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Chapter Twenty-Five

MALLORY

T he warmth surrounding me feels so nice that I snuggle back into it, imagining that I’m back at home in my comfy bed. I wiggle my ass back, and it brushes up against something hard, which makes me frown, and then steel bands wrap tighter around me. I let out a gasp, my eyes flying open, and light blue wallpaper greets me. My eyes sweep down my body, and the sight of tan arms gripping me has my stomach swooping and the memories from last night swarming my mind. I snuggle deeper into Maverick’s embrace, grinding my ass back against what I now know is his hard cock. He lets out a grunt, squeezing me in warning, which has me giggling softly.

“If you don’t stop, I will fuck you right here, and I don’t have any problems with your friend being nearby.” He growls in my ear, and it makes me laugh out loud until a pillow is launched at us from behind, smacking me in the side of the head.

“Ew, please don’t fuck her in front of me!” Rue’s voice whines behind us. A chuckle escapes me as I roll over to straddle Maverick’s waist and grind against his pelvis, my hands clutching at his T-shirt. “Mal, seriously!” Rue’s foot stomps against the ground, and her arms are crossed over her chest. My eyes lift to hers with a mischievous glint. We stare each other down until both of our eyes start to well with tears. I bolt off of Maverick’s body and launch myself at Rue, wrapping my body around hers like a baby monkey. Her laugh is thick and full of emotion as she hugs me back. “I fucking missed you, Mal.” Rue’s voice cracks, sending me into a crying mess. We eventually end up on the floor in a puddle of tears and limbs. “How did you meet that asshole?” She asks with a smirk, her thumb hitching behind her to point at Maverick, who is lounging sleepily on the makeshift bed.

“It’s a long ass story, Rue.” The memories of our first meeting flit through my mind, and it makes me cringe.

“Well, good thing we have nothing but time now then.” She says with an arch of her eyebrow, her arms crossing over her chest.

“Do you remember Chad? From our chemistry class. He would hang out with a Jake and Derek?” She eyes me with confusion until the pieces slip together.

“God, yes, I remember them! They were such creeps, always staring at you from afar, and Chad asked me out once.” She shudders with a puke face as she recounts that awful moment.

“I went to that party and shit hit the fan… I got lost in the woods, fell down a fucking hill, and knocked myself out, Rue! When I woke up, those three were surrounding me. They took me to a cabin in the middle of nowhere, and they… they uh…” I struggle to say the words because they still put a bad taste in my mouth.

“She was trussed up in nothing but those pink sparkly heels, tied between two trees. Damn, she was a vision with tears streaming down her pretty face. They were going to do unthinkable things to her, so I killed them.” Maverick’s voice floats through us, startling Rue; his eyes are locked on mine with intense possession. “I’d say that I saved her from impending doom, but my intentions were purely selfish. I wanted her all to myself.” He says with a smirk marring his handsome face.

“Awe, that’s so sweet it makes me want to barf.” Rue says with a laugh, so I punch her in the arm, and she sends me a look of mock hurt.

“He’s been good to me Rue… better than anyone else.” My cheeks turn bright red, and I glance up at Maverick with shyness.

“Okay, but, he’s a killer, Mal. He isn’t a good man.” She says, not even caring that Mav is lying a few feet away from us.

“I know. He’s told me everything. He may not be a good man to everyone else, but he’s a good man to me, and that’s all that matters.” The look in my eyes must convey my seriousness because Rue reaches over and pulls me into a tight hug.

“Okay, fine, I guess I can be nice to him. For your sake.” She says with a roll of her eyes. “I’m going to go check on Ghost.” She squeezes me one last time before hopping to her feet. I give her the “we are talking about this later” look as she saunters towards the door. “Yes, Mal, I’ll tell you all about it later. I promise.” She blows me a kiss before disappearing outside.

“Come here, Pet.” Maverick motions for me to come to him, so I hop to my feet. “Nu-uh, baby, crawl to me.” He says with a smirk on his lips. Immediately dropping down to my knees, I crawl to him in a way that I am praying looks sexy. “Good girl.” He says, when I reach him, his hand reaching out to cup my cheek, bringing me in for a searing kiss. His forehead leans against mine as he says in a whisper that breaks my soul to pieces, “I thought I fucking lost you Mallory…” His voice cracks, and the look I see in his eyes is one that I have never seen before, it's both thrilling and terrifying.

“I will always find my way back to you, Maverick.” I whisper, my lips brushing against his own.

He pulls back away from me, both hands clutching the sides of my face, his eyes shining with emotion as he says, “I love you, Mallory. You will forever be my good little, Pet.” A smile curves his lips, and I launch myself at him, smashing my lips against his in a violent kiss. His hands grip my waist, pulling me on top of him, and I go willingly, molding my body to his. My hands clutch at his chest, thighs straddling his waist. His own hands drift up the back of my shirt to splay against my bare skin.

“I love you too, Master.” I say once we have broken apart for much-needed air. The mischievous smirk that he gives me, sends my head into a tailspin. He pulls me closer. How that’s even possible, I have no clue, but before he can get what he wants, I leap off of him like he’s on fire. “I don’t think so, mister, we need to get up, or they will think we are up to no good.” I flash him a smirk as I slip my boots on and head to the door. I can hear him groaning the entire time as he rustles around behind me.

I walk out into the crisp morning air and see Rue smashed up against the side of the RV, her legs wrapped around Ghost’s waist as his hands clutch onto her ass. I clear my throat, and her head whips towards me, growing redder by the second. She curses under her breath, wriggling out of Ghost’s arms. “It’s not what it looks like!” She says, feigning innocence.

“Don’t let her lie to you; it’s exactly what it looks like.” Ghost says as he slaps Rue on the ass, making her squeal in surprise. “Where’s Maverick?” His question is punctuated by the RV door slamming open and the grumpy bear himself clambering down the steps.

“I’m right here, asshole.” He grumbles as he sneaks up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I lean back into him, soaking up the love and warmth his body is exuding. “So, what now?” He directs his gaze towards Rue and Ghost as he lays his chin against the top of my head.

“I guess we head towards Florida to find Oasis. Maybe we can find Noah along the way…” Rue’s hopeful voice drifts off as a frown crosses her lips. “But first we should probably get you guys some new clothes because you fucking smell.” Her nose wrinkles in disgust, pulling a full-on belly laugh out of me.

“Hey, we almost died in the swamp! Sorry that we don’t smell like fucking roses.” I say with a roll of my eyes.

“Okay, then it’s settled. Let’s just drive and hope we find somewhere to stock up on necessities. Or better yet, somewhere to fucking shower.” Ghost says with a laugh and a shake of his head. He grabs Rue’s hand pulling her back towards the RV, and we all pile back in. “There’s some snacks up in the cabinet above the sink. It’s not much, but it will do until we can find something else.” He gestures to the cabinet, and Maverick immediately walks to it and pulls out several packs of nuts, granola bars, and bottles of water before handing them out to everyone.

Rue and Ghost head towards the front, where Ghost plops down into the driver's seat, starting the engine, and Rue makes herself comfy in the passenger seat. Maverick and I pile back into our makeshift bed, both still exhausted from the previous days. After eating our snacks, we both conk out for hours, not waking until Ghost and Rue are rousing us awake. We stumble out of the RV after them, a strip mall laying out in front of us.

“Why don’t we split up? Me and Rue will go towards the camping store to stock up on necessities. Looks like there's also a gym down at the end on the right that we will hit the showers in if they still work. Maverick, you and Mallory go find some new fucking clothes and also hit those damn showers. Fuck, I hope they work.” Ghost grumbles as he drags Rue away towards the camping store.

Maverick and I waste no time darting towards the nearest clothing store. We are thumbing through the racks, grabbing various items, when Maverick sneaks up behind me. “Look what I found.” He says slyly, holding out a pink shirt covered in orange butterflies. I squeal, grabbing the shirt and holding it to my chest. “That’s the one that got ruined at the last mall, right?”

“Yes! Maverick, how did you find this?” I squeal as I throw myself at him for a tight hug.

“Just luck, I guess.” He says, chuckling. “Do you have everything you want?” He waves at my pile of clothes, and I give him an enthusiastic nod. “Great, let’s go fucking shower now.” He grabs my hand and leads me out of the store and straight to the gym down the road. As we approach the doors, Rue and Ghost are walking back out, both donning clean skin and wet hair.

“They work! And it’s hot water too!” Rue squeals in delight towards me and waves us on. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She says with a wink as we disappear through the doors.

Maverick drags me towards the back wall where a shower sign hangs. He picks the largest stall, pushing me back into it and locking us in. Our clothes end up on the floor in record time, and we in fact do everything that Rue would have done. By the time we leave the shower, our muscles are relaxed and we are sparkling clean. Maverick helps me wash my boots off, and we both grab our things and head back to the RV hand in hand. By the time we get there, the sun is starting to set, and Ghost and Rue are huddled over a map on the floor.

“So, we’re going to Florida now, right?” I question as I plop down next to Rue. She leans over and points at a spot on the map, turning to me before speaking.

“Yeah, so we are here right now, and we need to go… here.” She says as her finger sweeps over the map, pointing to a spot circled and labeled Oasis. “Seems like a long trip, but I think we can do it in less than a week if we take turns driving. Ghost already filled up our gas tank and extra jugs while you guys took your sweet time in the shower.” She says with a chuckle.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go, and I call being the DJ!” I screech as I run towards the front of the RV. Rue runs after me, and we both fight for the passenger seat, but I win in the end. “Ha, you snooze, you lose!” I say as I reach towards the black CD case that’s tossed haphazardly onto the floor, flipping through the old early 2000’s disks displayed, I stop on one, my face breaking out into a huge grin. I pull the CD out of the sleeve and shove it into the CD player, and the song Womanizer by Britney Spears blares through the speakers. Everyone behind me groans in annoyance, and it just makes me laugh harder. I settle down into the seat, and Maverick moves towards the driver seat, kissing the top of my head as he goes. Sweeping my gaze over everyone in the RV, my heart is filled with warmth and the feeling of safety as I think of the journey we have ahead of us.