“I can’t swim! Get Michael. Go get help—”
Mr. Collins went under again and didn’t come up for a few seconds before he lunged up, gasping, and went down again.
“HE DROWNED?” MAVERICK asked.
“We watched him die,” Delilah said.
“Who was Michael?” he asked.
“Huh?” Delilah answered as if waking from a long sleep.
“You said he wanted you to get Michael?” Maverick repeated.
“I did? Oh, yeah, I forgot about that part. I don’t remember who Michael was,” she mumbled.
“His sisters’ son?” Maverick asked.
“Huh?” Delilah asked.
“Was Michael his nephew? You said they left town,” Maverick asked.
“No. No. His nephew was a redheaded boy named Danny. I don’t know. Maybe I’m confused. I never said the story out loud like that. Ever. I never said the words until now.”
“It wasn’t your fault, sweetheart,” he said.
“Yes, it was. I made my friends go there that day. I was the one with the rat poison and the plans. I was the one that forced Queen to tell on him to the adults. She tried to save me, and I hurt her. I forced her to do something that she’s been trying to make up for all her life. Everyone said I was so brave. But I always knew the truth, Maverick. Smart and brave are two different things. Queen and Goodiva are brave. They were able to survive something so terrible and become good people. I just became a Montgomery. Money, cars, power, I thought it all meant something. What a joke. Mother Abigail was in the middle of it from the very start.”
“Tell me about Mother Abigail.” He covered them both with the blankets while she talked. She rested again on his chest.
“When I showed her that video, she didn’t seem surprised, she was prepared and ready to negotiate. Maverick, you should have seen her face. I could have had it all. She would give me anything in her power to make that video go away. My reputation, my influence in this town, even the world. She would have restored me. Made me even more powerful than Charles was. I could give Noah the best life.”
“What did you choose?” Maverick hesitated, but he had to ask.
Delilah looked up at him. She sat up on her elbow and propped the side of her face in her palm. She stared at him. “I walked to that podium, and I saw those young girls. Innocent. Like we were back then. Burn it all down, is what I thought. That’s what I did. I sent the video to everyone in the room.”
“Good for you,” Maverick smiled.
“They called security on me and threw me out. I think Mother Abigail fainted.”
Maverick hugged her to his chest and laughed. His laughter was contagious. She hugged him back with a broad smile on her face. “I told you the worst that has ever happened to me. Everything. And you laugh.”
“Laughter feels better than crying. Doesn’t it?” he asked, and he kissed her. He let her rest against his heart.
“This feels better than crying, Maverick. This,” she sighed and drifted into sleep.
Chapter Sixteen
FATHER AND SON
“Wake up,” Delilah said after a gentle kiss. They’d slept for at least three hours. Maverick didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t move. Either he was playing possum, or the man had turned into stone. Delilah kissed him again, hoping to arouse that inner lion within him that he tattooed on his chest. She got no response, no snore or groan. He lay still and silent.
“Hey? Are you okay?” she asked.
Maverick opened one eye, and he grinned. He rolled and pinned her down. Delilah wiggled and bucked her hips to throw him off. She kicked her feet as he gobbled at her neck.
“Stop! Stop! Stop! Okay, you win!” she kept laughing. Maverick did his best while she struggled to part her thighs. She could feel his erection on her leg. Another round with him would mean she’d never escape.
“Wait! Wait,” she laughed and tried to sound serious. “Wait a second! Please, let me talk.”
Maverick refused. His mouth covered hers. Delilah fused her lips together and did her very best to stop the kiss. The force of his will against hers made his mouth the greatest temptation in her life at that moment. Who would blame her if she lost control? Her pulse pounded. Hot, steamy, sexual memories flashed in rapid succession in her mind. Her vagina throbbed; it ached for more of him. They kissed. Warmth spread through her chest and sent spirals of sensations to her nipples. Somehow he knew. His tongue and moist mouth covered one, then the next. He got excited when she let him win. He gave her a frantic, raw, passionate kiss in return as he slammed inside of her with a single buttock-clenched thrust. His lips lifted up from hers, but his face remained close. He thrust his pelvis behind her with two fingers, scissoring her clit with rubs, pinches, tight twists until she repeated his name in soprano. Delilah’s pleasure reached unbelievable heights as Maverick loved her. She believed in a new reality, including a future with him, Noah, and no one else. It was the best purposeful loving she had since the last time he touched her. He wanted all of her, and he let her learn her stride. She rode his dick hard and faster than ever. When he wanted her bent over, and it was the way she went. If he wanted her on her back with her knees pinned to her shoulders as he slammed himself in and out of her, she complied. All of the acrobats fueled her sexual freedom and erased all doubt from her mind. Together they both exploded with joy and were spent. Maverick panted on top of her for breath, and she checked her watch. She’d been with him for hours. No matter how much the new reality tempted her, the old reality grounded her. She had to leave.
“Maverick?”
“Mmmm,” he grunted. “More. I know. Let’s sleep, first.”
She laughed. “No, silly, I really do have to go.”
His head lifted, and he had a dazed look in his eyes.
“Go where?” he asked.
“Back to the house. Remember, I left for brunch? It’s after ten. They are probably confused by now or worried that I didn’t come home—,” her eyes stretched. “Oh crap!” She shot up in bed. “My cell phone. I dropped my purse in the snow. “Mom could have been calling me about Noah.”
“I’ll get your clothes. I’ll find your purse,” Maverick promised.
“Thank you,” she said as he flopped out of bed, and she bounced on the mattress from his hurried departure. He wanted to be her hero. Delilah wished he understood that she didn't need one. Friendship was the most profound emotional tie she craved. Delilah took off the garter belt around her waist. She left it as a gift for him with her stockings on his dresser. Maverick returned with her dress and coat the sight of her naked sparked a predatory gleam of renewed interest in his eyes.
“My purse?” She reminded him as she took her time moving around so he could watch. When he stepped to her, she put up her hands to keep him away from her. He dropped the clothes on the bed and then pulled on his joggers before he left. “You know it would be simple if you just let me come into the house and stay with you and Noah,” he called back to her.
“Put on a coat. It’s a blizzard outside!” she yelled after him. She went into the bathroom to clean herself. Having him inside of her and his scent on her kept her caught up in her feelings. Delilah would need to be rational and in control once again. How could she sleep for three hours and not even check on Noah? It was ridiculous how giddy and lightheaded Delilah felt over her life now, considering she had almost destroyed what was left of it. She dressed and groomed herself the best she could. Her hair was just simply a tangled mess. Her face had tear-streaks and smudges from her runny makeup. She couldn’t believe Maverick would even desire her looking the way she had. She washed the makeup off, and Maverick walked inside with her clutch purse.