“What?” she asked, his mouth and wandering hands making it hard for her to do anything but feel, especially when he lifted her to wrap her legs around his waist. The movement lined her core up with his hardness, and he didn’t miss the chance to grind against her clit. Small, controlled thrusts that quickly had her panting.
“You and me against the world.” Hips still rocking, he grasped her hair in an imitation of a ponytail and forced her head back. And then he licked her from between her breasts to her jaw in a slow, torturous line.
“I meant it,” she whispered, her heart thundering. She locked her ankles behind his back to gain more leverage. As close as he was, he wasn’t close enough. She needed more. She needed everything.
Maverick kissed her on a groan, his mouth tasting like mint and the earthy cleanness of the water and something that was all him. His hands were in her wet hair, on her breasts, squeezing her ass. He ground his cock against her, the wet slide over her clit driving her hard and fast toward an orgasm. And all Alexa could do was hold on and give herself over to the incredible feelings he was unleashing inside her. Desire. Wonder.
Love.
She loved Maverick Rylan.
She’d always loved Maverick. And she knew now what she’d hidden from herself for years—she’d never stopped. Not when Tyler died. Not when Grant made it easier to shove down and ultimately hide from her grief with trips and presents and the excitement of the way he’d chased her. And not when Grant’s touch had turned cold and controlling and hurtful.
Feeling the enormity of what she felt right now, she wasn’t sure how she’d ever thought she was in love with another man.
Because underneath it all, Maverick had still been there. At the heart and soul of her. Waiting for her to see the truth. Waiting for her to feel it.
Her truth.
I love Maverick Rylan.
The admission exploded her apart, destroying the last of her illusions and throwing light onto parts of her she’d ignored for so, so long. Emotion ballooned inside her until it was almost more than she could bear.
“I could get through anything if that was true, Alexa,” he said, his forehead pressed to hers, his hips moving maddeningly between her legs.
“It is,” she managed, her breath catching.
He pulled back, his eyes searching hers. “Hey, are you crying?”
“No,” she said, on a fast shake, despite the fact that her voice was suddenly thick with restrained tears.
“Fuck, am I making you feel pressured?”
She held him tighter with both her arms and her legs. “Not even a little, Maverick. You’re making me feel lo”—she swallowed back the word that’d almost spilled from her lips, not sure if it was too much to put out there so fast—“cared for in a way I haven’t felt in so long. You’re my silver lining in the mess that is my life right now. It all brought me back to you, and I’ve never been more grateful for something in my entire life.”
“Jesus, Alexa,” he said, claiming her mouth in a searing, exploring, lingering kiss. “I need you. I need you every way I can have you.”
“Then have me,” she whispered.
Still kissing her, he turned with her still in his arms and slowly waded back to the water’s edge, and then he carried her out. She didn’t feel the chill in the air for the heat pouring off Maverick’s body and out of his dark blue eyes. The fire had died down but still flickered low among the red coals. Next to it he’d apparently spread out her blanket before he’d joined her in the water.
Maverick lowered her to the brown fleece and came down on top of her, his hips between her thighs, his cock so close to where she yearned for him. But he didn’t take her. Not yet. He kissed and licked down her body, his tongue dragging over her sensitive skin until she was squirming and moaning and fisting her fingers in his long hair.
His big shoulders settled between her thighs, spreading them wider. He looked up her body. “I want you to say my name when you come on my tongue.” And then that tongue was right there, licking hard and firm over her clit. Driving. Relentless. Mind-blowing.
Her heart racing, Alexa couldn’t do anything but chase the orgasm barreling down on her. Hands tighter in his hair, she thrust her hips forward, seeking more of the delicious contact with his lips and tongue. He planted a hard palm against her lower belly and held her, his mouth sucking her clit deep and his tongue driving her over the edge.
“Maverick!” she cried out, her release crashing over her like a tidal wave. Her whole body spasmed at the goodness of it. “Mav . . . oh, God.”