Until yesterday, Carly and Ashton didn’t do pop-ins. But being that he’d broken protocol, she’d reciprocate. She spotted him alone on the ship’s bow. A solitary man bathed in the soft glow of the moon. She hated that he was hurting. But more than that, she hated that he bore his heartache alone.
She slipped off her heels and stepped onboard. The closer she got, the faster her heart pounded in her chest. When he hurt, so did she.
A friendship stands strong in the best of times, but a true test is how that relationship weathers the worst of times. Theirs had survived both.
“Hey.”
He turned. “Hey.”
“You didn’t finish your beer, so I brought you a few more.”
“Couldn’t stay away, could you?” His playfulness was an attempt to deflect.
“I’m not staying. I’m leaving this for you.”
“Sit your ass down. You didn’t drive over here to deliver a six-pack.”
She shrugged. “Busted.”
His tight smile eased some of the tension running down her back. She sat beside him, pulled out a bottle, and handed it to him.
He unscrewed the cap, took a swig, and offered it to her. “I’ll share.”
“Generous to a fault,” she said, and tossed back a sip.
They drank in silence, their attention fixed on the moonlit water while the rhythmic lapping of waves against the hull attempted to soothe their tormented souls. But the gentle rocking had a different effect on Carly. Her thoughts drifted to how he’d feel on top of her, their bodies undulating in time with the rolling water.
Once, she’d felt her body on his. The memory still stirred her, all these years later. During their middle school years, the snow gods had dumped two feet on the D.C. region. Sledding down the hill together, they toppled over at the bottom. They were covered in snow and laughing hysterically, until they realized she had landed on top of him. Raging teenage hormones kicked in and she kissed him. Maverick needed little prodding. He kissed her back with tongue.
“Will you be my girlfriend?”
Though she wanted to be, she liked the way things were, especially since her home life was in constant turmoil. Ashton’s mom and dad made her feel welcome and included her a lot of the time. If they broke up, she wouldn’t just lose her boyfriend, she’d lose her best friend and his family.
“I’ll think about it.” She snagged one more kiss from the cutest, boldest, and loudest boy she’d ever known.
A week later, before she’d given him her answer, tragedy struck the Hott family and Ashton’s mother was dead. He sunk into the depths of depression and Carly maintained her role as best friend. Even though he tried to push her away, she refused to abandon him. He’d been there for her plenty of times, so she stood by him through that horrific ordeal.
And she would stand by him now, too.
Maverick wasn’t balls deep in some chick because the only woman he wanted sat inches away from him. He gazed in her direction. Her beauty had become so familiar he took it for granted. Long, mussed hair, those hypnotic bedroom eyes, and deliciously sexy lips. She had a rockin’ hot body he tried not to check out. But sometimes he couldn’t help himself. The other night, he’d seen the full monty. Spectacle aside, she was packing the goods in all the right places. And her unexpected wild side was crazy hot.
Tonight, she tried hiding her concern, but she was terrible at it. Always had been. But he loved that she cared about him.
He was struggling to process the deaths of his friends. He needed to talk with someone who knew him well and would listen without trying to make everything okay. Carly was one of a handful of people who met those requirements.
“Thanks for sticking around,” Maverick said, breaking the long silence.
“You want to talk about it?”
“Let’s go inside.” He pushed off the porcelain surface and extended his hand.
When she grasped it, energy surged up his arm. He pulled her to her feet with more force than he’d intended and she crashed against him. Her moan ripped through him. He strapped his arm around her and kissed her. Like fireworks on the Fourth of July, desire exploded through him. She dragged her fingers through his hair and plunged her tongue into his welcoming mouth. Their clash of teeth and lips added to the mounting frenzy. When he tugged her closer still, she ground against him. His desire to sink inside her sent lust surging through him.
She broke away, gasping for breath. Even the darkness couldn’t hide the arousal in her eyes. That kiss had awakened him from the dead. But he needed more—a hell of a lot more—to bring him back to life.
“Oh, no,” she whispered. “That was…” Never at a loss for words, she couldn’t finish her sentence.
“Good? Bad? On a scale of one to ten?”
