Chapter 8
LYRA
My mind works a thousand miles an hour. After the suddenness of a man breaking into my apartment and threatening me, things become easier to digest. From the way Maverick arrived, he had more people after him. An all-out attack. People really wanted him out of the picture.
I sit on his couch and stare at the black TV, my backpack forgotten at my feet.
This was a wake-up call. And I could run away; I could take it as a sign and leave him, the way he wanted me to…
But one look at the blood oozing from his shoulder and the way he reacted when he saw that man attacking me...
I can’t leave Maverick. He already had my heart, but now I see how much he needs me.
He’s been alone his entire life, forced into being a hitman by a person who was supposed to keep him safe.
I set my jaw and close my hands in fists.
There’s no way I’m letting him go. There’s no way I’m leaving him to face all this shit by himself.
The alarms and locks come off when he comes back. Maverick drags my suitcase with him, and the bandage on his shoulder is soaked through once more. I shoot to my feet as he closes the doors behind him.
“You shouldn’t have,” I tell him. “Now you’re bleeding.”
“Couldn’t leave the rest of your stuff behind,” he says, “and you can’t go back anytime soon.”
I know my heart should ache at the thought of it, but it doesn’t. Shaking my head, I take his hand and guide him to the couch. “Where’s the first aid kit?”
He tells me the spot as he takes a seat, his muscles finally unwinding. “There’s needle and thread there, too.”
Can’t believe I’m about to stitch a man up in a place like this.
Away from a hospital room, no way of making sure things are clean...
Doesn’t matter. We don’t have the time for this.
I dig around for the med kit, run back to Maverick, and then clean his wounds before stitching them up.
He doesn’t make a sound as he watches me work.
Only when every wound is taken care of do I allow myself to relax.
Maverick doesn’t touch me when I sit next to him. I reach out for his hand, gripping his fingers, but Maverick doesn’t relax. Quite the opposite. I arch an eyebrow, watching him for any potential missed spots.
“Are you in pain?” I ask, suddenly noticing that just because he doesn’t show it, it doesn’t mean he isn’t aching all over. “Do you have painkillers in the bathroom?” And I shoot to my feet to rush in there again.
Maverick holds my fingers, pulling me back. “I’m fine. This is nothing.”
I glare at him until he lets me go, then dig into his cabinet until I find more black box meds than someone should have.
Painkillers, antibiotics, and the heavy kind.
I pick up a couple, then bring them to him with a glass of water.
The place is small enough I can find my way around easily.
Maverick swallows the painkillers without questioning, but he still looks strange.
“What’s wrong?” I finally ask, touching my knee to his.
He tilts his lips, then cups my cheek. “I’m so sorry, Lyra. Fuck, this is exactly what I didn’t want to happen.”
“Let me stop you right there.” I sit sideways on the couch so I can face him. “I’ve already been through that. And I’m the one who’s been victimized, so I think I should have a voice in this matter.”
Maverick turns to look at me, an eyebrow climbing his forehead. “Go on.”
“You warned me. I get that. Life with you is dangerous, and I could get hurt, and you tried to warn me about everything.” I gulp some air.
“And you also said you hurt people, so I shouldn’t be surprised at the way you reacted with the guy who attacked me.
” Maverick roars a little at the memory, but I keep going.
Do I find it hot? Yes. But we have things to discuss first. “When I analyze all this, I think the best would be to leave town. Run away, maybe get a new name for you, and we can start over.”
He gapes at me, slowly blinking.
“I mean,” I go on. Was that a bad idea? He doesn’t seem pleased.
“These people won’t stop coming after you.
And whatever you did to them now, they’ll only get more pissed.
It’s a cycle, and running away might be the only way to break it.
Should we, I don’t know, go to the FBI? They could get us into some sort of witness protection program if you give some people away. ”
He keeps blinking. “You want to stay?”
“Yeah.”
“With me?”
“Of course.”
“After everything that happened? After you saw me almost kill a guy with my hands?”
“You were defending me.” And it was really hot.
“Why?” he asks, out of breath, narrowing his eyes as if he can’t believe me.
Wait. That’s it. He does not believe me. “Did you think I would leave you after this? After you put yourself in danger because of me?”
Maverick shakes his head hard. “No, Lyra. You were in danger because of me. You should be running the other way instead of making plans.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m in love with you,” I blurt because I might screw everything up, but I will be honest with him.
His face relaxes, becoming a mask. “And you’re probably thinking I’m stupid, but I don’t care.
I’ve never felt this for anyone else, Maverick, and I’m not giving up. I’m not giving up on you.”
Maverick presses his brows together, staring at me. In doubt? In wonder? “Why? Why wouldn’t you give up on me? I can only hurt you.”
“You can also love me and take care of me. I know you can. And I want to give us a chance.”
He stares for what feels like forever. My heart races in my chest, sure he’ll send me away.
But Maverick shakes his head, then plucks me from the couch and sits me on his lap.
His meaty fingers run through my hair, running down my jaw.
The way he looks at me softens, and I melt against his hard chest, wanting to curl up.
“I don’t want you to get hurt,” he whispers against my lips. “And my love for you can only bring pain.”
I shake my head, pressing our foreheads together. “We can make it work. We can start over.”
Maverick nods, burying his fingers into my hair. “You’re maddening, woman. How could I ever walk away from you?”
“Don’t.” And I crane my neck, brushing our lips together. Maverick ends the space between us, kissing the air out of me. I moan against his kiss, drowning in his affection, burning with his touch.
“I’ve been so madly in love with you from the moment our eyes met,” he says between kisses. “Fuck, and I thought I could never deserve a woman like you. I’m so in love with you, Lyra, it makes me feel more insane than usual.”
I chuckle, then lose myself in his kiss.
The problems disappear in the back of my head as his tongue sweeps over mine, igniting an ember low in my belly.
Maverick’s fingers stroke down my jaw and neck to my collarbones.
I arch my back, begging him with no words.
He curls his fingers around the mound of my breast, kneading, brushing his rough palm against the sensitive knot of my nipple.
A moan rattles through me, and Maverick pulls back.
He studies my eyes, reads my face, and then whatever he sees in there breaks him.
He kisses me even harder than before, tightening the hold on my hair.
His grip is unforgiving, but instead of hurting, it only makes me wet.
I clamp my knees together, nails raking down Maverick’s scalp.
He eats up from my lips, pinching my nipple with rough motions.
I shove him back against the couch, then throw a leg over his to straddle him.
He releases a pained grunt. It’s small, almost imperceptible. It makes me stop. “Shit, sorry,” I say, my cheeks burning. The man is all stitched up and here I am, rubbing myself against him.
Maverick shakes his head, tugging me closer. “Honestly, love, the one thing I want is to fuck you into the mattress, but I don’t think I can do that right now.” He grins, that panty-melting grin that has me tugging his shirt off. “But if you ride me...”
Fuck yeah. I kiss him again, running my hands down his naked chest. He’s huge, all hard muscles and bumpy scars, and I explore each one of them as he fucks my mouth with his tongue.
I moan in delight as my fingers trace down his stomach to the hidden depths under his waistband.
Maverick doesn’t let me explore for long.
He takes my shirt off in uncaring moves, almost ripping the fabric.
My bra follows suit, then his lips cover my nipple.
I cry out as he lathers one, then the other with his saliva.
He covers them in spit, then blows, the torture exquisite.
I move my hips, seeking some friction. His hard cock is there for my taking.
I reach between us, fisting his length and adjusting it against me.
Every circle of my hips makes my clit rub against his hardness, a jolt of pleasure shooting straight to my core.
My eyelids fluttering shut, I start going mad, moving faster and faster in search of that orgasm.
Maverick keeps control even when he’s under me.
He sits me next to him so he can kick his shoes and pants off, then makes me stand so he can strip me.
I watch his face tighten with pain, but he’s so hungry for me he buries his face between my thighs and French kisses the hell out of my pussy.
My legs turn to jelly and I almost faint with pleasure, but he sits me down on his lap again, his fingers taking over the action now.
He kisses me as he strokes my lower lips.
We’re both inexperienced but starved to learn.
Maverick circles his fingers around my clit, teasing, entering me just an inch.
He soaks his pads with my arousal, making the glide easier, and just when I think he’s going to finger-fuck me, he goes back to my clit.
By the end of five minutes, I’m all burning nerves, hypersensitive, and covered in goosebumps.
Maverick nibbles on my pulse then licks at my ear as he picks up his pace.
He skates his fingers over my clit as my juices run down my thighs, and I grip his hair and ride his hand until lights pop in the back of my lids.
“Like this, like this,” I repeat like a mantra.
He positions his cock to my entrance. “Come around me, gorgeous,” he begs against my ear, sitting me down on his cock.
For a moment, I don’t think he’s entering me.
The next, I come apart so hard there’s no doubt—the pressure of his cock and the wetness all combine into a new level of pleasure and he pops inside me, sliding to the hilt as I ride the wave of my climax.
Maverick grips me around my hips, and though I’m the one on top, he’s the one in control.
He moves me up and down to his pleasure, stroking my pussy along his cock.
He’s so fucking big it’s a wonder he fits inside me.
Another jolt of pleasure races down my spine. I clamp my eyes shut, gasping.
“That’s it, gorgeous,” Maverick groans against me, his entire body growing taut. “Cream all over my cock. Let me see you coming on me.”
And I do, coming undone all over again. It’s a kind of pleasure I never thought possible, as if gripping a live wire, sticking it into my mouth.
My body cries out for more, but I can’t move; I can only feel.
Maverick does the job for me, bouncing me on his fat cock until he wrestles another orgasm from me.
Only then does he come apart, his thick, hot cream spilling inside me.
I almost collapse on top of him, holding off at the last moment. He catches his breath as I sit up, and his cock slides deeper inside me. Maverick meets my eyes, awe and love on his face, then a smile slashes across his features. It’s beautiful, brighter than any smile I’ve seen him give me.
Pressing a kiss to the corner of his lip, I muster the strength to ask—“What?”
He strokes my cheek with the tip of his nose, then pumps twice with his hips. My breasts move with it, and he reaches out to pinch a nipple. “You. Just... you.”
“Me?” And I chuckle, drunk with love for this man. “What’s up with me?”
And there’s so much affection in his gaze he needs to say nothing else. I know what he means. I’m his world now. And he is mine.