“You own me. You gotta know that. Christ, I’ve wanted this for so long.” He dropped his head to her shoulder.
The gravel in his voice reached into her chest and squeezed. She wrapped her arms around his big shoulders and held him.
Finally he looked at her again, his eyes bright and so full of love. For her. “This is our new beginning, Alexa. You and me.”
“Against the world. I love you,” she said, happier than she’d been in years. Happier than she ever thought she’d be again. And, God, she adored the happiness pouring off of him, too. She wasn’t naïve enough to think that Grant was going to make her life easy, but there wasn’t anything he could do to change this. Because Alexa had finally found herself and, through that, the man she truly needed.
MAVERICK WAS FLYING so goddamned high over the words he and Alexa had shared that not even spending the day with a very anxious Mrs. H schlepping her mountain of crap could touch how good he felt. Unbelievably, that mountain represented maybe a third of what the woman had in her house, but most of what they’d left behind was outright junk.
Only two things put a damper on how he was feeling. First, knowing Jagger was sitting in jail. It ate at Maverick like an itch he couldn’t reach. He just had to trust that the Hard Ink guys and their private detective would find the evidence they needed to clear Jagger. It couldn’t happen soon enough for Mav—for any of the Ravens. And second, the word that Grant had made bail. They knew it would happen, and they’d taken the time this morning to get the temporary protective order, but it was still a burr in his saddle to know that clearly guilty Grant got to walk while Jagger rotted. Justice was blind, Mav’s ass.
At the new place now, they’d just finished unloading the moving truck. He, Alexa, and the movers had managed to get the boxes and furniture in the rooms where they needed to be, but the process of unpacking and really getting the house set up would take a while. At least Mrs. H was out of Slater’s place for good.
Mav returned one of the dollies to the now-empty truck parked out in the driveway.
“That was a big job to get done,” Alexa said, bringing him a glass of ice cold water. It was another hot one, but the weather was perfect—which boded well for the opening of the carnival tonight. “I’m so glad we got her out of there.”
“Me too,” he said, taking a big drink. The more ties Alexa severed with Grant, the better. So far that included the restraining order, moving her mother out of his house, and calling in sick to work. She hadn’t pulled the trigger yet, but she’d pretty much come around to the conclusion that she was going to have to quit her job. Mav knew how much she liked what she did, and he hated that for her, hated that she was the one who was going to have to walk away when she’d done nothing wrong. “What else would you like to do here today?”
“I’m hoping that we can maybe set up her kitchen, bedroom, and enough of the living room so that she can watch TV. But I don’t want to make us late for the carnival.” She gingerly prodded the side of her head.
“You hurting?” he asked, his gut twisting.
“Just a little bit of a headache. Not too bad. Honestly, I feel too good from this morning to even care.” Her smile was so damn pretty.
“From the orgasms or the I love yous?” He grinned and pulled her into his arms.
She chuckled. “Both were very nice.”
“Nice? Nice? You screamed so loud you almost shattered glass.”
Laughing, she smacked him in the shoulder. “I did not.”
“Yeah you did. That memory will play in my head for years.” He arched a brow at her, loving the humor shining from her hazel eyes.
“Okay, I totally did.” She ducked her face against his chest.
“That’s right. Don’t be denying my skills.” He kissed her head and grinned again, having too much fun with her. What a difference a fucking day made.
“Oh, my God.” She pushed against his chest and retreated, pointing at him, and trying not to smile. “You are too full of yourself.”
“I call it like I see it.” He followed her toward the house.
She rolled her eyes and turned around, but he could tell her shoulders were shaking. “So, why don’t you try your skills on the mess that is the living room? And I’ll tackle the kitchen with Mom?”
He winked. “Consider it done. Because, skills.”
She threw up her hand and made for the kitchen. Maverick couldn’t stop smiling like an idiot. Getting everything you ever wanted did that to a man. No shame in that.