“You think they would help?”
Maverick fought hard to school his features—because with one question, she’d not only agreed to marry him but also to the date. “I think you’d have a snowball’s chance in hell of stopping them.”
“That would be wonderful.”
“And then, we’ll spend our honeymoon making a baby. By this time next year, we’ll be a month away from welcoming our first child.”
Ella’s eyes grew damp, something he was getting used to. She admitted yesterday she’d had no idea she was a happy crier, mainly because she hadn’t had a lot of happy reasons to. “I want children more than I can say. I never let myself think about it too much because the more time that passed, the more it started to feel like it would never happen.”
Maverick rolled them in the bed until she was lying on her back beneath him. “I felt the same way, Firefly. The last year or so, I’d actually tried to console myself with the thought that I could get by with simply spoiling any nieces and nephews that come along. Becoming a father, making a baby with you…I can’t think of anything better.”
Maverick lowered himself, licking away the one tear that escaped and slid down her cheek.
From that point on, words fell away as body language took over instead.
Ella’s legs parted. Maverick ran his fingers along her slit, unsurprised to find she was already wet. Just as she probably wasn’t shocked by the fact he was already hard and ready.
She was the yin to his yang.
Maverick slipped inside her, burying himself to the hilt before holding there. He gave her a slow, hungry kiss, then started to thrust.
Ella’s hips moved in tandem, welcoming him on every return. At first, it was slow and steady, but soon, passion and desire took over. Maverick took her harder, faster, his fingers sliding between them so that he could stroke her clit, loving her loud gasp and the way her fingers dug into his biceps.
“Yes,” she hissed, when he lifted one leg, draping it over his shoulder, changing the angle of his thrusts. He found her G-spot, noticing the second her breathing became more rapid and shallow, a sure sign she was getting close.
Maverick wouldn’t be too far behind her. One of these days, he was going to draw things out between them, edge her for hours before watching her come undone. Unfortunately, this was all still too new. In some ways, Maverick still felt like that untried, inexperienced boy he’d been with her in high school.
Every single time with Ella felt like the first time, and he found it impossible to hold off.
Her back arched sharply as she came, and Maverick grunted, letting her pull him beneath the surface with her.
They remained just like that for a good ten minutes longer, kissing and touching and sharing the same sweet air.
Finally, they managed to rise, both in need of a shower. So far, neither of them had showered alone, and Maverick was in nohurry to see that streak end. They took turns washing each other, then he wrapped her in a towel.
Food wasn’t the only thing running low, he realized, when he reached into his suitcase and pulled out one of the last two clean T-shirts. He tossed it to her because—despite the fact, she packed some of her own clothes for their sleepover—he loved seeing her in his shirts. Once they were dressed—her in his tee, him in a pair of boxers—they walked to the kitchen for breakfast.
Their days had fallen into a pattern so comfortable, Maverick had to keep reminding himself that they hadn’t been together for years.
He scrambled up a few eggs and fried bacon, while Ella made toast and sliced strawberries. They ate together at the island, sitting side by side on the tall stools.
“Harvest time starts mid-August,” he said, hoping Ella would be amenable to sorting out her home situation before that happened.
“Oh. That’s cool. I’m assuming that’s a busy time for you.”
“It is, but that isn’t why I mentioned it. How would you feel about flying back to Idaho in a few days? I want to make sure I have enough time to help you pack stuff there without worrying about getting home in time for harvest.”
Ella put her fork down and wiped her mouth. “That makes sense. It’s just…the more time I’ve spent away, the better I feel. I don’t think I realized just how depressed I’d become. It feels as if I’m finally living again,” she added. “So, it’s hard to make myself go back. But you’re absolutely right. It’s time.”
“I hate that you had to grieve alone. But, Ella, you won’t be alone for the next part. I’m going to be beside you all the way…through the next fifty years or so.”
She reached out and grasped his hand, giving it a grateful squeeze. “Even with the risk of feeding that overweening confidence of yours, I need to confess something.”
Maverick wiggled his eyebrows. “I like the sound of this. Confess away.”
She giggled. “Saturday, I woke up in the middle of the night and realized I should plug my phone in to charge it.”
She’d been borrowing his charger, since hers was still at Edith’s.