Free Rules of the Ride: A Silver Star Ranch Novel by HJ Bellus Page B

Maverik.”
    Tears roll down my cheeks and my body goes into an automatic shudder that it seems to have been in the last week.
    “Stop.” Maverik places both of his hands on my cheeks and forces me to look up at him. “This isn’t us. Let’s just be us.”
    I nod my head and force the tears down as best as I can. His thumb begins rubbing small circles on my cheekbones, suddenly calming my nerves and instantly relaxing me.
    “Us,” I repeat.
    “Us. And when you leave, I want answers.”
    The word answers and leave stir up a storm of anxiety and uneasiness in me again.
    “But now, it’s us.”
    Maverik sweeps me up in his arms, cradling me like a newborn baby. An eruption of laughter escapes me as he marches toward my room and enters through the open door.
    “I need you,” he growls down into my ear.
    My arms wrap around his neck and pull him down closer to me. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this and you, Maverik Slatter.”
    I don’t wait for him to make a move or say another word before I attack his lips. I capture him and waste no time delving into his taste. My whole being freezes for an instant when his sweetened divine scent and taste hit me like a wrecking ball.
    My back is pressed back on the mattress, and when I open my eyes, I see Maverik laying me down still connected to my lips, and that’s when his delightful tongue takes a lingering sweep across the front of my mouth. I moan out loud at the sensation.
    Then the race is on as our hands frantically grab and grip onto everything possible. An unmistakable explosion of passion and longing fill the tiny hotel room. A breathy moan escapes me as I feel Maverik’s fingertips delicately trail under the elastic top of my shorts.
    I pull harder on his shoulders, trying my best to seal us together. I want nothing between us, and also for this sensation to live on forever in my memory—the moment Maverik Slatter reigned over my body, mind, and soul again.
    He settles deeper between my legs as he captures my bottom lip and slightly tugs on it. I giggle and peer up into his deep brown eyes and then grab onto his hat and toss it to the side.
    My hands roam over his tightly shaven head while my tongue licks and tangles with his. The beat of his heart thunders against my chest as a low whimper escapes him and I can’t help but smile. His lips match my upward motion.
    “Enough of this shit.” Maverik sits up on his knees.
    “Always the romantic.” I grin up at him and twirl a single strand of hair.
    I study each of his movements as he grasps the hem of my tank top and slowly begins inching it up my midsection. With one hand, he begins tracing his name on my side, and I don’t miss the mist covering his eyes as he does.
    “I love you, Maverik.”
    He pauses for a moment and then pulls my tank top up and over my head in one fell swoop and then removes my bra even quicker and with more determination. I whimper when his lips touch my flesh. My brain goes into overdrive while the entire room spins, throwing everything I ever knew to be true straight out the window.
    His lips graze the tip of my perked nipple, causing me to whimper and buck up into him. Reaching down and concentrating, I fumble to undo the buttons of his shirt. He moves to the next nipple as I slip his shirt from his shoulders, my nails sinking into the flesh there as he ravages me. The pain is blinding and soon turns into a blossoming pleasure. I buck up into him and begin to scream out his name as I feel a blissful peak begin to bloom.
    “Not yet, Ella,” Maverik says between gritted teeth.
    “I can’t stop it.” Each word comes out as a moan as the pleasure becomes stronger than any other sensation.
    When Maverik slides his hand down the front of my shorts, I lose all sense of time and space as I let go with the safety of him covering every single inch of me.
    My chest heaves up and down as my long hair covers my face. I try my best to regain control, move, or at least talk.