Maverick (The Family Simon 3)

He grinned and swooped in for one more kiss, but his brother Cooper had other plans.

“Damn, but I’m feeling left out.” Cooper’s voice trailed off sugg

estively. He’d come down from upstairs and Charlie pushed at Maverick with a laugh.

“Don’t be a jerk,” Maverick said, sliding his arm around Charlie’s shoulder. It was a possessive move, and maybe it made him look like a caveman, but he didn’t care.

His brother shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and the look of appreciation in his eyes as he gazed down at Maverick’s woman made Rick’s blood pressure rise.

“Guess I’m okay with you touching my Shelby,” Cooper said, ignoring Maverick.

Charlie waited a beat. “That’s good to hear,” she replied. “Though I won’t be doing much of the touching. At least not to the body or the interior.”

“No?” Maverick wanted to wipe the grin off his brother’s face with the back of his hand.

“Nope. That would be my guy Davis.”

“Too bad.”

Charlie shrugged. “I’ve got my hands full with other things. You know how it is.”

Cooper chuckled. “I do.” He looked at Maverick. “And to think that if only I’d taken one trip into town.”

“In your dreams, brother,” Maverick replied.

Cooper stepped down from the stairs. “I’m heading out to the shop in a bit if you want to come along.”

Maverick watched his brother until he disappeared into the kitchen and the pressed a kiss to the corner of Charlie’s mouth. “Cooper has a history of wanting what he can’t have.”

“He sounds like trouble.”

“He is.”

“Well,” Charlie murmured against him. “There’s only a certain kind of trouble that I like and he’s not it.”

“Good,” he growled, taking her mouth one last time before gently pushing her away. “You and Connor can sleep in my bed tonight. Okay?”

“Okay. I packed an overnight bag just in case.”

“We’ll figure something else out tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” she asked, that tongue that he loved, darting out to lick at the corner of her mouth.

“Yeah,” Maverick replied with a wicked grin. “Tomorrow you’re stuck with me, wherever the hell you’re sleeping. You’ve got no choice on that one.”

“No choice. Huh,” she teased. “Are all the Simon men so demanding?”

“I am.”

“Good thing I like demanding.” she replied.

Maverick swept one last kiss across her mouth, groaning because she tasted so damn good. But he was strong. He pulled away and strode into the front room where he easily scooped up Connor.

He followed Charlie upstairs, his eyes lingering on her, enjoying the way she moved. He was dying to get his hands on her. He waited while Charlie pulled back his covers, liking how Connor felt in his arms. The little guy snuggled into his neck and murmured a bunch of stuff that Maverick didn’t understand. He felt incredibly humbled by the absolute trust shown by this little boy, and when he laid him down, Maverick gave him a kiss. It didn’t feel weird—in fact it felt absolutely right. Connor turned toward him, his eyelashes fluttering and the sweetest little smile ever appeared on his face.

Charlie smoothed her brother’s brow as the little guy burrowed into the covers, and watching the two of them, here among his things, made Maverick feel like a king.

He left Charlie and Connor in his bedroom, and as he made his way back downstairs, he realized a few things.