He rolled my nipple between his index and middle fingers.
I sighed into his mouth.
“Oh, Mav,” I whispered. “Don’t stop…”
“Tell me what’s wrong,” he growled into my mouth.
His mouth dipped down to my neck.
My toes curled and I let my head fall back.
I opened my mouth and expected to sigh with relief.
What I didn’t expect?
“My mother died of cancer when I was young,” I said.
Maverick stopped kissing me.
His lips against my neck.
His hand against my breast.
But it all stopped.
The moment was over.
With my head back, I felt the tears already filling my eyes.
Slowly, Maverick moved his lips and hand away from me.
I lifted the blanket up to cover myself.
Maverick touched me again, scooping me up, holding me against his body as he moved up the bed.
I took a deep breath.
A shaky breath.
“Talk to me, sweetie,” Maverick whispered.
“I did,” I said. “You should get it now.”
“I want to hear it.”
“You’re really trying to get to me, Mav.”
“I know, sweetie. I can’t help it. This isn’t me. But I can’t help it.”
I cuddled closer to his big, strong body.
“My mother was a beautiful woman,” I said. “She could have been a model. My father was obsessed with her. Not in a bad way. Like he… helovedher. I never saw a love like that ever again. They were good parents too. I remember my father leaving hockey to be home with us. That’s all he wanted. He wanted family. I was thirteen when she died, Mav.”
He hugged me tighter. “Fuck.”
“Fuck,” I whispered back. “She didn’t know she was sick. It was just a routine exam. And it was everywhere. By the time they found it, there was nothing that could have been done. And no matter how much money my father had, there was no stopping it. When she died, he threw himself into his work. I think he wanted to play hockey again but his body disagreed. So he went into the management side of it all. I went from having this perfect family to nothing.”
I lifted my head and wiped my eyes.