This man had burned down my trailer for making a fool of him. Fear gripped me, squeezing the air from my lungs. Fuck. This was exactly what I had been afraid of in the beginning. I thought of the fire. Of the threat he’d made over the phone when I’d told him about the baby. His fingers dug into my arm, tighter, tighter, tighter.
No, I wasn’t going to let some piece of shit playboy scare me. Anger sparked to life in my chest, chasing away the fear. How dare he touch me. Threaten me. Threaten my child.
Glaring up at him, I managed to say with a calm I didn’t feel, “Get your fuckin’ hand off me.”
I felt the weight of Charlie’s gaze. Of Ryder’s. Of Cash’s, even. But I felt none other more than, Maverick’s.
Nate’s grip only tightened, pain blooming under his touch. “What’re you gonna do about it?”
“I think she just told you to get your hands off her.” Maverick’s deep, stern voice boomed like thundering, soothing the knot in my chest. His familiar scent filled my nose as I felt him come to a stop at my side. I glanced up at him, and my breath hitched in my throat.
I’d seen Maverick calm. I’d seen him in pain. I’d seen him protective and upset. But I’d never seen him like this. Those usually light jade depths had darkened, hardened. Pure, unapologetic rage danced in his eyes and etched along the severe lines of his brutal, handsome face.
He towered over me, over Nate even, looking like some angel of death come to my aid.
Nate, to his credit, didn’t back down, but some of his confidence faltered, his words nowhere near as sure as they’d been with me a moment before. “This doesn’t concern you,friend. I suggest you stay out of it.”
His grip on me had loosened, and I wrenched my arm back toward me, but he readjusted and gripped tighter, a flash of pain shooting through the limb as he pulled me closer to him.
“You and I need to settle some shit,” Nate growled, pegging me in place with his heated glare. His hot breath fanned my cheeks, reeking of beer. I cringed, repulsion rippling through me. What had I ever seen in him?
I met his glare, my anger burning brighter, hotter. “Fuck you, Nate,” I snarled, before spitting in his face.
It was enough for him to let me go as he swiped at his cheek before pulling his hand back, a look of dark intentin his eyes.
That was all it took…The final chord of Maverick’s self-control shredding apart entirely.
He moved then—quicker than a cottonmouth. Faster than a flash of lightning. As swift and sure as a fierce flowing river.
Chapter forty-six
Take It Outside
Maverick
Iknow there wasno such thing as soulmates—at least not like the ones in Cheyenne’s books where their fates were written in the stars or premeditated by a god or goddess…but you couldn’t convince me that there wasn’t something pulling Cheyenne and I together.
She was the missing puzzle piece I’d spent damn near my whole life searching for. The way she’d come into it, the way she fit with me so seamlessly, well you couldn’t convince me that that wasn’t fate.
So, when I say I felt her gaze from all the way across the dancehall, I wasn’t lying. I forgot what I was talking about, where I was, because in that moment, all I could think about, all I could see was her.
Her long blonde curls were wild as usual, brushing her waist as she moved. The yellow long-sleeve and white suede fringe skirt she wore were a bold choice, but she wore the hell out of it—like she wore the hell out of everything. I know I sounded like a broken record, but she was gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous… The fact she was pregnant made her even more so.
Her gaze met mine, and even from across the room, I felt the heat in her stare. The silent promise in the mischievous upward tilt of her lips. Adrenaline and desire pumped through me at the unspoken promise written plainly on her face.
Until dread crashed through me at the sight of some stranger grabbing her arm.
“—Mav… Mav?” Ryder’s voice sounded far away, drowned out like I was underwater.
My vision went red, fury boiling through my veins. I didn’t know who that man was or what the hell he wanted, but the way he touched her—
Then I was moving, my boots eating up the distance between Cheyenne and I. I knew she could hold her own. Knew she was plenty capable of taking care of herself, but I wouldn't let her deal with this all by herself.
“What thefuck?” Cash’s voice sounded just a step to my right, while Ryder came up on my left.
“Who the hell is that?” Ryder added.
My gaze narrowed, anger roiling around in my chest, demanding to be let out. “I don’t know.” But I sure as hell was going to find out.
