"I want to take you into the bedroom and kiss every inch of your skin," he whispered before running his lips across her ear.
He felt her shiver against him as she sighed and leaned back.
"I'm not all that hungry," she said.
"Oh, I'm certainly hungry," he replied before turning her and taking one more taste of her lips. "But I promised you a night out first."
With that, he took her hand again and opened the door. When she stepped out and saw the limo he had waiting for her, the smile on her lips made his agony of waiting to touch her worth the wait.
"What's this?" she asked as she tugged on his hand and stepped toward the car. The driver quickly opened the back door.
"I want to spoil you tonight," he replied as he helped her inside.
"You're off to a really good start."
They got comfortable in the backseat before he poured them each another glass of wine. He leaned back, enjoying her look of joy as she faced him. She was too far away, but he figured that was probably the safer position at the moment considering his libido was revved up.
"How do you always know what to do each and every time?" she asked, a glow in her cheeks from the good wine.
"I seem to know how you're feeling and what you need," he answered. It was odd, but true.
"And how am I feeling right now?" she asked in a teasing voice.
His pants tightened as he grew even harder looking at her. The outfit she was wearing didn't hide much from him. Her ample chest was rising and falling as her breaths came out in excited little pants. Her legs were shifting as she squeezed her thighs tightly together.
There was a glow in her eyes, and her lips were moist. She was as excited as he was.
"You're anticipating the night ahead and counting down the minutes until I can strip away that sexy outfit you're wearing," he responded before drinking down the rest of his wine. He needed a lot more to keep his libido in check.
"I guess you are pretty observant, then," she said, her cheeks heating a bit more as her eyes drooped the slightest bit in her aroused state.
They arrived at the restaurant just before he lost control and leapt across the seats to devour her whole. His desire for this woman was relentless, and he feared he would never feel this way again about another.
To let her go seemed so foolish, but she wasn't his to keep-no matter how much he might want to change that fact.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
The place Maverick had chosen was small and intimate, the tables lit from above with dim chandeliers, accented by flickering candles as centerpieces. He and Lindsey were led to a table in the back corner, where they would have even more privacy.
He could most likely take her right there or, at the very least, slip his fingers beneath her skirt and make her moan into his mouth without anyone being the wiser.
The thought of doing just that had him walking funny as they were led to their table.
Pulling out her seat, he waited until she was comfortable before he moved to the other side of the table and sat, shifting around until he was somewhat comfortable. Until he was deep inside her body, he wouldn't achieve anything near relief on this night, though.
"Your wine, sir," the waiter said as he broke the silence between them.
"I've ordered ahead if that's okay," Maverick told her as he sipped the wine and nodded his head.
She took a sip of the new bottle and smiled. "It's even better than what we had in the limo," she told him. "I guess you do know what I like more than I do. I don't know if I should be afraid of that or not."
"A man who pays attention to a woman is a smart man indeed," he told her.
"Or he's a man who knows how to get what he wants," she pointed out.
"Is there anything wrong with that?"
The waiter was gone but came back again with a selection of appetizers before he disappeared once more. She took her time to think about his last statement.
"No. I guess not. I've always been around confident men," she began and his eyes narrowed.
"I don't like thinking of you with other men." The instant possessiveness he felt belied his goal of setting her free.
"I was talking about my brothers, actually," she said with a chuckle before picking up a shrimp, dipping it in cocktail sauce, and then delicately taking a bite.
"Well, I guess that's okay, then," he told her. "Your brothers are certainly protective of you."
"Yes, they always have been. That's what happens when you're the only girl out of six children. My poor mother said I was her last chance to get a girl. She loves each of us so much, but she'd wanted a girl for so long. She'd threatened my father that if I was another boy, she was moving away," Lindsey told him.
"I can imagine it would feel slightly overwhelming to be in a home with nothing but testosterone all day," Mav said.
"Yeah. She said she'd always wanted a large family, but she'd planned on only four children. Then when Erik came out, another boy, she got pregnant again hoping for a girl. Of course, she had Seth next, and she told my father her family was full. I was actually an accident. She got pregnant before my father was able to go in and take care of permanent birth control. He did it, though, while she was pregnant with me. She didn't get an ultrasound, saying it would be bad luck. Dad said she cried tears of joy for three days straight when I came out with the right parts."
Mav smiled at her impish look. "It looks like you saved your mother's sanity," he told her. He didn't comment on the fact that she had indeed come out with all the right parts.
"She might have regretted her desire to have a girl, though, because I was a terror child. I started walking at eight months, running at a year old, and I didn't slow down until I hit twenty-one. I got in more trouble than all of my brothers combined," she said.
"Why is that?" he asked.
"I felt I had to prove myself, I guess," she said with another chuckle. "My brothers were huge and everyone loved them. They played sports, had all the girls drooling over them, and were the teachers' pets. I wanted to stand out, and I was never as good as them, so I found other ways to do it."
He was shocked by her statement. Reaching across the table, he took her hand and tugged, getting her to look at him.
"Never say you aren't as good as anyone," he commanded. "You're beautiful, intelligent, and have a huge heart. We all make our own way in life any way we can. Don't doubt for a moment that you are special."
Her eyes shone as she met his gaze. "You've done wonders for my ego, Maverick Armstrong. I'm so glad you decided to make me your mission, even if I was ready to throttle you for it at first."
"This has been more than a mission to me, you know that, right?" he said as his thumb caressed the back of her hand.
"We're friends," she said. He wanted to deny her words. "Friends that have found a pretty smoking hot chemistry in the bedroom," she added.
"There's more to us than that," he said, feeling agitated.
"Let's not focus on that, Mav. Didn't you tell me that tonight is about romance?" she pointed out.
He wanted to argue more with her, but wasn't she right? This night-this entire week, actually-was about him giving her a wonderful time before their time ended. Why was he mad when she was saying the exact same thing?
Maybe because he was having such a difficult time letting her go.
He needed her to walk away from him feeling stronger, more beautiful, and ready to face the world. How was she going to do that if he refused to let her go? She couldn't.
She tugged on his fingers and there was worry in her eyes.
"Are you okay, Mav? Something feels a little off tonight."
He needed to add to her list of qualities that she was incredibly observant.
"Of course," he said, before shooting her the smile she'd told him made her knees go a little weak. "I'm with you, so the night couldn't be more perfect."
He pushed down his odd emotions. They weren't necessary. What she needed from him tonight was his full attention, to be left with only good memories from their time together.
"You're such a smooth talker," she said as the waiter approached.
"I didn't order the main course. Think I can guess what you'd prefer?" he asked, making sure his voice was light.
"So far, you've been spot on, Mr. Armstrong. Let's see if you can keep it up."
She pulled her fingers back as she sipped on her wine and had another piece of shrimp. Mav spoke to the waiter. He was so unfocused right now, it was hard to be away from her touch. It was almost as if she were grounding him to the Earth.
That was a ridiculous notion.
For one thing, he didn't want to be grounded. He was happiest when he was high in the sky, flying at top speeds, only a contrail behind him to show the path he'd just taken. For another, they were good together but didn't need each other to survive.