Page 17 of Maverick
“Is that what you need, Kat?” His deep voice was smooth like butter, and I fought the urge to shiver. “Do you need me to push you?”
My heart thudded in my chest. Were we still talking about the swing?
I’d centered my life around following a specific plan to ensure I’d always have control over my life. I never wanted to be like my mom who jumped from relationship to relationship in order to get by. I was laser focused on my career, and in turn, my life waspredictable. Safe. Stable. But at what cost? I came home every day to prepackaged meals and plastic plants.
In the last few weeks I’d had lunch with seniors at a biker bar, learned to shoot a gun, and taken a motorcycle ride through town. This was the most excitement I’d had in years, and Mav was at the center of it. A grin spread across my face. Did I need him to push me?
“Yeah, I think I do.”
12
Kat
“Noodle, chill the fuck out!” I shouted, burying my head under the pillow. Moonlight spilled from the edges of my bedroom curtains. The dog was barking loud enough to wake the dead. What the hell was her problem? I jolted up in bad. Did Dad slip her people food during dinner? If so, then she needed to go out—now.
I jumped out of bed and rushed down the steps, taking care not to slip as my body and brain struggled to wake up. Noodle’s barking didn’t stop.
“I’m coming, girl! Keep it in a few more seconds!” After cleaning up her puke three nights ago, I swore I’d never complain about letting her outside. My socks slid across the hardwood floor as I raced into the kitchen, and the reason for all the noise became frighteningly clear.
Noodle stood on her hind legs in front of the backyard window, barking at the raging inferno outside.
“Dad! Wake up!”
I flipped on the outdoor flood lights and jerked the door open. Noodle and I ran down the deck to the edge of the patio. Flames consumed the section of woods directly behind the house. The pigs were to the right, and the fire hadn’t jumped over the path so they seemed safe.Thank fuck.
It looked like the house wasn’t in danger of being burned down just yet. There was about hundred feet of grass between the patio and the tree line, not that the fire couldn’t jump on the grass, but there seemed to be some delineation that might keep us from going up in flames.
Noodle stayed next to me, dancing and barking on the patio. “Good girl,” I said, rubbing her head. “I think we’re safe for the moment. Let’s go wake up—”
The sound of several loud engines drowned out the rest of my sentence. Three four-wheelers barreled through the path that led to the MC.
Relief flooded my system as I spotted Maverick. We’d moved from acquaintances to actual friends after the town tour. Even to the point of making future plans to hang out. The beach was close by in the next county over, but we didn’t have time to go. He’d offered to take me before I left. Which I totally accepted so I could wear my sandals. Yep, that was my story and I was sticking to it.
He parked his four-wheeler and ran to me.
“You okay, Kitty Kat?” His brown eyes knitted in concern as he looked me up and down. “What’s going on?”
“I have no idea. I woke up because Noodle wouldn’t stop barking.”
Two giant men walked up behind him. All three wore their leather cut over a t-shirt and jeans. I looked down at my red and black flannel pants and thin black tank top. Feeling a bit underdressed, I crossed my arms over my chest.
The one with the name Baller stitched to his cut stepped in front of me, his eyes checking me out from head to toe. He had short blond hair and was built like a truck. The man must spend a serious amount of his day in the gym. A smirk crossed his lips.
“You okay there,ma’am?”
Mav’s head shot to Baller, hitting him with a glare that would have sent me running for the hills.
Baller snickered and held up his hand. “Just trying to comfort our new neighbor. Didn’t mean any disrespect.” He winked, and I chuckled. He was cute, in a boy next door kind of way. With the blonde hair and blue eyes, I’m sure he drove all the ladies wild. But he was too young for my taste. I liked my men older. With a bit more edge. And maybe a faux hawk…
“Where’s Larry?” The third guy, Blade according to his cut, spoke up.
I took a small step back. Did I say I liked edge? Perhaps there was such a thing as too much edge. Blade’s dark hair was buzzed close to his skull, and his eyes were so dark they looked black. Which was really freaky in the middle of the night with the light of a forest fire dancing over his features. He wasn’t doing anything to make me uncomfortable, he just had this aura ofI can fuck you up.
“Focus, Kat.” Mav reached an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. “I know it’s scary, babe. But we’re here to help. Now where’s your dad?”
“Oh, right.” I shook my head. “He’s still in bed. I’ll go and grab him. I have no idea how he’s sleeping through all this. Should I call the fire department, too?”
Mav shook his head. “Nah, as long as the fire stays between the fire lanes, we’re all good. We’ll set up a rotation of guys to stay until it burns out to make sure it doesn’t jump.”
