Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Solenn
The early morning light filtered through the massive windows, casting a soft glow across the sheets that were tangled around my bare legs. The air was thick with warmth, the scent of Maverick’s cologne still clinging to my skin, mixed with the remnants of last night’s recklessness.
For a moment, I just lay there, my head pressed against the pillow, my fingers absentmindedly tracing the fabric of his bedsheets. My body ached in all the right places, a lingering reminder of every moment, every touch, every whispered demand that had unraveled between us.
And then I turned my head—and there he was.
Maverick.
Asleep.
It was disorienting, almost unreal, to see him like this—his breathing even, his face completely relaxed, free of the sharp edges and controlled intensity he always wore like armor.
His dark hair was slightly tousled, his bare chest rising and falling in a rhythm that shouldn’t have been so distracting.
But it was.
I swallowed hard, staring at him longer than I should have, a strange, unwelcome warmth pressing against my ribs.
And that’s when it hit me.
I had slept with Maverick Spencer.
The man who was supposed to be untouchable, unemotional, impossible to shake. The man who had made it clear that he didn’t let people get too close.
And I had just tangled myself in his sheets as I belonged there.
My pulse kicked up a notch, panic setting in fast and sharp. Because I didn’t belong here. I didn’t know what this meant—if it even meant anything at all.
I couldn’t sit around and wait for the awkward morning-after conversation, where we’d either pretend it hadn’t happened or—worse—try to define it.
No. I needed to get out of here.
Carefully, I untangled myself from the sheets, wincing as I moved, my body still hypersensitive from the night before.
I reached for the sweatpants that were somewhere on the floor, but after one glance at Maverick, still asleep, still completely unaware of the chaos in my head, I decided against it.
I’d get out of here wearing nothing but his shirt and whatever was left of my dignity.
I tiptoed across the floor, grabbing my dress from the chair where it had been discarded in the heat of the moment, along with everything else. My heels were still by the door. My clutch was somewhere—I’d find it later.
One step at a time.
Don’t look back.
Don’t think.
I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and made my way to the door, my heart hammering in my chest. Just as I reached for the handle, I paused, glancing over my shoulder one last time.
Maverick was still asleep, still oblivious to the fact that I was escaping.
Good.
I turned the handle and slipped out, the door clicking shut behind me.
The moment I stepped into the hallway, I finally let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
Now I just needed to get out of this building without running into anyone who might ask why Maverick Spencer’s assistant was leaving his penthouse at dawn in nothing but his shirt.
I took the elevator down, my reflection in the mirrored walls completely betraying me. My hair was a mess, my lips were still kiss-swollen, and I looked every bit like a woman who had just spent the night being thoroughly ruined.
I barely made it outside before I grabbed my phone, my fingers shaking slightly as I dialed Nina’s number.
She picked up on the first ring.
“Oh my God,” she groaned, her voice still thick with sleep. “Did you kill someone?”
I exhaled. “No.”
A beat of silence. Then, “Are you sure? Because you sound like someone who just committed a crime.”
I pressed my fingers against my temple, already regretting this call. “I slept with Maverick Spencer.”
Another long pause. Then?—
“YOU WHAT?!”
I held the phone away from my ear as her scream nearly shattered my eardrum.
“Jesus, Nina?—”
“You’re joking. Tell me you’re joking. Tell me you didn’t just sleep with your boss.”
I dragged a hand down my face. “Do I sound like I’m joking?”
Nina let out a strangled noise. “Okay, no, because you sound like you just escaped a crime scene.”
I groaned, shoving my free hand into my hair. “I don’t know what happened. It was supposed to be nothing—just tension, just a kiss at the gala, and then suddenly we were at his place, and?—”
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “You slept with him. Like, all the way?”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “All. The. Way.”
A slow, disbelieving breath. Then?—
“Tell me everything.”
I nearly tripped over a sidewalk crack. “Are you serious?”
“Of course, I’m serious! Do you know how many women would kill for the details of this? You need to start talking before I show up at your apartment and shake it out of you.”
I hesitated. Not because I didn’t want to tell her, but because I had no idea how to explain what the hell had happened last night.
Because it hadn’t been just sex.
It had been something else entirely.
Something too intense. Too consuming.
Too real.
Nina sighed dramatically. “Okay, fine. You’re still in shock, I get it. But tell me this—what happens now?”
I let out a dry laugh. “Oh, I have no idea.”
“You’re going to pretend nothing happened, aren’t you?”
I didn’t answer.
Because she already knew.
She sighed. “Solenn.”
“I have to, Nina. He’s my boss.” I stopped at the curb, flagging down a cab, still feeling the imprint of Maverick’s hands on my skin. “I go to work. I act normal. This was just a one-time thing, and that’s it.”
A pause. Then?—
“You really think it’s just going to be a one-time thing?”
I hesitated too long.
Nina laughed. “Oh, you’re so screwed.”
I groaned loudly, climbing into the cab and slumping against the seat. “Just let me have my denial in peace.”
She snickered. “Fine. But when you sleep with him again?—”
“Nina.”
“—I’m going to say I told you so.”
I hung up on her, but the damage was already done.
Because now that she’d said it, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
And worse?
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to.