Page 19 of King of Pride

Then he leaned down and pressed another soft kiss to her cheek before pulling back.

Rose waited for his arm to loosen and release her, but the damn man simply kept staring at her.

She tried to step away from his hold.

Instead, his arm tightened around her waist.

His eyes darkened.

“Screw lunch,” he muttered under his breath.

Before Rose could understand what he was doing, he suddenly grabbed the cover she was holding against her body.

It slipped from her hands and fell to the floor.

Before she could react, Maverick bent down and lifted her into his arms.

Rose stared at him in surprise as he carried her toward the bathroom, her arms instinctively moving around his shoulders for support.

She barely had time to say anything before he carried her into the bathroom.

“We're going to take a bath first,” he said calmly. “Then we'll go to lunch.”

The very next second, he lowered her to the ground.

Rose stepped backward.

Maverick stepped forward.

Before she could move again, her back met the bathroom wall.

His mouth found hers once more, and the kiss quickly stole whatever words she had been about to say. Warm water streamed down over both of them, soaking them completely, but Rose could barely notice it. The heat of his touch seemed far more intense than the water running over her skin.

By the time they finally came out of the bathroom, Rose's legs felt like jelly, and she could barely trust them to hold her weight. Her body was flushed, marked with the lingering evidence of their heated encounter.

Her hair was still wet when she stepped out of the bathroom, a single towel wrapped securely around her chest and falling to her thighs.

Maverick followed behind her.

Before she could take more than a few steps, he walked over, lifted her into his arms, and carried her to the bed.

He lowered her gently onto the mattress.

The roughness he had shown only minutes ago in the bathroom was gone so completely that Rose could hardly believe it was the same man. He handled her with unexpected care as he lowered her onto the bed, and once she was settled against the mattress, she looked up at him, her damp hair falling loosely around her face.

Maverick planted both hands on either side of her and leaned toward her, his tall frame hovering over her. With nowhere else to go, Rose instinctively leaned backward until her head touched the mattress. Her heart began pounding harder at the sudden closeness, each beat loud enough to make her feel as though he must be able to hear it.

His gaze moved slowly across her face before settling on her eyes.

“Wait for me here. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Rose said nothing. Her voice seemed to have disappeared somewhere along the way, leaving her completely unable to form a response.

Maverick leaned down and pressed one last kiss to her lips before straightening. He rose from the bed and walked away, disappearing into the bathroom once again.

Rose remained motionless for several seconds, staring after him. Her heart continued to pound, and every inch of her body felt tense with emotions she couldn't understand. She had never felt anything quite like this before, and the uncertainty only made her more restless.

Then her gaze drifted around the room.