The first thing I notice is the beautiful black fireplace with the gold gate in front of it.
“I love your fireplace.”
He leads me to the kitchen, where I immediately fall in love. “Your kitchen is my dream.” I let go of his hand and run my hands over the beautiful countertop. All of that space!
One of my biggest escapes in my old life was cooking. It brought me such happiness, but it makes me even happier now because I can fully enjoy it without the fear that comes along with it.
“You can cook here anytime you want.” He runs his hand down my back, before walking to the freezer, taking out a few steaks.
Little things that are normal for most people are not normal for me. Someone laying out a steak for me is something I never experienced in my life until these last few months.
I hadn’t had a steak ever until I moved in with Jessica.
Maverick pulls out a cooler and fills it with drinks and snacks. “Do you need me to help you?” I walk over to help him.
“I got it, darlin’, just relax.”
My hands are itching from doing nothing. I stand back and let him do the work—another first for me.
I have so many of them. I’m thirty-eight years old, but right now I feel like a newborn foal trying to walk for the first time.
After he fills it with ice, he lifts the cooler like it’s nothing. His muscles flex under the strain. He walks past me and I tilt my head to the side, watching his back.
He stops suddenly and looks back at me. “Like the view, darlin’?”
I could die.
My face is on fire. I turn away, dying because I can’t believe he caught me.
I hear him set the cooler down onto the floor, and his feet come into view. “Darlin’, did I hurt your feelings by teasing you?” he asks, concerned.
I just don’t know how to be normal.
He cups my face, tilting it so I’m looking at him. “You didn’t hurt my feelings, Maverick. I just get embarrassed,” I answer honestly.
He smiles slightly. “Well, I think it’s fucking beautiful. Don’t be embarrassed about that.” He winks and I duck my head at his praise, smiling.
“You’re going to be the ruin of me,” he says unexpectedly. He seems to be as affected by me as I am him.
“Ready to go?” I nod. I text Jessica that I’m at Maverick’s and leave my phone on the counter so I don’t lose it while riding.
I follow Maverick out to the garage, where he sets the cooler in the back. He walks to the passenger side and opens the door, motioning for me to get in.
I sit inside, and he reaches around and buckles me in. How he thinks of everything, I don’t know.
He gets in, turns it on and looks at me. “I hope you like to go fast.”
Then he takes off. I fall back into the seat, laughing. I hold onto the handle in front of me.
He floors it as we go up a huge hill. I close my eyes and just feel, listening to everything around me.
He slows down and I open my eyes. “That was fun,” I say, and he laughs.
We do this for hours, driving on backroads. He shows me all of the stunning scenery and pulls to a stop in front of a beautiful waterfall.
“Want to go swimming?” He gets a wicked grin on his face.
“YES!” I open the door and jump out of the side by side, but then I stop dead in my tracks because I can’t go in my jeans.
Mavericks strips off his shirt, throwing it on top of the side by side, and my mouth dries at the sight of his beautiful abs.
Tattoos cover every square inch of his chest and belly, and his dark hair hangs around his face, slightly greying at the temples.
I have quite a few scars on my body, on my inner thighs, legs and back. No one has seen them but me.
I watch Maverick as he strips off to his black boxers; his thighs are thick and gorgeous.
How can someone like him even think about dating me? I am so mild compared to him.
I guess if I want this truly, then I just need to be completely honest. If I get serious with someone, they’re going to have to see me naked someday.
I unbutton my pants, my hands shaking as I do so. I watch Maverick’s face for his reaction.
Right now he has none. He’s just watching my movements.
My nose burns as I try not to cry. This is such a big thing for me. I am beyond putting myself out there.
I push down my pants, leaving me in my black underwear. I grip the bottom of my shirt and throw it onto the side by side.
My back is to Maverick. I can’t look at him right now. I look out into the trees and spot a deer staring at us.
Hands touch my forearms from behind. “Darlin’.” His voice is deeper than I have ever heard it.
I gather every single nerve that I have, turning around to face him. His eyes are filled with anger but his face is soft, his hands tender on mine.
“Darlin’, it’s killing me seeing that fear in your eyes.” He cups my face. “One thing you should never feel with me is fear. You are perfect, darlin’. Every piece of you.”
I close my eyes, my eyes burning from holding back the tears. He pulls me to him, lifting me off the ground.
He walks into the water with me in his arms. The water is so warm. I can feel a slight mist from the fall.
I throw my head back, letting the water wet my hair. Maverick tightens his grip on me so I don't fall.
“Darlin’, can you tell me who did this to you?” he asks.
I wipe the water off of my face before putting my hand back on his shoulder.
Maverick
She stares into space for a few seconds before she answers me.
When she took off her clothes, I saw fucking burn marks…belt buckle marks, I can make out the imprint.
Rage unlike anything I have ever felt before swept through me like a tornado, but I threw that shit to the side knowing she needed me.
“I was forced to get married when I was fourteen years old. He was in his thirties,” she starts.
I run my hand down her back, letting her know she has my full fucking attention.
I’m going to store every single detail and I’m going to repay him by doing it all to him for hurting her.
She pushes her hair behind her ear, “I thought life couldn’t be worse than my home life; we had it bad there. We were really poor, but my husband Michael was evil.” She shivers as she says it.
I hold her a little tighter, our faces barely an inch apart. “I don’t want to go into details. I just can’t do that yet. But I have suffered a lot at the hands of people who were meant to take care of me.”
I lean forward, pressing my forehead against hers. I want to fucking kiss her so fucking bad.
“You don’t know how bad I want to make him pay for that, sweetheart,” I whisper to her.
She cups my face, her eyes going to my lips. “Darlin’, I’m going to kiss you,” I tell her, waiting to see if she gives me the green light.
Bell
“Please.”
He doesn’t hesitate. He kisses me so deeply. My toes curl and I press myself tighter against him, kissing him back.
My hands are shaking, burying them in his hair. His hands run up my back, one cupping the back of my head and the other holding me out of the water.
He breaks the kiss. I open my eyes and we stare deep into each other’s eyes. “Perfect.” His thumb runs across my bottom lip, swollen from his kisses.