not maybe, definitely

The more time he spent caressing and soothing the wounded empress, the more Maverick felt her svelte body relax beneath his touches and tender affections. Whether it was from his little ministrations or from the marijuana really taking ahold of her cognition he couldn't tell, but either way, she wasn't putting a stop to his advances yet. If she told him to stop, he would. But if she didn't, then he'd keep going and going until he found that limit or until they were both spent. Venom whispered his name, the lyrics husky beneath heated breaths while he leaned his body down over hers, their muzzles almost painfully close, yet still just far enough apart to feed the ache deep in his belly. He knew by now that she was his, lost to whatever desires and intentions he had. Luckily for the woman, all he desired was making sure they both ended this night feeling the best of all the carnal pleasures he could find and Venom had been healed and satisfied. How kind and thoughtful he was—if you ignored his full intentions of getting off himself as well. Altruistic, Maverick was not, but in this case he could make an exception when his own good time was something his partner also desperately needed for herself.

Beneath him, Venom looked almost shocked and scared, expressions that were a far cry from the refined and composed looks she gave him back at that seaside cliff, and the looks of violent aggravation she'd fixed him with when she'd chased him through the woods. It seemed the lovely lady of Ashen was much more emotionally turbulent than she let on. Venom did put on a good show of it he had to admit. It made him wonder just how long she'd been keeping herself walled off from the world, only showing the carefully crafted facade to everyone she met. Had her ex-husband even seen this side of her—this primal, aching, raw side of the dignified ruler? Venom tensed when he asked how long she wanted to ride this high with him for, hesitating in her response before finally confessing that she didn't want to fall again. Mav didn't know precisely what she meant—whether that meant fall in love again or fall from grace—but it didn't matter in this moment. Venom didn't want to fall, and so he wouldn't put her in a position to have to worry about that. This could be a casual fling, a satisfying of needs between two veritable strangers kept secret. He didn't need to become the empress' paramour for all the world to see and make her fear another public relationship, nor did they need to make it any emotional investments. He could give her what she needed without her falling in love and without falling from her high. He could be as temporary as the drugs in her system if she wished it or as permanent as the growing plants he'd taken them from.

Maverick didn't respond to her with words. Instead, he slowly closed that thin gap between their mouths and kissed Venom with a slow-burning passion that seared along his lips. He felt the fire curve through his blood, coming to settle low in his core and between his legs. Turquoise eyes leisurely drifted closed, savoring the taste of her on his lips. The kiss was far from chaste, but he didn't press too far just yet, giving Venom just enough of that hot desire and passion to remind her of what she had been missing without overwhelming her. He didn't want too care her off when she was in such a vulnerable state. His paw roaming her side slowly wound its way around her waist, tugging her body tight to his, toned form settling over the curves of her own body as if he had always meant to be there. He still wasn't quite covering her, but he had draped more of himself across her, letting more of their bodies touch and their fur coats mingle between them while he kissed her. It was a bold and brash move on the vagabond's part, but Venom was no longer the Empress of Ashen. Tonight, she was a beautiful woman who he was sharing his den with, and he would treat her as such. She would find no decorum, no call to stand upon ceremony or propriety. Tonight they were just two wolves, a brute and a fae, getting lost in the natural hungers and urges their instincts brought with them.

Maverick only parted from Venom's lips once he needed to breathe, taking in a couple short, ragged breaths of the cool air while pale turquoise eyes flickered open to peer down at the dark-furred fae with a small, sly grin. "Then don't," he purred quietly down to her, letting his pink tongue slip free of dark teal jaws to plant a slow lick across the smaller woman's lips and chin. Again Maverick moved in for another kiss, pausing with his lips just barely brushing over hers to tease and torment her in his game of lust, grinning to himself like the Cheshire Cat all the while. Then he pressed their mouths together again, kissing her in much the same way as before, but this time sinking deeper into their passion, a masculine growl of want rumbling in his chest while he parted his jaws to let his tongue slip into her maw. His paw around her waist pulled her in tighter, drifting lower from the small of her back to follow the curve of her rump over warm and supple flesh and muscle. He would go further, sink deeper into this sea of desire with Venom, do whatever she wished. As temporary or as consistent as she wanted this to be. He was serving her as much as he was helping himself to her. The only question was whether the Empress would indulge herself in him as well.

"Maverick"