Maverick

I WATCHED LO SLEEP with a knot in my chest.

The disappointment on her face as she’d watched me manhandle Tribeca into that chair would haunt me for a lifetime.

Fuck.

She wasn’t supposed to see that. Hell, it wasn’t supposed to happen. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'd avoided the kitchen when I had gone inside to take a piss, but on my way back to the yard, Zac intercepted me. Part of me wondered if he’d been watching, waiting to strike. He’d known I was bringing Lo to the party, and I’d half-expected him to pounce the second we arrived. But in true Zac style he hadn’t, and I’d dropped my guard. Told myself that maybe, just maybe, his games had ceased.

Taking Lo to the party had been a risk, but I couldn’t keep her and my life at SU separate forever. Not if I wanted to keep my sanity. I meant what I'd said last night; I needed her. But I didn’t ever want her to see that side of me, the one taking orders and palling around with Zac.

“What time is it?” Sleep lingered heavy in Lo’s voice as she rolled into me, brushing her nose along my shoulder.

“A little after eight.”

“Ugh,” she groaned. “Too early.”

“We don’t have to get up yet.”

She peeked an eye open at me and smiled. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” I felt choked. Last night I’d distracted her with hot kisses and desperate touches, but I knew I hadn’t escaped explaining everything to her.

“Spoon me.” Lo rolled back over dragging my arm with her, wriggling her ass into my rock-hard dick.

“Keep doing that...” I nipped the skin at her shoulder, “and we’ll bring new meaning to the word spooning.”

“Maverick, I’m tired. It’s early. Plus I think you broke me last night.” She sighed blissfully and the vise around my heart eased a fraction. Maybe I’d underestimated her reaction to this whole thing.

But as soon as I thought the words, Lo tensed in my arms and whispered, “I’m scared, Maverick.”

Pulling her closer, I dropped my head into the crook of her neck. “He can’t hurt me anymore. I promise.”

“You say that now,” the quiver in her voice was a bullet in my chest. “But what if you get pulled further into his games? He’s bad news, Maverick. He lives for putting others down. For hurting them and humiliating them.”

“Which is why he needs to be taken down.”

“And it has to be you? Why?”

“It just does.” Zac had tried to break me and all for what? Because he was threatened by me. Of my skill on the court.

“I hate this. I hate all of it.”

“It’s a few months. Once pre-season training starts and we’re working with Coach, I can cement my place on the team.”

“What if it backfires? If you go up against him and it fails?”

“It won’t.”

She let out a defeated murmur and a heavy silence settled between us. When it became obvious she was done hearing me out, I changed tack. “So Miss Bowman asked me what my plan B was,” I said.

“Miss Bowman, your guidance counselor?”

“Yeah.”

Lo rolled onto her back, sliding her fingers into mine. “What did you say?”

“Guess I’ve never given it much thought. It’s always been basketball for me.” I shrugged. “But then I started thinking what if my future isn’t playing basketball? What then?”

“It doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan, Maverick.”

“Maybe I could coach. Or work with messed up kids like me?”

“You are not messed up.” Lo gave me a pointed look. “You’re just... complicated.”

“Complicated?” I rose an eyebrow, and bit back a smirk.

“And gorgeous.” Lo leaned up and kissed the underside of my jaw. “And strong.” Kiss. “And loyal.” Kiss. “And mine.”

“Say that last part again, I don’t think I heard you right.”

“Mine, Maverick. All mine.” Her lips were at the corner of my mouth now, hovering, barely touching. But I felt them all the way down to my soul.

“And you’re mine.” I rolled on top of her and Lo shrieked, pressing her hands into my chest.

“I guess that makes us each other’s.” She gave me a coy smile, and I knew our disagreement about Zac was behind us.

For now.

Kissing the tip of her nose I said, “I guess it does. Now I think I need to remind you just how much you are mine.”

I spent the rest of the morning showing her.

~

“PRINCE, WAIT UP.” I tensed beside Lo at the sound of Zac’s voice.

“Go wait with Laurie and Kyle at the Jeep, I’ll be right—” Her hard glare told me all I needed to know, and I let out a heavy sigh.

“Where’d you get to last night?” Zac said as he reached us looking every bit the smug bastard. “I didn’t get to hang with your guests.” The word guests dripped sarcasm and grated against my bones as my hand tightened around Lo’s.

“Guys, you remember, Zac?”

“As if we could forget,” Kyle said with an easy smile. “Hey, man.” The two of them leaned in for an awkward fist bump, and then Zac settled his attention back on me.

“So what happened to you? After Tribeca puked all over himself, you disappeared.”

“Lo wasn’t feeling too good,” I lied.

“Is that right?” He looked at Lo who managed to force a half-smile. “I hope you’re feeling better now?”

“Well I’m sure I’ll be alright once I get home.”

I shot her a ‘what the fuck’ look but her eyes were set dead on Zac. “Sounds like we missed some party,” she added.

“If it’s one thing Delta Pi know how to do right, it’s party.” Zac waggled his eyes. “Am I right, Prince?”

I choked on the words lodged in my throat, but Kyle had my back. “Well I don’t know about anyone else, but I had a fucking great time.”

“My kind of guy.” Zac held up his hand, and I cringed watching Kyle high-five him.

“So, a few of us are chilling at the house tonight, you should totally come.”

“I’ll be there.” The words rolled off my tongue with ease. This was what I’d hoped for. An in. But I hadn’t expected it to come in front of Lo and my friends. I wanted them nowhere near this. Near Zac. But even though it sucked, even though the thought of spending any more time at the house didn’t give me the warm and fuzzies, I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to dig further into Zac’s empire.

“Well, alright, and Stone,”—he jabbed his finger at Kyle—“Don’t be a stranger. Any friend of Prince’s is a friend of mine.”

Why did that sound more like a threat than an invitation?

Zac ignored the girls, finally leaving us alone, and no one said a word as we made our way to Kyle’s Jeep. All I’d wanted was to spend the day with my girlfriend and our friends before the crazy started. But I couldn’t help thinking Lo was right. In my mission to bring down Zac, I’d have to enter his world, play his game, and in all games, there could be only one winner.

But what if it wasn’t me who came out on top?

“Hey,” Lo’s voice grounded me and I blinked over at her. “Can we please forget all about Zac Lowell and enjoy our last few hours together?”

“Yeah, come here.” I beckoned her with my finger and Lo came willingly. “Just you and me, remember? This thing with Zac, it’s all a means to an end. I promise.”

“I know. Just be careful. And no lies.” Her voice wavered. “Even if the truth hurts.”

~

“PRINCE, YOU CAME,” Balor greeted me.

“Zac said I was invited.”

“Sure thing, man. Come in. We’re down in the basement. Vinnie is kicking Mac’s ass on GTA. You play?”

I shrugged. “Now and again.”

We walked down to the basement together. It was just Zac and his guys—Vinnie and Mac—but they weren’t alone. “Prince, get down here. I want to introduce you to the girls.”

“Hey, Maverick,” Dana—the girl from before—scooted along the leather couch and patted the space next to her. “I saved you a seat.”

Zac watched with interest as I scanned the room for another available seat. But Dana purred, “I don’t bite.”

“Just take a fucking seat,” he added. “Dana knows you’re spoken for.”

“Not that that’s ever stopped her before,” Mac howled and the girl beside me scowled in his direction.

“So, Maverick,” she said after a couple minutes. “Just how serious are you and your girlfriend?”

“Serious.” I didn’t even look at her. If this was some lame attempt by Zac to get me to stray, it was a wasted effort. Because anything connected with Lo was off limits.

“Don’t worry, Dana, I don’t mind sharing.” He wrapped his arm around the blonde sitting in his lap and nipped her shoulder, I recognized her from the night everything went down. Her head snapped up and she murmured, “I don’t share, Zac. I told you that.”

He grunted, dragging her body further onto his until she was completely straddling him, skirt shoved up around her thighs. “You do if I say you do.”

“Don’t be so uptight, Shannon. Besides, it’s not like I haven’t been there before.”

Shannon’s back straightened. I couldn’t see her face but whatever she was mouthing to Zac had him smirking with victory. Then he leaned in, nuzzling her neck. Her head fell back on a sigh and the two of them started dry-fucking right there on the couch.

“Dude, take it upstairs,” Balor said. “I don’t know about the rest of us, but I do not want to see your dick again.”

Zac’s head poked up and he grinned, palming the girl’s ass. “She loves it really, don’t you, babe?” He gripped her jaw pulling their faces together. “You gonna let me fuck you hard in front of my brothers?”

“Zac,” she whimpered. “N- not in front of them.”

“Balor’s right, man.” Vinnie said. “Handle your shit behind closed doors. Besides, we don’t want to scare Prince off.”

Zac craned his head around Shannon to meet my eyes. “Embarrassed, Prince? Maybe if you watch, you could learn a thing or two.”

I pressed my fist into my thigh, tamping down the anger rising in me. He’s just trying to bait you. But the girl found her confidence—or stupidity, given the circumstances—and said, “Come on, Zac.” She backed off him seductively. “Take me upstairs and I’ll let you do whatever you want.”

“Whatever?” He gazed up at her with lust and fire in his eyes. But I saw the flash of wickedness. Whatever was a dangerous word for someone like Zac Lowell. A challenge. A free pass. I noted the other guys reaction to the situation, but they acted as if they’d seen it a hundred times before... and it occurred to me they probably had.

“Watch yourself, Shannon.” Dana’s voice oozed jealousy. “He bites.”

The petite blonde’s head whipped back, and she inclined her head in our direction. “Maybe I want to be eaten.”

The guys all snickered at the obvious girl-fight brewing. They didn’t hear Dana’s next words. But I did, and it sounded a lot like ‘be careful what you wish for’. My eyes narrowed on her, waiting for her to explain. She didn’t. We watched as Zac picked Shannon up and all but dragged her out of the basement.

“Thank fuck,” Balor sighed the second they were gone. “I thought he was actually going to do it.”

“Nah, he just likes to put on a show.” Mac shrugged, picking his controller back up.

“You didn’t see him sophomore year, man. He fucked girls in front of us like it was nothing.”

Vinnie caught my eye and his jaw clenched. “Guys,” he said. “We have company.” He flicked his head in my direction and I held up my hands.

“Hey, not my business.”

“But that’s just the thing, Prince. It is your business. You made it your business the second you stepped inside.”

“Lighten up, Vin,” Mac called over his shoulder. “We’re chilling. Maverick get over here. I have beer, GTA, and chips.”

Stay put and fight off Dana’s advances all night or hang with Mac and play mindless video games and drink beer?

I didn’t have to think twice as I said, “Count me in.”