Maverick by Ashers, LeAnn (read dune TXT) 📕

“Thank you, darlin’.” He takes my helmet off for me, smoothing out my hair. My heart is so happy at his sweetness. “You’re so goddamn beautiful.” He strokes my cheek, staring into my eyes.

He brings his hand around, cupping the back of my neck. My stomach is in knots; his hair is slightly ruffled from the wind.

“Thank you, Maverick.” I sound a little breathless as I tell him this.

I feel so much right now, I hurt inside, but it’s the best kind of pain. He pulls me forward gently and I close my eyes just as his lips touch my forehead.

I sigh deeply, gripping his cut in my hands, face-planting into his chest. His lips move to the back of my head.

No one has ever kissed me so gently before.

He wraps his arms around me, holding me until I’m ready for him to let me go.

I run my hands down his broad back, before I let my hands fall and take a step back. He doesn’t let me go far, taking my hand.

“Let me lay out some steaks for dinner, then we can go riding.” He leads me inside of his beautiful house.

The first thing I notice is the beautiful black fireplace with the gold gate in front of it.

“I love your fireplace.”

He leads me to the kitchen, where I immediately fall in love. “Your kitchen is my dream.” I let go of his hand and run my hands over the beautiful countertop. All of that space!

One of my biggest escapes in my old life was cooking. It brought me such happiness, but it makes me even happier now because I can fully enjoy it without the fear that comes along with it.

“You can cook here anytime you want.” He runs his hand down my back, before walking to the freezer, taking out a few steaks.

Little things that are normal for most people are not normal for me. Someone laying out a steak for me is something I never experienced in my life until these last few months.

I hadn’t had a steak ever until I moved in with Jessica.

Maverick pulls out a cooler and fills it with drinks and snacks. “Do you need me to help you?” I walk over to help him.

“I got it, darlin’, just relax.”

My hands are itching from doing nothing. I stand back and let him do the work—another first for me.

I have so many of them. I’m thirty-eight years old, but right now I feel like a newborn foal trying to walk for the first time.

After he fills it with ice, he lifts the cooler like it’s nothing. His muscles flex under the strain. He walks past me and I tilt my head to the side, watching his back.

He stops suddenly and looks back at me. “Like the view, darlin’?”

I could die.

My face is on fire. I turn away, dying because I can’t believe he caught me.

I hear him set the cooler down onto the floor, and his feet come into view. “Darlin’, did I hurt your feelings by teasing you?” he asks, concerned.

I just don’t know how to be normal.

He cups my face, tilting it so I’m looking at him. “You didn’t hurt my feelings, Maverick. I just get embarrassed,” I answer honestly.

He smiles slightly. “Well, I think it’s fucking beautiful. Don’t be embarrassed about that.” He winks and I duck my head at his praise, smiling.

“You’re going to be the ruin of me,” he says unexpectedly. He seems to be as affected by me as I am him.

“Ready to go?” I nod. I text Jessica that I’m at Maverick’s and leave my phone on the counter so I don’t lose it while riding.

I follow Maverick out to the garage, where he sets the cooler in the back. He walks to the passenger side and opens the door, motioning for me to get in.

I sit inside, and he reaches around and buckles me in. How he thinks of everything, I don’t know.

He gets in, turns it on and looks at me. “I hope you like to go fast.”

Then he takes off. I fall back into the seat, laughing. I hold onto the handle in front of me.

He floors it as we go up a huge hill. I close my eyes and just feel, listening to everything around me.

He slows down and I open my eyes. “That was fun,” I say, and he laughs.

We do this for hours, driving on backroads. He shows me all of the stunning scenery and pulls to a stop in front of a beautiful waterfall.

“Want to go swimming?” He gets a wicked grin on his face.

“YES!” I open the door and jump out of the side by side, but then I stop dead in my tracks because I can’t go in my jeans.

Mavericks strips off his shirt, throwing it on top of the side by side, and my mouth dries at the sight of his beautiful abs.

Tattoos cover every square inch of his chest and belly, and his dark hair hangs around his face, slightly greying at the temples.

I have quite a few scars on my body, on my inner thighs, legs and back. No one has seen them but me.

I watch Maverick as he strips off to his black boxers; his thighs are thick and gorgeous.

How can someone like him even think about dating me? I am so mild compared to him.

I guess if I want this truly, then I just need to be completely honest. If I get serious with someone, they’re going to have to see me naked someday.

I unbutton my pants, my hands shaking as I do so. I watch Maverick’s face for his reaction.

Right now he has none. He’s just watching my movements.

My nose burns as I try not to cry. This is such a big thing for me. I am beyond putting myself out there.

I push down my pants, leaving me in my black underwear. I grip the bottom of my shirt and throw it onto the side