When We Fall Silent

Chapter Eleven

I crossed my arms over my chest, watching the dark figure leaning against the wall across from me.

"Why are you here?"

He quirked an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching. I could tell he wanted to smirk so badly. I missed when his face was impassive and cold, he was much more tolerable.

"Why do you think I'm here," he countered, mimicking my crossed arms. I watched his biceps flex under his shirt and my body warmed with the thought of his arms wrapped around me.

I rolled my eyes, huffing and waving him off.

"If you're just going to answer all my questions with a question, then you can go because I'm not in the mood," I warned, passing him and going into the kitchen. I heard his footsteps slowly follow but I kept my back to him, pouring myself a glass of water.

"Someone's got their panties in a twist," he mocked, the teasing lilt of his voice making my hand clench the glass.

Before I could snap back at him, he kept going, "You know why I came here, Faye, so let's just quit playing games. I told you this yesterday; I'm not here to play games."

I whipped around, fire burning in my eyes. I moved, pressing my palms against the countertop of the island leaning forward.

"Then what exactly are you here for?" My tone had lowered, and my eyes scanned his face for signs. But just when I thought I could finally read him, his face slackened and became impassive once again. He leaned forward towards me across the counter top.

The air sizzled between us with the taunting memories of our close proximity merely hours before. The tension was endless, and I swallowed thickly, forcing the images of yesterday to be pushed down.

"You," Maverick answered simply, his eyes gauging my reaction. I didn't move a muscle. I didn't dare give him any satisfaction in a response.

"Me?" I asked suspiciously. "Now, what exactly do you want me for?"

I knew what he was so obviously hinting at, but I wasn't ready to let up. I wanted him to be outright and say it.

I didn't even get a flinch out of him. His eyes continued to bore down into mine. My fingers curled into fists.

"Drop it," he commanded, his tone dark and low, the sound of it made a shudder run through my body. "We need to talk about what happened yesterday."

We held eye contact for a second before both of us leaned away, straightening ourselves up.

"Then talk," I gestured for him to proceed.

Maverick sighed, running a hand through his ruffled hair. I stared a little too long at the innocent action, the flashes of me gripping those same dark locks running through my mind. I shook my head slightly, forcing myself to revert my eyes.

What the fuck was wrong with me? I was acting like some hormonal teenager.

"I'm going to start off by saying I'm sorry for kissing you in the first place."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"I'm not really sure what got into me or if it was just being back there after such a long time, but I just really wanted to kiss you in the moment, and I did without your permission."

Just as I was about to say "it's okay" because I honestly wasn't mad at him, he put up a hand to stop me.

"But you kissed me back," he said, the intensity of his gaze making warmth and butterflies pool into my stomach. I looked away from his penetrating stare. "So that's why I'm here. Yeah I kissed you and it was originally innocent, but it turned into more than that."