And I didn’t just want him because of the way he protected me.
His arms slid around my waist. “You were amazing…as always.”
“You’d say that even if I weren’t.”
“True.” He smiled as he leaned in and kissed me on the mouth. “But that’s a good thing…because you can never go wrong.” He kissed me again before he pulled away, stopping the affection before it escalated from PG-13 to X.
“Is this your husband?” Ruby was one of my costars. We sang a duet together in the middle of the show. With pearls around her neck and a smile on her face, she looked Maverick up and down with approval.
“Yes, it is. Maverick this is my costar Ruby.”
Maverick took her hand and kissed her on the cheek. “Lovely to meet you.”
“You too. Well, I’ll let you lovebirds enjoy your night.” She walked away behind Maverick then mouthed, “Damn, he’s hooooot.” She winked then kept walking.
I stopped the smile from spreading across my face.
Maverick had a glint of humor in his eyes, like he knew something.
“What?”
“I’m hot, huh?”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, keeping a straight face.
“There are mirrors everywhere. Tell her I said thank you.”
Maverick kept his arm around my waist as he walked me to the car. It was dark, with the occasional streetlight illuminating the stairs and sidewalk.
I kept looking up and down the street, waiting to see if three large men would emerge from the shadows.
But no one ever did.
“I have men watching the entire block.” He kept his eyes forward as he guided me to the black car. He opened the passenger door. “They aren’t here.”
I got into the seat, and then we drove away. My eyes kept scanning the darkness for anything unusual until the buildings passed and it was just the open road.
Maverick drove with one hand on the wheel. “He won’t try the same thing twice.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Because it would be stupid to repeat the same experiment twice and expect different results. You’re on your guard now. I’m armed. It would just be a waste of ammo at this point. He doesn’t want to hurt you. He wants you to be in perfect condition for his purpose. So, he’s not gonna shoot up the entire street and hope he kills me and all my men without touching you. Too much of a gamble.”
“Do you think he’d try to break in to the house?”
“No. That would require a lot of manpower. The smart thing would be to draw us out somewhere and then do it.”
“Well, that’s not going to work on me. I’m not going shopping or to the movies anytime soon.”
He sped through the darkness while keeping his eyes on the road. “If he’s smart, he’ll try to take me instead of you.”
I turned my head his way.
“Because he’ll use me to get you to surrender.”
And it would work.
“But we can’t let that happen.”
“No…we can’t.” The last thing I wanted was to be raped and tortured until someone finally killed me, but I would prefer that over something happening to Maverick. I’d rather be raped a million times than let anyone hurt him.
“If that ever does happen, don’t do it.”
“You know I would.”
“But it would be a waste. He would get you out of hiding and kill me anyway. Trust me on that. That’s how he plays.”
I pulled one knee to my chest and looked out the window, taking comfort in the darkness that surrounded us. It was difficult to hide in a luscious landscape like this. Headlights were visible from a mile away.
Maverick was quiet for the rest of the drive home.
We pulled into the garage minutes later, then headed inside. Now that I felt safe behind the walls along the perimeter and inside the stone structure of the house, I was exhausted. My body was so tense with discomfort because I’d spent all my energy being prepared for the seven-foot monster to jump out of nowhere.
I didn’t bother going to my bedroom to change first. I headed straight for his bedroom and let him unzip the back of my dress. Once it came loose, I let it fall to the ground and then got into bed.
Maverick took his time pulling out his belongings from his pockets. His wallet sat on the dresser along with his watch. His phone came next. In clothes like that, he looked like one in a million. With beautiful golden skin and soft eyes made of caramel, he was as beautiful as he was delicious.
He stripped off his jacket and tossed it on the armchair then pulled his tie loose. Slowly, he unfastened each of the buttons on his collared shirt until he peeled it off and revealed a tight eight-pack with perfectly tanned skin. His body was so strong, practically bulletproof.
He loosened his belt and pushed his slacks down as he kicked off his shoes. Items of clothing fell to the floor until he stood in just his boxers, his thighs muscular and tight. Dark hair covered his calves and thighs, but it stopped at his waist. His torso was a smooth surface of muscle and skin.