She moaned like she knew this stud would keep pleasing her.
It was time to shut the door and walk away. I’d violated his privacy enough. I shouldn’t even have come to his bedroom at this time of night, knowing what he usually did up here.
I felt the heat in my cheeks, the urge to linger until he finished. I wanted to see how he looked when he came, if he was still the ferocious asshole I encountered on a daily basis. Or did he soften just a bit? Did he give in to the passion and let his guard down? Did he look even more handsome when he filled the tip of the condom?
I wanted to find out, but the last thing I needed was to get caught.
He might break his promise and hurt me.
I closed the door gently and could still hear them fucking like dogs. The heat rushed up my body and made my fingertips go numb. My lips felt so lonely, as if Maverick’s kiss was the only thing that would make me feel complete.
I forced myself down the hallway and remembered how good his kiss felt, remembered being in those powerful arms as his big hands gripped me. I remembered how petite I felt when he grabbed my ass like it was a piece of meat. He was such a good kisser…the best I’d ever had.
Now I wondered if he was the best fuck I’d ever have.
17
Maverick
My father had all the schematics on the table, showing the exact spot where we would be once the mission was launched. Bottles of brandy were everywhere, most of them empty. Burned-out cigars were everywhere, sprinkled like decorations. Once my mother died, he stopped giving a damn about his health.
I’d never cared about mine.
With a cigar in his mouth, he made the notes on the table. “You’ll be here with your men.” He marked it with a red X. “I’ll come in from the side. Even if he’s more armed than we anticipate, he’ll have a battle on two fronts. We’ll kill all his men, take whatever artillery that can be salvaged, and capture him alive.” It was the only time my father had been calm in a year. He spoke about the plan in a bored voice, like this wasn’t as climactic as getting the information in the first place. “We’ll keep him in the barn at the center of your property.”
I had dairy cows in the pasture, their prized milk used for producing cheese. There was a barn out there, far away from the other buildings so the smell of shit wouldn’t reach my nose when I fucked a woman in my pool. “But not for long, right?”
He puffed his cigar and let the smoke rise to the ceiling. “We’ll see what my mood is like…”
I’d expected him to keep Ramon on his own property, but perhaps that was too disturbing for him—to have the man who raped his wife in his home.
“Any questions?”
“No.”
My father studied me, letting small wisps of smoke escaped from his parted lips. He watched me for a long time, as if he were having a conversation with me inside his head. “We can’t afford any mistakes. Do you understand?”
I wouldn’t make any mistakes. “Yes.”
“I’m counting on you, Maverick. Fuck it up, and I’ll never forgive you.” He puffed his cigar again.
I wanted to press the hot ash directly into his neck and make him scream. “You won’t kill me?” I couldn’t keep the edge out of my voice. “That’s a step up…”
He put out the cigar in the black ashtray. “They say disappointing your father is the worst punishment a son can feel.”
I’d been nothing but a disappointment to him for the past year, and it certainly did feel like a punishment. I wanted to rise to my feet and slam a bottle of brandy over his head, but I convinced myself this was the end of his malice. Once he got what he wanted, he would have closure…and that closure would kill this dark spirit that had taken over his body. He would feel human again…and be a father again. “That’s debatable.”
I hadn’t seen Arwen in a week.
When I told her to stay out of my way, she listened.
She didn’t show her face during meals, and she didn’t cross my path when I came and went. It seemed like she’d taken my threat seriously. Sometimes I forgot she lived there altogether…and that was a gift.
She’d rejected me twice—and now I was done.
If she didn’t want to fuck me, that was one thing. But she teased me. She kissed me and liked it. She touched my stomach like she wanted to unbutton my shirt and slide it down my arms so she could see what she’d just touched. She felt the same chemistry, felt the same desire. We would live in this house together until one of us died.