He blows out a breath. “I think so. Or at least it’s starting tofeel that way. I think I also didn’t want to ask because if her answer had been different, all that guilt I’ve been holding on to would’ve been even heavier. But I’d been spinning all these worst-case scenarios, and it felt like they were eating me alive.Fuck. This got heavy real fast.” He shakes his head. “Anyway, things are better, and that’s what’s important. And now I’m here with you, which is the icing on the cake of this holiday.”
I let it go for now, not wanting to push him, but relieved that there’s finally been some healing for him where his sister is concerned. “What else did you do? Did you spend a lot of time with the rest of your family?”
“Oh yeah, my grandparents came to stay with us for a while, so the house was basically a zoo. My Gram-pot is pretty awesome.”
“Gram-pot?” I must have heard that wrong.
“Yeah. He’s a chemist. Spent his career developing medical marijuana strains. He snuck me a couple of cookies without my dad knowing—you know, ’cause they perform random drug tests when you play on the school teams.”
“And your dad wouldn’t like that, obviously.”
“I could get cut from the team if they found out, and potentially lose my shot at the NHL. Weed is pretty tame, but they still don’t want us putting that stuff in our bodies.”
“But you took the risk?” It’s a bit shocking how cavalier he is about it.
“I needed the escape from my head and drinking myself into oblivion didn’t seem like a good alternative. One cookie isn’t going to stay in my system that long. It’s more if it becomes a habit that it’s a problem. My younger brother smokes a lot, but he’s not interested in a professional football career, so he’s not too worried. And he needs something to mellow him out.”
“Should I be worried that you needed a cookie to escape your head?”
He gives me a sidelong glance. “Wait until after we’ve fucked each other into next week before you start psychoanalyzing me, Clover.”
I bite his knuckle.
“You wanna use those teeth anywhere else, you know you’re more than welcome.”
I glance at his crotch, which has a prominent bulge. “I’m sure there are places you don’t want me to use teeth.”
“Well, not like—” He gnashes his together a couple of times. “But a light, teasing graze is always welcome—more like when I nibble on your clit.”
I groan and cross my legs, the memory of his mouth between them causing everything to clench. “How much longer until we’re in Pearl Bay?”
“About twenty minutes.” A smirk tips the corner of his mouth. “The center console is a pretty crappy obstruction. Otherwise, I’d offer to stick my hand down your pants.”
I bark out a laugh, then bite my lip and glance between Maverick’s face and his crotch. “I could stick my hand down your pants, though.”
His top lip curls. “I appreciate the offer, sweetheart, but I need to keep my attention on the road, and if my cock is in your hand, I’m going to be hella distracted. You could put your hand down your own pants.”
“Hmm.” I tap my lip. “Now that’s a good idea. Then maybe we can skip some of the extensive foreplay and get to the good stuff faster.”
Maverick makes a face. “The foreplay is the good stuff.”
“You trying to pound the demons out of my vagina is the best part, though.”
He cringes. “That sounds awful.”
“It doesn’t feel awful. In fact, it feels the opposite of awful.Orgasmic, even.” I use my phone to light up the center console. “Where’s your wallet?”
“In my pocket, why?”
“Because if I’m going to fuck my own hand, I’m going to need that little packet of lube you always carry around with you.”
“How do you know I always carry it with me?”
“I’m assuming. And while I don’t normally do things like that, based on how much time you spend on foreplay, I sense that you probably restocked your wallet as soon as you got home.”
“I actually didn’t restock it right away. In fact, I didn’t restock at all until yesterday when I realized I was running out of time to pick up all the things I needed for tonight.”
I hold my hand out.
