Chapter Four
Maverick
I slept a total of three hours… if I’m lucky. Most of the night was tossing and turning, thinking about Julie in ways I shouldn’t be thinking about her, especially given her current circumstances. The woman is in pain and I’m thinking about how good her soft skin feels against my body. I’m fucking sick, and I know it. Even my body is letting me know it when I woke up with a fucking cock harder than diamond this morning.
I roll to the side, trying not to wake her, my body immediately cold from the loss of her against me. I can’t dwell on that, though. I need to jump in a cold shower and get my head together before the day starts. Not only that, but I’m sure Angie has sent the police out to City Line looking for Julie by now. I need to get on the radio and see if I can’t get ahold of her for an update.
Twisting on the cold water, I undress then step into the shower, letting the liquid pour down over me. Finally, some reprieve from the thoughts pumping through my head. My moment of sanity only lasts a matter of seconds as I remember Julie was in this same shower last night, her naked body running beneath this same water, her hands brushing down over her naked breasts.
Fuck.
I need to get myself together. I suck in a deep breath and let it out slowly, washing my hair quickly as I force myself to think of the way my grandmother used to knit hats for everyone at Christmas time. There’s a moment in that where I start to feel like myself again… until I hear her voice.
“Knock, knock.” It’s soft and sweet. “I know you’re in the shower, but I thought I’d make us some breakfast. Is there anything off limits?”
For some reason, I shake my head instead of answering.
“Maverick?”
“Oh, fuck.No. Whatever you want.” The words are much gruffer than I’d expected.
“I’m sorry. I don’t have to cook anything. I can—”
“No, please help yourself. Sorry. I was… nothing.”
She doesn’t say anything else, and I feel like a moron. Why couldn’t I just say that smoothly? I didn’t do anything wrong, but for some reason I want to run to her and make sure it’s all good. I want her to know exactly what I meant by what I said.
I lather up and rinse, trying to get my head on straight. She’s just a woman on the mountain. A woman I shouldn’t have an affection for. A woman I shouldn’t be attracted to. Amuchyounger woman I shouldn’t be attracted to.
Shaking my head, I step out of the shower and toss on the clean jeans and a flannel I pulled from the closet. I consider locking myself in here until I’ve convinced my brain that Julie is untouchable, but I figure I don’t have an eternity. My internal struggle is interrupted as I hear voices coming from the kitchen and I’m not sure why.
“Maverick!” Cody says, standing tall in the cabin doorway, looking straight down the hall, a big grin on his face. “Sorry to barge in like this. I didn’t realize you were entertaining a beautiful woman.”
I stare toward him, but don’t speak until I see Julie who’s looking back at me with a blank face. “I’m sorry. He knocked and said he needed to drop something off for you.”
I force a laugh, a little irritated that he’s dropped by considering I’ve talked about how private this place is.
“No bother,” I say. “You get what you needed?”
He nods. “And saw this pretty creature inside and I needed to know how it was that Maverick Clay landed a woman like this. Ms. Julie told me she wasn’t here on a date, though, so…”
“So… what?” I say, annoyed that he’s mentioned how pretty she is a million times in this one conversation. Like me, he’s a miner as well. We met up in Alaska a few years back, but he moved down to Rugged Mountain six or seven months before me to run a job for another guy. I guess he decided to stay. Since then, he’s had a reputation for going through women like most people go through milk, expiration date and all.
“So,” he continues, looking toward Julie, “there’re not a lot of women up here that look like you. And if my buddy hasn’t taken his shot, I’d love to take you to dinner. Maybe down at Skully’s. I hear they have live music Saturday nights and—”
“Get the fuck out,” I bark, quieting the room.
“Maverick,” Julie whispers. “Cody is your friend. I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by—”
I should stop and listen to what she’s saying, but I don’t. Instead, I stalk toward Cody until he’s backing out of the cabin and into the driveway. “Thanks for stopping by.”
“Dude, what the fuck is your problem? If you like her just say that. I’ll back the fuck off.”
I stare at him, my eyes dialed in on his. “Then fuck off.”
He holds both hands up in front of him and backs toward his pickup truck. “Get a grip, man.” He grumbles under his breath, then jumps up into his truck, and backs out of the long stone driveway and back up onto the seasonal road.
When I turn around, Julie is standing in the window watching, her gaze on mine. I can’t tell if she’s confused, if she’s angry, or if she’s wanting me as bad as I’m wanting her, but the feeling is overwhelming. The thought of Cody touching her is almost more than I can bear. And I’m not sure what right I even have to feel the way I feel. I only held her in my arms for one night, and it was supposed to be as friends, not as whatever fucked up thing I’ve twisted it to be.