Then there was no thought of embarrassment. A cry of pleasure escaped her as he buried himself so deeply. She truly felt they were one person. His face was a mask of pure ecstasy, which made her want to satisfy him even more.

Her body knew exactly what to do. She gripped his shoulder as she began moving her hips up and down, his thickness sliding in and out of her.

He reached up to grip her breasts, his fingers tweaking her nipples as she continued to ride him. Their panting escaped into the night, floating up to the stars as they consumed one another.

“Yes, baby, just like that,” he groaned, and she moved even faster, enjoying every single inch of his manhood as it touched her inner walls.

“Yes, Mav, yes.”

Moving one hand down to her sweet spot, he flicked his fingers across her swollen bud and she went soaring into the sky. She clamped around him, her body clenching as tremors ran through her, the pleasure too much to handle.

He grabbed her, pulling her head down to consume her mouth. She felt him pumping inside her, his pleasure heating her up.

When both of them stopped trembling, she laid against his chest, listening to his heartbeat pounding steadily in her ear, the most reassuring sound she had ever heard.

“I don’t ever want to stop this,” Mav said.

That made her own heart pump even faster. That was something she couldn’t even begin to think about right now. It was too much for her overloaded brain.

“You might just break me if we keep having this magnificent sex,” she told him, trying to make a joke, but he was in a serious mood.

“I would never break you, sug.”

His hands ran up and down her back as he whispered the sweet words. She realized he meant them. He wouldn’t ever hurt her on purpose. It just wasn’t the kind of man he was.

But he could hurt her. He could hurt her so much more than that man had today at work, and so much more than the man who had attacked her. He could break her heart in two, break her soul.

It was up to her to not let that happen. She feared, though, that it might be too late for her to stop it. The only thing she could do at this point was to love him as much as she was capable, appreciate that he wanted to take care of her now, and live in the moment.

“I wanted to stay out here until morning, so we could watch the sunrise together, but it’s getting a bit colder than I was expecting,” he said as he continued to rub her back.

“I guess it is a little cold,” she said as a shiver rushed through her.

He clicked off the fire, threw the blankets back on the bed in a heap, and lifted her into his arms. She sighed against his neck. She was perfectly capable of walking back up the path, but at this moment there was no place she’d rather be than against his chest with his solid arms around her.

He carried her to his room and laid her down. He made love to her again before he opened the door and let both dogs in to come up in the bed with them.

And that’s when she realized she had fallen in love with the man.

She was going to enjoy every minute she had left with him. And when it was time to go, she would take only good memories with her.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

What is it that people always said? That when you’re having a great time, it passes far too quickly, but when you’re in misery, it drags on? Lindsey was sure the saying was more than true.

The past couple of weeks had passed by in a blur for her. She was . . . happy. Maybe she was too happy. She and Maverick had been working nonstop on the fund-raiser by day and then spending nearly every night locked in each other’s arms. It made her think that maybe, just maybe, he didn’t want their time together to end. That’s how she felt.

It was foolish of her to want to continue the relationship, but when a person was thinking with her heart, she didn’t always make the best decisions. She had a feeling she was going to learn that the extremely hard way.

Even though Maverick wasn’t talking about the two of them ending whatever it was they had going on, the reality was that all good stories eventually ended. There was a small nagging bit of her brain that told her some things worked out. Look at Cooper and Stormy. They were in love and so happy it was almost difficult to be around them sometimes.

They were the exception to the rule, though, and she was more than aware of that fact. But if she dwelled on the negative, then she would be letting the positive slip right through her fingertips. That wasn’t what she wanted either.

Her coworker, Katie, walked up to her, looking incredibly excited. She waited for Lindsey to finish making notes on a patient’s chart and then spoke.

“I am so excited for the fund-raiser you’re throwing, Lins. There’s been so much buzz in the papers lately.”

“Yes, it’s been a lot of work, but I’ve really enjoyed doing it.”

“What are you wearing to it?” Katie asked.

“I’m not sure I’m even going,” she told Katie. Just because she was chairing the event didn’t mean she had to be there. It was a lot of fancy people that she really didn’t feel she fit in with. She was one of the workers, not one of the elite.

Sure, her brothers were millionaires, but that didn’t mean she was riding along on their coattails. She didn’t want to take advantage of anyone else’s rainbow. She wanted to make her own.

“You have to come. It’s going to be so much fun,” the very young nurse said in her usual singsong voice. “Of course, you know that, since you’ve been in on every little detail.”