. I don’t want her to go. I need her to stay. Please, Maya.
“You were hurting…” she continues.
“I’m fine,” I reassure her instantly.
The EMTs cleaned the gash in my hip and taped it together. I didn’t even need stitches. The soreness from the stretched muscles might linger for a couple of days, but nothing seems to be torn. But Maya shakes her head.
“Not there,” she says, looking at my hip, “but here.”
She raises her left hand and presses her fingertips lightly against my sternum.
Her eyes travel up to meet mine. They are brimming with tears and her lip is trembling.
My heart stills for a beat and the world around me seems to pause.
There are little jolts of electricity from where her fingers touch my chest and my lips part in a soft gasp.
“Maya,” I whimper.
Look at what you are doing to her, Gonzales.
How she is hurting for you. It feels like a knife is pressed into my chest and slowly dragged downward.
It hits me with such a force that I draw in a sharp breath.
I feel her tremble and she moves to pull her hand away.
A flash of guilt on her face. She thinks she is too much.
“Sorry.”
The word is barely even a whisper and my heart churns.
Do something! Before I stop myself and think, I bend forward.
My hand leaves hers only to grab her waist and pull her closer to me, while the other slides to her neck.
My eyes search for hers before they dip lower to her lips.
Those delicious full lips that now part ever so slightly.
“Maya…” I whisper again, this time a plea more than anything else.
My eyes find hers again, searching for her consent.
She seems to be looking for the same thing because as soon as our eyes meet, she sighs and closes the distance between us.
The moment she presses her lips softly against mine, my eyes flutter close and a heat spreads through my belly.
She is gentle, questioning, careful. It’s not enough.
I want her, no, I need her. All of her. I tighten my grip as I lean more into her. My movement forces her to tip her head slightly. I run my tongue over her bottom lip and she moans against my mouth. Her lips open, allowing me in. She tastes like tea and honey, like sunshine in my hand.
A low growl escapes me as I stroke her tongue with my own.
My body pulsates with the sensation. Maya moans back in reply, her hands snaking around my back, pulling me even closer.
The softness fades and the kiss turns into something harder, more urgent.
Desperate even. The hunger inside me takes over, like a wild beast being starved for weeks.
I press Maya back into the cushions and straddle her lap, placing myself above her.
Her hands immediately run over my shoulders to my neck and into my hair.
With her tongue still exploring my mouth, her hand tugs my hair tie loose.
I feel my curls cascade down like a curtain, sheltering us from the rest of the world.
And that’s exactly how I want it, how I want her.
To be mine and mine alone. Does she want that?
I nip softly at her bottom lip, before breaking the kiss.
I don’t lean back, but press my forehead against hers. Panting.
“Maya,” my voice is a low rasp now. “Are you sure this is what you want? I… I’m not soft or gentle.”
Her breath is warm against my cheek and her fingers play with the curls at the base of my neck. The sigh she releases is soft, but feels like something she held onto for weeks.
“I don’t want you to be soft or gentle,” she says softly.
She pulls her head back slightly to look at me. Her blue eyes boring into mine, as if she can imprint what she is about to say into my soul.
“I just want you to be yourself. Always.”
Something in me snaps and I find her mouth again—this time with all the fire of my need and lust for her.
Maya meets me there with the same urgency.
Is this really happening? I slide my hands down her sides, until I find the hem of her shirt.
She shudders when I slip under it, caressing the soft skin with my trembling fingertips.
The way she arches into me instinctively, unleashes something new in me.
The feral need to take her and make her completely mine.
Not to possess her, but to worship her in the way she deserves.
When I withdraw my hands, Maya whimpers in protest. I chuckle, the sound disappearing inside her mouth.
I grab the hem of her shirt and break the kiss, so that I can lift it over her head.
As soon as she realizes what I am doing, she lifts her arms and arches up so that I can pull it off.
Her milky skin looks so smooth that I want to nip it with my teeth.
The curve of her breasts in the black lacy bra almost taunts me. As if it’s screaming, not yet.
I let out an approving grunt, before disposing of my own shirt.
Maya’s already dark eyes darken even more as her gaze travels over my torso.
They follow the curve of my neck, to my collarbone, the swell of my breasts and the muscles moving under the skin of my belly.
She looks up at me again, as if she is in awe—speechless.
I grin and bend forward to kiss her again.
There is no hesitation when she lets her hands glide over my sides and back.
I move my mouth to the corner of her lip, down her jaw and her neck, to her pulse point.
Her heartbeat is rapid under my lips, and her breathing is shallow above me.
I run my tongue over her skin. She tastes sweet, with a hint of salt.
It’s already my favorite taste. At least for now.
I smirk against her neck as I softly let my teeth sink in.
Maya gasps under me and presses her fingernails into my shoulders, only spurring me on to bite a little harder.
The guttural moan it pulls from her lips, ripples through my body, filling it with the only fire I don’t want to put out.
It dips low into my stomach, shooting straight to my core.
And when Maya drags those nails down my back, I feel myself getting soaked instantly. Look at what she is doing to you.
“Elena,” her voice breaks on my name. A plea wrapped in a breath.
I release her flesh and press my hot lips against the already bruising skin, before I claim her mouth again.
Her chest heaves under me, her breathing ragged.
My hands trail to her back, unclasping her bra with a smooth motion.
She gasps and then giggles, but I kiss the sounds right out of her mouth.
I pull her bra away and lean back to admire her.
The soft swell of her breasts, her pink nipples already hard and inviting, the curve of her side. It makes me lick my lips.
I move forward and press soft kisses against her collarbone and sternum, before I run my tongue around her left nipple and roll the right one between my fingers. Maya moans and arches her back, inviting me to take her nipple inside my mouth and suck on it.
I flick it with my tongue and I feel her fingers dig into my hips. The pain flares up and I wince, but keep my mouth on her. I shift my weight, naturally moving her hand away from the injury, and grind down on her as I graze my teeth along her nipple.
“Elena…”
She moans my name like a prayer and the last bit of resistance falls away from me.
I trail my mouth lower, nipping her right under her breast, and run my tongue over the soft skin on her abdomen.
Her hands are in my hair now, her nails digging into my scalp.
I let myself slide off the couch and onto the floor, right in front of her, and kiss her hipbones right above her waistband.
When I raise my eyes to look at her, I witness the most beautiful thing in the world. Maya’s lips are kiss-swollen and are slightly parted, her eyes glassy with desire and need, and right there on her neck—my mark. I pull my mouth away just far enough to whisper to her.
“You wanted this,” my breath hot against her skin.
She nods eagerly in agreement, too dazed to speak.
“Oh Maya,” I murmur, “you’re mine now.” And I am yours, completely.
Her eyes darken even more and her mouth opens in a silent gasp.
Her rapid breathing betraying how she feels.
My fingers slowly unbutton her pants, and when no objection comes, I hook my fingers under her waistband and panties, and remove them in one smooth motion.
My own heart hammers against my ribs as I stare at her naked form. Her body must be a godsend.
Once again, I lick my lips, hungry for her, and I run my hands over the insides of her thighs.
“Elena, please,” Maya begs, her need reflecting my own.
It is enough to break my self-restraint.
Hungrily, I press hot kisses against her inner thighs.
Slowly working my way up, being able to smell her desire.
Slightly musky and something that reminds me of stones that have been baking in the summer sun for days.
Earthy and salty. Everything inside me screams to touch her, to taste her, but instead I taunt us both by delaying it just a little longer.
Her nails dig deeper into my scalp, and her hips buck up toward me.
I press her down and look up at her from between her legs.
“Sit still, or you’ll just have to wait longer.”
Her mouth drops open in despair and for a moment the need to protest flashes behind her eyes. But she only gasps and nods in surrender.
“Good girl,” I grin, and then run my tongue over her core, no longer able to deny myself the taste of her.