“Devon?”

I stared at the guy I thought was my friend while Caitlin clung to him looking very pleased with herself. The dance went on around us. Apparently, a little drama wasn't enough to stop the party. But audience or not, she looked smug. Devon on the other hand looked like a wounded puppy, refusing to meet my disappointed stare. As far as I was concerned, he could go to hell. They both could.

They deserved each other. 

“Cous, we good here?” Kyle was beside me in an instant, and I heard the coolness in his voice. He'd witnessed their little prank. The entire class had, but obviously no one else planned on coming to my rescue.

“Everything's fine, Kyle. Go back to Laurie, I'm going to head home.”

“Like hell you ar...” His voice trailed off, and I turned my head to see what had silenced him. My eyes landed on Maverick across the room, standing in the doorway in dark jeans and a fitted black dress shirt. His eyes slid to mine, and I asked him a silent question.

What are you doing here?

His eyes seemed to hold the answer.

You know why I'm here.

I did? Or was I deluding myself?

Caitlin gasped, cursing under her breath. “I knew it. He—”

“Come on, Cat. I think we've done enough.” Devon sounded dejected, but it was too late for that. I'd thought we’d cleared the air between us. I’d thought he was my friend, and he'd betrayed me. With Caitlin, no less. 

“Hey.” Kyle shouldered me and I blinked at him. “You good?”

I nodded over the lump in my throat. 

“Okay, if you need me, I'll be right over there.” He pointed to Laurie, and she gave me a small wave, shock glistening in her eyes. I lifted my hand in return, still stunned by the turn of events.

I wanted to leave, to put an end to the embarrassment burning through me. But leaving meant walking right by them. And besides, Maverick was still in the doorway. When I made no attempts to move, he closed the distance between us, ignoring the stares of our classmates.

When he reached me, I still hadn't moved, paralysed to the spot. 

Could tonight get any weirder? 

“You okay?”

“People keep asking me that,” I laughed, but it came out strangled. People were watching. They weren’t watching before when it was just me, Devon, and Caitlin. But this was Maverick Prince.

Now all heads were turned in our direction.

He was the main attraction, and they intended on watching the show.

“What are you doing here, Maverick?” My voice was small, defeated, and I hated it. Hated Caitlin and Devon had that kind of power over me. But no matter how strong I tried to be, it was exhausting, and at the end of the day, I was only human.

“It's my fault.” His lips pressed together in a grim line.

“What's your fault?”

He glanced over at Caitlin and Devon. They had moved away, but she was still watching us. Anger blazing in her eyes, her body visibly shaking with rage. My gaze dropped to where Devon’s arm was hooked around her waist, holding her back, and I couldn’t help but think in the end he’d got what he’d wanted.

Her.

“Did you make her set me up and embarrass me in front of everyone?”

He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “No, but—”

“So, not your fault,” I sighed blinking the tears away. “I just want to go home and get out of this bloody dress.”

His eyes swept down my body and a shiver danced up my spine. When his gaze snapped back to mine, his irises had darkened to almost black. “You can't leave yet,” he said. 

“What? Why?” Was this another cruel joke?

But in a move that made my head swim even more, Maverick took my hand and led me to the dance floor. I didn't resist as he wrapped me into his arms and swayed us to the music. I couldn’t have if I’d tried. Even under the disco lights, I felt their stares. Maverick Prince—the most popular guy in school—was dancing with me. Eloise Stone. His very British, very broken step cousin.

“What the hell are you doing?” I hissed through my teeth with a fake smile.

Maverick dipped his mouth to my ear, his breath eliciting another shiver. “I'm tired of playing games.” His voice was measured—sure—as if his words made perfect sense, but there was an air of vulnerability that reminded me of the Maverick I’d met last summer.

Was it possible he was under there still? Locked away from the rest of the world? There had been moments when I’d thought I’d seen him, but they usually ended with him doing or saying something to ruin it and prove to me what an arsehole he'd become.

“Everyone's staring,” I whispered, turning my head until our lips were almost brushing. 

His eyes dropped to my mouth and every memory of being with him flooded my mind. I gulped, my heart racing in my chest like a runaway train. What was happening? What the hell was he thinking? As if he heard my words, he said, “Let them stare. I'm done pretending.”

His grip on me tightened as if he needed to show me he meant what he was saying. Only I didn't really understand what he was saying. Hadn’t he said we couldn’t be together? For the last month, hadn’t he treated me like I was nothing to him?

And part of me had hated him for it.

“Stop overthinking it,” his voice caressed my cheek causing my eyes to flutter shut, and I snuggled closer trying to force out the shitstorm that wasn’t only just tonight, but my life.

Maverick had always seen past the walls I built around myself and it terrified me. My hands twisted into his shirt as I pulled back to look at him. “What are you doing, Maverick?”

The corners of his mouth lifted in a smirk. “I thought it was pretty obvious, it's called dancing.”

I narrowed my eyes. Waiting. Ignoring the wild flutters in my stomach. He leaned in, so close I thought he might kiss me, but he didn't. “Do we have to label it, London? I came here, to the fucking school dance, for you.”

“I—”

Maverick pressed his forehead against mine, gathering me closer. “I have imagined that night over and over. Do you know how hard it was walking away from you? I was a mess, ready to do something really fucking stupid. But then you came and stood next to me. Fuck, you were so cute. So innocent. And I wanted to lose myself in you. But I could see you were nervous.”

He wasn’t talking about the night we spent together at the pool house. He was talking about that first night. Last summer.

“I couldn’t do that. Corrupt the good girl. I am not him, Lo. I am not my father. But then I saw you standing in my kitchen. The angel who saved me that night. I thought I was seeing things. He warned me, you know? Gentry told me to stay away from you, to keep you out of trouble. He didn’t want you to end up in trouble.” He laughed bitterly. “Because that’s me, right, trouble? So, I did it. And fuck knows I have tried to keep my distance. You were going to be living here. Going to school here. How the fuck was I supposed to be around you every day and not touch you?”

One of his hands danced up my back and around my shoulder, burying itself in my hair. His eyes shuttered as he drew in a deep breath. When he looked at me again, what I saw rendered me speechless.

“I told myself, one night. Fuck you and forget about you. That was the plan. It makes me a selfish bastard, I know that. But you were buried so far under my skin, I needed to do something. You were moving out. I wouldn’t have to see you every day, lie in bed at night knowing you were just across the yard. I thought it’d be easier us not being so close. It wasn’t.”

“Maverick, I—”

“No, Lo, you need to hear this. I stayed away because I wanted to protect you. From me. From him. But I. Am. Done.” 

His lips barely touched mine when I noticed someone approaching us out of the corner of my eye. 

“Hmm, I hate to be the one breaking up this beautiful moment, because let’s face it, it’s long overdue, but Rick, we got company.” Kyle nodded over at the other door. JB stood there with a couple of his football friends, and Maverick cursed under his breath. 

Kyle's hands shot straight up. “It wasn't me, I promise. I didn't know you would show up. But I bet I know who was banking on it.” His gaze slid to Devon and Caitlin. She scowled, anger rolling off her in waves. If looks could kill, we would all be dead.

“Fuck,” he murmured under his breath and I realised something bigger was happening here. Something that didn’t just involve Caitlin and Devon getting back at me, but involved Maverick and JB, too.

“Go,” Kyle said. “Slip out the back door, and I’ll handle JB, okay?”

“Will someone tell me what’s going on?”

“Ssh,” they both snapped at me, the tension bouncing off them.

“Fine,” I muttered, folding my arms over my chest. Maverick’s dark eyes focused on my neckline sending a pulse of desire through me. He smirked, giving Kyle his attention again.

“Thank you. Don’t do anything reckless. I owe you.”

Kyle shot me a cocky smile. “You always owe me. Now get her out of here.” He motioned to the door at the back of the room. Maverick slid his hand into mine and started moving just as Kyle called after us, “And don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

Maverick’s shoulders shook with laughter as he guided us through the tables. Kids stared, whispering and pointing. But I ignored them. It was easy when Maverick was here. All I saw was him. The second I saw him standing there under the balloon-arch, everything paled into insignificance. Devon’s betrayal. Caitlin’s harsh words.

None of it mattered. Because he came.

He came for me.

I skipped closer to him, pressing into his side. “Maverick, what’s going on?”

“Not here,” he whispered, his eyes settled on the door. It was the same look I’d seen so many times, fierce determination.

He grabbed the bar, pushed, and shouldered open the door. We spilled out into the inky night. Maverick leaned around me to close it and then he was there, hands flat against the door, caging me in. I thought he was going to kiss me, but he didn’t. Instead, his head touched mine, his body pressing me back until I hit the wall.

“Maverick?”

“Just give me a second.” His voice trembled, and I realised he was barely in control. He wanted to fight.

To hurt.

To protect.

My hands slid up his shirt and over his shoulders, cradling him against me. What had happened for him to harbour this much rage and anger? Another second of silence passed, and then he pulled away, taking my hand. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

~

Maverick didn’t take me home. He shut off the engine and came around to open the door for me. I didn’t fail to notice he’d parked at the point of the driveway furthest away from the house.

“Stealthy,” I said as we walked to the back gate. Maverick entered the code, and we slipped inside. The Stone-Prince’s garden was bathed in soft light. I hadn’t been back here since Dad and I left. Strangely, it felt more like home than the new house and I wondered if the boy beside me had anything to do with that.

We reached the pool house and my eyebrows furrowed as Maverick pushed open the door, letting me enter first. It looked the same, only emptier. The sofa bed was fixed back as a sofa, and I walked around the small space while Maverick stood silent and stiff inside the door.

When I came full circle, and my eyes landed on his, I said, “What?”

“You.” He pushed off the door and stalked toward me. “Look at you.”

I swallowed, my mouth dry. His fingers danced over my neckline and across my shoulders. “You’re beautiful, Lo. I could kill him for doing that to you.” Anger flashed in his eyes.

“He’s not worth it.”

“No, but you are.” Maverick kissed the corner of my mouth and my heart stopped. How had I ever considered settling for Devon when Maverick made me feel this way? It was intoxicating.

He took my hand and led me to the bedroom, and I gasped when I stepped inside. “Maverick?”

“When you left, I moved out here.”

“You did?”

How did I not know this? More to the point, how had Kyle managed to keep it a secret?

“I wanted to feel close to you.”

He’d changed the bedding. It was a dark cover, swirls of grey and black. Like a storm stirring on the horizon. I smiled to myself. It fit Maverick perfectly.

“Your mom and Gentry didn’t mind?”

“I think they were relieved. Things have been…”

He didn’t need to say the words. I’d seen it. We all had. Things were tense between the three of them. And Macey. But where she was a mean bitch, she wasn’t angry or violent. Just misunderstood.

He came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and tucking his jaw onto my shoulder. “I missed you.”

“You did, huh?” I turned into him. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“Don’t.” Guilt swam in his eyes. “There are things you don’t understand, Lo. Things I’m not sure I can tell you. But I want to try. I want…” the words died on his lips.

“Tell me, Maverick. What do you want?”

He squeezed me tighter, pressing a kiss to my shoulder. “You, Eloise Stone. I want you.”