“Thank you, Mav,” she told him, her voice growing sleepy as she snuggled safely against his side.

“Anytime, sug,” he whispered as his fingers wound in her silky hair.

Lying there caressing her, Mav focused on her breathing. He didn’t move so much as a muscle over the next hour as she drifted off to sleep. He didn’t want to move, didn’t want this moment to end, but his body was still pulsing and she hadn’t invited him to stay the night.

If he fell asleep and she woke next to him, he might betray that fragile thread of trust he’d built within her. He wasn’t willing to bet their relationship on it.

When he was sure he wouldn’t disturb her, he untangled himself from her arms and stood up, gazing down at her delicate face as she frowned in her sleep, her hand reaching out toward him—or at least that’s what he chose to believe she was doing.

She needed him, especially when she let down her guard. They needed each other. He couldn’t stay any longer or he might not find the will to leave.

With hesitation, he walked from the room and straight out her front door, making sure it was securely locked behind him. He had his shirt and pants off by the time he reached the beach. He left them on the sand and didn’t stop running until he was diving into the freezing cold water. It took a good ten minutes in the Pacific before his hardness began going away. Mav had a feeling it wasn’t going to end even after he took her again.

He was that infatuated with the woman.

The obsession with her would pass when their time together ended, he assured himself as he climbed from the water, his skin covered in goose bumps. But as he walked past her place to his truck, just the thought of her lying naked in her bed had him sweating and hard all over again.

This might not pass so easily after all. She might just be the one woman in the world he refused to ever let go.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Lindsey woke up with Princess’s cold nose in her face telling her it was time to get up and take her outside. She’d woken up to find her bed empty and then she’d wanted Princess—needed the dog. Even after the incredible pleasure Mav had shown her, she still hadn’t been able to sleep without either him or the puppy there.

She’d grown attached to her dog in only a few days’ time, so much so that she couldn’t even sleep without her now. As soon as she’d called the house, Stormy had walked outside with Princess, who’d run straight to Lindsey.

Lindsey had brought her inside and the two had fallen into a dead sleep. Now it was time to get up. After taking Princess out and feeding her, Lindsey showered and got dressed, all the while waiting for embarrassment to hit, or fear.

She’d nearly made love to Maverick the night before. A few weeks ago she had thought she would never let a man touch her again. Then she was crying out in pleasure as Mav had worshiped her with his tongue and hands.

But as she made breakfast, feeling ravenously hungry, the guilt and fear never came. All she felt was sweet satisfaction. Was it because she had nothing to fear with Maverick? Was it because she was selfish? He’d walked away, getting nothing from the experience, while she’d had the best sexual encounter of her life, or one of the best. Her time with him at Stormy’s wedding had been just as earth shattering.

It was all so confusing.

When his call came during the middle of her musings, a grin spread across her lips as she looked at the caller ID. There was no hesitation in answering.

“Good morning, sug. How did you sleep?”

The soft growl of his voice was a perfect way to start her day, but Lindsey didn’t want to get too attached to it. She knew this was temporary. What she hoped was that the reprieve she was feeling while she was with him would last long after he was gone.

“I slept pretty dang well, actually. You?” she replied.

“My dreams were filled with you so I would say that’s a good night.”

“You flirt more than any other man I’ve ever known,” she said with a chuckle.

He growled into the phone, which seemed strange.

“Don’t even think of what other men have done with you while we’re talking,” he told her, a teasing edge to his tone. The tiny hint of seriousness scared her. She had to be imagining that, or wanting it to be the case.

A jealous man was a man who wanted a woman all to himself. Maverick obviously wasn’t a one-woman kind of man. But it sure would be amazing if he were hers, even if only for a few weeks. She wouldn’t ask him if he was, though. That would break this spell they were under.

“What are your plans today?” he asked when she was quiet for several seconds. His voice was immediately back to relaxed.

“I’m not sure yet. My mom has left five messages in two days, so I’m thinking I should probably call her back,” she told him.

“Yes, family is very important,” he said with a sigh.

“What’s the sigh all about?”

“I just heard some stuff about my brother the other night, and it’s been bothering me. I miss the little punk,” he told her.

“I don’t know a whole lot about Ace, just the few things Stormy has told me.”

“Yeah, I’ve been trying to talk to him for a while now. He’s not even in the country at the moment. I know if he would just sit down with all of us, he would see that things aren’t as bad as he’s made them out to be,” Mav said with a deep sigh.

“Aren’t you some fancy military guy? Can’t you hunt him down?”