Grinning, he nodded, loving that she was playing along. Loving seeing her happier. Because finding her in the rain the night before, her expression desolate, her voice anguished, had been a big part of the reason he hadn’t been able to sleep. “Hell, yeah, I do.”
She planted her hands on her hips and arched a brow, a blasé expression on her face. “Then why don’t you make me come?”
It took half a second for the challenge to sink in, and then Maverick was crossing the room and tossing her over his shoulder. “Oh, Alexa. Don’t issue a challenge you don’t want answered.”
She screamed and laughed, her hands smacking his back. “Put me down, Maverick Rylan.”
He swatted her butt, loving every squirm of her body against his. “No fucking way.”
“You better put me down right now!” she said, laughing harder.
“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?” he asked, enjoying the hell out of himself as he grabbed the keys for his Harley off the counter.
“Because . . . because . . . if you don’t, I’ll make you pay!”
He chuckled. “I think I like the sound of that.”
“Oh, my God,” she said, as he walked them toward the door. “What is . . . Maverick, wait.”
The change in her voice made him stop. “What?”
“Is that . . .” She twisted her upper body. “Is that a new climber for Lucy?”
“Oh,” he said, glancing at the carpeted three-level contraption sitting in front of the big window that looked out onto the pond behind the house. Lucy lay in the top level, her gaze fixed on something outside. “Uh, yeah.”
For a long moment, she didn’t say anything else. Fuck. He’d gone too far, hadn’t he?
And then her arms came around his stomach and she laid her head against his back in an awkward but awesome embrace. “Take me to dinner, Mav,” she said softly.
Satisfaction roared through him. “You bet.”
CHAPTER 16
The ride to the clubhouse wasn’t long, but Alexa savored every minute on the back of Mav’s Night Rod Special, which was quite possibly the sexiest bike ever made. The warm breeze across her skin felt like freedom, and riding gave her a totally legit reason to wrap herself around him. This man who was not only generously taking care of her, but also of her cat.
A cat climber was maybe a stupid thing to get choked up about, but she had anyway. Because it wasn’t just a cat climber to her. It was Mav recognizing that something was vitally important to her, even if it wasn’t to him, and treating it with care and respect. And that had touched her.
When was the last time I had this much fun and felt this carefree after coming home from work?
The easiness, the joking innuendos, him tossing her over his shoulder, them going for a ride. There was no stress about any of it. No right or wrong. No expectations to live up to. She had no doubt that she could’ve begged out of dinner, and Maverick would’ve been fine about it.
She could just be herself—wants, wishes, desires, needs, and all.
Which was when it occurred to her. How much acting she’d done in Grant’s presence. The masks she’d donned and the roles she’d played. Ones he’d crafted for her slowly but surely over the past five years until she thought they’d been her own idea.
She released a deep breath, imagining as she did that she was letting go. Letting go of all that stuff that wasn’t her true self. And just letting it blow away in the wind.
Before long, they pulled into the big parking lot in front of the Ravens’ clubhouse. The building still had the charm of a mountain resort even with more than a dozen motorcycles parked in front of it. Maverick parked the NRS and the engine went quiet. As she dismounted and took off her helmet, her eyes strayed to the chop shop building across the way. Maverick did most of his bike-building work in there, and she’d spent many an hour watching him. Asking him questions about what he was doing and handing him tools.
“You working on anything fun right now?” she asked.
“Always,” he said with a smile. “Although club business has been distracting me the past few weeks. I can show you after dinner if you want.”
“Yeah,” she said.
With a side nod, he gestured toward the door. “Ready?”
“Sure.” Even though she was more nervous than she wanted to admit. The last time she’d come, she’d been so upset over the fight and her injuries that she really hadn’t had time to think about how the guys might treat her. And even though she’d sensed a little wariness from Dare, he’d also been clearly concerned and ready to help her. Everyone had been kind. No one had been mean. In fact, a woman named Haven had not only tended to her wounds but made her feel welcomed, reassured, and so much calmer. So maybe she didn’t have anything to worry about after all.