Some of the guys lived there, like he did, while others, like Zach, had a house. Mav didn’t need much—it was just him, and he was at the clubhouse all the time anyway, so why not live there?
“Thanks,” Stephanie said when he dropped the plate in front of her.
“Dig in. Don’t wait for me. Just take a minute to nuke mine then I’ll join you.”
When she took a tentative bite, her eyes lit up, and then she dug in with enthusiasm. In the ninety seconds his food heated in the microwave, Steph had devoured half her portion.
“Aren’t you going to eat yours?” she asked after he’d been standing there watching her eat like an idiot for who knew how long.
Couldn’t be helped. Every time she brought that damn fork to her mouth, her tongue peeked out seconds before she took a bite. It was adorable and sexy all at once and had his dick perking up in appreciation. “Yeah, getting it now.”
She nodded and began to lower her focus back to her food, but must have caught sight of his rabid hard-on because her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Then, the damn vixen licked her lips and swallowed.
Mav groaned as he set his plate down and plopped into the seat across from her at the long rectangular table. “Maybe you could cover your mouth with your hand while you eat?”
“What?” She wiped her mouth as though worried she had sauce on her lip.
“You’re fucking killing me, sweetheart. Between those lips opening and closing, and your tongue licking that lucky fork, I’m about to die. I swear if you were eating an ice cream cone, I’d have blown my load in my pants by now.”
Fork midway to her mouth, Stephanie froze. Shit, had he gone too far? Then she lowered her hand and burst out laughing. The joyful sound shot straight to his dick, doing nothing to help the now-uncomfortable large erection.
“Oh, my God,” she said once she’d calmed. “You have no idea how much I needed that.”
Mav couldn’t help but grin. She was too adorable.
“The fuck’s going on in here?” Jig wandered into the kitchen, Rocket in tow. Jig hadn’t spent much time with Steph, but as he was the one to find her tied up in the basement, he’d been concerned for her. A few times over the past two months, with about as much subtlety as a charging elephant, he’d hinted that Maverick should hunt her down.
“Well, look what the damn cat dragged in. Good to have you back, girl.”
“Hey, Jig, thanks. Good to see you, too. How’ve you been, Rocket?”
Rocket grunted. “Fine.” Then he grabbed a beer and left the kitchen.
Stephanie’s eyebrows rose. Already, with one good meal settling in her stomach, she had more color in her face and seemed to perk up. “Something I said?”
Jig laughed and ruffled her hair like she was his little buddy. Kind of surprising since Jig tended to have very little to do with women. He fucked ’em, sure, but even that was an unconventional experience if rumor was to be believed. “Rocket’s a loner. After about five seconds in other’s company, he gets hives. Just how the dude is wired.”
Holy shit. Not only was Jig smiling at Stephanie, he’d made a funny. The food in Mav’s mouth thickened into a nasty lump. Did Jig have a thing for Steph? The glob of paste in his mouth wouldn’t go down. Something must have shown on his face because Jig caught his eye, threw his head back, and laughed like a loon. Actually laughed. That grumpy fucker never laughed.
Shit, it was almost worth the ribbing that was sure to follow if it meant hearing Jig react like that.
“Chill the fuck out, brother,” Jig said. “You’re safe. Enjoy your meal.”
Stephanie tracked him with her gaze as he walked out, a wrinkle between her eyebrows. “What was that about?”
“Nothing, sweetheart.” Mav leaned back in his chair. He’d never admit how relieved he was to know Jig wouldn’t be competition. “Just club shit.”
Competition for what? He was starting to sound like a chick.
“So what’s your plan, Steph?”
She rested her fork on the edge of her plate and propped her chin up with her hand. “Not sure, really. I was floundering and just needed to get away.”
“You got a job to get back to?”
She shook her head. “Nah, I actually quit.”
“So you can stick around for a bit?”
“Looks like it.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Just gotta get a hotel.”
“Fuck that. Stay here. We got plenty of empty rooms. Hell, you could stick around for a while. I’m sure Toni could put you to work in the diner.”
Stiff as a board in the chair, she bit her lip and wouldn’t meet his eyes. Whatever she’d been up to the past two months, one thing was for sure, she wasn’t having a damn bit of fun. Wasn’t living her life. Wasn’t moving past what happened and finding things to be happy about again.