Page 20 of Maverick (Playing For Keeps #2)

QUINTON

It was well after four in the morning before Maverick finally drifted off himself.

For a long while, I just laid there and watched the two of them together.

He held Reese close, one arm tight around him while the other hand rested on top of mine, which draped over his waist. I felt each rise and fall of his chest that came with every breath.

Moonlight streamed in from the sheer curtains, playing over his tanned skin.

His dark lashes fluttered, brushing his freckled cheekbones.

Reese hummed in his sleep, stealing my attention.

God, he was just as beautiful. I don’t know how I hadn’t noticed it before.

Yes, I could admit that he was attractive, but I’d never truly taken a moment to appreciate how…

stunning he was. He complimented Maverick perfectly, all lean muscle and lithe limbs fitting to Maverick’s physique like two pieces to a puzzle.

As I watched, he shifted, stretching out a hand…

and placing it right over mine and Maverick’s.

Damn, I didn’t think it would be possible that one person could have my heart, much less two.

I dozed off somewhere around sunrise, vowing to soak up every moment I could with those two.

I woke up before both boys the next morning. With a much needed off day ahead of us, I intended to let them sleep as long as they liked. Our next game would kick off the official start of the season, and they needed their rest.

When I came out of the shower, however, Maverick was wide awake. He held Reese in his arms, giving me a sleepy grin over the top of his boy’s head.

“Go back to sleep,” I told him. “You must be exhausted.”

“And leave you standing there looking like that?” A sleepy groan, and Maverick snaked a hand down his front to grasp the bulge between his muscular thighs. “Not a chance.”

I laughed, pulling some clothes from my dresser. “Well, since you’re awake, why don’t I take you out for coffee?” He glanced at the sleeping form in his arms, so I added, “He’ll be okay. We had our time together last night.”

Maverick carefully wiggled himself free. Other than displeased grunt from Reese, he stayed fast asleep, even snatching Maverick’s pillow and cuddling it close.

When Maverick stood and stretched his arms high above his head, the white sheet fell away and revealed what he’d gone to bed in: nothing but those dark green panties.

The ones I now owned multiple pairs of because I thought they matched his eyes.

They fit him like a glove, teasing at the globes of his ass and settling right below those dimples on his lower back.

He turned around and blushed, having caught me staring. “Can I use the bathroom? Please?”

“Good girl,” I praised without even thinking. That flush across his cheeks deepened. I hadn’t expected him to ask first thing in the morning, but it gave me an idea. “Go ahead. Leave those panties on after. I want them under your clothes today.”

He tossed a sleepy grin over his shoulder as he sauntered into the bathroom. “Yes, Daddy. ”

I’d underestimated what it would be like to stand next to Maverick in public knowing what he had on beneath those athletic shorts.

I barely had the restraint to keep my hands off him.

As we stood in line for our drinks, I no longer cared.

I let my hand wander, grazing over his left ass cheek before I quickly shoved both hands in my pockets.

“Daddy…” he whispered, squirming.

I offered him nothing more than a raised brow and an inconspicuous, “Hm?”

“So mean…”

Laughing, I took our drinks and guided him out to the patio. “Did you and Reese have a good time last night?” he asked, taking the seat directly across from me.

“We did. I hadn’t intended to, but we kissed at the end of the night.”

Maverick’s brows hit his hairline. “You did?”

“Mm-hmm. I didn’t take it any further though. I didn’t want to until we had this time together. I wanted to know how you felt about us doing things on our own and needed to know that you’re comfortable with how things are.”

Smiling, Maverick hid behind a sip of his drink before he answered me. “I am—more than I thought, actually. I’m glad I didn’t chicken out that night at the club.”

“Was there a chance of that?” I chuckled.

“Oh, yeah. I never do anything like that.”

“What changed?”

My boy turned his gaze to his lap, where he fidgeted with his fingers.

“It’s hard to find guys that… share my interests.

Most of them take one look at me and assume I’m going to be the Daddy, or that they’re going to be the one wearing the—” He dropped his voice down.

“—lace and skirts. I figured that if you didn’t see me first, you were less likely to back out. ”

Oh, my heart. “Those men didn’t and never will deserve you.” Maverick’s grin relaxed into an easy smile, but he didn’t speak so I continued. “Are you sure that me being your captain doesn’t make you uncomfortable?”

“Positive. You’ve never made me feel like you’re using your position of power against me—or against Reese for that matter. I like that we’re good both on and off the field.”

Speaking of the other boy waiting on us in my bedroom, I sent a text to him then stretched my arm across the table, palm up. “Me too.”

Just like Reese the night before, Maverick accepted the invitation, slipping his hand into mine.

“How did Stetson take it when you told him about us?”

“With you? He was surprised, but he wanted to know more details than anything, the nosy little bastard.” He paused to laugh, leg jiggling beneath the table.

“With Reese, it got a bit tough, but I know that it’s only because he cares about me.

I know he’ll adjust to Reese being a part of my life again. ”

“See? I told you—he loves you, and he only wants what’s best for you. I can only imagine how you’d react if the tables were turned.”

With a deep, shaky breath, he fixed his eyes on where his thumb stroked the back of my hand. “The entire conversation made me realize something that I need to say to you, but it’s a bit scary.”

“Okay…”

Maverick shifted in his seat, picked up his drink and then set it back down again. He blew out a breath then groaned, scrubbing his hand over his face.

I squeezed his fingers, lowering my voice to avoid any listening ears. “Just say it, princess.”

“I think I’m falling in love with you,” he blurted.

When I didn’t respond right away, he rambled on nervously.

“I mean… I don’t think so. I love you. I know it’s fast, but I’ve never felt like this about anyone.

You and Reese are the first people I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last ones I think about at night.

And you don’t have to say it back, at least not right away, but?—”

“Hey…” I sandwiched his hands between my own, rubbing to cease the anxious rambling. “Breathe for me.”

Maverick closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, holding it for a few beats before he exhaled. When he opened them again, the sun had shifted, shining right into those sparkling green irises that I’d grown to…

Love.

Damn, that word slammed into me like a freight train.

Up until recently—very recently—I never saw myself settling down, but Maverick was right: When we weren’t on the field, he was all I thought about.

And after last night, I could easily picture getting to that point with Reese as well.

I hadn’t known that I needed to hear Maverick say it first.

“I love you too,” I admitted.

The tension visibly melted from Maverick’s body. “You do?”

“I do, and I think life is way too short to spend it questioning feelings like that. But while we’re admitting things, I have a confession to make of my own."

“I don’t like the way that sounds,” Maverick said, choking out a nervous laugh.

“It’s nothing terrible but…” I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth, wondering exactly how he would take it. “Reese didn’t accidentally walk in on us.”

“What do you mean?”

“I… knew you two hooked up at the beach and noticed the looks that you kept giving each other when you thought no one was paying attention.” Maverick ducked his head sheepishly, that precious flush crawling across his cheeks.

“I set it up. I didn’t tell Reese what he would find when he got there, but I told him to find me. ”

Maverick took in the words, and I practically witnessed the gears turning in his head—but he didn’t seem upset. Finally, the corner of his lip curled upward. “Thank you.”

Now it was my turn to be bashful. “What on earth are you thanking me for, sweetheart?”

“If you hadn’t set any of that up, we wouldn’t be sitting here.

I mean…” Maverick shuffled in his seat. “Me and you might be, but Reese and I would still be at each other’s throats.

I never would have given him a second chance if it weren’t for you so…

” He glanced around us, then lowered his voice. “Thank you, Daddy.”

All of a sudden, it was like Maverick couldn’t get me close enough.

He abandoned the seat across from me, instead opting to sit next to me—as close as he could.

Under the table, he kept a hand on my thigh.

The boy was showing incredible restraint, but pride swelled my chest at the fact that he’d be in my lap with one snap of my fingers.

I let him take my hand as we walked to his car and the second the door shut, he clenched the front of my T-shirt in his fist and hauled me across the console, crushing his lips to mine.

I grunted into his mouth, cupping my hand around his neck.

I indulged him for a moment, but quickly nipped at his bottom lip to break off the kiss. “Let me get you home, little love.”

“Why?” He whined, pressing the heel of his hand to his raging erection, likely only made worse by the smooth drag of silk and lace along his skin. “There’s a perfectly good backseat right here.”

“As much as I would love to take you up on that, I’ve got a surprise for you, and I don’t think it’ll last very long.”

Maverick perked up at that. “Surprise?”

“Mmhmm—can you sit back and put on your seatbelt for me? Good girl,” I added once he was buckled in.

He whined, slinking down in his seat, but I knew he would love what I had at home waiting for him.