Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
I keep moving closer until her chest heaves with rapid breaths and her palms flatten against the door.
“Liar,” I whisper before claiming her mouth in a deep kiss.
Maven tries to push me away at first, but then her arms wind around my neck, and she melts into me, kissing me back with just as much intensity. We stay like that for a few minutes, exploring each other mouths until we finally break apart, both of us panting.
“Do you regret fucking me earlier?”
She swallows and shakes her head. “No, not at all. ”
“Is it the gun thing?”
“Yes and no,” she sighs. “I hate that you need to carry a gun around all the time. It makes what you do, your life choices, inescapable.”
I nod, understanding what she’s saying. “But it’s not just that, is it?”
She shakes her head and finally looks up at me. “No, it’s not just that. I guess I’m just afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of getting hurt. I was just deceived by someone I thought I loved. I know it’s stupid, but I can’t help the way I feel.”
I pull her into my arms and hold her close. “I would never hurt you on purpose, Maven. You have to know that.”
She nods and buries her face in my chest. “I do. I do know that. But it doesn’t make the fear go away.”
Maven looks up at me, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “I want to trust you, Wilder. I really do. But it’s going to take some time.”
“I can give you all the time you need,” I tell her before lowering my head to kiss her softly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Maven nods against my chest, and I can feel her relax into me. We stand here, just holding each other until finally, she pulls away and gives me a small smile.
“I…um, I need to go take a shower,” she whispers and pushes at my chest before fleeing to the bathroom.
I stare at the spot she’s just vacated, where I can still smell her and taste her, before my gaze swings to the bathroom door.
It's wide open. An invitation.
I hesitate for only a moment before I follow her in.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Maven
My heart beats like crazy after that kiss, or maybe it’s because I ended the kiss too damn soon. Whatever the reason, this water isn’t doing a damn thing to ease the ache between my thighs, to fight against the image of Wilder as he fucked me in my garage.
Had that only been a few hours ago?
I shake my head to clear it of the image of Wilder’s rugged jaw clenched in the agony of imminent pleasure, the way his eyes glazed over when he stared at my pussy.
No matter what I do, the images remain, and my body gets hotter and hotter, so fucking blistering that it rivals the water pouring from the showerhead.
A gust of cool air rips through the shower curtain, but even that doesn’t cool my overheated flesh. I turn and gasp at the sight of Wilder standing before me, naked and beautiful, with his huge cock on display.
“Wilder,” I gasp.
His smile gets bigger as his gaze traipses down my body and then back up to my face. “In the flesh.”
And what gorgeous flesh it is.
“What…oh fuck it. Who am I kidding?”
I push away all thoughts of what comes next and grab his face to finish that kiss we started in the bedroom.
He’s here now, hot and naked with a hard cock. That’s all I want. I kiss him for endless minutes, tasting every corner of his mouth as the hot water beats against my back.
The hot water feels good, and his mouth feels and tastes even better. Some thought lingers in the back of my mind while I savor Wilder, and I pull back with a start.
“Stop. Oh, shit, stop.” I grab his arm and frown. “You need to cover that.” Before he can stop me, I’m out of the shower and crouching in front of the vanity until I find what I’m looking for, a plastic shopping bag to tie around his arm.
“That’s not necessary, Maven.”
“It is,” I insist and cover the bandage before tying off the bag. “Better.”
Our eyes lock, and he holds me in his gaze, making it impossible to look away. He’s staring at me like I’m something more than boring, old Maven, the baker. Like I’m a sexy woman, a desirable woman. Maybe even a loveable woman.
“You auditioning to be my nurse?”
I smile. “Do I need to?” I don’t know what comes over me, but the way Wilder looks at me makes me want to be the woman he sees. I turn and pump some of the body wash in the palm of my hands, rubbing them together slowly before I rub suds all over his chest. His back. Down his legs.
“Maven,” he growls. “I’m clean.”