Saving Maverick (16 page)

Her reaction was sweeter than he imagined. She screamed his name. He couldn't hold back his grin. His name on her lips was the sweetest sound he'd ever heard. Kelsey begged him to keep going and who was he to tell her no?

After
another orgasm where he thought he'd come as well, she reached for his head, pulled him up to her chest. “Condom. In my skirt.” She panted. “I . . . oh, I need you inside me. Now.”

“Sssh. I've got my own.” He reached into his side table and made quick work of rolling it on. His hands shook. She did this to him. Made him feel nervous like a randy teenager with his first girlfriend.

Maverick pulled himself up on shaky forearms and positioned his body at her entrance. “Baby, you are so beautiful when you come. I need to hear you scream my name again.” He kissed her breasts, nipping each bud in turn and guided his swollen cock inside her.

“Yes.” Kelsey groaned and lifted her hips to greet him. “Yes. Oh, Maverick, you feel so damn good.”

Her throaty voice pushed him to the edge. He couldn't hold back. Maverick thrust in and out of her hot, wet channel over and over. His own orgasm built but he wanted to hold it off. He wanted her to come one more time. He flipped her over onto her stomach and growled into her ear. “Hands and knees, baby, I want to make this last for us.”

Kelsey lifted herself up and glanced back at him, her half-closed eyes urging him on.

“Shit, keep looking at me like that and I'm going to lose it all over your back.” She gave him a wink and opened up her legs giving him better access to where he needed to be.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and entered her from behind. Her pussy clenched hard on his cock as he started a slow rhythm to prolong their ecstasy. He pumped in and out of her and felt her juices bathe him.

She
threw back her head and moved her hips in time with his. His orgasm exploded and shudders racked his body. He grinned as he heard Kelsey calling out his name. Fuck, he loved that.

He placed his head on her shoulder and eased her down on to the bed, holding her tight as they both rode out the waves of completion.

“That was . . . I have no words.” Kelsey snuggled up against him. She dropped kisses along his shoulder and arm and trailed her fingers along his lower stomach and back up to his belly button where she dipped a finger and tickled him.

“Oh!” Kelsey shouted.

“What?” Mav shot up a frown on his handsome face.

“I totally forgot the whole reason I came over here.”

“Oh, I don't know. I think you handled yourself pretty well.” He tickled her ribs and pulled her back toward him. “Maybe I should make you forget again, hmmm?”

She grinned at Maverick and wound her hands slowly up his arms. His muscles tensed at her touch. She felt powerful and desired. She could get addicted to him if she wasn't careful.

“Paperwork. The Children's Club. Need to fill it out—later.”

“Anything you say. Just do me one favor?” he asked.

“What's that?” Kelsey sighed as his hand snaked between her legs.

“One more time,” he said. His lips captured her ear and he blew a puff of air before he suckled her lobe. She arched her back and moaned. The man had talents off the field too. And she wanted to learn them all.

She
looked into his eyes and melted. This gorgeous man wanted her. He was a player. And she didn't care. She was through being cautious. Done with the worry of what others would think of her.

She was walking into this with her eyes wide open, and unlike a rookie at his first big league at-bat, there was no way she'd get caught looking.

Chapter 18

Maverick was on his way over to the Children's Club to meet with the director and some of the kids, but he couldn't dispel the image of Kelsey in his bed, beneath him, totally undone by his loving. Hard to believe that was yesterday. He was still in awe that someone like her, smart, professionally adept, and so damn sexy would want to be with him.

He had followed the director around, only half listening, and realized that the man had to repeat himself. “How about we start with a meet and greet? Let the kids ask you some questions and get the stardust out of their eyes before we see where you'd be a good fit?” Sam asked Maverick.

The facility still had that new smell having opened under a year ago. One thing Mav picked up right away was how this community pulled together when the chips were down, especially when it came to the kids who needed it most.

“Sure, no problem. That's why I'm here.” Maverick looked for any signs of censure in the hulking director's face. Maybe he didn't pay attention to or watch the local news and hadn't seen the photo being paraded around on social media. Unlikely, but then again there were some folks out there who could give a flying rip about the Internet.

Sam, it turned out, wasn't one of them. “Mr. Jansen, I need to discuss one item with you and then we can get the kids in here.”

“
Shoot,” Maverick said. He knew what was coming.

“The kids have been talking for the last couple of days about some photo of you and Ms. Sullivan on the Internet. It, ah, well, I guess I wasn't fully aware of your relationship with each other when I met her.” Sam's face turned a shade darker. “I want to be clear that you know that I know about your past troubles, and I have no problem with you being around our kids—today. You seem to be making an honest effort to move past your, well, past. However, if we need to end this right now, if there is anything else that may come out, you need to let me know. I don't handle surprises well and I need to protect this center and more importantly these kids.”

Maverick had to admire a guy who cut through the bullshit. They each stood in silence letting the threat hang there. “You ever play any ball, Davis?”

“Right-tackle. Eastern Washington Eagles,” Sam said.

“No hardball, huh? No I guess not. You definitely have the frame for a footballer.” Maverick suddenly wanted to prove to this man that what he had to offer the kids was worth a hell of a lot more than his fame.

“I've played team sports since I was eight. Some soccer, but always baseball. I'm a team player, Sam, through and through. If I win, the team wins. If I lose, I take that loss personally. When I'm being interviewed, because I'm the one the media focuses on, I always think of how hard my teammates played, and strive to ensure their efforts are highlighted right alongside mine. What you see or hear in the media . . . I'm not that guy. And I can guarantee you, when I'm here, working with the kids, it's all about the kids. Not me, and not the media.”

“Good to know. Let's do this,” Sam said. He offered his hand and Maverick grasped the lifeline. Today was the first step on the right path.
The
kids weren't exactly what Maverick had expected. Not sure he even knew what to expect since his experience with children and teenagers had mostly been autographing balls before a game or at events where access to him was tightly controlled.

These kids were well mannered and quiet when he entered the gym. No one was shouting his name or asking for his autograph. They stood in a semicircle with varying expressions of wariness and excitement.

They were shifting from one foot to the other and Maverick noticed the matching shirts they wore. Like a team. A few were wrinkled, probably due to being bunched up and tossed in the corner of their room. Others had unidentifiable stains, but all were tucked into their jeans, sweatpants, and in one case, a tutu.

The little girl may have been all of seven. Mav wasn't sure, but her lopsided pigtails and doe eyes struck a chord in him. Her coloring was similar to Kelsey's. Made him think what she looked like when she was this girl's age. Could she have needed a place like this or did she grow up like him? Secure and taken care of, if not always paid attention to.

Hell, it made him think he wanted, needed, to know more about the woman he now wanted to possess.

Whoa, where'd that come from?
Maverick felt a bit shell-shocked from the revelation that he now considered Kelsey his and had to give himself a shake, to refocus on what Sam was saying to the group of kids.

“Mr. Jansen chose our center because he, well, why don't I let him tell you,” Sam said. The director's face held expectation and a dare. “Maverick, the floor is all yours.”

Mav'
s hands shook ever so slightly. He stepped forward and took a moment to look at each of the fifteen or so kids standing before him. He felt the weight of Sam's earlier comments and wanted to live up to his new commitment.

It was important to make eye contact. To let them know he wasn't only here for show, but they mattered to him. Seeing their expectant faces, he was damned if he'd let them down.

“Hi, guys. Well, I guess you know who I am. I want to thank Mr. Davis for letting me come and meet you today. And why I'm here is pretty simple. I believe in giving back to the community I live in. Plus, I like sports, obviously, and from what Sam has told me, most of you do as well.”

While he finished his unplanned speech, he noticed one kid standing off to the side. Not too far away, but far enough to indicate he was too good to be part of the gang, or maybe wanting to stand out. He was about five three, and if he had to guess, about thirteen years old, but what the hell did he know about kids' ages.

After Mav answered some baseball questions, one of the girls asked him if he had a girlfriend. This sent the rest of the group into squeals of laughter. Oh boy, how to handle that one. Obviously the older ones knew what was going on because of the Internet, but he needed to tread lightly for the little kids.

“Um, yeah. And she's originally from Pineville. Her name's Kelsey, but she hates it when I go on and on about her, so . . .” Real smooth, Mav. Trying his best to look cool and unaffected by their attention toward his love life, he turned the conversation back to the kids.

“So what do you guys like doing best around here? I saw some pool tables. Do you have tournaments?”

The
kid who was off to the side wearing a Maroon 5 T-shirt spoke up first. “You play, Mav . . . , uh, Mr. Jansen?” He shuffled his feet but kept eye contact.

“Sure. It's been awhile but I'm game. You're not a hustler or anything like that, are you?” He winked.

Maverick immediately wished he could have taken the comment back when he heard Sam clear his throat, but screw it. He didn't curse and he wasn't going to change the way he spoke in front of the kids. Besides, he needed to address them on their level. In their language, right?

“So what's your name?” Maverick asked.

“Ian.”

“My name is Holly,” the little girl with the tutu piped in.

“I'm Mikey.”

“Yeah, mine name is Mike too,” another kid said.

“Okay, hold on, hold on, one at a time, kids.” Sam jumped to the rescue. “Give Mr. Jansen a chance to match the names with faces.”

“How about everyone calls me Maverick, and when you want to talk to me or ask me a question from now on, you say ‘I'm so-and-so' until I have all of you locked into my memory? Deal?”

Ian led the way to the two pool tables placed in an alcove at the back of the center's main room. “If we played in teams of two on each table, that would give about half of us a chance to play, and then if we put a time limit of thirty minutes on each game, we can switch out so the others have a turn. Except for ah, you, Mr. Jan . . . I mean, Maverick.”

“
That sounds like a good game plan, Ian. Any dibs on sticks or can I choose any one of these?” Maverick was almost at the pool cue board and gave Ian a quick smile. The kid's posture changed. He stood up just a tad taller and puffed out his chest.

“No, we're not allowed. Everyone has an equal chance to pick out the good sticks. Depends on who's quick enough is all,” Ian said.

“Well now, you wouldn't happen to be the one who gets the best stick most often, would you?” Maverick teased. He could see the change in this kid already. Damn, wasn't there anyone at home who took the time to spend with this obviously bright kid?

It made him think back to his own interactions with his father. How he tried constantly to pull his dad out of whatever seemed so important at his job, to come out and play catch, or watch a game with him. Or hell, just spend time with him. His mother stepped in when she could. But it wasn't the same.

Then again, one of the reasons that these kids came here was because their home life was less than ideal, or their parents were so busy working two, sometimes three, jobs to keep food on the table, emotionally there was nothing left over for the kids at the end of the day. It floored him to realize that this center was all some of them had when it came to social interaction or a friendly smile.

“Hey, Ian, how about we team up first. Then when time's up you can tag one of your friends and we'll switch?” Maverick asked.

You would have thought he'd gifted the kid with a trip to Six Flags. Ian's face turned red and he nodded his acceptance and walked over to pick out his own pool stick. The other kids were jockeying for position and the ones who weren't quite fast enough ended up in the spectator section next to the windows overlooking the nearby library.

After
about ten minutes of deep concentration, and only a few balls in the pockets, Maverick walked over to Ian and watched the only other teenager in the group set up a shot. “So Ian, what grade are you in?”

“I'm in eighth.”

“Yeah, middle school, huh? I think that's the time I really started getting into girls.”

“What about baseball?” Ian asked.

“Oh, there was always baseball, but Annie Larson had grown a few inches over the summer and blossomed in other places and I was hooked.” Maverick took his turn and missed a bank shot.