She saved Haven’s bun for last—a dessert for her breakfast. With as much icing as it had, it totally fit. “Oh, my God,” she said around her first bite. Rich and creamy and sweet. She took another bite and moaned. She couldn’t help it.
“Right?” Mav grinned at her, his gaze tracking her tongue as it swiped icing off her lip.
“This is amazing,” Alexa said, leaning forward to see Haven at the far end of the table. She called the other woman’s name. “Your cinnamon rolls are crazy. They’re, like, happiness in food form.”
Haven beamed as the men all joined in offering praise. “Why, thank you.”
“You could totally sell these,” Alexa said. “And those cookies you made the other day, too.”
Sitting at the head of the table, Dare gave Haven a look, one eyebrow arched. “I agree,” he said, his tone like they’d had this conversation before.
Just then, Alexa’s cell buzzed in the back pocket of her shorts. She grabbed it. “It’s my mom’s case worker,” she said, already rising. “Be right back.” Putting the phone to her ear, she moved into the big, empty lounge so she could hear better. She explained the situation to the case worker, an older woman named Lillian Hite who Alexa hadn’t had cause to call on in a while.
“I’m sorry to bother you on a Saturday,” Alexa said.
“No, you were right to call me, dear. Cynthia’s going to need some help adjusting to this news,” Lillian said. “I could come around three, unless that’s too late? Otherwise, I could be there Monday morning.”
Relief flooded through Alexa. “Three today would be great. Thank you.” The sooner she got things moving on that front, the better. She only had a week, so she couldn’t afford to waste even one day.
Just as she hung up, the mess hall door swung open behind her. “Everything okay?” Maverick. Sweet, sexy Maverick.
“Yeah. I was able to get my mom’s case worker to agree to come out this afternoon. So I guess I’m breaking the news about the move today.”
Maverick rubbed her arms. “I know it sucks, Al. I’m sorry it’s come to this.”
“In the end, it’ll be better to be completely free of Grant. It’s just that Mom doesn’t handle change well.” The degree to which that was an understatement unleashed butterflies through her belly. This was not going to be an easy conversation.
“Can I come? Maybe another friendly face will help. Unless you think it would stress her out more for me to be there,” he said, dropping his hands.
The offer reached into her chest and squeezed. “You’re too good to me. I’d love to have you there.”
Maverick’s whole expression went stern as his hand cupped her face. “There’s no such thing as too good for you, Alexa. When are you going to get that?”
She grasped his wrist like he was her anchor in the storm that was her life right now. And he was. “I . . . I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want you to apologize,” he said, his eyes searching hers. “I just want you to believe I’m here for you. Whatever you need.”
“God, Maverick. How could I not believe that? There’s not even a question in my mind,” she said, knowing the truth of his words to the bottom of her soul, and needing him to believe she knew it, too.
His eyes smoldered, all that sternness shifting into desire. In her mind’s eye, she saw him staring down at her as he took her on his bike, trapped between the hardness of steel and chrome against her back and his body over her. “Good. That’s good.”
She nodded. “I really liked last night,” she whispered.
He made a sound like a growl under his breath. “I fucking loved last night. I can’t ride the goddamned Night Rod now without picturing you laid out for me, hair all over the handlebars, legs spread, your clothes wrecked.”
Need settled between Alexa’s thighs as her heart pounded. “Good. Because I can’t stop seeing you over me, riding me, fully clothed while I was all exposed, the hard vibration of the bike rolling through me as—”
Two Ravens Alexa didn’t know spilled out of the mess hall. Maverick’s eyes held frustration and amusement as he clasped hands and said quick good-byes to them. And then his hand was back on her face again, the touch tender and possessive at the same time.
“Now back to me riding you,” he said when the guys left.
Chuckling, she turned her face in his grasp and pressed a kiss against his palm. As the heat in his gaze reignited, the moment felt weighted, significant, full of promise. She sneaked her tongue out to teasingly trace his palm. Mav’s jaw clenched, the look he was giving her like he was a breath from devouring her. Her heart raced and her nipples hardened.