Stephanie had wandered far into unfamiliar territory without any map to guide her.
“Hey, ladies, look what I found.” Maverick stood in the doorway with a giggling Beth hanging over his shoulder. One arm was banded across the little girl’s legs, keeping her in place, and the other, the one wrapped in thick bandages, covered his eyes.
“Hi, Mommy. Hi, Miss Stepaknee,” Beth said through the giggles.
“Hi, baby. Mav? Why are you covering your eyes?” Shell asked.
“Wanted to give you ladies a chance to get your clothes back on and pick up all the feathers from the pillow fight before I brought my sexy self in here. Last time I walked in a room where there were two naked chicks—”
“I think we get the picture, thanks.” Shell shot off the bed and grabbed her daughter. “And I hate to burst your bubble, stud, but no clothing was removed in the making of this room.”
Maverick lowered his arm. “Oh, come on, Shell, can’t you just play along? Fuel my fantasy of you two hopping around, ti—?”
Shell cleared her throat and inclined her head toward her daughter who was in her arms and beaming at Maverick. “Little ears, Uncle Mav.”
“Uh, Beth, Uncle Rocket was just in the kitchen eating a cookie,” Mav said with a smirk.
The girl squealed and practically dove out of her mom’s arms, throwing the bottle of water on the floor. She took off like a track star once again.
“Tits bouncing while you swat each other with pillows,” Mav continued without missing a beat. “And then you’ll inadvertently bump into each other.” He let out a dramatic sigh. “Want to hear this rest? This is where it gets good.”
Stephanie couldn’t help but laugh. Maverick wasn’t like any man she’d ever been around. He was funny, outrageous, and a completely unapologetic flirt. She never knew what was going to come out of his mouth, but it was guaranteed to make her laugh and blush.
Shell rolled her eyes, obviously much more accustomed to Mav’s brand of uncouth humor than Stephanie was. “You know, the only thing keeping me from smacking you is all those injuries. I’m off to find my child before she gets too sugared up. You need anything at all, Steph, just come find me. I’m working tonight, but I’ll be here until about five.”
Maverick frowned. “Copper say you could go to work tonight?”
Some of Shell’s light dimmed.
“Copper doesn’t get a say, Mav,” she said before giving him a peck on the cheek and disappearing into the hallway.
“Bet you twenty she doesn’t go to work tonight.”
Stephanie had seen Copper, and she’d seen his eyes on Shell in the central area of the clubhouse earlier. No way was she fool enough to take that bet. “Think I’ll wait until I have a shot at winning.”
“Smart woman.” He stepped close, so close he was right up in her personal space, practically chest to chest with her. Well, chest to stomach if she was honest. He had quite a few inches on her. As though he’d pushed some sort of power button, her body flared to life. Heat rushed to her face and her core. Both nipples puckered like they were trying to close the small gap between their bodies, begging for contact and relief from the developing ache.
Jesus, this man was potent. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who thought so if his whispered reputation was true. Not that it mattered. Nothing was going to happen now or ever.
Criminal meet FBI agent.
“How are you feeling?” he asked as he slipped his hand into her un-casted one.
“Truth?”
“From you? Fuck yes. Always.” His gaze was intense, penetrating as though he was going to look through her to determine if her spoken words were accurate.
“Sore.” She shrugged. “A little overwhelmed. A little cheated.”
“Cheated?” He tilted his head, and she felt the draw to him like a fly to a spider’s web.
“Maybe cheated isn’t the right word. More like unsatisfied?”
He snorted. “Unsatisfied, huh? Well, baby, I can cure that for you in under ten minutes.”
Oh, lord, what had she said? Her skin heated for an altogether different reason this time. “That’s not at all what I mean.” Liar. “I mean…I was unconscious when it all went down. I missed the bad guys losing and the good guys winning.” And she had zip to report to her superiors.
Crazy world when she was calling members of an outlaw MC the “good guys.”
He lifted her palm and rubbed his lips over the center of the sensitive skin before nipping at the pad of her thumb. Her knees went liquid and she almost swooned. Swooned, like some kind of eighteen-hundreds southern bell. What the hell was this man doing to her body?
And her brain.
It was just him. Affectionate. Flirty. He had his pick of slutty woman any day any time. The flirtation was a meaningless habit, and she needed to get her reactions in check.