She did something strange to my insides. My heart twisted and warmed when I looked at her, and my stomach fluttered like I was a fucking pansy or some shit. And yet, I didn’t try to stop whatever was happening between us.
I didn’t want to. Not anymore. She was all mine, and now I just had to keep her.
“Tell me something about yourself, Sophie Reyes,” I said to her.
She tossed her long hair over her shoulder and popped a grape into her mouth. “Let’s see. You already know way too much about my family, my full name thanks to my mom, and what I do for work every day because you have your lackeys trailing me day in and day out. What do you want to know?”
I smiled and shook my head. “Guess I should’ve been clearer. Yes, I know things about your life, but not aboutyou.”
She fed me a grape while she pondered. “You want the basics? Like, my favorite color is black, my best friend’s name is Callie, and I was never able to be more than a B+ student in school?”
I tucked her hair behind her ear, hanging onto every word she said, and noticed she wore her hair straight rather than in her natural waves. “Did you only choose your profession because of your father?”
“For the most part, yeah. And I wanted to make law enforcement better. But somewhere along the way…” She took a heavy breath and exhaled audibly. “I realized my moral compass isn’t exactly in line with that of a normal cop. As you’ve said before, I’m not a justice-seeker but more like a woman with a penchant for vengeance.”
“I think it’s an endearing quality, actually.” My fingers moved to play with the top of her dress, the fabric stretchy as I pulled itto reveal her collarbone. I couldn’t stop touching her. I had never been a handsy person, but she was clearly changing something in me.
Sophie scoffed playfully before continuing. “Let’s see… I’ve always wanted a cat but never had the schedule to care for a pet. I have commitment issues because everyone I’ve met doesn’t understand the, as you put it, darker parts of me, yet I desperately want to find my person.” She paused, swallowing harshly as her gaze cut to mine, wide and sincere and vulnerable in a way that made me wonder—no,hope—she was talking about me. “That probably isn’t the kind of information you’re looking for.”
My hands found their way onto her thighs. “I’ll take anything you’re willing to give me.”
She sighed. “So what about you?”
What about me?
“I know I shouldn’t want this as much as I do, but here I am trying to see if you feel this, too. This is so far out of my norm that it should scare me, but when I’m with you, all the everyday noise that surrounds me just fades away. I feel off-kilter in the best way, and some weird fuzzy feeling that I think is happiness—” I stopped myself, revealing something a little too personal, so I shifted directions. “My family isn’t… well, they’re greedy, selfish people who make me look like a saint. My mother isn’t affectionate or motherly. She’s money-hungry and she supports every bad decision my father makes.”
“You’re not them, Mav,” she said softly, placing her hands over mine.
I pressed a gentle kiss to her jaw and murmured, “I know. I’ve tried not to be, but I still do bad things, and I’ll continue to do them. I’ve killed people who crossed me. I can be unforgiving, but I’m passionate and loyal.”
“I think you’re too hard on yourself. You’ve somehow snagged a cop and managed to not get arrested.”
I laughed harshly. “Not sure those accolades are worth sharing, Detective.”
She arched a perfectly shaped brow at me. “I’ve killed people, too, people who I deemed deserved it, and blamed it on them being in the line of fire.”
“Mmm, talking dirty to me, I see.” I licked from the base of her throat up to her earlobe and tugged on it gently. She moaned.
“That shouldn’t turn you on.”
“On the contrary, Sophie. Your darkness is arguably one of the sexiest things about you. Tell me all your deepest secrets and I promise I’ll make it worth your time.” I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her, long and slow.
* * *
“Kissing you is a dangerous sport, Maverick,” Sophie mumbled as she rolled over on my bed and stretched her body. “It always turns into more.”
I wiped the mess on her thighs with a warm washcloth, smirking after taking my sweet ass time worshipping her body. In fucking her. If you could even call it that, because truthfully, it didn’t feel that way this time.
“I’m not going to apologize,” I told her, my smile growing into an outright grin before I leaned down to kiss her inner thigh. She sighed, sounding happy.
“Moment of truth?” she said softly, seeming nervous all of a sudden.
I crawled to lay beside her, pulling her in so her head was resting on my bicep and her lips were within kissing distance. Exactly where I wanted her. “I only want honesty from you.”
She sighed, running her fingers over my tattoos before speaking again. “I… I don’t think this is just sex for me, Mav. It feels deeper than that. And I know how crazy that soundsbecause we haven’t spent that much time together, but this just feels…” She frowned. “Right. And yes, I know our lives are completely different, but I need to know now if you don’t feel the same way because I don’t want to invest all of myself into this like I have with every other relationship and just get my stupid fucking heart broken again.” Her chest heaved as she finally took a breath, but before I could respond, she kept going.
“That’s why I didn’t call or text. I felt so silly after one night with you. I started to freak out thinking I was the problem because I knew I was catching feelings. And even though your family destroyed mine, I kind of want you and me to build the bridge between them again. I don’t want it to be a point of distrust or contention between us. I don’t have it all figured out yet, but I don’t want to keep this from you. I watched my best friends keep their true feelings from one another for way too long, so I’d rather put it all on the line now.”
