Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
Maverick
My heart’s fucked up, all over again.
Watching Mabel admit to me the fears that I expected, especially after today, that Ellie’s father isn’t involved, I’m struggling, doing my best to stop myself seeing red.
The anger boiling within me, doing its very best to consume me, and I haven’t even heard the story yet. What type of scumbag would leave this beautiful girl to raise their daughter alone?
A dead one, that’s for sure.
Watching the pain rise into Mabel’s eyes, and then, the tears that start to fall, I refuse to sit here and not try to comfort her.
I pull Mabel in between my legs and make her lie back against my chest, wrapping my arms around her which she’s gripping onto like she never wants to let go.
“Baby, what happened?” I whisper into her ear, calling her that twice in a few short seconds not knowing what’s coming over me. I’ve got no right to call her baby, I lost that right all those years ago, but memory takes over, failing to stop me.
I hear her sniff, as she refuses to let go of me, leaning her weight into me, but I don’t care. There isn’t a lot of her to hold up.
I’ll hold this girl up forever if she’ll let me.
I feel her body sag once more before she starts talking and I hold us both up as she tells me about the one-night stand she’d had, with a man named Austin around four years after I left.
An out of towner, no last name or a way to trace him.
His shitty condom broke, neither of them knowing until he was long gone.
I listen as she speaks, stroking her arms with my fingertips, trying to give her some comfort in all the pain that she’d experienced, the pain she’d endured because I listened to something I shouldn’t have all those years ago.
“I tried to find him. I tried so hard...” she sighs out in defeat. “But do you know how many men called Austin there are in New York?” she says as she looks up at me. A smile spread across her face as she attempts to make a light joke.
“I don’t, Firefly,” I laugh back with her, still holding my grip tightly around her.
“Hundreds, maybe thousands.” She turns her head to the side, so she’s now looking back at me from over her shoulder, my head leans against hers as she tells me her story.
I feel the corner of my mouth turn into a half smile at her efforts to try and make light of her situation; the situation that I no doubt left her in.
“I’m sorry,” Is all I can muster out.
“Don’t be, I have Ellie,” she smiles brightly at me, not moving her face an inch away. Her face dangerously close to mine.
“She’s amazing,” I agree along with her.
“That she is.” The lightness coming back into her eyes as she speaks about her daughter.
I could use this moment to press further on her name, but I know that it’s a story for another time.
I’m just happy to hear the story, that she trusts me enough with it, even after everything we’d been through together. After what I’d done.
Mabel turns her head away from mine and brings her plastic glass up to her lips to take a sip. Feeling her body untensing I reach for mine and do the same, still holding one arm around her small frame.
She puts her glass back down and leans to reach her phone, unpausing the music she no doubt done upon hearing horses feet galloping towards her.
It shocks me that she never suspected that I wouldn’t follow her out here as soon as I knew she was gone from around the fire.
She knew full well that only I could have known where she went, because this is where we would come every year, together.
A country song I don’t recognise comes through her portable speaker and she relaxes her back once again onto my chest.
She isn’t moving away from me, and I’m so relieved.
“So, now you know,” She sighs out, hands tightly gripping onto my arm.
“Now I know.” I nestle my face back into her shoulder. The electricity buzzing through our touch.
Austin will live to see another day.
Mainly because we probably won’t ever find the son of a bitch.
We sit in silence for what feels like hours, but it can’t have been that long. Feeling her breathe against my chest is a feeling I can’t explain into words.
I’m still so in-love with this girl, nothing else matters, except this.
Except her.
“Hey, Mav?” I hear her ask and I pull my chin away from her shoulder to look at her, once again her face extremely close to mine.
“Yeah, Firefly?” I answer her.
“Where did you go?” She asks me, a little above a whisper.
Shit.
I should’ve known she’d ask me eventually. I shift in my seat on the hard floor, refusing to let go of her.
“I stayed in California,” I reply to her, not knowing what else to answer.
I watch her digest the answer I’ve given her, waiting for the why to follow. “Why did you come home?” she asks, her bright blue eyes shining back at me.
I wasn’t expecting her to ask that, however more along the lines of why I left. I’m glad she hasn’t, because I’m still trying to find the words, she so well deserves.
“Because I couldn’t be away from here anymore,” I answer truthfully.
I couldn’t be away from her anymore.
“That’s fair...” she nods at me. “This place sure has a way of pulling us back.”
No baby, you have a way of pulling me back.
“It does.” I smile back at her.
Another gust of wind hits us as we sit on her pre-prepped blanket, causing her hair to fly back onto her face. Without thinking, yet again, I bring my hand up and tuck her hair behind her ears, never losing eye contact with her.
Instead of moving my hand away, my body takes over, and I rest it on her cheek, using my thumb to stroke her face. Mabel brings her own hand up and rests it on mine. Her eyes reflecting the stars above us.
“You’re so beautiful,” I whisper out, without thinking of the repercussions. Because in this moment, with her, I refuse to give a damn about them.
I’ve finally got my girl back in my arms.
Even if it’s just for tonight.
Mabel’s cheeks turn a brighter shade of pink, but she refuses to drop her eye contact with me, and I watch her part her lips ever so slightly.
Before I can even try to stop myself or talk myself out of it, I lean down, edging my face closer to hers, my eyes refusing to look away.
“Tell me to stop if you don’t want me to,” I breathe out heavily, trying to gain some control back in this situation. Mabel’s breathing as heavy as I am.
“I couldn’t stop you...” she starts, and with that, my lips crash down onto hers.
The constant buzz from the pull, my lips moving in perfect sync with hers. Her fingernails dig into my arm as our mouths move in perfect harmony like they’d done all those years ago.
Without breaking our kiss, Mabel moves her body, turning herself around so she’s facing me. Guiding my legs closed, she climbs on top of my lap, straddling above my cock as she pulls her arms tightly around my neck.
My cock stands to attention as soon as her body straddles mine, doing its best to try and break free from the hold in my jeans.
My tongue pulls out, tracing the outline of her lips, hoping and praying she’ll give me full access to her mouth.
Mabel opens her mouth and holds onto the scruff of my shirt, pulling me in harder as our tongues start to dance with each other.
Mabel’s hips start to move against my throbbing hard dick, rubbing her pussy along my shaft. Holding my arms around her waist, I deepen our kiss by holding her as tightly as I possibly can to myself, I want to be one with her.
I want to worship her.
Holding onto her, as if on instinct, I move her away from my cock and I stop our kiss, pulling away only to lay her down on her back on the blanket.
Spreading her legs, I fit myself in between them, laying on top of her completely breathless from the most electric kiss I’ve ever had.
Mabels sky blue eyes stare deep into my soul as I lay on top of her. Her smile wide and bright as it once was, not an ounce of pain showing in this moment.
“That was unexpected,” she stutters, clearly still flustered.
“Was it?” I question, leaning on my hands trying not to put my full weight on her. My erection digging through my jeans on top of her pussy.
She looks back at me. “No, it wasn’t,” she breathes.
I snort at her honesty, and smirk down at her, my eyes widen back down to her lips. Her legs still wrapped fully around my waist.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. I’m sorry for a lot of things when it comes down to her.
Mabel raises her hand and places it on my cheek, now stroking it with her thumb. “For what?” she asks.
“This,” I reply back.
Mabel shakes her head side to side, still laying on her back, legs tightly wrapped around me, refusing to let me go.
“You, Maverick Bennett, never need to apologise to me for this,” she smiles back at me, eyes sparkling at the sight of me.
Fuck, I don’t deserve this girl.
“I’ve waited thirteen years for this. For you.” She finishes, and with that my lips come crashing down onto hers yet again, urging my tongue to enter her mouth as soon as we touch.
This kiss is rougher, hungrier, needier.
I put all of my weight onto my left arm, using my right hand to cup hold of her face as she kisses me fiercely, pulling my hips down to hers with her legs still wrapped around me.
Breaking free of our kiss, she moves her lips down my neck, licking and sucking as she moves towards my collarbone. I let out a growl as my dick once again becomes painful in its erection, begging to be let free.
“Mabel, we don’t have to do this,” I say, struggling to get the words out.
I so desperately want this, but I don’t want her to regret this.
Mabel stops kissing my neck and grips onto my face, pulling my eyes back down to hers.
“Mav...” she moans. “Please, I want you,” she begs, rubbing her pussy along my shaft yet again.
Holy fucking shit, I’m so done for.