“Mine was such an ass. I didn’t want to repeat his mistakes. Fuck up my kids like he did us.”
My heart fluttered and my stomach twisted. “You won’t.”
We locked eyes, and the intensity behind his stare sent arousal streaking through me. Okay, this was it. This was the point of no return for both of us. Once we did this, he'd always be a part of me. I knew that deep in my bones.
We stayed silent, watching each other as he slowly pushed his way inside, his eyes flashing with barely restrained intensity. I could tell he wanted more than this. He wanted to slam home and ruin me. That primal urge to mate and breed was something even humans couldn't avoid. No matter how much we tried, most of us couldn't ignore our biological imperative.
Hormones and pheromones and everything else got all jumbled up and took over. I should know—my body was begging for what he could give me.
“More,” I whispered, reaching for his hips and digging my fingers into the flesh of his ass. God, he was all rock-hard muscle, chiseled and perfect.
“Jesus, God, Clara, you feel so fucking good.”
“So do you. Don't stop.”
“I don't plan to. Not until the job is done.”
That one word, job. He kept mentioning it. Kept bringing up that this was a job. And I knew it was important, that I needed him to remind me during this moment that he was doing a job for me. But something about that word felt . . . wrong. Like whatever happened between Mav and me, it should be the furthest thing from a job.
My eyelids fluttered close as he moved in another inch, and he growled, “Eyes on me, darlin’. I told you, I want to see it.”
My nipples pebbled, a fresh wave of arousal layering itself on top of the first one. I nodded, returning my gaze to his, and that was when he sank all the way in, bottoming out on a ragged moan. I kept my fingers clenched into the globes of his ass, unable to risk trailing my hands over the rest of his body, cupping his jaw, caressing him, even though everything in me wanted to. I wanted to feel every ridge of his tight abdomen, to trace the tattoo across his shoulder and his pectoral. God, I wanted to do it with my tongue.
He held on to my hips, thrusting deep and hard and fast, bringing back the orgasm I hadn't quite found earlier with a vengeance.
“Touch yourself. Make yourself come while I'm inside you. I want to feel it around me. I want you to milk my cock for everything it's worth.”
I shivered, and he moaned in response. But I slid one hand off him and down my front as he lifted my hips and continued his slow thrusts.
His gaze traveled down my body, stopping where my fingers were stroking my clit, my pussy on full display. The sight of his cock moving in and out of me made me pant, sending tingles exploding from my clit. He adjusted his angle so he was thrusting upward, then he pulled back down. That lit something up inside me. My pace sped as his also did, like he was watching me and timing his thrusts with each roll of my fingers. I felt him get thicker, harder—if that was possible—and he grunted out my name, followed by a warning.
“I need you to come, darlin’. I need you to come so I can. Please. God.”
I took a shaky breath at the thought of what he was doing to me.
And then, he whispered, “Come, so I can fill you with my baby.”
That unlocked something deep inside me, and I was lost. The pleasure ricocheted through every nerve ending I possessed, curling my toes, making me clamp down on him as I cried out his name. I dropped my hand, pulling it away from my oversensitive clit so I could grip his thighs and ride him through my release.
He moaned long and loud, and his cock jerked inside me, spilling everything he had deep into me. Just like we were made to do.
Mav and me.
Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I knew I was already starting to hope for when we could do it again. To think about how it might not be so bad if Maverick Wilde fucked me into oblivion every night for the next few months. How maybe not getting pregnant right away wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
And as he pulled out of me and grabbed a pillow to prop under my ass, I stared at the man who swore he wasn't the marrying kind. Who promised he wouldn't want to stay and be a daddy. But who seemed to me like the only man I might ever consider having either of those things with.
It was just my luck that the man I'd had in front of me for the last two years turned out to be the one who could give me everything I wanted. But instead, he’d leave and take everything I didn’t know I needed with him.
8
Maverick
I lay on the bed, panting and still coming down from my orgasm, my cock softening, the smell of hot and dirty sex filling the room. I had just fucked Clara Barnes like she was the only woman on earth I wanted. And honestly, that was true. Being inside her was like nothing I'd ever experienced. And maybe that was because I’d been bare, but part of me worried it was more.
I'd had my reservations, but I pushed them aside and didn't listen to them.
The truth was, I was a man. I was horny. And Clara was hot as hell.
But now, I was already in too deep. At least I ran the risk of digging myself too deep. I thought of what my brothers had found with their wives and wondered if maybe everything I was afraid of was for the wrong reasons.
Maybe I needed to give this thing I was feeling for Clara a chance to take root and grow. Maybe we could be something.
The possibility of more with her flickered to life from somewhere deep inside me. And I decided right then and there that that was what I wanted. I wanted a chance to be the man she deserved, to give her more than what she asked for. I was gonna be there. Take care of her when she was pregnant. Get her to fall in love with me, so I could keep her. Because I was stupid if I thought that the feeling I just had—the complete out of body, tingling everywhere, heart racing yearning for this to never end—was something that happened every day.
Clara Barnes was a lightning strike on a cloudless day. She was a wild force of nature that came out of nowhere. It was a one in a million chance to feel like this, and I had it right here with her.
I just needed to make it obvious that I wasn't going to abandon her. I was going to give her everything I had.
I rolled over and nuzzled her neck, murmuring softly, “You all right, darlin’?”
She sighed and didn't answer. Instead, she sat up and got off the bed.
“Wait. Aren't you supposed to stay in that position for like half an hour? Make sure everything, you know, stays where it belongs?”
She didn't meet my eyes when she said, “I’m sure whatever is gonna stay is already there. I need to take a shower. You can let yourself out. Just lock the door behind you.”
A pit formed in my stomach. What the fuck? “Are you sure you don't want me to stay? We could go for round two.”
She cast me a cold glance—detached. So unlike her, I wondered if I misinterpreted the look on her face. “No, we can try again tomorrow. Today was enough. Too many times, and it's not as effective.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, uneasiness building in my chest brick by brick.
“Yes, I'm sure. Have a good night, Maverick.”
She left the room, naked as the day she was born. That perfect round ass of hers jiggled enticingly as she headed into the bathroom, closed the door, and locked it behind her.